Criticism of Israeli apartheid goes back way before Muslims were at all a significant issue in the US; I've been reading (and agreeing with) denouncements of Israeli policy and US blank check support of Israel since the 1980s. Criticism of Israel includes a lot more than Muslims; in the US critics of Israel include significant numbers of Christians and Jews. So when I ask for something associated with Muslim beliefs, criticism of Israel isn't really one of them.
As far as anti-Semitism goes, I've read Omar's actual statements, and I still don't see anything anti- Semitic about them. At any rate, when American Jews are polled about the things that frighten them, it's right wing white nationalist terrorism that tops the lists, not American Muslims.
It says something about the qualities of our current president that the best argument anyone has made in his defense is that he didn't know what he was talking about. -- Paul Krugman
You seem to apologize a lot. Are you doing anything to fix your short comings?
It says something about the qualities of our current president that the best argument anyone has made in his defense is that he didn't know what he was talking about. -- Paul Krugman
But it doesn't cover up the news headlines that the four up-and-coming standard-bearers of the Democratic Party (you know, the "Squad" that's giving Speaker Pelosi such headaches) are anti-semites and socialists.
How many varieties of socialism do you know of? "Socialism" is becoming as meaningless as "fake news", just an incantation to ward off something you can't deal with.
In order to have any kind of meaningful discussion, both sides need to agree on the meanings of the words being used -- or at the very least provide meaningful definitions for our own use of those words. Both sides using the same words with different meanings and/or using words without revealing what they mean in your usage destroys any chance of meaningful discussion and only creates confusion.
Those of us with experience in creation/evolution discourse should immediately recognize that, especially in creationist rhetoric. Faith's attempts to redefine "species" beyond all recognition is an extreme example. We cannot even get any creationist to provide a definition of what they mean by "evolution", but when they use that word their followers respond with their own misunderstandings of evolution further shaped by creationist invective against "evolution". In debates, they would label their opponents as "evolutionists" and their opponents would accept the label no knowing the massive body of negative connotations that term has been loaded with; unknowingly, they presented themselves as "the enemy of everything good" and thus lost the debate in the very first minute. Their tactics depend on generating confusion and avoiding meaningful discussion while using miscontrued words to trigger negative reactions against their opponents.
The word "socialist" is being used in the same manner. Republicans use it to invoke fear and hate in their followers who don't even know what that word means and to guarantee the defeat of their opponents, especially the ones who actually know what that word means (which is not how Republicans are misusing it). They are invoking a bogeyman that doesn't exist.
Here again is an informative YouTube video: The Difference Between Socialism, Communism, and Marxism Explained by a Marxist by azureScapegoat (who lives in Sweden).
In that graphic, please note that social democracy is a form of capitalism. Social democracy describes the positions of Democrats that Republicans denounce as "socialists" in order to imply that they are communists, which they quite clearly are not.
So when someone uses the "s-word", they need to not only know what it means but they also have to be able to describe what they mean by it. Only then can we compare what they are saying with reality, even though that is the very last thing that they want to happen.
Edited by dwise1, : Added link for "social democracy"
Edited by dwise1, : Added qs of Sarah Bellum to whom JonF was replying
How many varieties of socialism do you know of? "Socialism" is becoming as meaningless as "fake news", just an incantation to ward off something you can't deal with.
A Christian once asked what I as an atheist believed in. My spontaneous and totally honest answer was sounded corny, but it was true: "Truth, Justice, and the American Way." That's still my answer today.
GOP Values: Hypocrisy, Corruption, Greed, Lying, Cheating, Voter Suppression, Election Fraud, Conspiring with the Enemy
" ... how hard can that be, to say that Nazis are bad?!" (Barack Obama)
"How are we still fighting Nazis today?" (Daisy Johnson, S5E15)
"Nance's Law: Coincidence takes a lot of planning." (Malcolm Nance)
It is a well-known fact that reality has a definite liberal bias. (Steven Colbert on NPR)
That was my passive-aggressive way of saying we're getting tired of it.
It says something about the qualities of our current president that the best argument anyone has made in his defense is that he didn't know what he was talking about. -- Paul Krugman
You forgot transferring piles of money to the already rich and major corporations, and ensuring that nothing interferes with said corporations poisoning our environment.
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