"I'm totally an ally and I don't think she is an anti-Semite or said anything anti-Semitic but I'm going to write a dozen mini-essays in every Ilhan Omar thread deliberately misinterpreting her words"
You still haven't said exactly what wording she should use to not be called anti-semitic. (Because there isn't any. She'd be called an anti-semite even if she kept her mouth shut). You seem to think that just because someone is a Democrat then the dogpiling on Ilhan Omar is in good faith, which is nonsense.
AOC is really good at doing this.
I don't expect you to consider this in good faith, as you've made up your mind already about this subject and regardless of where critics come from will be seen as bad faith.
She'd be called that by the GOP/AIPAC, not Democrats. Don't conflate the two, as if they had one mind. Dogpiling in itself is a neutral term, which can be for good or bad causes, and this ignores the complexity involved in why the Dems are doing so. It can be done in good faith for the right reasons, for instance. What's worrying is that Omar can't seem to do wrong by you, even hypothetically.
Ignoring large swathes of what I had to say, always a good sign I'm talking to someone arguing in good faith there. Disappointing that you'd throw LGBT under this bus if Omar did that, though.
You won't bother engaging with me about what anti-Semitism is, so your argument that your taking that seriously isn't as potent as you're posturing about. You're don't seem that concerned about it, period, whether it's real or an appearance - which is disturbing. Yet you're painting
me as a fake progressive when all the issues surrounding Omar deserve our respect regarding racism because the Dems are a big tent party, everyone is welcome here.
The only reason there is a real conversation about Ilhan Omar "appearing" like an anti-Semite is because fake ass allies keep twisting what she is saying to make her appear anti-Semitic.
This is about perception, and being seen as not being an anti-semite should be cause for concern particularly on your own side. I've routinely talked about that I don't see her an anti-semite, that this is strictly phrasing and context while this is ignored over sensitive issues which apply to various subjects regarding racism, sexism, homophobia etc but you're going to pretend this isn't a thing in society around the world? There's nothing fake about this.
But you know what, keep on telling us how progressive you are while you join everybody dogpiling onto her for being a black, Muslim, immigrant woman.
Except that's not what we're doing, not on the Democratic side. This is about anti-semitic phrasing, nothing to do with who she is. She gets a lot of shit for that, which she shouldn't, but don't confuse us with the GOP, Israel or AIPAC. What's frustrating is that you're coming at this more from an excuse for justification to attack us rather than introspect someone you admire who might have screwed up every once and a while, because she's human.
The crucial aspect you're missing is that there isn't a wide gulf between us on this, ideologically, on the issues of Israel or Palestine. You're imagining fighting a straw man when all this is an argument over minor phrasing issues. You're right that Omar is fighting a huge war on this with the odds against her, but rather than listen to doing this from within you seem determined to castigate anyone who disagrees as the same as a Republican or that she can do good works without being so controversial. Fighting AIPAC and Israel is good, I support that, but to do that requires a lot more than simply saying things on twitter (financially, severing off ties with the Dems etc) and she can do so much more when she isn't being isolated from the Dems. But to do that requires playing ball, since she's not in position to make the change she wants that's just how it is right now. Maybe it'll change in the future but for that change to happen means not becoming AIPAC's new trophy and feeding into the reputation of anti-semitism on the left and the right and this continues to happen. :(
