Late Show w/Colbert: Full Extended Interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar

[UnpopularBlargh]

Link:


So this just happened!

Via Daily Beast:

At the end of yet another controversy-filled day, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) sat down with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show and tried to show the world she's not actually as scary as Fox News wants you to think she is.

Colbert began the interview by noting that he had booked his guest "a long time ago," before she had become a "lightning rod" for those on both the right and the left.

"If you think about, historically, where our nation is right now, there are many members of our community that their identities are a lightning rod," Omar, the first of two Muslim women in Congress, said, explaining that immigrants, refugees, women of color and others are being used as "political footballs." She "just happens to embody all of those identities."

Beginning with the comments that some have deemed anti-Semitic, Colbert asked Omar what it was like to be "used as a political cudgel" from the very start of her first term as a congresswoman.

"This whole process really has been one of growth for me," Omar replied, acknowledging that she was not always aware of the tropes that may have been offensive to some Jewish people. "When you tell me you are pained by something that I say, I will always listen and I will acknowledge your pain," she said. But the same should go in the other direction.

"When you have people on Fox News question whether I am actually American or I put 'America first,' I expect my colleagues to also say, 'That's not OK' and call that out," she continued, referring to comments earlier Wednesday morning from Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade. To those who question her loyalty to America, Omar said, "I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. I am as American as everyone else is."

She went on to call out the "double standard" of criticizing her supposed "insinuations" but not going after "people like the folks on Fox & Friendswho actually say those words."

"They actually said that I might not be an American, that my loyalties might not be to this country," Omar continued, "but I get called out. They don't. They get to keep their show."

One recent comment that got Omar in trouble was when she referred to Trump adviser Stephen Miller as a "white nationalist." That made Colbert aware of the double standard she referred to when he thought to himself, "Haven't I said that?"

"You see this outrage when I speak the truth," Omar said in response. "Everybody else's truth is allowed, but my truth can never be."

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[julian]

I always like her interviews.

Felt a little bad when Colbert first summed everything up. I get it. Not everybody is up to date on every little thing, but it's kind of like, "hey, remember this painful experience you just went through? Let me just go step by step on it and let you relive it a little to catch the audience up."

 

[TaterTots]

That's the devil I keep hearing about? lol.

 

[Nerokis]

That's the devil I keep hearing about? lol.

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If there's one thing I'm confident about, it's this: every single person who has attempted to demonize Ilhan Omar has revealed themselves to be pathetic, disingenuous, and bigoted.

 

[Deleted member 8593]

"You see this outrage when I speak the truth," Omar said in response. "Everybody else's truth is allowed, but my truth can never be."

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Fuck. Ain't that the goddamn truth.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

I always like her interviews.

Felt a little bad when Colbert first summed everything up. I get it. Not everybody is up to date on every little thing, but it's kind of like, "hey, remember this painful experience you just went through? Let me just go step by step on it and let you relive it a little to catch the audience up."

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I do give him props for not asking her to defend or take back her words like so many others.

 

[TaterTots]

If there's one thing I'm confident about, it's this: every single person who has attempted to demonize Ilhan Omar has revealed themselves to be pathetic, disingenuous, and bigoted.

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It's embarrassing really. I've never seen an interview with her before, but its pretty obvious why people have an agenda now.

 

[peyrin]

Not a great interview, Colbert throwing nothing but softball questions with "and some Democrats" tacked on at the end of each one is especially disappointing when in the past he would have been one of the few interviewers on television capable of calling out all the bs Democratic leadership has piled on her lately. She handles all the questions very well but none of them are particularly enlightening.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Is this the first time Colbert even covered any of the stuff that was happening to her in the last two months?

 

[peyrin]

If there's one thing I'm confident about, it's this: every single person who has attempted to demonize Ilhan Omar has revealed themselves to be pathetic, disingenuous, and bigoted.

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remember when SNL gave this idiot a platform and elevated him to right wing celeb status? hmmmm

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

Is this the first time Colbert even covered any of the stuff that was happening to her in the last two months?

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Sadly yup.

 

[Biggersmaller]

Not a great interview, Colbert throwing nothing but softball questions with "and some Democrats" tacked on at the end of each one is especially disappointing when in the past he would have been one of the few interviewers on television capable of calling out all the bs Democratic leadership has piled on her lately. She handles all the questions very well but none of them are particularly enlightening.

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To be fair, these network shows have never been this overtly anti-conservative where every monologue is spent mocking the administration. I don't disagree Colbert had more teeth on Comedy Central, but it's a sad day when the host of Late Night on fucking CBS is expected to provide a hard hidding interview.

 

[Tom_Cody]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

I regret this post.

 

[WrenchNinja]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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Yeah I'm sure she wants people attempting to kill her.

 

[manchego obfuscator]

she brought it on herself by hiring a communications manager who shares her own views, I hear

 

[JDSN]

"This black woman should shut her black woman mouth and not say women words because it can get Trump elected."
-Some concerned woke "Ally" posting on Poli-era most likely.

 

[Bramblebutt]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy.

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Well yeah. She knew pushing against AIPAC was going to generate controversy. Doesn't mean that her criticism isn't warranted and important.

 

[Deleted member 4482]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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intentionally courting controversy by being born

 

[night814]

Fuck. Ain't that the goddamn truth.

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Yeah that's some heavy truth that's cuts real deep. Mad props to her for dealing with this constant bullshit.

 

[Deleted member 38573]

What a soft interview but I'm glad it happened anyway

Shes an important voice that needs to be heard. Gotta drag the dems as left as possible. Fuck them spineless fake centrists

 

[Iloelemen]

Go Omar, go and slay..


You know what instead of people whining over the words she use, why not support her for the things she do? Why not try protecting her?

 

[Jersey_Tom]

Go Omar, go and slay..


You know what instead of people whining over the words she use, why not support her for the things she do? Why not try protecting her?

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You can support her while also pointing out that she has the propensity to put her foot in her mouth on certain things.

Her general positions are worth defending. How she goes about pontificating on those positions needs work.

 

[Deleted member 38573]

She honestly never needed to apologise for the benjamins tweet.

 

[Iloelemen]

You can support her while also pointing out that she has the propensity to put her foot in her mouth on certain things.

Her general positions are worth defending. How she goes about pontificating on those positions needs work.

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What do you mean by "propensity to put her foot in her mouth"?

Why is she always subjected to this impossibly high standard? Why is it that some people are more willing to join the Republicans in criticizing her instead of uniting with her?
Shouldn't the dems unify?

 

[astroturfing]

why is she controversial in America again? seems like a sensible and thoughtful person. HOW do people get suspicious and scared of her? i've never in my life seen such an over-reaction to a completely normal and even likable politician (most seem so fake).

is it because of the scarf and her skin color? do people think she has some hidden extremist agenda and actually wants to behead non-believers and all white people or something? it's baffling.

 

[Huncho_Houdini]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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I can easily call someone a victim when they get death threats and their name/image smeared with links to 9/11.

 

[Powdered Egg]

"This black woman should shut her black woman mouth and not say women words because it can get Trump elected."
-Some concerned woke "Ally" on posting on Poli-era most likely.

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Lmao

 

[maxxpower]

why is she controversial in America again? seems like a sensible and thoughtful person. HOW do people get suspicious and scared of her? i've never in my life seen such an over-reaction to a completely normal and even likable politician (most seem so fake).

is it because of the scarf and her skin color? do people think she has some hidden extremist agenda and actually wants to behead non-believers and all white people or something? it's baffling.

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1. Muslim 2. Black 3. Woman

 

[Jeb]

What do you mean by "propensity to put her foot in her mouth"?

Why is she always subjected to this impossibly high standard? Why is it that some people are more willing to join the Republicans in criticizing her instead of uniting with her?
Shouldn't the dems unify?

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Dem politicians aren't ditching special interests.

The whole unifying idea is for the dem voters to accept the dems shittiness.

 

[Necromanti]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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If some of the things she is saying is controversial, then there's something fundamentally and collectively wrong with the country and its current state of politics.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

You can support her while also pointing out that she has the propensity to put her foot in her mouth on certain things.

Her general positions are worth defending. How she goes about pontificating on those positions needs work.

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Well I'm totally a feminist and a male ally so you must understand I don't condone sexual assault but she really should have thought twice before leaving the house wearing that skirt.

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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Pointing out the influence of lobbyists, which is something we applaud almost universally when it comes to the NRA, fossil fuel industry, financial services and banking industry, Saudis etc. does not suddenly become some attention seeking "She was asking for it" just because bigots and people that profit from said lobbyists join hands to smear her for being a Muslim immigrant.

 

[FranktheRabbit]

why is she controversial in America again? seems like a sensible and thoughtful person. HOW do people get suspicious and scared of her? i've never in my life seen such an over-reaction to a completely normal and even likable politician (most seem so fake).

is it because of the scarf and her skin color? do people think she has some hidden extremist agenda and actually wants to behead non-believers and all white people or something? it's baffling.

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Yes, religion, sex and skin color all play a role. Her biggest offense though is acknowledging that Palestinians are human beings worthy of humane treatment, human dignity and autonomy, and for espousing the belief that maybe the U.S. shouldn't explicitly or tacitly endorse every Israeli or Likud backed policy that deprives Palestinians of basic human rights.

Very controversial positions here in the U.S. . . . Though they shouldn't be.

 

[Jersey_Tom]

What do you mean by "propensity to put her foot in her mouth"?

Why is she always subjected to this impossibly high standard? Why is it that some people are more willing to join the Republicans in criticizing her instead of uniting with her?
Shouldn't the dems unify?

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On multiple occasions, as a public figure, she's muddled up her general points with brief zingers or in the most latest issue, lacked sensitivity when discussing certain topics in relation towards pointing out things which are unifying.

I genuinely think we'd be remiss if we didn't point out these kinds of things, not as a means of disqualifying her, but still as someone who is a representative of a progressive agenda that we should hold them accountable for failings in sensitivity and tone. 100% she's unfairly treated and in many cases she's held to an unfair standard or subjected to hypocritical lines of accusation, such as people accusing her of dual loyalty.

However, speaking as a person who has a very personal connection to 9/11 for instance, who every day goes to work and from the 50th floor of my building sees the footprints of two buildings that were brought down by maniacs who hijacked four planes and killed thousands of people, I think it's a little insensitive to simply refer to that in the same reverence as what you'd call a group of kids who shoplifted candy from a convenience store.

Considering we just had a thread that went on close to 400 replies over two days where people, myself included, piled on Candace Owens for minimizing Hitler's atrocities during the Holocaust as well as the right-wing "unifying" around her to normalize that I find it difficult to believe we should not also be able to point out that Omar's comments also don't meet a certain standard that we hold people who aren't elected to any office.

Well I'm totally a feminist and a male ally so you must understand I don't condone sexual assault but she really should have thought twice before leaving the house wearing that skirt.

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I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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No. If a white man had made a Bibi joke, criticized AIPAC, and called Stephen Miller a white nationalist there wouldn't be any controversy. In fact, white men do that pretty often and don't catch any flak.

They also don't get their words ripped completely out of context about 9/11 and get called a terrorist by the GOP.

 

[Deleted member 1445]

On multiple occasions, as a public figure, she's muddled up her general points with brief zingers or in the most latest issue, lacked sensitivity when discussing certain topics in relation towards pointing out things which are unifying.

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Give examples for these occasions, along with your reason as to why "putting her foot in her mouth" is an apt description for it.

 

[Jersey_Tom]

Give examples for these occasions, along with your reason as to why "putting her foot in her mouth" is an apt description for it.

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If you read my whole post I gave you one such example.

 

[Deleted member 1445]

If you read my whole post I gave you one such example.

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I read it three times, where is this example you're talking about?

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

I'm not sure what you're getting at here

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I'm highlighting how ridiculous and offensive it is victim blame someone being smeared in the media and receiving constant death threats for doing nothing wrong by comparing it to how ridiculous it would seem to blame a woman wearing a short skirt for being raped.

I thought it was quite clear.

The fact that you just doubled down and decided to equate Ilhan Omar saying "US politicians should not be beholden to Israel and AIPAC" with Candace Owens going "You know, Hitler wasn't all that bad" shows just how much you don't get it.

 

[Jersey_Tom]

I read it three times, where is this example you're talking about?

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[Jersey_Tom]

The fact that you just doubled down and decided to equate Ilhan Omar saying "US politicians should not be beholden to Israel and AIPAC" with Candace Owens going "You know, Hitler wasn't all that bad" shows just how much you don't get it.

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Omar's comments towards AIPAC wasn't what I was referring to. Rather it's the comments she made to CAIR in reference to 9/11.

 

[Deleted member 24907]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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Gonna have to see the receipts on the bolded

 

[Iloelemen]

On multiple occasions, as a public figure, she's muddled up her general points with brief zingers or in the most latest issue, lacked sensitivity when discussing certain topics in relation towards pointing out things which are unifying.

I genuinely think we'd be remiss if we didn't point out these kinds of things, not as a means of disqualifying her, but still as someone who is a representative of a progressive agenda that we should hold them accountable for failings in sensitivity and tone. 100% she's unfairly treated and in many cases she's held to an unfair standard or subjected to hypocritical lines of accusation, such as people accusing her of dual loyalty.

However, speaking as a person who has a very personal connection to 9/11 for instance, who every day goes to work and from the 50th floor of my building sees the footprints of two buildings that were brought down by maniacs who hijacked four planes and killed thousands of people, I think it's a little insensitive to simply refer to that in the same reverence as what you'd call a group of kids who shoplifted candy from a convenience store.

Considering we just had a thread that went on close to 400 replies over two days where people, myself included, piled on Candace Owens for minimizing Hitler's atrocities during the Holocaust as well as the right-wing "unifying" around her to normalize that I find it difficult to believe we should not also be able to point out that Omar's comments also don't meet a certain standard that we hold people who aren't elected to any office.



I'm not sure what you're getting at here.

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What the reply is getting at is that you sound like a victim blamer, victim blaming someone who has been smeared and and has received tons of Islamophobia, a victim blamer who joins the same people defending Candace Owens in smearing a black Muslim progressive woman, all under the guise of being "progressive ™"

Instead of doing something like what a typical white person would do which is to get angry everytime a black muslim woman speaks something that challenges the regressivities, why not understand her, the context of what she's saying, the perspective she's bringing?

Instead of being a Republican, why not just stop being one?

 

[Deleted member 1445]

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That's what you call "having a propensity to put her foot in her mouth"? This lame duck? Really? You have a smell on you.

 

[Fisty]

In every one of these instances Omar has intentionally courted controversy. I don't know how anyone can call her a victim. She's getting exactly the response she wants: fury from the right that prompts white knights on the left.

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This is a shit take of the situation and her actions

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

I read it three times, where is this example you're talking about?

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Republicans falsely claim Ilhan Omar denied 9/11 attackers were terrorists

A Republican congressman has spread false allegations that the US representative Ilhan Omar denied the September 11 hijackers were terrorists, as part of a new wave of abuse directed at her by some conservatives.

Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas shared a tweet falsely reporting that Omar had said she "does not consider [September 11] a terrorist attack on the USA by terrorists", while accusing the Minnesota congresswoman of playing down the attack.

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Crenshaw was joined by Ronna McDaniel, the Republican party chairwoman, who claimed Omar had shown she was "anti-American", and the Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, who questioned Omar's loyalty to the US during a broadcast on Wednesday morning.

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The latest round of attacks on Omar by Republicans was prompted by the publication on Tuesday of a snippet from a speech she gave last month to an event hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), in which she referred to the September 11 attacks.

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But a video of Omar's full speech shows that the disputed remark followed from comments only a minute earlier in which Omar did mention terrorism. She complained that Islam was discussed in schools only in relation to Muslim terrorists.

"It doesn't matter how good you are if you, one day, find yourself in a school where other religions are talked about, but when Islam is mentioned, we are only talking about terrorists, and if you say something, you are sent to the principal's office," she said.

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My boy Tom needs to stop getting his takes from Fox News.

 

[Jersey_Tom]

What the reply is getting at is that you sound like a victim blamer, victim blaming someone who has been smeared and and has received tons of Islamophobia, a victim blamer who joins the same people defending Candace Owens in smearing a black Muslim progressive woman, all under the guise of being "progressive ™"

Instead of doing something like what a typical white person would do which is to get angry everytime a black muslim woman speaks something that challenges the regressivities, why not understand her, the context of what she's saying, the perspective she's bringing?

Click to shrink...

My concern over the 9/11 comment has nothing to do with the color of my skin. Rather it has to do with the very real fact that I dealt with not knowing whether friends and family of mine were even alive when I, as a middle school student, was told by my principal on a Tuesday morning that two planes had just hit the World Trade Center. And when I walked home that day to my home on the Jersey Shore, I could look north and still see the smoke rising from what was then the pile of rubble left behind in Lower Manhattan, miles away that I was. And now as someone who works in that area, who sees the reminder of that every single day.

So please, don't minimize my feelings on that to "you're just being a typical white person." Though you likely don't mean to, I find that extremely insensitive.

Despite that I understand the context of what she's saying. However I view her description there of 9/11 there as very unfortunate and can understand why people would latch onto that as someone who views those events through a lens other than blind American nationalistic pride when I say that I don't find that comment 100% acceptable.

 

[Don Fluffles]

My concern over the 9/11 comment has nothing to do with the color of my skin. Rather it has to do with the very real fact that I dealt with not knowing whether friends and family of mine were even alive when I, as a middle school student, was told by my principal on a Tuesday morning that two planes had just hit the World Trade Center. And when I walked home that day to my home on the Jersey Shore, I could look north and still see the smoke rising from what was then the pile of rubble left behind in Lower Manhattan, miles away that I was. And now as someone who works in that area, who sees the reminder of that every single day.

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So you'd like Omar to treat 9/11 with more reverence and sensitivity out of respect for the victims and their families. Is that where you'd like to go?

 

[Deleted member 1445]

Jersey_Tom you haven't even given more than one example. One lame duck does not constitute a "propensity" or "pontificating on those positions". The example you posted doesn't even come near putting your foot in your mouth as well.

Your example-but-not-example aside, you talk in plurals, clearly implying that this is a common and regular thing with here, so, show us how she has a propensity, and how she wrongly pontificates on her positions.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Rather it has to do with the very real fact that I dealt with not knowing whether friends and family of mine were even alive

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Well were they

 

[Jersey_Tom]

So you'd like Omar to treat 9/11 with more reverence and sensitivity out of respect for the victims and their families. Is that where you'd like to go?

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I think Omar could have been a bit more sensitive towards the topic, yes.

CAIR itself was instrumental in a lot of advocacy work in New York and the surrounding area given the rising anti-Muslim sentiment that spread once the attackers and motives were known. Their work is and continues to be important, considering that many things happened in relation to 9/11 that I didn't agree with, such as surveillance of New York mosques by the NYPD and discrimination of those worshiping Islam or who happened to be from the Middle East. As such, I understand the general point that Omar was attempting to make. However, as a representative of a progressive agenda who's already done tremendous work that I have applauded her for, I think she at times needs to rethink or at least put more thought into what she says and how it can be taken.