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Omar’s Comments Need Context
Whenever you quote someone, it is important to provide context. For instance, assume someone says, “I wish Germany would have won.” Are they talking about a soccer game or World War II? Knowing that context matters.
Many Democrats are coming to the defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s recent comments by claiming she was taken out of context. So let’s look at the context on some of her recent comments.
First, a lot of people (including the President) have called out Omar for her “some people did something” comment. To many, “did something” sounds like an awfully cold way to describe Islamic fanatics getting on planes, slitting the throats of stewardesses, taking control of the planes, and then intentionally crashing them into buildings filled with people. One would think she could have found a better word than “something.” Maybe on that starts with a “T.” But let’s look at the context.
As you can see in the video, she is not having a discussion about 9/11. Instead, she is merely creating a lie about why and when the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was founded. While CAIR states that they were founded in 1994, Omar is trying to convince people that is was created to fight against the loss of civil liberties felt by all Muslims after the attacks on 9/11/2001. Who can forget the Muslim internment camps and … oh wait, that was the Japanese. The point being that the victims of 9/11 were not just those killed, but also people who had to put up with looks and awkward questions like, “You don’t really believe what those guys did, do you?” So you see, the context is she was trying to promote a lie, not commenting on a terror attack.
Another example that needs more context is Omar giggling like a schoolgirl while talking about al-Qaeda.
Here you can see that she isn’t laughing at al-Qaeda. She is laughing at people who react to the name “al-Qaeda” in a different way than they react to “America.” So in this context, she isn’t so much laughing about a terror group but laughing at people who do not see al-Qaeda and America as morally equivalent organizations.
Lastly, she has been criticized for making anti-Semitic remarks. There are too many of those to go through one by one, but I think we can understand that the true context of those remarks is simply that she doesn’t like Jewish people very much.
Remember, before you jump on the bandwagon and start criticizing people for their comments, make sure you understand the true context behind those comments.
Published in General
Thanks for reminding us, Vance, how important context is. And to add to your analysis, she doesn’t like Jews, Israel or (I suspect) Americans very much, either. She dismisses so many of our concerns and reactions to terrorism. I hope that helps.
Al-Qaeda, America… tomato, potato.
What an evil worldview she has.
Ah, I now understand. So she was promoting a lie and callously referring to 9/11 as “some people did something.”
Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool….
Yeah, people are out there saying that her words were taken out of context, but then they don’t provide any context that makes what she said less offensive. Lost in all this is the fact that the point she was trying to make about CAIR was completely false.
errr. that is worse, right?
Part of the problem is her accent. I hear “some *people* did some *thing*.” Not “something”. Her emphasis on “thing” makes it sounds extra trivial. They “did a thing.” sounds bad to me.
Of course, adding in the lies about the origins of CAIR and exaggerated victimization don’t make the context better.
I read in one or two places that she didn’t start wearing a hijab until after 9/11. To be provacative, I guess?
I would suggest it was to save her head from another muslim.
I saw the context for both remarks.
In the first video, I still think she was downplaying 9/11 and saying that America should not have reacted to it. In that video, the context doesn’t really help her.
In the second video, her views on the people who take more pride in Al Qaeda and Hezbollah that anyone takes in being American or English is unclear, but she clearly does not look upon those people with disdain (and it’s worth noting that her professor who is so proud of Al Qaeda is frequently seen on CNN.)
I don’t think context helps her all that much.
No, I don’t see a way to put a good spin on these comments. But the standard defense is “out of context” followed by “racism.” That’s about it. Of course, if they cared about context . . .