Donald Trumps election was a watershed moment. Even those like me, who had previously pulled levers for candidates of both parties, felt that Mr. Trump had not only violated all sense of common decency, but, alarmingly, that he seemed to have no idea that there even existed such an unspoken code of civility and dignity. Now was the time to build a broad coalition to resist the genital-grabber with the nuclear codes.
The Womens March moved me. O.K., so Madonna and Ashley Judd said some nutty things. But every movement has its excesses, I reasoned. Mr. Trump had campaigned on attacking the weakest and most vulnerable in our society. Now was the time to put aside petty differences and secondary issues to oppose his presidency.
What wasnt to like?
A lot, as it turns out. The leaders of the Womens March, arguably the most prominent feminists in the country, have some chilling ideas and associations. Far from erecting the big tent so many had hoped for, the movement they lead has embraced decidedly illiberal causes and cultivated a radical tenor that seems determined to alienate all but the most woke.
Start with Ms. Sarsour, by far the most visible of the quartet of organizers. It turns out that this homegirl in a hijab, as one of many articles about her put it, has a history of disturbing views, as advertised by . . . Linda Sarsour.
There are comments on her Twitter feed of the anti-Zionist sort: Nothing is creepier than Zionism, she wrote in 2012. And, oddly, given her status as a major feminist organizer, there are more than a few that seem to make common cause with anti-feminists, like this from 2015: Youll know when youre living under Shariah law if suddenly all your loans and credit cards become interest-free. Sound nice, doesnt it? She has dismissed the anti-Islamist feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the most crude and cruel terms, insisting she is not a real woman and confessing that she wishes she could take away Ms. Alis vagina this about a woman who suffered genital mutilation as a girl in Somalia.
But just last month, Ms. Sarsour proved that her past is prologue. On July 16, the official Twitter feed of the Womens March offered warm wishes to Assata Shakur. Happy birthday to the revolutionary #AssataShakur! read the tweet, which featured a #SignOfResistance, in Assatas honor a pink and purple Pop Art-style portrait of Ms. Shakur, better known as Joanne Chesimard, a convicted killer who is on the F.B.I.s list of most wanted terrorists.
Like many others, CNNs Jake Tapper noticed the outrageous tweet. Shakur is a cop-killer fugitive in Cuba, he tweeted, going on to mention Ms. Sarsours troubling past statements. Any progressives out there condemning this? he asked.
In the face of this sober criticism, Ms. Sarsour cried bully: @jaketapper joins the ranks of the alt-right to target me online. Welcome to the party.
Theres no doubt that Ms. Sarsour is a regular target of far-right groups, but her experience of that onslaught is what makes her smear all the more troubling. Indeed, the idea that Jake Tapper is a member of the alt-right is the kind of delirious, fact-free madness that fuels Donald Trump and his supporters.
Ms. Perez also expressed her admiration for a Black Panther convicted of trying to kill six police officers: Love learning from and sharing space with Baba Sekou Odinga.
But the public figure both women [Mallory & Perez] regularly fawn over is Louis Farrakhan.
On May 11, Ms. Mallory posted a photo with her arm around Mr. Farrakhan, the 84-year-old Nation of Islam leader notorious for his anti-Semitic comments, on Twitter and Instagram. Thank God this man is still alive and doing well, she wrote. It is one of several videos and photos and quotes that Ms. Mallory has posted of Mr. Farrakhan.
Ms. Perez is also a big fan. In the fall, she posted a photo in which she holds hands with Mr. Farrakhan, writing, There are many times when I sit with elders or inspirational individuals where I think, I just wish I could package this and share this moment with others. Shes also promoted video of Mr. Farrakhan dropping knowledge and another in which he says he is speaking truth to power.
What is Mr. Farrakhans truth? Readers born after 1980 will probably have little idea, since he has largely remained out of the headlines since the Million Man March he organized in 1995. But his views, which this editorial page has called twisted, remain as appalling as ever.
And dont you forget, when its God who puts you in the ovens, its forever! he warned Jews in a speech at a Nation of Islam gathering in Madison Square Garden in 1985. Five years later, he remained unreformed: The Jews, a small handful, control the movement of this great nation, like a radar controls the movement of a great ship in the waters. Or this metaphor, directed at Jews: You have wrapped your tentacles around the U.S. government, and you are deceiving and sending this nation to hell. He called Hitler a very great man on national television. Judaism, he insists, is a gutter religion.
[...]
Mr. Farrakhan is also an unapologetic racist. He insists that whites are a race of devils and that white people deserve to die.
Feminists will find little to cheer in his 1950s views of gender: Your professional lives cant satisfy your soul like a good, loving man. Recently he told Jay-Z that he should make Beyoncé put on some clothes. He also opposes gay marriage.
If that wasnt enough of a rap sheet, Mr. Farrakhan also loves Scientology and believes 9/11 was a false flag operation.
But the nightmare of the Trump administration is the proof text for why all of this matters. We just saw what happens to legitimate political parties when they fall prey to movements that are, at base, anti-American. That is true of the populist, racist alt-right that helped deliver Mr. Trump the White House and are now hollowing out the Republican Party. And it can be true of the progressive resistance regardless of how chic, Instagrammable and celebrity-laden the movement may seem. Recall that only a few months ago, Keith Ellison, a man with a long history of defending and working with anti-Semites, was almost made leader of the Democratic National Committee.
Will progressives have more spine than conservatives in policing hate in their ranks? Or will they ignore it in their fury over the Trump administration?
more at NYTimes.com by Bari Weiss
