THREAD

Perhaps the reason @IlhanMN has gotten pushback is because the way she defines “systems of oppression” encompasses, well, just about everything our society likes.

Don’t believe me? Well, follow me down memory lane... https://twitter.com/ilhanmn/status/1280679586980823042

First, the quote that resulted in so much blowback: @IlhanMN suggested that we tear down our political and economic systems.

But surely this must just be a complaint about excesses, right? Crony capitalism, that kinda thing?

Wrong! In a classic case of “when someone shows you who they are, believe them” it’s clear that what Omar is going for is capitalism.

Here @IlhanMN says that, among other things, we need to “dismantle” capitalism.

Again, her words. Not some esoteric interpretation.

And this isn’t some one-off, tough day kind of sentiment for her. She expresses these thoughts pretty frequently.

And it isn’t just capitalism that’s the problem, of course.

Color blind admissions - where schools don’t convey benefits to applicants based on their race - also must be torn down.

Count me as skeptical that this mentality won’t extend beyond colleges.

Our system of law and order also has to go, because it was “built to criminalize” people of color.

There are lots of genuine grievances w/ how law enforcement impacts people of color. But the notion that “the criminal justice system has been built to criminalize” PoC is absurd.

Naturally it follows from this that one of the oppressive systems we need to abolish is the police.

I guess just laws in general?

Add the Bible to the list.

The refugee and asylum system that allowed her to escape war torn Somalia and not only create a new life for herself and her family in America but to seek one of the highest offices in the land is also “oppressive”

Ditto our immigration system and ICE (the only alternative, to be clear, is open borders).

Trains? Trains.

You already know what she thinks about Israel.

Credit where due though - she also criticizes Saudi Arabia. Would that she would apply the same standard to the rest of the Arab world as she does to Israel.

Employer provided healthcare, something the majority of Americans have, do, and will surely continue to support. That, too, is oppressive.

Anything that stands in the way of a radical environmental agenda, apparently.

And in what should be a surprise to absolutely no one, she thinks the monuments have got to go too.

So, sure. If @IlhanMN would like to dismantle all of these “systems of oppression” it’s a free country and she’s welcome to try her hand at the democratic process.

But she shouldn’t be surprised when she faces resistance when she suggests upending the American existence.