In Solidarity

The recent attack-by-proxy on local citizen-activist Deeba Jafri is a prime example of the moral bankruptcy of what passes these days for a “conservative movement.”  Today’s GOP has clearly degenerated into a snarling tribe of shared hatreds, with Islamophobia seemingly just another scion of the old Southern Strategy.  Yes, the DNA of Kevin Phillips is strong here, without any of the intellectual heft that Mr. Phillips once tragically misapplied in service of the Republican Party (a party re-built to attract Dixiecrats of the North and South alike). 

Of course the same folks today seem to be “squishes,” as conservative activist Grover Norquist used to say, when it comes to neo-Nazis.   Very odd for a group of people who like to hurl around terms such as “anti-Semite.”

I don’t know much about Linda Sarsour. So, unlike others, I don’t feel the need to share quarter-baked opinions for the sake of seeing myself in print. I know she was involved with the Women’s March.  I know it has been said that her views on Palestinian rights “align” with those of the Democratic Socialists of America (referring here to BDS, where the current author holds a somewhat different perspective).  I know she has been recognized by Establishment bastions such as Time magazine.  I know her support for Bernie Sanders is hardly a radical position.

The point is that the intent behind the invocation of Deeba Jafri’s name, as some sort of link between activist Linda Sarsour and County Executive Calvin Ball (insofar as she met the former at an event and has volunteered for the latter) is disgraceful.  While the Howard County Republican Party should issue an apology to Ms. Jafri, everything about today’s GOP tells me that will not happen.

In solidarity, indeed.