I apologize for yet another post about Mehdi Hasan, but he's become even more unbearable now than he was when he had his own show on MSNBC. Actually, now that I think about it, that goes for just about every former cable news host who's now doing his or her own podcast or Substack newsletter. As I wrote earlier, Hasan thought CBS News' story about Michigan Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed facing political attacks soon after deleting tweets about "infrastructure damage" on 9/11 was "super offensive and disgusting and Islamophobic."
The Bulwark's Sam Stein shared a sob story from Springfield, Ohio, that is supposed to convince us to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians indefinitely. It was originally granted by President Barack Obama in January 2010 for a period of 18 months to recover from an earthquake.
Springfield, Ohio -- Seven Haitians reported for ICE check-ins last Thursday. One was a woman who had given birth twenty days earlier and lost the baby. “She came to the office. She could not even walk,” he said. “But they put the shackle on her.”https://t.co/G4WJNZRraM
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 31, 2026
Stein's source is a piece in The Bulwark by Jim Swift, whose source is primarily Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church in Springfield. At the church, volunteers "raised money for the Haitian Support Center" and planned for a potluck and public faith witness at City Hall Plaza called "Unshackle Springfield." Swift writes:
For the black clergy gathered at Greater Grace Temple, the ankle monitors carried a historical meaning that could not be separated from their function. Rev. Adam Banks, a descendant of enslaved people, called them “technologically advanced ankle and wrist shackles that are still as heavy as they were for my ancestors.”
The devices, Banks argued, belong to a longer history of “anti-black containment,” restricting movement, separating families, and treating people “as problems to be patrolled instead of partners deserving protection.”
Denise Williams of the Springfield NAACP supplied the mobilization’s refrain: “Unshackle Springfield.”
“I’m scared. My skin is dark,” Williams said. She described Haitian families staying inside, turning off their lights, and closing their blinds. “They are not criminals,” she said. “What is the reason for shackles? Humiliation.”
Wait, wait, wait. So the woman who had lost a baby wasn't literally put in shackles — she was fitted with an ankle monitor. We're calling ankle monitors "shackles" now.
Tens of millions of Americans voted for this and I for one won’t forgive them. https://t.co/R3NTwkrf4Z
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 31, 2026
Your forgiveness - much like the rest of your input - is neither valued nor requested.
— American Incarnate (@USA_Incarnate) August 31, 2026
We’re not asking for your forgiveness clown. We would appreciate it though if you deported yourself to some other country since you think America sucks so much
— 🇺🇸El Greco (Ο Γραικός)🇬🇷 (@GrecoAmerican1) August 31, 2026
Nobody is asking for your forgiveness. Nobody gives a shit what you think.
— EZ (@notmyrlnmnemore) August 31, 2026
I wasn't seeking your forgiveness in the first place 😂
— J Po "luNatik" (@JPo_the_silent) August 31, 2026
— Kitcatsmeows (@Catarisper) August 31, 2026
Agreed, we're awful. You should go find a country you don't hate and move there instead.
— John Thardell (@amrond00) August 31, 2026
It isn't safe for immigrants here anymore! They should all leave immediately!
— Kyle (@KylePostingOnX) August 31, 2026
Oh no. Don't forgive me. What ever will I do? You hate me and my country anyway. You have my religion. You hate my way of life.
— Pious Paddock (@phonys0prano) August 31, 2026
As one of the tens of millions who voted for this, I have absolutely zero fucks to give about what you think.
— El Deep Stato Fake Parody (@IiiVindman) August 31, 2026
I didn’t hear anyone ask for your forgiveness.
— Henry Redmond (@He3787Henry) August 31, 2026
I certainly didn't.
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