As Twitchy told you, the New York Times recently caught up on current events and covered the anti-Semitism that’s infested the Women’s March since its earliest days. Jewish Voice for Peace executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson, for one, was pretty disturbed by the revelations. Not because of the anti-Semitism, mind you, but because these exposés make the Women’s March leadership look bad. And really, once you get to know them, they’re just nice people who are just trying to empower women (except white Jewish women, who don’t need to be empowered).
Well, go figure: Über-feminist Jill Filipovic thinks Vilkomerson is really onto something with this.
This is a good thread with a different perspective. I do think it’s valuable that progressive movements don’t focus on “taking down” those who are perceived to be imperfect. There’s far too much of that. But also, we cannot abide bigotry in the name of unity. https://t.co/PcCOuZM1nT
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
But we can abide some bigotry:
What I would like to see is genuine accountability. I will say I’ve seen Linda in particular make sincere efforts there. But overall we’ve heard mealy-mouthed claims that March leaders don’t reject individuals (like Farrakhan), but they do disagree with (some of) his ideas.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
And that’s very frustrating. There also does seem to be, to put it generously, a huge blind spot when it comes to Jewish people – and yes, some obvious anti-Semitism. Must we give people the grace and the ability to grow and learn? Absolutely. I do see the march leaders trying.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
They’re trying so hard, you guys.
But what I also see are leaders who feel pulled by the demands of various constituencies and at least some of whom don’t have a whole lot of history in feminist organizing. Not that they aren’t great organizers for other causes, but feminism seems to be somewhat new.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
I have a hard time thinking anyone who is a dedicated feminist can hear what Farrakhan says about women and stay in the room and clap. But then, it’s become basically impossible to discuss the women’s march within feminist communities at this point.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Many women rightly see a leadership of women of color coming under predictable attack – as always, as soon as women of color have some power, there’s a huge backlash, a series of smear campaigns, and attempts to take them down. This is true.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Many other women see the anti-Semitism (or apology for anti-Semitism) in some of the women’s march leaders’ words and actions and are horrified and appalled and are wondering why their progressive community doesn’t stand for them, too. This is also true.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
What I see and hear off of Twitter is that many feminists are genuinely torn – appalled by anti-Semitism from women we admired, also appalled by how the right-wing spin machine has helped to turn a grain of truth into a much larger and uglier and less-honest narrative…
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Ah, so it’s the “right-wing spin machine” who’s responsible for the anti-Semitism that’s permeated the Women’s March? Funny, we thought that was the anti-Semitic Women’s March leadership’s fault.
I don’t have a personal relationship with any of the leaders of the women’s march, and I have different feelings about each of them. It’s worth recognizing that they have felt under attack all year, and are reacting from that place – which is human, if not the most productive.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
I hope that they can take a step back and work to separate out attacks from right-wing hate-mongers from the critiques of many feminist women who were rooting for their success but who are now feeling (rightly) betrayed, angry and abandoned by their own community.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
I’m not saying that confronting Tamika about her actual words was a racist smear campaign. There is much more context and much longer history than this one NYT article.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
That’s true. Anyone who didn’t have their head buried in the sand has known that Tamika Mallory’s been a rabid anti-Semite for a while now.
To be clear, the New York Times piece is not part of a right-wing spin machine or a smear campaign. It’s a good piece of reporting. But there has been a year of right-wing smears, many outright lies or racist exaggerations. People are operating from within that fuller context.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
In my opinion, even within that fuller context, the kind of anti-Semitism we’ve seen from at least one WM leader is disqualifying for leadership in this particular movement. But recognizing that context is crucial to understanding the inter-feminist debates happening now.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Where does she come up with this stuff?
And understanding this context is crucial to figuring out how we build sustainable progressive movements led by mere humans, all of whom have blind spots and bigotries, some much more pronounced than others. Where do we draw hard lines? How do we allow for grace and evolution?
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
If we don’t believe people can and should change, what are we doing in progressive politics? At the same time, we can also say that our leaders deserve the same space to grow, but as leaders there’s a higher base line they should be starting from – and higher expectations.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Sometimes that means leaders step down. It doesn’t mean drumming them out of progressive activism, but it does mean there is a point where we can (and must) say anti-Semitism (and support of anti-Semitism or any other bigoted ideology) disqualifies you as a paid feminist leader.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Luckily I didn’t argue that it’s “just” a right-wing spin machine. And I say that there are a lot of criticisms coming from within feminist communities. But just because you haven’t seen the years-long attacks from the right doesn’t mean they haven’t been significant.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Any “attacks from the right” against the Women’s March leadership’s anti-Semitism were justified. Filipovic’s attempt to paint conservative criticism of the Women’s March as motivated by a desire to tear down women is disingenuous and dishonest.
Actually if you read the whole thread, you will find I say the opposite – that it’s disqualifying for progressive leaders. Discussing context and complications is a good thing.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 24, 2018
Would she ever grant conservative women leaders the chance for “grace and evolution” that she’s asking us to give the anti-Semites driving the Women’s March? We’re gonna go out on a limb and say no. Why can’t she just admit that anti-Semitic maggots like Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory are anti-Semitic maggots who make progressive feminists look even worse? Filipovic seems genuinely afraid to just admit the truth, which makes it awful hard to take her seriously as anyone other than a run-of-the-mill partisan hack.
The problem here is clearly not the actual antisemitism & antisemites but the evil conservative critics who dare to expose and publicly/forcefully denounce it. https://t.co/7vB1od75NN
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) December 24, 2018
Anti-Semitism is bad, but conservative critics of anti-Semitism are worse.
What a crap human being. https://t.co/8miq6mqB3v
— Nathan Wurtzel (slight return) (@NathanWurtzel) December 24, 2018
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