My reflections this #MLKDay:

“The events of January 6th would be uppermost in the mind of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It would weigh on him this January and every month as well. 1/15 “Relatedly, America is in a crucible as authoritarians, driven by racism, seek to erase the progress of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In this maelstrom Dr. King would hold a single truth as a retort: We aren’t going back! 2/15

Multiple Subtweet: The number of non-Jews and Jews suggesting the community is responsible for the antisemitism they experience is disappointing and irresponsible. A thread. Arguing that Jews must earn the right to a society free of antisemitism is bullshit and I can’t believe that I see it flowing out of some of your mouths and fingers this week. It’s unprincipled. It also is antithetical to anti-racism. Let me expand below.

Approximately an hour ago an armed Trump paramilitary faction attempted to storm Oregon’s state legislative building with armed weapons. Oregon law enforcement repelled the first repeated attempts with crowd control weapons. @WStatesCenter continues to monitor the situation. thedailybeast.com/heavily-armed-…

My take on today’s #MillionMAGAMarch has much more to do with American media and our own social movements for justice than the alt-right. Okay here we go. I’m starting to see more posts on social media from friends sharing the loss of friends and love ones to #COVID19 and it’s heartbreaking. Eight months later and here we are again and with even more significance.

I chose to enlist in the U.S. Navy at age 18. From the age of 14 I knew that is what I wanted to do. I didn’t join so I could hurt or bully anyone, I joined because I thought it was how I could best serve my country and my world. I was discharged for medical reasons and eventually found other ways to give back to the place I love.

I want to thank folks who have reached out via text and messenger to see how I’m doing in the wake of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd by law enforcement in #Minneapolis. #ICantBreathe 1/12 For those not part of those private conversations, I haven’t posted publicly on the topic because I don’t know what else to say —to you, to myself or to my nation. 2/12

[THREAD]

I’m just getting onto Twitter in any real way today. My free time has been consumed by yet another attempt by white nationalists to intimidate the residents of Portland. But story was all over my feed just now.

washingtonpost.com/world/national… @IlhanMN @RashidaTlaib I Urged The Israeli Government Not To Normalize Trump

I'm deeply disturbed by the strengthening relationship between the Trump and Netanyahu administrations. Last year, I pleaded with the Israeli government not to align with the white nationalist influenced White House:

It is imperative to reject the instinct to conflate white nationalism with white supremacy. U.S. white supremacy is a system of social control and disparities formed to exploit indigenous populations, Blacks, poor whites, immigrants, and women’s sexual reproduction to maintain the political, cultural, economic, and social domination of those identified as white.

[thread] In 1968, 51 years ago, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) was murdered by a white supremacist. He was only 39 years old. @WStatesCenter #MLK51 Many people today call MLK an “American hero.” I think it is both just and accurate to do so. As we do, I hope we will remember that he was also an American rebel and patriot. #MLK51

It’s been nearly 12 hours since Senator John Cornyn posted a tweet in which he quotes the deceased Italian dictator and mass murderer, Benito Mussolini without any context. @JohnCornyn @NRSC @SenatePress Senator Cornyn has so far refused to provide an explanation that comes close to resembling the words, “total clarity.” @JohnCornyn @NRSC @SenatePress

As we learn more about this morning’s attack on a Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburg, many are wondering what they can do. Here are some thoughts. Post yours as well. You can’t wait for leaders to tell you what to do. You have to publicly act and organize your friends to do the same. 1. Buy chalk and chalk #IAmGeorgeSoros on a sidewalk or draw it on paper; take a photo and post it on Facebook. Soros has become an euphemism for “Jew” and irresponsible political attacks on him have made it unsafe for the Jewish community;

This is not okay. This is not okay. This is not okay. This is not okay. This is not okay.

https://twitter.com/nytpolitics/status/1054555302580940805

If we allow antisemitism to fester, it will sprout. White nationalists don’t bring antisemitism to our national politics, they simply organize the antisemitism that already exists. #IAmGeorgeSoros