Hate Mail of the Weak

A glance at this week's insecure racists projecting their hate at me and other people of color

Welcome to another episode of Hate Mail of the Weak. This week we cover the response from racists, outraged that I dared condemn the killing of civilians and American citizens.

I periodically share this more personal side of my advocacy for human rights because it is important to me that you, my gracious supporters, see what I see. Apologies in advance for the harsh language in the screen shots below.

Let’s Address This in a new issue of “Hate Mail of the Weak.”

It started when a I made a public plea to uphold the Leahy Laws and the will of the vast majority of Americans—and stop funding Netanyahu to bomb civilians. I wrote the following tweet in respond to Antony Blinken announcing $157M in aid to Lebanon.

As a reminder, it’s true that the vast majority of Americans—more than 61%—want the United States to uphold human rights law and stop funding Netanyahu.

The responses were not so forgiving, and called me “terrorist” for my crime of advocating for peace and justice. I suppose I’m left wondering if this person considers 61% of all Americans, or 203M people, terrorists as well?

The irony is that meanwhile, this person follows me on social media. Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I tend to not follow people who I believe are “terrorist shills.”

As my tweet gained popularity, more right wing extremists decided to enter the discourse. Apparently calling for peace means you’re a “terrorist” and “hate America.”

I am reminded instead of the wisdom of the late, great, James Baldwin, who beautifully said, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

Next, I admit I was caught off guard with the accusation from a person named Buddy. Now, somehow calling for peace and a stoppage of arms trade means “racism against white people.” I’m not sure how that works, but it is fascinating what people must think of themselves if they see a call for an end to war as somehow “anti-white.”

And the final icing on the bitter cake came from Jack Robinson, who viewed condemnations of a foreign government killing an American citizen as “supporting terrorism.” Remarkable how “America first” goes out the window so easily.

To be sure, this is just a snapshot of the 1000+ such messages I received in the last week—all for my ‘crime’ of calling for a ceasefire, release of all hostages, and an end to hostilities. Sadly these are the times in which we live, and they reemphasize how much more critical it is we activate, organize, and be relentless in our calls for justice and humanity.

Our response must instead be to continue to share our stories and our values of inclusion and compassion. We do this by investing our time and resources to elevate people doing the work and building that more just and compassionate future. You have my promise to always speak up and uphold justice above all else, period. Let us continue to demand that more humane and just future for this generation and the next.

In closing, let me reemphasize my appreciation to each of you for supporting my work and advocacy. Whether you subscribe for free, or at $6/mo, or at $50/year, or sign up as a Founding Member at $500/year—your support to keep building is critical.

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Previous Episodes of Hate Mail of the Weak

• Responding to Anti-Immigrant bigotry

• Responding to Anti-Black racism

• Responding to Anti-Muslim hate

• Responding to Racism in Academia