I remember very well the hatred and prejudice shown to Muslims both after 9/11 and during the TFG campaign. The TFG Muslim ban was a sad and disgusting stunt. Now the RWNJs want to demonize and attack LGBTQ individuals for political gain. The attacks on drag performances, trans youths seeking gender affirming care and now Pride merchandise are all part of a pattern that seeks to replicate the hatred and prejudice that previously inflicted on Muslims.
I remember TFG attacking Muslims as part of his campaign to make America great. Hatred of the "other" is part of the MAGA mindset and now the MAGA assholes are targeting LGBTQ individuals.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/targets-pride-month-boycott-shows-disturbing-gop-plans-rcna86496?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma&taid=6474da2d3e63f90001080e7f&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
These physical threats of violence are deeply alarming — but not that surprising. They are the expected, and even intended, result of the concerted campaign by both Republican-elected officials and leading conservative voices to make all things LGBTQ-related “toxic.” They also strike a nerve for other communities, such as my own Muslim American community, whose members have experienced the wrath and concerted attacks from conservatives with similar objectives — to alienate, make toxic and further marginalize from mainstream society — in the past. And for those who doubly identify as LGBTQ and Muslim, this new method of attack is a sore reminder of the harm this relentless conservative effort to marginalize them is capable of.
“The goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic for brands,” right-wing commentator Matt Walsh wrote on Twitter. That sentiment was reiterated by conservative outlet Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles, who urged his listeners “to make that symbol toxic, the pride flag symbol, we need to make that toxic.” ....
The extreme voices on the right did their best to make anything Muslim inherently toxic. For example, GOP members of Congress in 2009 claimed that Muslim American organizations were planting “spies” as interns in congressional offices. Other members of Congress including then-Rep. Michele Bachmann spread Islamophobic rumors that Muslims were “infiltrating” the government. The goal was to keep us out of American politics.
Some on the right even demanded in 2011 that Urban Outfitters stop selling fabrics bearing the pattern of the Arabic scarf known as a kaffiyeh because they claimed it was tied to terrorism. Like Target, Urban Outfitters gave in to the bigots, pulling the item “due to the sensitive nature” of the scarf while apologizing “if we offended anyone.”.....
Conservatives’ goal of making Pride merchandise “toxic” is not just bigoted, and it’s not just about merchandise. Ultimately, conservatives and GOP leaders saw that anti-Muslim hate was a losing strategy. We need to show them that anti-LGBTQ bigotry will not help them. Only then will they stop.
There is a method to these attacks and we cannot ignore the hatred and bigotry that these MAGA assholes are trying to generate.
BTW, my youngest child is LGBTQ and we went into our local Target looking for the Pride display and we were sad when it was not up.
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