The US Democratic convention was a feast of the macabre. The Democrats resorted to desperate measures amid tightening polls ahead of November’s election. There was the spectre of children dying, the ghosts of racism past, the terror of white supremacy, the virtue of black supremacy, climate catastrophe prophecy and a daughter from the coveted Hispanic demographic who claimed that her father died because he trusted Donald Trump. But at least the Democrats have a sense of irony; the theme for the convention was “Uniting America”.
The convention featured Islamic activist Linda Sarsour who tweeted that she wanted to devaginate Ayaan Hirsi Ali after her criticism of political Islam. Sarsour was accused of anti-Semitism for saying Israel is “built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else”. She praised jihad at the Islamic Society of North America’s annual convention in 2017, saying: “I hope, that when we stand up to those who oppress our communities, that Allah accepts from us that as a form of jihad. We are struggling against tyrants and rulers not only abroad in the Middle East but here in the United States of America, where you have fascists and white supremacists and Islamophobes reigning in the White House.”
The Democrats’ election campaign is a socially divisive strategy that divides Americans by ethnicity and whips up hatred against one skin colour, white. Michelle Obama’s speech to the DNC showcased her favourite themes: racial division, drumming up fear, accusing political opponents of association with white supremacy, and using children as political capital. She said nothing about the ongoing violence of Black Lives Matter riots, the failure of Democrat-led states to enforce law and order, or the fact that most black Americans are murdered by other black Americans. She spoke about the chaotic state of COVID-19 in the US but was silent on the role of the Chinese Communist Party in facilitating the spread of the virus by censoring news of the outbreak.
Read the article by Jennifer Oriel in The Australian.