“I say raise hell, make people uncomfortable,” Omar said, according to the publication. “Because here’s the truth. For far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of living as second class citizens and I’m tired of it.”
There are lots of videos and news reports going on about Saturday's protest at the CAIR event at the Hilton Hotel in Woodland Hills featuring Ilhan Omar and Hassan Shibly. I was there from about 3:30 to 5:30 and left before it ended. Aside from what I have already posted, here are some of my observations.
I am not an expert on estimating crowds, but I am guessing there about 1,000 people present. The only ones who showed up to demonstrate on the other side of the street were Jewish Voice for Peace advocates like former b-actress Estee Chandler, and about ten representatives of the Marxist National Lawyers Guild, who were distinguished by their lime green caps. There were also some inter-faith type folks and people with signs reading, "I stand with Ilmar". One guy showed up in priest-type robes as if he were going to hold a mass. The total was about 20. They mostly stood silent.
Our crowd consisted of a good mix of people, older, younger, Jews who came to speak out against anti-semitism, and a few folks with Israeli flags. There were, of course, many American flags. There was also a large contingent of Trump supporters with MAGA caps and other Trump paraphernalia. It was a boisterous crowd and a couple of people brought bullhorns (unfortunately). Someone who had rented a room at the Hilton hung a white banner out the window reading, "CAIR hates Jews".The main purpose of those who organized the protest was to speak out against Omar's anti-Jewish statements and anti-semitism in general. That was why I showed up with two handmade posters denouncing anti-semitism. Some showed up who wanted to make a statement about things like sharia etc. As with any large crowd of protesters, some will say things that you or I might not say. Saturday was no exception, but 99% of the people conducted themselves appropriately. I had received an announcement from one of the chief organizers asking people to act respectfully.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of near skirmishes when some young guys showed up on our side of the street to yell things like, "F-Trump". In return, one of them, a young black kid about 20, was called the N-word repeatedly by a guy around 50 with a bullhorn. I was a witness because I was nearby. Many others on our side reacted strongly against it knowing it would be used to make us all look bad. Frankly, I am not sure whether this man was a plant from the other side because he was one of the most vocal people there, and was, frankly, obnoxious. I was tempted to confront this guy, but the cops were moving in and the last thing I needed was to get in a confrontation at such an event with the cops standing right there. In retrospect, I should have. I did, however, speak privately with the black kid a few minutes later and express my regret that such things were said to him. He and his friend shook my hand.
The local news media didn't give it as much play on the 11 0'clock news as I thought they would. The coverage was brief, most said that about 400 people were present, and virtually all of the channels only mentioned Omar's quote about, "It's the Benjamins baby" as being the reason for the protest-"which some considered anti-semitic". Really? One female local ABC news reporter gave fawning coverage to Omar and her remarks inside the event calling for justice or some such rot.
Which leads me to another point: Certain clips have shown Omar telling the CAIR crowd that they should "go out and raise hell and make people uncomfortable". She talked about all the "injustice" in America. This from someone who came with her family as refugees from Somalia as a child, the country that gave her and her family shelter and offered her the chance to get an education and get elected to Congress. Sorry, but this is one occasion you want to tell someone to get the hell out and go back where they came from. See how she likes life in Somalia. There, I said it.
As to those who chanted things like, "No sharia", while that's not my style at these events, I won't criticize them because we are really reaching the point where stronger things need to be said. As you can see from the "interview" I had with a CAIR representative that both he and I videotaped, I chose to take the high road even while telling him what I thought of CAIR and its local leader, Hussam Ayloush. I cannot swear, however, that 6 months from now I won't be chanting, "No sharia".
All in all, it was a darn good protest, and we made a strong statement about anti-semitism. I still maintain, however, that nothing good comes out of a bullhorn.
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