22 Comments

When I watched this it was so weird. I could not believe Girdusky said this, then denied he meant it not to be racist!

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I agree with everything you’ve said Qasim. Thank you for laying it out straight 🙂

But,

Where I would like to ask “When can we start calling Hamas “freedom fighters”? In my mind, they’re not terrorists.

During WW2 we praised the French Resistance (& in other countries I’m sure), while the Germans called them terrorists.

I am sad for the people who’ve been taken hostage or died in Israel, but I am even sadder for the Palestinians who have to fight to be able to live in peace in their own land (& fight an uneven war.)

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Excellent analysis of the Saga at CNN and its aftermaths.

After reading and understanding and then digesting it ........... I came back to the Basic Question raised by Qasim ......... Why the Hell CNN Invited him !!!! What was the Objective and what WAS EXPECTED ???

One mistake leads to a series of mistakes and then the chain reaction as we try to clean up the Dirt !!!

Happy Halloween to All , This Election is A Trick N Treat for ALL OF US ...... Lol :-) I am now going to listen to my favorite Song ..... Hello Samantha Goodbye Sam ( whatever it means )

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CNN went for a cheap "hot take" guy, and thought inviting a Nazi sympathizer to a panel with brown people made for good theater. Then, when he lives down to prior behaviors, they backpedal like mad, posing as though they had no idea he could say such a thing.

Calling a rally with a parade of speakers uttering talking points from the Nazi platform a Nazi gathering is fair. A tasteless comment, painting Hasan as a Hamas leader when he said he'll speak up for Palestine isn't. Palestinians and Hamas are not synonymous, the same way Republicans and Americans are not universally synonymous. CNN's programming gets more and more disgusting and irresponsible every day.

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Very well said.

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For once the reactions in the studio was on point. But they should have kicked him out of there also.

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"Just because I do Nazi things don't you dare call me a Nazi."

I so hope next week's election is a blue colonic for MAGA.

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They truly lack any sense of self awareness

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He didn't even apologize to Mehdi. He apologized to the host when she confronted him on that absolutely disgusting comment. While I'm glad he was removed from the panel, it speaks to the network's standing that they invited him in the first place.

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Yep it was a non-pology

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Given CNN's change of ownership/leadership/identity, they may be fumbling about whom to invite as guest "pundits". As far as right wing nationalists go, who DO you call to represent them, The very definition of right wing nationalist pretty much precludes anyone with an accurate or realistic view of US history, culture, economy, politics.....

For far too many decades all Americans were fed lies and pap throughout the public school system which fell into line on idealized, sanitized and fictionalized versions of the nations, omitting most meaningful information about our systemic racism, our flirtation with Nazism, our misappropriation of truth. Really, much of this mythology is what right wing nationalists rely upon to fuel their outrage at the waves of new scholarship and reckoning with our less than illustrious past. Naturally, no one benefiting from the theft from, and genocide of, the New World's indigenous peoples is going to identify with or welcome the corrected information about European settlers and colonial exploitation. Colonial exploitation was/continues to be a global economic system forming the core of modern capitalism.

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I missed that exchange; thanks for sharing.

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People need to learn history to know when it is being repeated. That is why these wannabee Nazis are taking over school boards, so they can dumb down the American population by denying children an honest education. Rather than the usual politician’s vision that only extends to the next election, they have been taking the long view, 1945 was just a hiccup in the life of fascism. They gather together the schoolyard bullies, the sociopaths, and psychopaths and make them feel important, chosen. Trump’s rallies have always been nazi rallies, teaching people to laugh at cruelty, to feel chosen, to pick on people’s differences, to identify selected groups as “inferior”, to distrust and have contempt for education, media, and government, to listen only to the master’s message. The goal was to dismantle and overwrite any moral system and teach the crowds that there is no line that can’t be crossed. Trump didn’t become a fascist, it was his birth-rite.

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I don't know who the other Black lady was on the panel, but she was absolutely right about why trump's nazi rally was so dangerous. These racists have been emboldened to openly spew their hatred and witnessing that hostile exchange was extremely triggering.

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Girdusky feels emboldened and his comments—all of them here—are shameful—even the apology because he took it back and doubled down on on his death-threat-ridden “joke” that any level person can see right through.

He wants to get points from his Nazi comrades while appearing on television but wants a pass from the rest of us when called out for his own words. Decent people don’t give a pass to this horrid behavior and don’t vote for those that promote it.

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Don't want to be called a Nazi? Don't be a Nazi. It's really pretty simple. The pager reference was so incredibly vile, as is any platform that features Girdusky.

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Is it even possible nowadays to get a level-headed Republican spokesperson to speak on behalf of their party?

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You are correct when you say this is part of a much larger problem. White supremacy is a real problem which will not go away anytime soon. Yea, even if Kamala Harris wins the presidency, white nationalism (the basis of white supremacy) will still be here. It has been welcomed by the corporate media and normalized. It will be very difficult to but them back in the bottle. White supremacy = white nationalism = MAGA = Fascism. We should be prepared to defend our rights even more after the election!

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Then, we mustn't forget the 'Christian nationalists' movement which portray themselves as being "Christian", yet I call them 'CINO' -> 'Christian In Name Only'. They have taken over the majority of evangelicals, who lean Republican ever since Reagan infiltrated their organizations. These evangelical megachurches preach these divisive issues, furthering our political divide. A lot of history there, taking on the abortion issue as their primary focus, which still carries clout in their far-right political arena. So many of our elected officials hide behind these beliefs. They're the enablers of Trump and his sycophants.

Prejudices of race, religion, ethnicity and economic classes are destroying our great nation once again.

I truly feel hope for a brighter future with Harris/Walz win.

Let's make sure we save our republic, democracy is at stake in this election.

Vote for freedom to be able to express yourself without fear of retribution. ✅

🇺🇸 💙 🇺🇸

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If an organization leases Madison Square Garden, organizes those speakers this was an unsubtle dog whistle. Trump’s wet dream of the repeat of the 1939 Nazi Rally.

There are other stadiums, in other parts of the country more likely to vote Trump.

The message could be more tempered. A “comedian” less vulgar.

Pretending this not a Nazi rally is ridiculous. Pretending this guy is not a Nazi offends my intelligence.

Shame on CNN for ever giving this person air time.

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