“The ugly kike Erin Schrode from Marin County hilariously got shot by a rubber bullet as she was making trouble on the behalf of the low-IQ redskins in North Dakota.”
“I’m just sad the bullets were rubber, like the world needs another Talmudic anti human psychopath.”
“Bullets don’t work on these rodents. Try Zyklon B.” Zyklon B is the toxic gas which Nazis used to kill Jews en masse in concentration and extermination camps throughout Germany.
Nazis. Racists. Bigots. Sexists. Supremacists. Call these monsters what they are. I am done with the term “Alt-Right” for those who are effectively modern-day Nazis and Ku Klux Klan, for those who attack me personally with unspeakable, unabating venom, for those who brutally and inexcusably denigrate Jews, women, people of color, LGBT, immigrants, Muslims, the list goes on.
The name “Alt-right,” like “white nationalists,” sanitizes a ghastly rhetoric and acutely dangerous agenda, akin to Nazis or the KKK. This is no longer a fringe group, not a few lone actors under the cloak of darkness, no small subset of anonymous individuals; this is a concerted effort currently embedding itself in the heart of Washington, D.C. — policymakers, lobbyists, think tanks, institutes, and the new administration itself — in attempt to mainstream monstrous views and tactics that support a white majority and pro-white ideals they treasure and promote. A physical, offline hub is emerging with a vengeance for the group and ideology that gained traction and rose to prominence across the internet.
“I was born Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I identify as Jewish. In the eyes of neo-Nazis, that is reason enough to mount a relentless campaign.”
During my congressional run in June, two articles came out about me in Jewish publications. In response, I received a deluge of thousands of neo-Nazi attacks and threats, to a degree that necessitated involvement of the FBI. The vicious onslaught against my “filthy Jewess” self — that wanted to “fire up the oven” and “laugh with glee as they gang raped her and then bashed her bagel eating brains in” — originated with the same neo-Nazi propaganda machine that endorsed Trump for president. It has not ceased.
Earlier this month, I was shot by police with a rubber bullet while interviewing a Native American man about the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock — triggering an increase in frequency and intensity. The firing of a grenade launcher against me was entirely unprovoked without any violence, aggression or even words exchanged with armed law enforcement. Officers on the far bank of the river were inexcusably assaulting peaceful Water Protectors with pepper spray and mace, when one militarized cop shot me from his nearby perch on a motorboat. I have been reeling from physical and emotional trauma, while asking myself: Why? Why was I shot? Was I targeted? Was it random?
“You were shot because you are a filthy kike. It’s obvious. Maybe, anuddah shoah just has begun.” I was born Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I identify as Jewish. In the eyes of neo-Nazis, that is reason enough to mount a relentless campaign. My being shot at Standing Rock spurred a new wave of evil, which I only learned of when an email with the subject line “you got shot! lol” appeared in my personal inbox. “Dumb parasite jew. Hilarious!” it read, with a link to a chatroom boasting hundreds more despicable comments and bastardized images.
An image that one Twitter user shared with me: a Photoshopped version of the policemen who shot me at Standing Rock.
My rational self knows that there is zero justification for the use of such indiscriminate force against me — or worse against other Water Protectors, native and non-native, in the present day or over a history of hundreds of years of oppression — yet I cannot help but question the incident. I walked into the Sheriff’s office to file the police report with newfound fear of assault or arrest: if police can fire a grenade launcher at the back of an innocent journalist without reason, what other crimes can they commit? And what crimes have, do or will certain officers perpetrate, specifically against people of color who are targeted, killed, charged and imprisoned at dramatically higher rates than their white counterparts?
As the story of me (a white female ally) being shot gained traction — largely because I inadvertently captured the moment on video — the response across social media was largely outrage. People were appalled by the dramatic incident itself, disproportionately militant police response, lack of mainstream media coverage and saddened by the pain, trauma, and tragedies being perpetrated once again upon Native Americans and their sacred lands. But, as has become the norm for me, anti-Semites lashed out in full force as well.
“You can see the video on her Twitter and hear her pain. It’s hilarious!” You can indeed see for yourself on Twitter and Facebook.
But nothing about anti-Semitism, supremacy, bigotry or racism is normal. Horrific words and behavior must not become my norm. We cannot allow the barbarous to be normalized.
“The alien Erin Schrode just shrugged it off, and continued wreaking destruction to our country.”
“The very fact that this has been normalized is the most alarming red flag. It is up to us to recognize, name and denounce hate speech.”
I try not to read or lend credence to the thousands of posts and messages I receive, but that becomes unavoidable when constantly popping up in my inbox and social feeds. My coping mechanism has become an attempt to downplay or assuage, but I refuse to do so any longer.
Do not normalize. Do not sanitize. Do not condone. For that is to empower, breed and propagate.
President-Elect Donald Trump has appointed Steve Bannon as his Chief Strategist — the same Steve Bannon who ran Breitbart News, which he boasts as being “THE platform of the alt-right movement.” Just go read the headlines like “Renegade Jew,” “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy” or “Gay rights have made us dumber, it’s time to get back in the closet.”
No, Bannon was not in the room in Washington, D.C. this week when hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists gathered at a conference put on by the misleadingly-named National Policy Institute, the leaders of the newly emboldened “Alt-Right,” and proclaimed “Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory!” with a Nazi salute — but he is the movement’s top propagandist and key enabler. Bannon gave extremism a digital home, a hub, a launchpad — and because this extremism is the type which preys upon minorities and not ISIS or jihadists, for which anyone would be promptly imprisoned, he will now advise the president of the United States from within the Oval Office.
Someone with the username Vote Trump told me, “Organize and pack your bags. January is coming soon” with a photo of an El-Al Israeli plane. I am not Israeli; I have no family in Israel; we are five-plus generations in the United States of America. This racist narrative parallels that of black people being told to “go back” to Africa or Latinos to “go back” to Mexico, or any immigrant to “go back” where they “belong.” We belong right here in America; that diversity and rich history of immigration is precisely what makes our country great.
Anti-Semitism and racism are on the uptick in America today, as are violent views, words and actions against immigrants, Muslims and women, among other target groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center has recorded well over 700 hate crimes since the election. CNN hosted a roundtable on the “Alt-Right” leader questioning whether Jews were people. I feel myself becoming unfazed, almost numb to the heinous rhetoric and videos of hate speech on television, at schools, on streets, and in communities across the country. The very fact that this has been normalized is the most alarming red flag. It is up to us to recognize, name and denounce hate speech and discrimination when we see it, to drive out a wave of darkness that has the power to poison hearts and minds, bring down institutions and society, and reverse centuries of progress and victories — while posing imminent danger to the safety and wellbeing of millions of human beings.
We cannot wait and see what type of administration this will be; we know in concrete terms. It is one that condones anti-Semitic views, racist tendencies, discriminatory policies, blatant sexism, and white supremacy.
We must stand in solidarity with and do all we can to protect the persecuted and most vulnerable among us.
We can neither yield to nor compromise with bigotry.
