# Democrats and Farrakhan **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 8, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237 "2018-03-08T15:02:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/121 "2018-03-16T19:05:35Z")
Don’t mean to minimize Richard Spencer. I just don’t think he’s nearly as influential to justify the media exposure. Hadn’t even heard of the guy til he got punched in the face last year. I’ve known about Farrakhan since the 70’s. You’d have to crawl out from under a rock to feign ignorance about him. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/122 "2018-03-16T19:10:42Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Don’t mean to minimize Richard Spencer. I just don’t think he’s nearly as influential to justify the media exposure. Hadn’t even heard of the guy til he got punched in the face last year. I’ve known about Farrakhan since the 70’s. White supremacism is one of the most important and influential, and I think by far the most harmful and damaging, philosophies in American history. Compared to it, whatever weird strain of black supremacism that the NoI dabbles in is a blip. White supremacism is/was responsible for brutality, rape, and murder of millions of Americans; casualties of black supremacism are many orders of magnitude fewer. Thus I think it’s very appropriate for the media to pay very close attention to modern white supremacists. That doesn’t make black supremacism okay, it just shows that it’s much more of a fringe philosophy than white supremacism, which was dominant for most of our history, only waning in power in the last half century or so. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/123 "2018-03-16T19:21:49Z")
If my drunk uncle shows up for Thanksgiving, should I call the press? You don’t think providing _free publicity_ to a guy that has trouble getting 50 people together in a room is a problem? Guy is _literally_ famous for being punched in the face. Best thing that could ever have happened to his cause. Thankfully, he’s a complete dumbass. If had a veneer of intelligence to him, he might be a serious problem. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/124 "2018-03-16T19:53:18Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Worth noting that the NOI is somewhat tenuously connected to Islam. Somewhat analogous to Mormonism and Christianity. (I believe after the death of Elijah Muhammed, his son and successor attempted to bring the movement closer to mainstream Islam, but Farrakhan led a strand of the movement which rejected this.) I get what you’re saying, but I think the link is even more tenuous, closer to the link between Mainstream Christianity and the Christian Identity movement. [This SPLC article](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/nation-islam) is pretty helpful. They’ve got some pretty whackadoo ideas not shared by most mainstream Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/125 "2018-03-16T20:03:26Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > If my drunk uncle shows up for Thanksgiving, should I call the press? You don’t think providing _free publicity_ to a guy that has trouble getting 50 people together in a room is a problem? Guy is _literally_ famous for being punched in the face. Best thing that could ever have happened to his cause. > > Thankfully, he’s a complete dumbass. If had a veneer of intelligence to him, he might be a serious problem. I think that’s seriously downplaying his influence, but this is getting way off topic, so I’ll step back. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/126 "2018-03-17T05:13:04Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > So in other words, Ellison has recognized it, condemned it, and apologized for not recognizing it or condemning it earlier, and now journalists and his opposition bring it out as a cheap shot hoping to get traction on it. > > Hey, a Black American Muslim was involved in the Nation of Islam in 1990 while a student. That’s like saying that a white male liberal college student supported Bernie Sanders in 2016. That doesn’t mean they bought into the whole enchilada. Please tell me you’re not comparing Bernie Sanders to Louis Farrakhan. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/127 "2018-03-19T16:57:53Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Please tell me you’re not comparing Bernie Sanders to Louis Farrakhan. :dubious: At least [we now know that Bernie doesn’t control the weather](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/19/politics/dc-council-member-apology-anti-semitic-comment/index.html). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/128 "2018-03-19T18:22:16Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > At least [we now know that Bernie doesn’t control the weather](https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/19/politics/dc-council-member-apology-anti-semitic-comment/index.html). > > Regards, > Shodan I wonder when the councilman in question is going to resign. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/129 "2018-03-19T18:44:48Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > I wonder when the councilman in question is going to resign. [Do you wonder when Trump will do the same?](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-jews-anti-semitic-hate-crimes-false-flag-reverse-david-duke-kkk-ku-klux-klan-a7604801.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/130 "2018-03-19T18:46:49Z")
He’ll resign when [del]Washington DC[/del] hell freezes over. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/131 "2018-03-19T18:51:34Z")
I don’t see any reason the guy should resign. Best as I can figure he’s not an anti-Semite, and just didn’t appreciate that the “Rothschilds controlling the world” was part of an anti-Semitic worldview. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/132 "2018-03-19T18:54:23Z")
That guy sounds like a jackass to me, and I sure wouldn’t want him ruling me, and if I lived in his council district, I’d be up in arms about him. Boy howdy do I hope he doesn’t have a big future in Democratic politics. Back to the leader of the fuckin free world, though… ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/133 "2018-03-19T19:00:31Z")
The thing is not just that he thinks the Rothschilds control the weather - it’s that he thinks anybody can control the weather. It doesn’t really matter if he thinks it’s the Jews, or the Illuminati, or space aliens from the planet Zongo. Maybe someone’s been hitting the nose candy a little too hard. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/134 "2018-03-19T19:30:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Maybe someone’s been hitting the nose candy a little too hard. If that’s the case, he can be elected Mayor! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/135 "2018-03-19T19:47:09Z")
Wiki says he was a protégé of Marion “Bitch Set Me Up” Barry. Same ward as well, IIANM. Tradition marches on. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/136 "2018-03-20T00:42:10Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Okay, so regardless of the fact that I believe a majority of Muslims have anti-semitic views, lets distill this down to the Nation of Islam. Do you actually, really believe the Nation of Islam has diverse views on Judaism? To me that’s as laughable as saying Neo-nazis have a diverse view on Judaism. Supporting Farrakhan is as bad as supporting Richard Spencer. Worse, even, because Farrakhan’s views have been known for decades. The Nation of Islam is an SPLC-designated hate group! What in the hell are politically influential democrats doing within 1000 yards of this guy?? Most Muslims don’t consider the Nation of Islam to be Muslim, as far as I know. Whether or not they’re Muslim, they’re certainly not anywhere close to orthodox Islamic teaching. And no, Farrakhan isn’t remotely the moral equivalent of Richard Spencer. They both support racial separatism, that’s about it, but the historical, personal and social context in which they do so is entirely different. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/137 "2018-03-20T10:00:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The thing is not just that he thinks the Rothschilds control the weather - it’s that he thinks anybody can control the weather. It doesn’t really matter if he thinks it’s the Jews, or the Illuminati, or space aliens from the planet Zongo. Maybe someone’s been hitting the nose candy a little too hard. > > Regards, > Shodan Yeah, I agree the whole “He’s being anti-Semitic!” thing is burying the lede there. That guy’s a loon. I didn’t think anyone was going to top Jim “I have a snowball, therefore climate change isn’t real” Inhofe for DC-based snow-related stupidity, but the councilman has earned the crown by a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/138 "2018-03-20T15:46:20Z")
I’m really surprised to see so many of you taking an interest in local DC politics. I wouldn’t have though it would be much of a concern to anyone who doesn’t live here, but apparently I was wrong. What’s your all’s opinions on the Comprehensive Plan Framework Amendment Act? (Bill B22-0663) A lot of people make a case that it’s too much of a giveaway to developers in a city that is already rapidly gentrifying, but I’d be willing to be persuaded otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/139 "2018-03-20T15:48:01Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I’m really surprised to see so many of you taking an interest in local DC politics. I wouldn’t have though it would be much of a concern to anyone who doesn’t live here, but apparently I was wrong. Funny–we are of course concerned only inasmuch as everybody likes a good clown. When local politicians go bonkers, pointing and laughing at them, even from far away, is a classic national past-time. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237/140 "2018-03-20T15:54:46Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Funny–we are of course concerned only inasmuch as everybody likes a good clown. When local politicians go bonkers, pointing and laughing at them, even from far away, is a classic national past-time. Yeah, I get that. And to be fair, I don’t know a lot about this guy. I don’t vote for him, I live in a different ward. Brianne Nadeau and Phil Mendelsohn (who are both Jewish) have reached out to him, and he seems sincerely apologetic and embarrassed by the whole thing. But as a resident I’m more concerned with roads, crime, development and schools more than a particularly silly belief a councilmember might hold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-and-farrakhan/810237.md?page=8)