Something was posted Saturday morning on former United States Congressman Allen West's Facebook page that was both dangerous and despicable. It was a meme celebrating Donald Trump's appointment of General James "Mad Dog" Mattis as Defense Secretary.
The celebratory meme stated:
Mad Dog Mattis.
Fired by Obama to Please the Muslims.
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Hired by Trump to Exterminate Them.
Do you honestly need me to interpret those 16 words for you?
The statement on the verified page for West — a Lt. Colonel in the Army who retired in 2004 after being fined for harsh interrogation tactics against an Iraqi police officer — may very well be the most dangerous anti-Muslim statement emerging from a public figure in this election cycle.
The Editor-in-Chief for West's website, Michele Hickford, apologized for the post Saturday.
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"Last night I posted a meme without Col. West's knowledge or consent which was inappropriate and crossed the line," Hickford wrote. "I take full responsibility for this. It was wrong. I was wrong. It does not reflect Col. West's beliefs."
Hickford posted a new statement on Sunday, writing she was "not the one who posted it," and that the post was made "without my knowledge."
The Facebook post evidently wasn't a problem for President-elect Donald Trump.
(MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS)"I neither condone nor support the message included in the meme. This meme was not created by me or any of our writers. It was reposted from another source," she wrote.
Did you catch it? On Saturday Hickford specifically said she posted the meme herself and that she was taking full responsibility. Then, less than 24 hours later, the Facebook apology was edited to say that it was actually posted without her knowledge. Clearly, they are struggling to get their story lined up.
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The Facebook post evidently wasn't a problem for President-elect Donald Trump.
The message of Trump hiring "Mad Dog" Mattis (pictured) to exterminate Muslims was a popular one with West's audience.
(Matt Dunham/AP)West — who previously met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and a team of Trump's top national security appointees — visited Trump Tower on Monday for additional meetings.
Even if Allen West did not post the graphic, his staff posted it because they apparently thought it accurately represented his views. Not only that, but it was an immensely popular post. Before Facebook deleted it, it was shared 10,000 times and liked nearly 50,000 times. In other words, the message of Trump hiring "Mad Dog" Mattis to exterminate Muslims was a popular one with West's audience.
What we have here is the gross normalization of genocidal language and threats. Before genocide itself ever begins somewhere, what must first happen is the casual public conversation about it to normalize what is truly being said. Of course, everything about this election and this time that we are living in is immensely different, but what is happening right now with the statement made from Allen West's Facebook page, and Trump's public embracing of him, is a dangerous degradation. We should all be deeply troubled.
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