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Antisemitism and American Politics
It took five days for Republican leadership to say a word. The insane statement that wearing a mask is the same as the Holocaust is firmly established in far-right spaces. It started fairly early in the pandemic in far-right spaces. When Marjorie Taylor Greene went there this was no surprise to those of us who monitor those spaces. Republican leadership first trying to ignore it, and finally speaking when this refused to go away is increasingly on the Republican brand
We should not be surprised though. They did not say a thing when the former president kept using anti-Asian language, which led to hard crimes. It is clear that they have no problem with the anti-black or Hispanic language either. They coddled representative Steve King until he became too much of a problem.
They know their base, which is increasingly openly racist and anti-Semitic. Places like 4Chan are rife with language both denying the Holocaust and saying that Hitler was right. If your head hurts, it should not. This kind of inconsistency is typical of hate groups.
What Greene said has been floating in these spaces for months. A mask is not a Star of David, and extermination camps are not equivalent to health orders intended to save lives. They are only equivalent among people who have a twisted sense of reality and a poor education. Or in the case of Greene…