The Stories Behind Three Anti-Muslim Videos Shared by Trump Image

[applegrove]

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/world/middleeast/anti-muslim-videos-trump-twitter.html

By Megan Specia at the N.Y. Times


"SNIP.....


Footage of man pushed from building during Egypt unrest

The last clip retweeted by Mr. Trump was described in the original tweet as: “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!”

The footage was taken on July 5, 2013, during clashes in the Sidi Gaber neighborhood of Alexandria, Egypt, between supporters of Mohamed Morsi, who had recently been ousted as the democratically elected president, and his opponents. That information was missing from the tweet, as was any explanation of the complex political situation in Egypt at the time.

The episode occurred days after the Egyptian military overthrew Mr. Morsi, when tensions were running high across the political spectrum. After Mr. Morsi’s removal, there was a wave of clashes between his supporters, opponents and the police in different parts of Egypt. That violence was then later dwarfed by the military’s dispersal of Islamist sit-ins in Cairo that August, which killed over 800 protesters in a single day.

......

The man with the black flag, Mahmoud Ramadan, was found guilty of murder for the death of one of the teenagers pushed off the roof; he was hanged in March 2015. The teenagers on the roof were believed to have thrown stones at an anti-military rally, which may have provoked the assault captured on video, according to Egyptian state media.



.....SNIP"

[DangerousUrNot]

1. It doesnt matter but I bet Trump didnt know the backstory

[Solly Mack]

2. Years ago, a friend of mine got excited about a letter making the rounds through email.

It was purported to have been written by an Army General and was filled with patriotic bluster.

My friend thought the letter wonderful - it spoke for her and to her.

I told her the letter was a fake. Not only wasn't it written by an actual General, the letter was filled with lies.

Her response?

So? She went on to explain that the letter made her feel good and that was the important point. The only point. It made her feel good. Didn't matter if it wasn't true or from an actual General. That the thoughts expressed, even the make-believe events used as examples of what's great about America and Americans, made people feel good was what mattered.

The made-up events played to the notion of American exceptionalism - all the usual right-wing tropes about the "real" America and what "real" Americans stand for and believe.

I went down the letter, point by point, proving it was all a fake. All lies, written by a person that never existed.

She became angry with me. Disgusted, even. Because I didn't understand what was important - how the letter made her feel.

I've since lost track of her but if I were to bet, I'd bet she's an avid Trump supporter - and I'm certain I would win that bet.

[applegrove]

3. That is so Trump.

[Solly Mack]

4. It is, and it is his followers as well.

Facts interfere with what they want to believe.

Same goes for all of the GOP.