MSNBC’s Ali Velshi somehow managed to hit a new low on his Saturday show as he accused mainstream conservatives of creating an environment for terrorism against transgender individuals.
As part of a monologue, Velshi declared, “In just the past two years, there has been a quote, ‘steep and sustained increase in the rate of right-wing protests pushing anti-LGBTQ+ claims,’ according to the research group, Crowd Counting Consortium.”
This led Velshi to conveniently ignore that the Colorado Springs shooter identifies as “them” and “they,” as he continue, “Threats to the trans and queer community have included bomb threats to clinics serving trans youth, armed paramilitary groups showing up to queer vents, online bullying, and the deadly November 19th mass shooting at the Club Q in Colorado Springs.”
While Velshi covered the existence of armed protestors at drag queen story hours, he laid the blame at the feet of, “Christian nationalist think tanks like the Heritage Foundation which have provided conservative lawmakers across the country with blueprints for anti-trans legislation.”
Labeling Heritage as a “Christian nationalist” think tank is hilariously absurd, but Velshi wasn’t done naming names. Quoting Imara Jones of TransLash Media in Newsweek, Velshi read:
I and my team of journalists have documented how quarantine campaign of right-wing politicians, hate groups, think tanks, and Christian nationalists billionaires, have created an ecosystem to spawn hundreds of anti-trans bills and to create a culture of fear. This effort to do humanize trans people picked up by anti-trans figures lake Matt Walsh, create conditions for stochastic terrorism like we saw Club Q.
Normally accusing your opponents of terrorism does not get you invited on TV, but with his diatribe over, Velshi welcomed Jones, who added even more groups to the list, “We know that the bills targeting trans athletes come from the Alliance of Defending Freedom that’s based out of Arizona. We know that the bills that specifically target trans medical care, equal access for trans teens or what people goal gender or affirming care, comes from the Family Research Council and both of those groups have been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.”
Just because the SPLC says something, doesn’t make it so. Not wanting males in women’s sports or wanting to encourage minors to cut off certain body parts does not make one a terrorist enabler. That’s a disgusting attempt to shut people up. Velshi and Jones should be ashamed of themselves.
This segment was sponsored by Sling TV.
Here is a transcript for the December 10 show:
MSNBC Velshi
12/10/2022
9:28 AM ET
ALI VELSHI: In just the past two years, there has been a quote, “steep and sustained increase in the rate of right-wing protests pushing anti-LGBTQ+ claims,” according to the research group, Crowd Counting Consortium.
Threats to the trans and queer community have included bomb threats to clinics serving trans youth, armed paramilitary groups showing up to queer vents, online bullying, and the deadly November 19th mass shooting at the Club Q in Colorado Springs. In December alone, keeping in mind that we are less than two weeks into the month, there have been multiple threats made against trans individuals and queer friendly spaces.
In North Carolina, Peyton O'Connor, the first openly trans member of the Asheville school board, announced her resignation this week following non-stop harassment from a Christian nationalist group. In Columbus, Ohio last Saturday, armed protesters that included members of the Proud Boys lined up outside of a church where a scheduled drag queen story hour for children was being held.
The organizers made a last-minute decision to cancel the event fearing violence. Drag-themed events in particular have become prime targets for the far-right. The group GLAAD has so far documented 124 incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ protests and threats targeting drag abounds.
Much of the anti-LGTQ+ plus rhetoric has been fueled by Christian nationalist think tanks like the Heritage Foundation which have provided conservative lawmakers across the country with blueprints for anti-trans legislation. The journalist, Imara Jones says that these groups operate as middle men between far-right internet forums pushing conspiracy theories and conservative legislatures.
Writing in Newsweek, she says quote, “I and my team of journalists have documented how quarantine campaign of right-wing politicians, hate groups, think tanks, and Christian nationalists billionaires, have created an ecosystem to spawn hundreds of anti-trans bills and to create a culture of fear. This effort to do humanize trans people picked up by anti-trans figures lake Matt Walsh, create conditions for stochastic terrorism like we saw Club Q.”
…
IMARA JONES: And so that’s why there is this hyper-focus on young people and it is a part of this essentially decade-long plan that they have to do this and so we can trace where these both come from. We know that the bills targeting trans athletes come from the Alliance of Defending Freedom that’s based out of Arizona. We know that the bills that specifically target trans medical care, equal access for trans teens or what people goal gender or affirming care, comes from the Family Research Council and both of those groups have been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.
