An editor at the Washington Post posted threats she received in response to a previous tweet about racism as proof that America is a “racist *and* patriarchal society.”
Karen Attiah, a global opinions editor at the newspaper, tweeted a screenshot of a threat she received in response to a tweet she sent warning that “white women are lucky that we [black people] are just calling them Karen’s … and not calling for revenge.”
“Be very careful with hate. It is a dangerous and thankless master,” the threat, apparently sent to Attiah via text message, read according to the screenshots she posted. “Calling for revenge only begets revenge. You don’t want to wake white men who will protect their women and come after you and yours.”
I explicitly said Black people *ARE NOT* calling for this.
A good amount the threats and hate mail I’ve been getting are white men threatening me with violence to —*checks notes* protect “their” white women.
Exactly the point I’ve been making about “Karen” behavior all along. pic.twitter.com/vv4f7SWtn0
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 1, 2020
“America is a racist *and* patriarchal society,” Attiah responded in a separate tweet. “We cannot dismantle the full range of oppression in this society without addressing how toxic ideas of white masculinity interplay with the notion of ‘protecting’ their women from Black people.”
America is a racist *and* patriarchal society.
We cannot dismantle the full range of oppression in this society without addressing how toxic ideas of white masculinity interplay with the notion of “protecting” their women from Black people.
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 1, 2020
Attiah deleted her initial tweet warning that “white women are lucky that we [black people] are just calling them Karen’s” and said the threat she received proves the point she was trying to make.
“I explicitly said Black people *ARE NOT* calling for this,” she said. “A good amount the threats and hate mail I’ve been getting are white men threatening me with violence to —*checks notes* protect ‘their’ white women. Exactly the point I’ve been making about ‘Karen’ behavior all along.”
Global Opnions Editor for WaPo pic.twitter.com/kyIyFeFMXT
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) June 29, 2020
Since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a nationwide conversation about police brutality and race relations has ignited in the United States. Black Lives Matter advocates and other social justice activists have demanded elected officials do more to address systemic racism.
In several cities, monuments of Confederate generals or other historical leaders have been defaced or taken down. NASCAR and the state of Mississippi have banned or taken down the Confederate Flag from races and state emblems.
President Trump has urged for calm during a time of unrest, but said a planned Black Lives Matter mural in New York City represents a “symbol of hate.”
“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left — the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters,” Trump said during a speech over the weekend. “Their goal is not a better America; their goal is the end of America.”
Attiah gave her thoughts on Trump’s presidency in tweet on Friday: “WE. KNEW. IT. COULD . BE. THIS. BAD.”
WE. KNEW. IT. COULD . BE. THIS. BAD. https://t.co/oJ7MlFDgzH
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 3, 2020
