CANDACE OWENS: ‘WHITE SUPREMACY IS NOT HARMING BLACK AMERICA’
During a Friday congressional hearing on ‘Confronting White Supremacy,’ conservative commentator Candace Owens continued to dismiss the growing concerns about hate crimes and white terrorism in America, suggesting it is part of a “farce” repeated “every four years ahead of an election cycle” by Democrats to get Black votes.
Owens, who recently married a white nationalist, believes it is Democratic policies that have hurt Black Americans, not white supremacy. She then noted that there are at least 100 more pressing issues facing Black folks, such Black-on-Black crime, which stem from absentee fathers, Complex reports.
“Based on the hierarchy of what’s impacting minority Americans, if I had to make a list of 100 things, white nationalism would not make the list,” she said during a House Oversight Joint Subcommittee hearing. “We don’t see hearings on those bigger issues … black-on-black crime, the breakdown of family I think is the No. 1 thing that’s contributing to that. We never hear anybody talking about what happens when you remove a father from the home.”
She continued: “In fact, I would argue that right now, we have a social environment that is hostile towards men and does not inspire masculinity or being a man and what it means to be a father figure in the household. Black-on-black crime is a huge issue in America right now, but people don’t like to talk about that …”
Owens statement was challenged by fellow panelist Kathleen Belew, an assistant professor of U.S. history at the University of Chicago. Belew called out Owens for downplaying the threat of white nationalism, saying it reminded her of one of Owens’ seemingly dismissive tweets involving the Christchurch mosque shootings.
“This feels a lot like your reaction to being named in one of those manifestos,” Belew said. “You’re, of course, not responsible for somebody writing that document. But I do think that laughing at it is a real problem because these are real families who are impacted by this violence. Our efforts toward talking about this have to start from a place of mutual respect.”
Candace countered:
“The audacity of you to bring up the Christchurch shooting manifesto and make it seem as if I laughed at people that were slaughtered by a homicidal maniac is in my opinion absolutely despicable,” she said. “I think that we should be above that. To try to assign responsibility or any meaning to a homicidal maniac writing a manifesto, which, by the way, also cited Spyro the Dragon, the child’s cartoon; he also cited Nelson Mandela as a source of inspiration. I don’t think that Nelson Mandela has inspired mosque shootings; you can correct me if you think I’m wrong.”
Hours after Owens’ testimony, the DHS listed “white supremacist terrorism” as one of the top threats in America.
Owens and T.I. had a heated conversation during Diddy’s Revolt Summit in Atlanta last weekend that quickly went viral because of their discussion about her support for Trump and the president’s “make America great again” slogan.
Days later, the Atlanta rapper shared what he really thinks about Owens’ political beliefs.
“Let me start off saying she’s a sister and I support her brilliance—understanding that she’s a sister that happens to be using her brilliance adversely,” T.I. said on Big Boy’s Neighborhood. “I’m not necessarily against her personally but a lot of views and a lot of the rhetoric that she spews is dangerous.”
Do you agree with T.I.?
Meanwhile, inquiring mind would like to know why Republicans keep inviting non-expert Candace Owens to testify on white nationalism?