The Washington Post global opinions editor has sparked outrage with a tweet saying white women are “lucky” protesters are not calling for “revenge” against them, for helping to elect Donald Trump and suppressing black voices.
“The lies & tears of White women hath wrought: The 1921 Tulsa Massacre. Murder of Emmet Till. Exclusion of Black women from feminist movements. 53% of white women voting for Trump,” Karen Attiah tweeted.
The Tulsa Massacre was a 1921 racist attack by white Oklahoma residents, in which dozens of black citizens were killed. Emmet Till was 14 when he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store her family owned.
After placing the blame for these events and others on “white women,” Attiah added that they are lucky “we are just calling them ‘Karens.’ And not calling for revenge.”
Karen is a popular term used on social media to accuse white women of behaving in an entitled and racist manner.
Attiah’s tweet caused a stir on social media, with critics questioning what her idea of “revenge” looks like, and wondering how such a tweet could come from an editor for a mainstream media company.
“What does ‘revenge’ against ‘white women’ look like in your mind, Washington Post editor? Be as specific and detailed as possible,” Federalist co-founder Sean Davis wrote in reaction.
“Tweets like this cause young white Americans to become even more extreme in their politics. Congrats,”tweeted author Ryan James Girdusky.
Though Attiah deleted the tweet after the pushback, a later message to her 180,000-plus followers suggested Attiah in no way regretted her words.
The editor responded to a tweet saying, “When I tweet something and then delete it, it’s not because I regret it,” by declaring: “Same. Lol.”
In another tweet from Attiah’s account discussing “Karen memes,” she accuses “everyday white women” of “upholding” white supremacy.
Racial tensions in the US have been simmering since May, with ongoing protests against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd.
Many demonstrations have turned violent and led to vandalism and threats of violence, while some counter-protesters have been seen in videos yelling racist epithets, including in a clip recently tweeted and then deleted by President Donald Trump where a supporter of his yelled “white power.”
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