New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman was criticized on Friday for tweeting that Americans reacted to the events of 9/11 “calmly” and downplaying the anti-Muslim sentiment that followed.
Krugman tweeted, “Overall, Americans took 9/11 pretty calmly. Notably, there wasn’t a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence, which could all too easily have happened. And while GW Bush was a terrible president, to his credit he tried to calm prejudice, not feed it.”
As of Friday afternoon, the tweet has just over 500 retweets and 3,000 likes. It has over 20,000 quote tweets from people — Muslims and non-Muslims — adding their own experiences and commentary.
Arizona House of Representatives member Athena Salman tweeted, “My family still suffers psychological trauma to this day, @paulkrugman. To selectively ignore the anti-Arab discrimination we’ve had to live with since 9/11, and the booming multi-million dollar Islamophobia industry that grew in its aftermath, is white supremacy.”
Virginia House of Delegates member Ibraheem Samirah wrote, “A maj. Muslim Chicagoland school I went to in 5th grade had to shut down for 2 weeks because of bomb threats. My local mosque got hit with a Molotov within the first 24 hours. A literal pitchfork-wielding group of white supremacists came to my hood demanding we ‘go back home.'”
Added Project South legal and advocacy director Azadeh Shahshahani, “@paulkrugman maybe you’d want to take a look at our piece laying out how the US govt has used 9/11 to criminalize people of color, Muslims, immigrants. Our communities have faced incarceration, deportation, mass surveillance, systematic state repression.”
Numerous people called Krugman’s take “revisionist,” from reporters to more casual observers to candidates for Congress. The BBC’s Megha Mohan shared FBI data about the steep rise in Islamophobic hate crime incidents after 9/11.
Comedian and writer Rae Sanni wrote of Krugman’s post, “This tweet is remarkably dumb but it’s an example of just how much whiteness works to forget its cruelty and evils. This is the template for all the tweets from white ppl about trump and this era in 2040.”
9 Stars Who Have Been 9/11 Conspiracy Truthers (Photos)
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 were carried out by al-Qaeda terrorists who hijacked passenger jets. That's the official version endorsed by the U.S. government and the international community, anyway. But a number of celebrities have resisted backing the official story.
Woody Harrelson
The former "Cheers" star is part of a group that calls itself Actors and Artists for 9/11 Truth. This group has claimed that the official 9/11 Commission failed to investigate fully the attacks and that the government has offered untrue or misleading information.
Courtesy of Woody Harrelson's Team
Marion Cotillard
"We're lied to about a number of things," the French star said of 9/11. (She later expressed regret for her remarks.)
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Mark Ruffalo
The versatile actor has claimed he's done his own research on 9/11. "Buildings don't fall down like that," he concluded.
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Rosie O'Donnell
"I do believe it's the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel," the former daytime host said of the World Trade Center collapse. That was later rebutted by Popular Mechanics, among others.
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Charlie Sheen
Mr. Tiger Blood has called the government's account of the hijacked planes "really suspicious" and has claimed that Washington was behind the attacks.
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Martin Sheen
Like son, like father. The former "West Wing" star told the Huffington Post in 2012 that he found "unanswered questions, let me leave it that way, that are very, very disturbing. The key to that is Building 7 and how that came down under very, very suspicious circumstances."
Unite for America
Willie Nelson
The country crooner and noted weed lover is another member of the celebrity 9/11 group.
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Graham Nash
The '60s rock icon was another celebrity who joined the 9/11 truther group.
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Matthew Bellamy
The Muse frontman long said that 9/11 was an "inside job," but he now says his view is more "nuanced."
Some VIPs in the entertainment industry aren’t buying the official version of the 2001 terrorist attacks
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 were carried out by al-Qaeda terrorists who hijacked passenger jets. That's the official version endorsed by the U.S. government and the international community, anyway. But a number of celebrities have resisted backing the official story.