Tlaib comments, though inartful, taken out of context

I'm not her fan, and I'm not a Democrat, but I don't take stands based on fandom or political parties. I take stands based on what is right, and I'm not afraid to oppose wrong, like the attack on Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib's Holocaust comments.

Republicans are slamming her for her "antisemitic" remarks. This is the kind of stuff that turns me off from politics. We could roll out a plethora of crazy things Tlaib has said, but let's stay in the moment.

When she spoke on the Yahoo Skullduggery podcast recently about the "calming feeling" of the Holocaust, was she saying the "calming feeling" came from the Holocaust itself? No, and all it would take is a second listen or read to know that -- unless you're just playing the political game that stops at no means to reach its end.

The congresswoman wasn't eloquent or artful, and she didn't come across as one who thought through her words, but there's a world of difference between inarticulate and antisemitic comments.

Let the record show I'm not here to defend her character, I'm not here to clear her of racism charges and I cannot speak to where she stands as it relates to the Jewish population. She runs her mouth too much for me, which may explain why she's reaping the criticism she is. Be that as it may, her bumbling words -- and that's putting it mildly -- were just that.

She said:

"Let me tell you. I mean, for me, just two weeks ago or so, we celebrated, or just took a moment, I think, in our country to remember the Holocaust, and there's kind of a calming feeling, I always tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust and the tragedy of the Holocaust and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land, and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity. Their existence in many ways had been wiped out. All of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time, and I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that -- right? -- in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away, and it was forced on them."

Granted, "celebrated" and "Holocaust" never belong in the same sentence. Realizing that, she corrected to "remember." She then went on to give her version of events, a version that has been criticized by those who say she has her "facts" wrong. I'm not here to debate that, either. That's a conversation for another day. But when one reads what she said, even if it takes a second read -- which is what rational people and the media do, right? -- it is clear she was saying the "calming feeling" comes from her ancestors' actions to "create a safe haven." If people want to criticize her for that, then criticize her for that.

The congresswoman went on to call Jewish persecution "horrific." So the accusation that those remarks are antisemitic screams political games to me.

President Trump chimed in on Twitter by writing that Rep. Tlaib "obviously has tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. Can you imagine what would happen if I ever said what she said, and says?" On the one hand, he is correct. Had he said what she said, the way she said it -- inartful, inarticulate and nearing incoherent -- he would have been slammed. Any honest person would have to admit that. On the other hand, Trump is playing the same "gotcha" game that gets played against him.

This is where we are. What we know doesn't matter; we leap on every opportunity to twist what someone says, all for political gain. Democrats are the masters of this, and Republicans are tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy, so many have started fighting fire with fire. "Give them a taste of their own medicine" -- and the president is the expert "counterpuncher." I have to believe that's what's going on here because otherwise, he didn't pay close enough attention before responding -- never a good idea. Agree or disagree with Tlaib's version of history, she was not saying the horrors of the Holocaust itself make her feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'll be accused of being a traitor to conservatives by taking this stance, but I really don't care. I refuse to be owned by either political party. They're both a hot mess. I'll call it as I see it. I didn't like it when Democrats pretended Trump, when launching his 2016 campaign, was saying that all Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug pushers; that's not what he was saying -- and honest people would admit it.

I don't like faux outrage that plays on emotions. It's ugly. It's nasty. It's dangerous. There are enough real reasons to go after a person -- policy and record, for example. When folks resort to deceit, including deceit about a badly worded paragraph, they look desperate, they lose credibility and they further alienate honest people like me who want to run as far away as possible from the farce that politics has become. Give me honest public servants any day, but I want no part of the politics of personal destruction -- not from Democrats and not from Republicans.

Call people on the carpet where it is deserved. There's enough of that to keep us busy, so we really shouldn't have time to conjure up controversies.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.