"Still, I wondered, was I wrong to have leapt to Carano’s support? Was this meme proof of a darker worldview?
So I reached out to Carano for answers.
What, I asked, was her intention when she shared that image? Did she know that it drew on antisemitic ideas and imagery?
“I was in utter shock and confusion when certain people said it was antisemitic,” she wrote me. “Then, as I went to take it down, I noticed that the image was not the same as the one people were referencing. I was honestly confused: should I take it down, or leave it up? I still don't know the answer to that question, because taking it down only makes the mob attack you more,” Carano said.
“The image for me was a statement that people need to stand together and rise up, stop being so manipulated by the powers that believe they know what's best for you and play games with our lives,” she wrote. “My heart has only ever had ultimate respect and love for the Jewish community.”
...
I understand why Carano feels torn about taking down the image: there’s no winning. Leave it up and you’re bad. Take it down and you’re bad, since it’s an admission of guilt. That’s what she found out when Lucasfilm tried to force her to apologize over the pronoun joke in her Twitter bio:
“Earlier on last year before The Mandalorian came out, they wanted me to use their exact wording for an apology over pronoun usage. I declined and offered a statement in my own words. I made clear I wanted nothing to do with mocking the transgender community, and was just drawing attention to the abuse of the mob in forcing people to put pronouns in their bio,” she told me. "
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/gina-carano-and-crowd-sourced-mccarthyism
So I reached out to Carano for answers.
What, I asked, was her intention when she shared that image? Did she know that it drew on antisemitic ideas and imagery?
“I was in utter shock and confusion when certain people said it was antisemitic,” she wrote me. “Then, as I went to take it down, I noticed that the image was not the same as the one people were referencing. I was honestly confused: should I take it down, or leave it up? I still don't know the answer to that question, because taking it down only makes the mob attack you more,” Carano said.
“The image for me was a statement that people need to stand together and rise up, stop being so manipulated by the powers that believe they know what's best for you and play games with our lives,” she wrote. “My heart has only ever had ultimate respect and love for the Jewish community.”
...
I understand why Carano feels torn about taking down the image: there’s no winning. Leave it up and you’re bad. Take it down and you’re bad, since it’s an admission of guilt. That’s what she found out when Lucasfilm tried to force her to apologize over the pronoun joke in her Twitter bio:
“Earlier on last year before The Mandalorian came out, they wanted me to use their exact wording for an apology over pronoun usage. I declined and offered a statement in my own words. I made clear I wanted nothing to do with mocking the transgender community, and was just drawing attention to the abuse of the mob in forcing people to put pronouns in their bio,” she told me. "
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/gina-carano-and-crowd-sourced-mccarthyism