It’s Complicated

A Few Thoughts from a Liberal Jewish Anti-Netanyahu Michigan Voter

For those who do not understand why so many people are talking about Hasan Piker, it’s because of the Democratic primary for the Michigan Senate race.

There are three major candidates: Haley Stevens, Mallory McMorrow, and Abdul El-Sayed. (I have generally positive opinions about all three of them.) Next week, El-Sayed is holding rallies alongside Piker at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Full disclosure: I am not in Hasan Piker‘s target audience. He comes across as arrogant and can sometimes be an asshole. That does not mean he is necessarily an anti-Semite.

Hasan Piker says a lot of offensive things that are entertaining to his audience, but would be unacceptable for a serious political figure to say.

Many of Piker’s most offensive statements are taken out of context. For example, he calls Orthodox Jews “inbred.” In Pikerland, “inbred” is an all-purpose slur that he uses against lots of different people. I would not describe this as a good thing, but it does not appear to be anti-Semitic per se. A lot of his edgelord stuff is like this.

That said, many of his other statements are offensive even when understood in the context in which they were intended. Piker appears to condone violence against Israeli settlers, making exceptions for “baby settlers” but apparently considering the adults fair game. It’s also a fool’s errand to try and explain how our Middle East policy will inevitably lead to blowback when you throw in phrases like “America deserved 9/11.”

Abdul El-Sayed has defended his affiliation with Piker by saying he’ll “talk to anyone.” But this goes beyond just sitting down for an interview on his podcast. By inviting Piker to join him at his campaign rallies, he is implying that they are closely aligned on important issues.

I can attest that El-Sayed is mature, rational, and reasonable, even if his opinions on Israel are considerably to the left of the Democratic Party’s mainstream.

It’s a bit of a cop-out for El-Sayed to include Piker in his campaign appearances while insisting he doesn’t agree with everything Piker says. (I very much doubt El-Sayed will be specific as to which statements he disagrees with.)

It’s a package deal. If you want the followers, you have to accept some responsibility for the content he propagates.

I understand that much of the blowback against El-Sayed from Third Way and other conservatives is likely to be applied to any Democratic candidate who strongly opposes Israel. But El-Sayed did himself no favors by choosing to align himself with Piker. Now he’s got a big target on his back.

I will also note with some irony that none of the alleged advocates for “free speech on college campuses” are exactly springing into action to defend these appearances. That is because the most strident opponents of so-called “cancel culture” are conservatives, many of whom consider saying anything bad about Israel to be their line in the sand.

American political discourse desperately needs more nuanced discussion about Palestinian human rights. I believe Abdul El-Sayed is capable of providing this perspective. But a guy like Hasan Piker who clearly relishes shooting his mouth off is not the right messenger for it. In my opinion, El-Sayed dilutes the strength of his message by aligning with Piker politically.

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