Oct 18, 2026, 12:14 PMAbdul #ElSayed
Watch this clip and how he deftly dismantles #bigotry
He makes the parallel between the heckler questioning his loyalties because he is Muslim, with #JFK dealing with the same #religiousBigotry about JFK being Catholic
El-Sayed could go far. He's good at this
@benroyce I wonder if "they" fear him because he and the mayor of NYC represent the possibility of a Muslim president.
Oct 18, 2026, 12:33 PMel sayed yes, he has the skills to be president
mamdani no- not because he doesn't have the skills as well, but because he was born in uganda (you have to be born in the usa to be president)
@benroyce Hahaha yup. Gotta remember to finish my coffee before posting. In the MI-07 and getting tons of flyers attacking him (pretty sure most are AIPAC).
@oldgeek @benroyce I remember when 45 made the racist and xenophobic comment "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" despite three out of the four members of the DSA at the time being US BORN CITIZENS! (The fourth was naturalized as a US citizen before she was 18.) He also made the racist "kung flu" comment about Americans of Asian decent, and, well, we know what he's doing with ICE, because two US born Minnesota citizens are dead because of them!
Oct 18, 2026, 2:38 PM@JackMexa4 @oldgeek yes
Oct 18, 2026, 12:35 PM@oldgeek @benroyce Sadly Zohran Mamdani isn’t eligible to run for president because he was born in Kampala, Uganda and he would have needed to be born in the US. But yes, they’re terrified of Abdul El-Sayed and I fervently hope that his star continues to rise until we eventually see him in the presidency.
@monkeyninja @benroyce Yeah too much wishfull thinking on my old brain this morning :(
Oct 18, 2026, 2:03 PM@oldgeek @benroyce Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather" has a wonderful conversation between the characters "Susan" and "Death." I rarely say this about a movie based on a book, but the modification they made to it in the movie adaptation is superior to the original, and added a lovely bit of commentary about wishful thinking. "You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?" I'm rather fond of wishful thinking...when channeled towards the greater good it's perhaps humanity's most powerful tool to bring about change.
Oct 18, 2026, 3:19 PM@monkeyninja @oldgeek @benroyce
It helps that Pratchett was involved in the movie adaptations of his books. He's had a cameo in each one that he was alive for as far as I can tell.
@benroyce That is a masterclass in public speaking.
What do you think the odds are that Tommy learned anything?
Oct 18, 2026, 12:41 PMthe interaction with Tommy is not an organic natural honest interaction
Tommy is a christian nationalist professional political operative
It's more akin to an organized hit than a random dummy:
https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/tommy-teepell-abdul-el-sayed-viral-video-town-hall-josh-hawley
@benroyce it was a planned set-up to get his moment. Didn't go too well. @DrollTide
@benroyce @DrollTide That really just makes how thoroughly he was owned even sweeter. The lemon sucking face and pinecone up his ass walk he did out of the room after that reaming was perfect.
@benroyce Just saw it on Chris Norlund channel. Tommy got humiliated... but Abdul is outstanding in debates. Almost as sharp as Mehdi Assan.
@benroyce Indeed, and he may meet the same fate as J.F.K. too because the U.S. is still not ready for that type of thinking and sadly never will be.
Oct 18, 2026, 2:07 PM
Oct 18, 2026, 2:20 PM@benroyce love it. We need a guys like El-Sayed to dismantle all the fucking bullshit in our public discourse.
@benroyce Tommy can't even vary his script.
He is educating anyone considering running for political office how to deal with assholes.
Because bad faith, stealth defamation, which I will tell people is bearing false witness you can take that to the Christians and remind them of the ninth commandment, must be immediately snuffed out. It must be called out for what it is because no one should be allowed to get away with defamation like this
@GhostOnTheHalfShell
@benroyce
It's a fantastic example of addressing what a fascist is really trying to say, not the pretense.
That white nationalist dipshit doesn't care about the Muslim Brotherhood. He knows that, regardless of the answer, just having his question treated like it's legitimate plants the idea that this is a valid concern people should have about *any* Muslim. That's why he's so insistent on saying "it's a simple question." He knows there's more to it, but he's a dishonest sack of shit.
El Sayed did an incredible job of making the actual question plain to everyone, soundly rejecting it, and highlighting how stupid it was to ask in the first place. That whole "You should read history, Tommy" bit was genius.
Oct 18, 2026, 3:30 PM@benroyce Tommy, however, walks away thinking he won.
@benroyce the way he waddles out the room at the end I reckon his trousers were fuller when he left than when he came in.
@benroyce 🎯 Brilliant! More Democratic candidates need to walk through this line of thinking from beginning to end. 👏👏👏
@benroyce wow!
@benroyce Everyone should learn from this clip including Tommy and his employer.
@benroyce we can only hope that Tommy might have realized something and will become a better person as I don't want to assume right from the start that Tommy is a bad person.
And of course an awesome response by El-Sayed.
@benroyce Thank God. I sigh a bit of relief whenever I see these individuals just speak the truth.
I feel the same with AOC and a few others.
We gotta take it back and take big, swift action.
-climate
-SCOTUS
-Healthcare, including codify Row right now!
-Education
-Fix immigration
-Prosecute all the MFs
Not in any order but we got a massive list of items that must be addressed right now.
@benroyce I think the teenager or whatever, was questioning more implicit the religious intolerance more than politics. I'm from 🇲🇽 and even there is not much tolerance with Muslims, although there's no bigotry.
If he were catholic, as JFK, wouldn't even been asked, I presume.
@benroyce I sincerely hope he goes far!
@benroyce Looks like we found the robot in the group. He keeps saying the exact answer being said in the exact same way. He can't think of a different answer or a differnt way to say it.
That's a very interesting clip, but what I find interesting is that he's able to engage in a meaningful dialogue.
The guy who interrogated him doesn't lie about what he thinks or what he wants, contrary to the habits of right-wing bigots.
Does that mean that there is hope ?
Oct 19, 2026, 2:00 AM@benroyce
That was good. He handled that guy very well.
Notice the guy and his buddy left the meeting right after.
@peterbrown
Oct 19, 2026, 2:52 AM@benroyce It's good when people get schooled like that. Taking a moral stand.
It's good for everyone. Mind you, my face would be bright red, if I went through something like that.
https://peertube.klemtu.ca/w/d5c463a6-0115-4912-b65c-eca4416428ea
@benroyce it was so beautifully managed. So well done.
@benroyce turns out Tommy isn't just some random citizen either. He worked with Josh Hawley's camp up until January. 🤔
https://www.newsweek.com/tommy-abdul-el-sayed-muslim-brotherhood-michigan-12588556
Oct 21, 2026, 2:17 AM@benroyce
Further to that...
Turns out that 'Tommy' was paid.
Man who heckled El-Sayed is son of Republican adviser who was paid for ‘influencer marketing’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/abdul-el-sayed-heckler?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Man who heckled Abdul El-Sayed is former Josh Hawley aide, records show
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/19/abdul-el-sayed-heckler-tommy
Very dirty politcs. Filthy in fact.