Three Somali Immigrants Play Innocentin Viral Parking Lot Altercation
When half the video is all the press needs to tell the "whole" story.
7.28.2017
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Three Somali women were confronted by a white woman who screamed profanity-laced threats at them in a Walmart parking lot in Fargo, North Dakota, and the footage has gone viral. That cost the woman her job as a secretary and a heap of embarrassment, but the video tells only half the story.
The video shows Amber Elizabeth Hensley leaning into a passenger window and telling Sarah Hassan who was filming, “We’re going to kill all of ya, we’re going to kill every one of you f***ing Muslims.”
The video is highly edited and mostly shows Hensley yelling insults. And that’s the narrative that has gone forth. The little heard from Hassan is her calling Hensley “fat” and “bitch” and egging her on. But other than that, the Somali women in the car appear innocent because their part in the altercation has been cut. Hassan was recording using the app Snapchat, and claims that’s why there are only short clips.
Hensley apologized online before removing her social media accounts which were bombarded with backlash. Though she said she lost her cool, her version of what happened before the camera phone began recording paints a much different picture:
“I would first like to apologize for the horrible things that I said to the two ladies at Walmart. It was not a Christian like thing to do AT ALL and wish I could take it back, but I lost my cool and I can’t. I am terribly sorry. I just wish that the whole video could be shown. And the things that were stated before she starts taping. She had parked way too close to my car and I couldn’t get in, when I asked her to move she refused. I asked her again and she swore at me calling me a fat bitch, to that I informed her that I was a Christian and asked her if she knew who Jesus was, she said f*** Jesus and I lost it! But there are absolutely no excuses. I am in tears with regret and will take any form of punishment deemed fit..”
By Thursday, the women had reconciled and met at the Fargo Police Department and posed for a photo:
The Somali women said they forgive Hensley, as well:
“We forgive her. She had a bad idea about Islam and about Muslims. We sat down with her and discussed Islam...Islam is about forgiveness and we want to show that to people.”
Sure, forgiveness.
The Fargo police chief used the moment to show how different communities can come together: “I want to put before you an example of what can be accomplished even though mistakes were made and unfortunate words were said. Amber Hensley, Sarah Hassan and Leyla Hassan have all expressed regret regarding their interaction and language with each other. With an openness to reconciliation, these women have come together and talked through this incident and expressed their sincere regrets, apologies and most importantly — forgiveness to each other. This process has also allowed them to gain understanding and respect for each other.”
And now the terror-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations is sinking its teeth into this juicy story. CAIR wants Hensley to come to a “meeting:”
“We would be pleased to arrange a meeting with wonderful members of the North Dakota Muslim community to help educate this individual about Islam and about the American values of religious tolerance and inclusion.”
Multiple outlets have made sure to inform readers that Hensley is a Trump supporter, just to really drive home that narrative that "Trump supporters bad, Muslims little sweethearts."
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