This piece argues that many on the Left apply collective blame unevenly, excusing or protecting some groups while quick to condemn others, and it calls for consistent accountability for criminal behavior and cultural assimilation in Minnesota’s Somali community.
Left-leaning politics thrives on grouping people together and judging them as a block, and that approach rarely tolerates dissenting ideas. You can check the boxes on surface-level diversity and be embraced, but express a different opinion and you get ostracized or worse. That pattern of selective solidarity is central to how the Left enforces conformity.
When a mass shooting happens, the default reaction from many on the Left is to blame every gun owner, regardless of who actually committed the crime. I was born in 1983, yet somehow I am held responsible for actions by people centuries ago simply because of my race or gender. That kind of collective blame is both unfair and politically convenient.
But that collectivist impulse conveniently vanishes when certain demographic groups are involved, and right now the Somalis in Minnesota are getting special treatment. Local outlets and some commentators plead for compassion and context while avoiding calls for full accountability for the crimes tied to members of that community.
While it is natural that incidents of deceit shake the trust that people have in their institutions and each other, it is our shared values as Minnesotans, not our distrust and fear, that must guide us through this crisis. Fraud has no racial or ethnic bias, and fear and hatred as response to fraud does not rebuild trust.
When news of this fraud first broke in 2022, I was serving in the federal government — advancing democracy, combating corruption and countering authoritarianism around the world. Having worked in private philanthropy and in the public sector, I have reviewed, recommended and evaluated grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 25 years. I know the dangers of fraud and the diligent efforts needed to ensure ethical and responsible financial management.
We Minnesotans pride ourselves on fairness, integrity and common sense. We solve problems without shouting down our neighbors. Yet the conversation unfolding today has strayed far from those values. In many conversations, the entire Somali community in Minnesota has been flattened into ugly and untrue caricatures. Somali Minnesotans — a community of refugees that has rebuilt our lives here, started businesses, served in the military and contributed profoundly to our shared culture — are being treated as a monolith rather than as individuals. This is not only wrong; it is dangerous to our shared future.
That excerpt calls for fairness and warns against caricature, which is a reasonable stance — until you notice how inconsistently that standard is applied. The question is why the same reluctance to assign collective responsibility evaporates everywhere else. Selective outrage erodes trust in institutions more than it builds it.
Not even three months ago, the same outlet ran an op-ed that painted all gun owners with the same brush and treated firearms ownership as a defining sin for millions of Americans. That kind of sweeping guilt-by-association is familiar and predictable from parts of the media.
Guns are not the root of every problem, but pointing out that hypocrisy is not a defense of weapons—it’s a demand for fairness. If you condemn a whole class for one bad actor, you should be consistent when another group commits mass wrongdoing. Consistency is the core issue here.
Two days ago, the outlet smeared conservatives broadly with the charge of a “pro-Hitler problem,” a claim that treats a political movement as morally irredeemable. That red-meat rhetoric is meant to isolate and shame, not to persuade.
I am not a Leftist, and I expect ideological consistency from those who preach it. So yes: flattening an entire community into a single, ugly stereotype is wrong, and the Star Tribune’s warning has merit when applied consistently. But consistency means holding everyone to the same standard of accountability.
If progressives won’t apply the same rules, they must at least stop shielding criminal actors behind claims of racial bias or political grievance. Those responsible for theft, violence, and support for terror organizations should face full consequences, to the fullest extent of the law, up to and including deportation. Minnesota taxpayers deserve restitution and justice when public funds are stolen.
Consider a striking example: Hennepin County Judge Sarah West recently tossed a jury verdict in a $7.2 million Medicare fraud case, saying the state “relied heavily on circumstantial evidence” and that the state did not “exclude other reasonable, rational inferences.” That decision raised eyebrows because the alleged scheme involved clear patterns and financial trails. The judge’s move suggests to many that judicial standards are being applied unevenly.
The suspects in that case, including Abdifatah Yusuf and his wife, allegedly operated a “home health company” out of a mailbox shared with multiple other shell entities and billed the state millions for services not rendered. Jurors, who reviewed the same evidence, were left stunned by the ruling. Their reaction underscores a gap between jury findings and judicial conclusions.
“I’m shocked,” said jury foreman Ben Walfoort. “I’m shocked based off of all of the evidence that was presented to us and the obvious guilt that we saw based off of said evidence. It was not a difficult decision whatsoever.” Those words from the jury speak to real frustration on the ground.
I’m with the jurors on this. When seven-figure fraud is traceable to luxury purchases and shell operations, the “other reasonable, rational inferences” argument rings hollow. Decisions like this push people toward the conclusion that race or politics, not justice, drove the outcome.
In the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, 76 of the 78 defendants charged are Somali, a staggering concentration that deserves sober attention and prosecutorial rigor.
Accountability must be paired with a demand for assimilation into common civic norms. Criminal behavior cannot be excused away as cultural misunderstanding when victims and taxpayers suffer real harm. Communities that hope to thrive need both protection and pressure to integrate.
When Qalinle Ibrahm abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl, members of his community wrote a letter of support, saying Ibrahm was “not assimilated into non-Somali culture” when he raped a 12-year-old. That defense treats a horrific crime as a cultural misstep rather than an individual atrocity.
Where are the broad public condemnations and the op-eds decrying a supposed “pro-rape problem” in that community? The silence on accountability in some quarters is deafening. That selective outrage signals a dangerous double standard.
Abdimahat Bille Mohamed has served no jail time despite raping a minor and another woman, and he was arrested again after allegedly raping a third woman following kidnapping and days of captivity. Such patterns demand relentless enforcement and a cultural reckoning.
Will local leaders excuse this behavior as failed assimilation and write letters of support instead of calling for justice? I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. The soft bigotry of low expectations lets criminals hide behind cultural explanations while victims pay the price.
If the Left truly wants to avoid maligning any community, then it must lead the charge demanding responsibility from every community. That means prosecuting crimes, enforcing deportations where appropriate, and insisting on assimilation and respect for Minnesota’s laws and culture. Until then, rhetoric about protecting communities rings hollow to those who see patterns of real and repeated harm.
