Misogynoir in the Open: On Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Challenging the Normalcy of Hate
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is a rising star in Congress and an unapologetic truth-teller. She is brilliant, sharp, and fearless. But more than anything, she is Black and a woman. And for that, she is subjected to some of the most vile and degrading attacks imaginable—attacks that reveal far more about the people launching them than about her.
Recently, Crockett shared a set of text messages she received via her "Clapback Collection" line from one Shawn Pugh, an administrative assistant for Comcast.
In these messages, Pugh hurled racist accusations at Crockett, repeatedly calling her a racist—an old, tired tactic white people often use when Black people dare to name racism. As if being called out is the real oppression. But Pugh didn’t stop there. He went on to demean her protective hairstyle, making grotesque comments rooted in misogynoir—the toxic mix of racism and misogyny that Black women uniquely endure.
For Black women, this is nothing new. It is the familiar drumbeat of white supremacy paired with the patriarchy’s obsession with controlling and degrading our bodies. Crockett isn’t just being called names; she’s being put back on the auction block, where white people once felt entitled to scrutinize, judge, and reduce us to objects for their use and abuse.
The fact that Shawn Pugh—someone who holds a corporate job with Comcast—felt comfortable enough to send these messages is not surprising. Not to us. It might shock some white people who are always shocked when Black people show them receipts of America’s rot. But for us, it’s just another reminder that this country, in 2025, is not so far removed from 1825. The faces have changed, and the tools have evolved, but the intent remains the same: to silence, degrade, and punish Black people for existing in spaces white people believe belong to them.
Pugh’s rage at Crockett is layered. He sees a Black woman who is smarter than him, more accomplished than him, and better paid than him. But more than that, he sees a Black woman who is unbothered by his existence and unapologetic in her refusal to dim her light. That eats at him because it unravels the lie that people like him—mediocre, hateful, and morally bankrupt—are inherently superior because their skin is white and their body parts are male.
So he lashes out, exposing the ugliness inside him. His choice of words says everything about who he is and nothing about who Crockett is. He is the problem, not her. He is deplorable, to borrow from Hillary Clinton’s now-infamous but entirely accurate term. And he is far from alone.
America has a long history of giving itself permission to indulge in its worst impulses. From its founding, it built a structure that not only allowed racism to thrive but ensured that it would become a pillar of the nation. For generations, that structure was at least dressed in polite pretenses, cloaked in coded language, plausible deniability, and dog whistles. But we are far past that point. The Trump administration and the MAGA movement that grew in its wake have created a new permission structure, one that doesn’t bother to hide. It tells white Americans that their grievances—real or imagined—justify their racism. It emboldens the worst among them to act without shame, remorse, or accountability.
The permission structure MAGA created has taught people like Pugh that it’s okay to hate out loud, to spew vile attacks under the false banner of free speech, to say the quiet part loud and often. But this structure doesn’t just encourage the hate—it demands it. Because to MAGA, whiteness is under attack if whiteness isn’t in charge. It’s a movement born out of fear: fear of losing power, fear of losing relevance, fear of being exposed.
Shawn Pugh embodies that fear. He wasted minutes of his life sending hate-filled messages to a Congresswoman who is miles above him in every conceivable way. Minutes he could have spent with loved ones, assuming anyone who loves him can overlook the smallness of his spirit. Minutes he could have used reflecting on his own mediocrity and what he could do to improve. Instead, he chose to punch up, knowing full well he couldn’t reach Crockett’s level even on his best day.
I hope Comcast recognizes that Pugh has too much time on his hands to send hate mail and too little decency to deserve a job there. I hope they relieve him of his duties. But even if they don’t, people like Pugh should understand that their time is up. This new era of loud, proud bigotry will not go unchallenged or unchecked.
Crockett—and the many Black women like her—are not going anywhere. We’ve dealt with worse, and we’ve survived. We’ve thrived. We’ve built and rebuilt this country despite its endless efforts to erase us.
Shawn, you are the problem with this country. Not Rep. Jasmine Crockett. You. And no amount of ire from insecure, bitter white men will stop us because we’re built for this—while you’re just “bad built."
