AROUND THE BLOCK
I learned…
I learned today, courtesy of David Leonhardt of the New York Times, that we are pretty much reaching rock bottom when it comes to civil discourse in this country. (I say “pretty much” because with this president and his base, it’s a good bet that we will be going lower…I mean it’s still six or so months from the first primary voting).
In any event, here’s Leonhardt’s column:
It was an ugly, lawless, racist sentiment, and President Trump loved it. He had worked the crowd into a frenzy by denouncing the congresswoman, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and three other House Democrats — all women of color, as well.
“No safe, sane, decent country or leader should ever speak of its own citizens this way,” Jill Filipovic said on Twitter. “And it’s difficult to put into words how profoundly sad this makes me. Is this who we are? Is it who we want to be?”
The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein offered a good way of thinking about it, by posing a question to corporate executives: “If workers in your companies chanted ‘send her back’ at a colleague of color they disagreed with would they retain their jobs? Is this now the standard you’ll accept for how your workers interact in a diversifying country?”
Joe Walsh, a former congressman, said: “It saddens me beyond belief that the standard-bearer for the Republican Party, my Party, is making ‘Send her back’ his re-election rallying cry. It’s so ugly. It’s so un-American. It just saddens me beyond belief.”
And yet elected Republicans — those with power — continue to do nothing about Trump’s behavior. Some bless it. Some are quiet. And some mumble modest regret. But virtually none would even vote for a symbolic resolution this week decrying his racism.
“Thank you, @realDonaldTrump, for visiting the great state of North Carolina today,” Senator Thom Tillis, who represents the state, said on Twitter. “I know you are working hard to Keep America Great!”
The Republican Party’s 2020 election strategy seems to be hatefulness.
Let’s unpack this a bit – comments from the expected and the unexpected:
The Expected
Jill Filipovic is is a lawyer and author, known for promoting feminist causes. She’s written for Cosmopolitan, The Guardian, the New York Times, the Washington Post and Time magazine. Her blog, Feminste, is one of the most read feminist blogs
Ronald Brownstein is an American journalist, political correspondent, and analyst. He has worked at the National Journal, the Los Angeles Times and U. S. News and World Report. He is currently senior political analyst for CNN and Editorial Director for Strategic Partnerships for The Atlantic.
Senator Thom Tillis is the junior Senator from the great state of North Carolina who, this week when asked if he thought President Trump’s recent tweets about the four Democratic congresswomen of color were racist, said he hadn’t seen them because "I literally don't go on Twitter." (Just so you, my dear readers, don’t have to, I went to Twitter to check the facts; here are the @ThomTillis Twitter stats: 14.3K Following; 36.5K Followers; 2,210 Tweets. Not sure which term the esteemed senator doesn’t understand: “literally,” “go on” or “Twitter.”)
The Unexpected
Joe Walsh is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has been a member of five successful rock bands: James Gang, Barnstorm, Eagles, the Party Boys, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Only kidding. Not that Joe Walsh…
...this Joe Walsh, the former GOP Illinois Congressman, now a conservative radio talk show host, who has said on the air: "This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out Black Lives Matter punks. Real America is coming after you."; and, "On November 8th, I'm voting for Trump. On November 9th, if Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket. You in?"; and, when asked what he meant by “grabbing my musket” said, "It means protesting. Participating in acts of civil disobedience. Doing what it takes to get our country back.”
Now, a little more unpacking.
Whether Donald Trump realizes it or not, he is the head of the U.S. Federal Government, not just his rabid, (I’ll leave it to you to fill in the next adjective), base.
And, as head of that federal government, all agencies ultimately report to him. Including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency responsible for enforcing federal laws regarding discrimination or harassment against a job applicant or an employee in the United States. The EEOC was formed by Congress to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Here’s what the EEOC says about discrimination and, specifically about epithets like “Go back to where you came from.”
Now in fairness, the rally in North Carolina was not about equal employment so, technically, the President of the United States and his (adjective, please) followers were not officially breaking the law. But they were breaking the spirit of what MAKES AMERICA GREAT.
I opened this piece with the thought that we’ve "pretty much" reached rock bottom in this country regarding civil discourse.
But, when the President of the United States can tweet, and rile up his supporters at rallies by saying “If you don’t agree with me, leave, go back to your own countries,” and figuratively put a target on the back of a U.S. citizen (and a Congresswoman, to boot) perhaps we have reached rock bottom after all.
One last thing -- was it just my eyes and admittedly inadequate lip-reading skills, but did this happen after Trump accused Representative Ilhan Omar of a "history of launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds?"
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