Recently, many conservatives and even some liberals have been calling for "civility" after protestors confronted DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Mexican restaurant, and after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' removal from a restaurant in Virginia by its ownership.
Representative Maxine Waters was criticized for telling supporters, "And if you see anyone from [Trump's] Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere."
In light of Waters' instructions, Nancy Pelosi and Orrin Hatch have both, via Twitter, called for a return to "civility" and "unity", and many others have cried for the return of "respectful disagreement." To all of this, I say, well, something not very nice, which I will leave to your imagination.
I pride myself on being polite and respectful. But only to people who have my respect. As for Kirstjen Nielsen, who was instrumental in executing the policy which placed children in CAGES, she does not have my respect. Nor does Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who regularly deceives the American people to cover for the ultimate person whom I do not respect, Donald Trump. These people have committed some of the most heinous acts in American history, are responsible for America's descent into madness, and have caused America's tumble towards fascism. To hell with "civility".
I won't be civil. I won't be respectful. I won't stand idly by while America slips further and further into the abyss of hate and intolerance. Don't get me wrong--I completely disagree with anyone who advocates violence against these people. But exercising our first amendment rights against them? I can get behind that.
I won't cry for Nielsen or Sanders because they didn't get to eat a meal in peace. They've waived their right to peaceful dining experiences by instituting policies that rip apart families. In fact, they waived that right long ago when they accepted their jobs in the first place.
I won't "respectfully disagree" with those who advocate for TEARING FAMILIES APART. I won't "respectfully disagree" with HATE.
What Pelosi and Hatch need to understand is that this is not "politics as usual". This argument isn't between people who like red and people who like blue. This argument is between those who commit atrocities and those who refuse to stand for those atrocities. I prefer to align with the latter.
When the Nazis were gaining power in Germany in the 1930's, should those who disagreed have been civil? Should they have just played it off as if it were all normal? I think not. And today is eerily similar to 1930's Germany.
I don't dislike these people because they don't agree with me. I dislike them because they are hateful. I dislike them because they have turned the country I love into a breeding ground for hate and bigotry. I dislike them for their many lies. I dislike them for splitting apart families. For banning people from entering the country because of their religion or where they were born. For enabling literal Nazis to gain traction in our political system.
I'm white, so naturally I'll quote Martin Luther King here to conclude because that's what white people do when they want to sound woke: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Well, that day is now. And I'm judging Trump and his people by the content of their character. Because the content of their character isn't pretty.
