It is satisfying to watch a bully get his comeuppance
It happened regularly In my rough hometown near Pittsburgh. And, it was a moment of pure joy for those of us who felt the sting of a verbal putdown or a smack across the back of the head. The bully would push someone just a centimeter too far, and BOOM! Fists, kicks, bites, blood, broken teeth. An absolute pounding of the tormentor until, with great shame, the bully was stomped.
We’d stand in a circle and watch the melee, cheering on the tormented one. We knew this is how you deal with a bully. You don’t ever discuss or negotiate or try to play nice or appeal to “better angels.” You strike back… hard. It is a liberating moment. It was glorious.
Staring at the bloody ear, sadly, I have the same feeling now. Just can’t find a bit of empathy for this tormentor of infinite scale. Whether it be Paul Pelosi hammered nearly to death. Or that “fat pig” Chris Christy. Or the Mexican “rapists and murderers.” Or “lock her up.” Or, “losers and suckers.” Or, “Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin in our country.” Or, “They’re poisoning the blood of our country.”
I feel not an iota of sadness for him and his bloody ear
But, I do for us, for everyone who is enduring his hostile takeover of our lives. For the librarians, teachers, LGBTQ people, civil rights advocates, poll workers, capitol police, people of color, and on and on who’ve been bludgeoned by the evilness that is MAGA.
Deserving our empathy now, is the family man and community servant who died Saturday, protecting his family from the assassin’s bullets. The two others who were severely hurt will carry the mental and physical scars through their lifetimes. They did not deserve this.
I feel sorrow for the parents of the shooter, both social workers. They will face all the unanswerable questions about what went wrong with their son. And, they’ll undoubtedly, feel backlash from MAGA’s gun toting thugs. Bethel Park, a White, sheltered Pittsburgh suburb known for great schools and championship swimming programs, now wears the bloody badge of Littleton and Sandy Hook.
All are worthy of our sympathy. But…I feel zero for the bloody ear.
“Cool it down”
That’s what President Biden has asked us to do. Somehow, after nonstop assaults by MAGA, we’re supposed to make nice.
It won’t happen on either side.
In the hours following the attack we were lectured by disgusting Trump toadies J.D. Vance and Tim Scott. “Hillbilly” Vance, alleged President Biden’s "…rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination." Not to be outdone in the Trump Veepstakes, Scott countered, “Let’s be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”
Does that feel like “Cool it down”? Nope.
For Democrats, for the opposition, for those of us who expect to live a life without MAGA harassment, the most American response I can think of is not “cooling it down.” Because, in fact and deed, what we’ve witnessed over the last nine years is the rise of a true threat to democracy in the form of Donald Trump.
If we want our freedom, we call out these fascists. Call out the Christian Nationalists. Block them at every opportunity. Go to prison if necessary. Die if necessary. Absolutely refuse to bend to their will.
And, most importantly, VOTE your ass off!
Whether it’s Biden or Harris or someone else with a “D” next to their name, VOTE for them. Volunteer for them. Yes, Biden is not the best the Democrats can offer. Yes, his fumbling of Gaza is unforgiveable. But, he and Harris are the only thing standing between us and the bloody ear and a society where dissent will not be tolerated.
“Cool it down.” No, thank you. Not now.
Note, I highly recommend two columns on the state of our country. David Remnick writes in The New Yorker, “What must be said, contrary to the rhetoric of Vance, Scott, and Abbott, is that Trump has, to say the least, done little to calm or to unify the country he once led and is campaigning to lead again. Unfortunately, it is hard to recall a public voice in living memory who has done more to arouse the lowest passions that so often percolate within individuals and the greater society.”
David Frum, a former Bush speech writer, in The Atlantic, “It is sadly incorrect to say, as so many have, that political violence ‘has no place’ in American society. Assassinations, lynchings, riots, and pogroms have stained every page of American political history. That has remained true to the present day. In 2016, and even more in 2020, Trump supporters brought weapons to intimidate opponents and vote-counters. Trump and his supporters envision a new place for violence as their defining political message in the 2024 election.”
The articles are available in PDF form here