I think it would be pretty easy for most of us to make a list of ten things that all decent Americans agree on. We might differ on tactics in how to reach a goal, but there aren’t many people who would suggest that ending child abuse or improving education is a bad idea. I feel safe saying that everyone would like to eradicate cancer and help families dealing with cancer.
Yet the audience at a fund-raiser for exactly that cause erupted in boos last weekend in Boston. Why that happened sheds light on Donald Trump’s amazing election victory. For twenty-two years, comedians have performed in an evening that produces publicity and funds for the Cam Neely Foundation, a group dedicated to providing ‘comfort, support and hope to cancer patients and their families.’ The organization’s Comic Come Home fund-raiser is billed as an evening where “every year the audience laughs hard enough to shake the roof!” This year, anger and disgust replaced some of the laughter.
Comedian Wanda Sykes used her time on stage to unleash a hate-filled diatribe against Donald Trump. Bashing Republican politicians isn’t new territory for many popular comedians – I remember reading about a truly disgusting presentation by Sarah Silverman when George W. Bush was president. This year’s vitriol didn’t go as planned. Audience members began to boo and rather than pivoting away from her remarks, the comedian proceeded to curse those who had chosen to give from their money to support a good cause.
Before any policy changes, before signing any bills, Donald Trump has already provided a service to America. For too many years, the Left has suppressed opposing views and belittled, besmirched and insulted millions of kind, giving, decent people. Many of these people have seethed silently rather than risk jobs and relationships. They kept quiet rather than volunteering for insults and scorn. President Obama elevated this bullying to new heights, erecting straw men that he then arrogantly knocked down. Fair-minded liberals haven’t even been aware that among their workmates, schoolmates and neighbors were those who held differing opinions. Respectful dialogue that might have elucidated issues for people on both sides never took place.
I hope that last week’s voter uprising has lasting results in emboldening citizens to defend themselves and proudly and publicly proclaim their beliefs, just as this audience did. Certainly, vitriol on both sides of the political aisle needs to diminish. I’m all in favor of a reduction in profanity and foul language no matter what one’s political leanings. Yet the media, academia and entertainment elites are overwhelmingly liberal and have blindly refused to recognize their own bigotry. It’s about time their eyes were forced open. Then, maybe, we can make progress starting with areas where we agree such as improving the lives of cancer patients.
It is hard to express how much I have enjoyed this refreshing and uplifting article by Susan Lapin, and the following discourse. It is time that we set and “reason together” rather than strike out at each other. I remember a statement that I read by Athol Dickson in “The Gospel According to Moses” , “God honors an honest question. I say that we should strive to be willing to listen and ask honest questions.
That’s a great quote.
I believe Wanda Sykes gave the audience the middle finger gesture in an additional display of class. A woman caller on a popular radio show said regarding Trump’s crudeness “I’m looking for a commander in chief, not a date on “Christian Mingle dot com.”
I’m not sure I’m understanding your point Are you comparing Wanda Sykes and Donald Trump, saying both are crude?
When my daughter tells me, “I love you,” I retort saying, “I love you first.” Wanda says, “Boo, Trump.”. Audience says, “Boo, Wanda.” Wanda says, “Boo, Audience.” and so on and so on. Justice is not administered with any measure of hate, if it is true and pure justice, and so those that stand behind any justification of their hate is no champion of it. It boils down to the respect for the autonomy of each individual, where justice restores a healthy balance of those exertions. One expects the other to reply as they would judge should be the response, an neither understands the other, though everyone should take the time to hear it, though nobody really wants to. From whom should this right of autonomy be detracted in order to appease the other? Humor is funny (huh?), and from Wanda’s perspective, her remarks were an attempt at funny, though she grossly misjudged her audience would agree. She was unprepared for the reaction, but giving her the benefit of the doubt, she would handle it differently after having been giving time to consider the situation. Perhaps the audience might have been better prepared also, and replied with “No, I love you first!”
Well, that is certainly an interesting perspective, Nancy.
Well written Susan! you’ve never been short on courage! I’m proud of you and thrilled that so many wonderful readers take the time and trouble to comment.
Love
Your Husband
Thank you for the very thought provoking post. And thank you everyone else for raising so many points in reaction to it. What is clear is that there is a world of hurt going on among us. So much that we do lose sight of human compassion to wallow in our own anger with the other. It is probably one of the hardest things to do but shouldn’t we take a long look at ourselves in the mirror before we throw barbs at those others because they don’t have the wisdom to see the world as we do? Can we not reach out to the other instead and say i don’t understand what you believe or why you believe it but i’m willing to listen respectfully. Won’t you do the same for me? That way maybe we will both learn something. By the way, my father’s ancestors were serfs in Central Europe for centuries before managing to get to America. So even if we don’t share a heritage of discrimination based on color, millions of us understand the struggle to overcome slavery. Maybe that can be a small bridge of communication between us.
I agree wholeheartedly, Joyce. Thank you for your balanced words.
Thank you Susan, your letter is encouraging and I fully agree with you. We are living in an arrogant world … people don’t recognize The Creator and His Word!! BUT our G_d is still in control.
Thank you, Susan. I was afraid to put a Trump sign in my yard in the area where I live. Surprisingly, many people have put their American flags out. I’m hoping this is a good thing.
Susan, I would love to see an honest analysis of the percentage of Trump signs torn off lawns (this happened repeatedly to my daughter and son-in-law) vs. Clinton signs damaged. In 2004, where I lived, the police caught out-of-state agitators who had been bussed in to tear down Bush signs. This is one of those things that would be best served by shedding a huge torchlight on the topic. Good people in both parties stand against vandalism and intimidation.
Well said Susan.
Among the most intolerant people I have ever met are”liberals” – now calling themselves “progressives” – who have an incredible confidence in their version of “facts” and thus in how very wrong and misguided those of differing opinions must be. Really, intolerance is not a sufficient word for the bigotry of the left. One look at college campuses and you wonder if anyone is even familiar with the First Amendment. We have raised a generation of entitled and self-centered cry-babies who cannot fathom the sacrifice of previous generations. The”Greatest Generation” – those who fought in WW II and survived the Depression and the Cold War – made mistakes, to be sure, but they sacrificed their best years, in many cases, to give their children and grandchildren a more secure world and life. May their sacrifices – I pray – not be in vain; may young visionaries and leaders arise who will articulate a new and better way … a way that calls for respect and love and compassion and fortitude and sacrifice and integrity and a whole lot of old-fashioned “Core Values” that seem to have eluded the “Me First” mentality of the era. We, in the meantime will continue to believe and pray and stand – whatever direction the winds may blow – and do our part, hoping that the tide will turn.
God Bless the Lapin Family and their contribution to truth and taking a stand!
I only am partially joking by thinking that if President Trump temporarily shut down college campuses he would be doing the nation a service. Too many of them are about indoctrination rather than education.
You are absolutely correct Susan.
Hi Ms. Susan! I am filled with admiration for your bravery. In stating the truth as you see it, you have opened yourself up to a backlash of sour-grapes liberal invective and mudslinging. What sort of mudslinging? The sort exemplified by the paralogical diatribe: (1) Pres. Obama is such a wonderful, exemplary man; (2) Therefore anyone who criticizes him must be a (a) RACIST, (b) BIGOT.
The Left, in constructing ‘narrative’ inspired by the false religion of Saul Alinsky (and his master Karl Marx) are quick as lightning to attach any trumped-up innuendo or epithet to an opponent, in their knee-jerk eagerness to neutralize him. Its subservient Media slavishly abet them in the outrage. I would fear transgressing the Decalogue, i.e., of bearing false witness against my neighbor, for I have never heard Mr. Trump utter a single bigoted comment but have often heard the Media stretch and deform his comments or invent things he never said at all, to fit the Leftist narrative. You bet the Lord sees and hears. Racism today is oft in the eye of the beholder.
James, I do think I lost readers by making my (kicking and screaming) support for Mr. Trump public, but my Musing column is pretty safe for me to talk. That isn’t so for some of my children and friends who worried that their work lives would be negatively impacted through bad reviews or possibly losing jobs if they were open about their voting preferences. My impression is that Mr. Trump did utter many nasty words that lead people to assume he is a bigot, but his work life of decades with all sorts of people belie those words. What many liberals are completely incapable of hearing, is that a strong case can be made that President Obama behaved in a bigoted way as president, as Judy Gruen says, squandering a unique opportunity given to him to improve race relations in the U.S. In my opinion, that is the most tragic part of the past eight years.
Yes indeed. I second the ‘bigoted’ behavior of Mr. Obama, in saying things like ‘The police acted stupidly’ because they dared to assault a criminal who happened to be black. Then he said ‘If I had a son, he would look just like Trayvon.’ All the while when many a white man was murdered in a racially charged incident, he was disgracefully silent. This narcissistic self-server has set our race relations back SIXTY years. As for Mr. Trump, he is honest, oft uncontrollably so, uttering comments that fueled the watchful Media’s flames, but this actually aided his cause, for so many are fed up with the abolition of free speech, disguised as insipid political correctness (p.s. It takes much more than that to lose MY readership. Keep up the bold Musings!).
The point you are making, that President Obama weighed in on cases before there was any information with which to make a judgment, is so important. He, sadly, poured gasoline on false alarms. That also meant that real fires get ignored because people stop listening when you cry wolf.
Well said… thanks.
I think conservatives are finally realizing that “politically correct” language provides cover for untruth. Truth is intrinsically divisive. Definitions are divisive. Light and darkness are different. In the first chapter of Genesis, God divided light from darkness, waters from waters and He said it was “good.” People who want to blur lines and redefine goodness ultimately deny the very nature of God. When the “wolves in sheeps clothing” get revealed, they naturally snarl. “Don’t judge!” they say. “You’re a hypocrite, what right do have to judge me?” The real truth is that every one of us needs to make judgments every day. Driving a car requires judgment of distance. Entering credit card information on a website requires judgment. A world without judgment, without division, without definition would be “without form and void.” Do people who deny God’s nature want to destroy the world?
I dislike conflict. So I usually keep my judgment of other people to myself. But when they try to forcibly convince me of something that violates my deep beliefs, I react. I would have boo’ed in Boston.
I own a contracting business and some of my best employees are black, hispanic and women. Some are athiests. I can get along with almost anyone. I choose not to hang out with people I do not like. I don’t tell my employees what to think and I do not let them tell me what to think.
I realize that I do not control anyone else. On a good day I control myself. I do best when I can communicate with other people in my life without either victimizing or being a victim.
I believe the foundation of government is family. The best way we can strengthen our country is to strengthen healthy family relationships. Take care of our own vineyards.
I think many of the “issues” that have caused division in the US over the past months would disappear if more people would live by Micah 6:8 “Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly…”
Well said, Joel.
One of the most enlightening comments I have read. It is rare that someone’s words will actually make me reconsider my own words! Now I can see that “divisive” is not such a bad concept! Indeed! We need to be divisive. If you are familiar with the words of Christ, He did say that He did not come into this world to bring PEACE (in one context) but to bring TRUTH and that truth would be as divisive as a double edged sword and would bring discord between those who are in darkness and those who are in the light of truth! Strong words, and I appreciate your expressing them, and I again, thank you, Susan for hosting this forum and for your diplomacy. I love the prior comments about how Our Father divided the light from the dark….and He did this BEFORE He created day and night. There is a lot more to this division of light and dark than to the 24 hour cycle! You have left me with much to ponder. We are, in fact, the United States- however, it is a fairy tale to believe that we will ever be UNITED people and that is just the way that it is! Well, I might now edit some of my previous comment, but I still am hurt and feel like a cruel plan was in place to intentionally divide us all with false divisions for political reasons in order to benefit an elite bunch of Secular Humanists and that propaganda we all need to be aware of.
What is apparent, is that the party who says they are the party of love and inclusion are the very ones who are spewing hate, supporting violence against innocents, and damaging property with no remorse. Hypocrites!
As a conservative black female, I highly endorse this article! Thank you! I live in an area where I have had to bite my tongue (one of THE blue states -> the one that wanted to “exit”), and cannot tell you what a RELIEF it’s been to finally have pride in being conservative. We all speak in code to each other and secretly rejoice when we realize the person we are speaking to is a fellow conservative!
Thank you for writing, Kammi. One of my daughters told me of the furtive, shared glances around her college classroom when one of her professors would make anti-religous statements. In the general Jewish community, I face that as a conservative but you deal with it to a much greater extent than most people. Stay strong and God bless.
America as a whole lacks an awakening of God, Creator of all. People have been deeply divided for too long. There’s so much anger and hatred about everything. As a Christian, nothing else, I struggled with this election because I can see how it portrayed Christians as a hate group. We are taught to love and vote based on Godly principles. The principles we vote for and against send a message of hatred to the very people we are supposed to be light for in this world. Christians were told to vote for a candidate because of his stance against abortion, gay marriages, etc. but not to vote against him because of racist and sexist remarks that caused a division in this world. God won’t be pleased with me if I didn’t support him because racism isn’t as important as gay marriages and abortions? If you could ever walk one day in my shoes and feel the pain of hate filled words that were spoken against me because of the color of my skin. The pain that hateful words leave behind of someones sexuality. I have friends who are gay and treat them with love. You can change your sexuality but not your race. So why was it better to vote for Trump than against him. What would happen if Christians would embrace people with love and allow that love to change them. If people would spend as much money fighting for victims of racism than they would disease, just maybe I could sympathize with you. I hoped you supported President Obama as much as you have supported Trump. God say pray for leaders. Just as Wanda’s words pained you, Trumps did much more to multitudes of people. If you’re a Christian who is sleeping better because Trump was elected, I ask you who do you put your trust in? Trump or God?
Kathy, Wanda’s words pained me in that she damaged an evening devoted to a cause on which we can all agree-fighting cancer. I’m not a Christian, but I shared the agony of many Christians in supporting Mr. Trump precisely because his words were frequently divisive. In fairness, I don’t think he spoke with the racism and hatred that was attributed to him by the Left. The press’ exaggeration of his character traits is one of the reasons he won; an honest press would have been nice to see. I prayed for President Obama’s success when he was elected and was highly disappointed in what I perceived as prejudice and contempt for conservatives and traditionally religious people that he sometimes exhibited during his tenure. I do hope we can all cool down and move forward.
The Democratic Party will remain second class until it stops its toddler temper tantrums with challengers.
Great commentary. Interesting the responses of comedians when they slander w their hatred and people react in disgust as they begin to recognize the bigotry in the liberal view. I found the comments of how Trump won because he got the “uneducated male vote” particularly humorous; many of my professional male colleagues (e.g. healthcare providers) were voting Trump because they were tired of big government penalties that were increasing each year. But they kept quiet as to their voting intentions – Surprise!
I read anoher article last night about the wonderful Wanda Sykes performance and I wasn’t surprised she reacted the she did because liberals aren’t used to being booed. She thought she was in a safe place to ridicule Trump and proceeded to do so however, the response was shocking to say the least. I believe Hollywood will think twice before spewing their volcanic heat towards audiences next time realizing that there tirade won’t be tolerated. At least I hope so.
Excellent points. The right for conservatives to be part of the national discussion had almost been bullied out of existence. Many compassionate liberals are realizing that there were some very compelling reasons for the election surprise, including the fact that many hardworking people simply can’t afford the so called Affordable Care Act. I suspect that even Bill Clinton did not vote for his own spouse (tongue firmly in cheek) or at least seemed prepared not to vote for her in light of his disparaging remarks about Obamacare as televised on CNN. It appears that the land of the free is a bit freer and wiser now and that’s good for everyone everywhere.
When good people remain silent…….
I have spoken my mind in the last year and have been bullied. I felt that I was so alone but now after Donald Trump was elected, people have come out of the closet. I am so proud of that audience. Bravo!
Amen!
I am pleased as punch Donald Trump won the election. I was getting so sick of the liberal progressive agenda. I can’t tell you the number of times I was wondering to myself, “what in the #$%^*@ is going on with these peoples way of thinking? ” When you live in a country where God is being removed from so many things and you are made to feel like a fool for believing in the Lord, something very wrong is going on with society and the culture!
Trump may not be perfect, but what man alive is? We all have our faults, I don’t care how religious or holy we portray ourselves to be. What person can say with finality that I have cleansed by heart and mind of all sin! So, given two imperfect candidates, I chose the one who stood for more godly principles with regard to the issues. And therefore, Trump was my man! God bless him and God bless America again, even though so many of it’s people may not deserve it. Lord, bless this country for the sake of your own people (even few as they may be).
One thing I think that you have overlooked is that this country was established on the brutal explotation of a kidnapped people group. Historically that group has been demonized and vilified as a justification for the abuse heaped upon them by a group of psychopathic, white supremacists.
The president elect has tapped into that population of unhinged, racists (one went into a African American church under the guise of participating in a bible study and at the end of the session mercilessly slaughtered all but one of the participants in the effort to start a race war) as part of his power base.
The president elect has not done anything significant to distance himself from the vile, hateful and dangerous rhetoric that this core part of his supporters embrace.
So when a Gay, Black woman with a mic has an opportunity to speak against him there are many logical reasons why she would do so and none of them have to do with “assulting the sensibilities” of those who were attending the event.
You should be extremely aware of the danger that the rhetoric the president elect relied upon to be victorious. It’s not the left who has an issue with diversity, it’s not the left embracing neo nazis and it’s not the left who’s base disreguards facts in exchange for ideas that sound good.
If you cannot see the importance of creating balance through truth, where are you going to stand when the deportations start? What will you say when just based on the color of someone’s skin or the shape of their nose they are accepted or denied? What will you do when free speech is suspended. A business man can count. After the 1st amendment falls how long will it be before the 2nd one is gone as well?
It’s the Republican Party that said president Obama was going to take your guns. Yet, nothing has changed. It will be easy to come for them when it’s an effort to keep illegal immigrants under control. What else would a deportation force do after all the immigrants are rounded up from their ghettos?
Brandon R Bates You just don’t get it do you. Elite. Arrogant. defensive. I’m sure you are unwilling to have effective dialogue.
Sally, I didn’t find Brandon’s remarks elite and arrogant. I do find them defensive and that is understandable. I think many people are are seriously afraid of Mr. Trump. Irresponsible press is partially at fault but his public demeanor is far from being representative of love and compassion. For my part, as I’ve written as far back to the Romney campaign, I think it a sad statement of today that gentlemanly speech and demeanor is losing speech and demeanor on the campaign trail. It would be great to change that, but I do think that Mr. Trump understood that. I do pray that as President his speech will be more responsible without adding the wimpiness that has characterized too many Republican leaders.
wow. have you not seen or heard what is going on in the streets. It sounds vile, hateful, and dangerous rhetoric to me. so before you go pointing fingers at others, clean your own house first.
Debra, I appreciate Brandon writing in a forum where most people voted differently than he did. That takes courage and is exactly the kind of dialogue we need. While I empathize with your frustration and share it where public figures arrogantly pontificate, I would like to caution against tarring individuals with a broad brush.
In fact, the president-elect did say “just stop it!” to any and all who are committing any forms of harassment or making threats to any minority, and he was right to do so.
Let’s compare this with the current president, who has never said one word to try to quell the violence committed now during these so-called “protests” nor did he ever say anything against the riots in the so-called Black Lives Matter movement. The amount of tragic dysfunction in so many African American communities is scandalous, and it is the Democrats who have resisted things that could help, such as school choice, encouraging marriage and reorienting many minority youth toward the values of education and church. As the nation’s first African American president, Obama squandered precious opportunities again and again to help those who could have used his inspiration.
Ditto- what Judy said. I know for one thing, it is very gracious for Mrs. Lapin to allow comments that even begin to get into anything profane. She is open and diplomatic, but, like me, draws the line when one can not take the time to find language to express oneself without profanity. As a matter of fact, the Rabbi Lapin has an entire teaching on profanity and the many ways that it limits a person’s chances to lead a fulfilling life. Again, I appreciate the graciousness of Mrs. Lapin to encourage differing perspectives here, otherwise we are all just “preaching to the choir”. When we learn what specific issues are troubling those who are protesting, then we can begin to understand even if we do not all agree and that is the first step in uniting our nation again and to eradicate the divisiveness that has been a strategy used in a now-defunct agenda (Thank GOD for that!) . A Happy Deplorable from Baton Rouge here! (Judy I so agree that President Obama could have left a beautiful legacy as the first black president of the United States. He totally blew it there. I am hopeful that there will be another person in time who will leave that legacy and leaves us all with one that unites us and does not seek to “divide and conquer the folk”).
It seems to me that she is guilty of, as you wrote “assulting the sensibilities,” (assaulting?) and she shouldn’t be surprised that someone assaulted her back.
After all, they are PAYING her. What a disrespectful woman.
I actually don’t know if the comedians volunteer their time or are paid. Either way, she was invited to be funny, not for her own personal catharsis. Her behavior was very unprofessional.
I hear and see people saying, Love trumps Hate. I have not seen love, from those who profess all they want is peace, love and tolerance. No, all I have seen is anger, hate and violence. They physical attack people who do not agree with them. They are ruthless bullies and they act like brown shirts, but they are so blind they can not see it. The left is evil, deceitful, and full of lies. How they, the Clinton campaign, paid leftist to provoked people going to Trump rallies by pushing them and taunting them, then the evil news media reported how violent the people at the Trump rallies are. Deceit knows no age because an older woman with oxygen tank in tow who was a paid plant for the left, harassed and put her hands on a older man who was at a Trump rally and when he turn around to see what all the trouble was about she immediately fell to the ground and said he had punched her. When everything was sorted out it was found she was a liar. The only danger I see is the lengths the underhanded, lying, wicked left will do to get their way. God forgive them for their wicked arrogance.
Kathy, I think that those of us on the right who are, correctly, appalled at the behavior of the rioters must recognize that the rioters (paid or not) do not represent millions of people who voted for Clinton and are now wishing the best for President-elect Trump and America. A large part of the problem is that there is very little honest reporting anymore and most people only read or hear the news stories that support their pre-conceived notions. So you read about the paid agitators planted in Trump rallies and others read about statements by people affiliated with the KKK. Very few people read both and so have a difficult time discussing reality. I do think the “Left” as a movement is more filled with hate than the “Right” as a movement, which is one of the reasons I side with conservatives.
Brandon, I appreciate your writing what are your passionately held views. We could debate them point by point but this isn’t the place for that. I think the bottom line is that something is wrong with our culture today that was reflected in both candidates’ behavior over the past year. I don’t think we are ready to go back to the days of hour-long debates like Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had. Our society encourages unfortunate sound bites that reward divisiveness rather than deep thought. I cringed at many of Mr. Trumps mannerisms and words, yet I voted for him because I do think that if he implements conservative policies America will be a kinder, more successful nation for all. You might well throw up your hands in amazement at that statement. It is so important that the insults and bullying stop, whether by individuals or orchestrated by people like George Soros and that we begin to actually talk to each other again.
Susan, I appreciate and agree with all efforts that you are making for dialogue and not angry rhetoric to be spewed. The concern and even fear that has arisen when Non-Republicans look at all that has occurred with the Republican Party Presidential Nominees is that Republicans did not vote for Kasich (who was possibly the best qualified when looking at track record, affiliations, and spoken words) or even Cruz or Jeb Bush. They voted for someone who is backed by David Duke and refused to denounce that backing; someone who has praised dictators and dictatorships (read about his favorable comments on Kim Jong-Un, Vladimir Putin, etc.); and someone who has preached what appears to be separatist and hate messages all while he has had several marriages that appear to have ended because he cheated on each wife at each particular point in time. Our Bishops, Rabbis, and most certainly Government Leaders have standards that they are supposed to meet and live up to this makes me (as someone with Godly values and beliefs that I thought lined up with Republican values and beliefs) feel like what type of people I have aligned myself with. Now I will pray for our President and follow my Bible and respect those in rule and authority over me, but this is a bit difficult.
Maurice, I appreciate your point of view, though I disagree that Jeb Bush, Kasich or Cruz ran good campaigns or had a good chance of winning. That makes paper qualifications pointless. Donald Trump has so far lacked many virtues and courted many vices. I, along with many voters, voted for him despite those failings not because of them. We all pray that he will rise to merit the office he is occupying.
Brandon – you are the epitome of misinformation and disinformation. First, you have zero evidence that the “unhinged psychopath” who shot innocent people in that black church had anything to do with supporting Donald Trump or was even a Republican / Independent / Libertarian. Second, your grasp of history is sadly lacking. The idea that ONLY the United States supported slavery and “was built on a group of “kidnapped people” is fallacious. The ancient Egyptians bought and sold slaves, and the modern Moroccans still engage in slave trading. Where is the outrage toward those civilizations? In addition, the enlightened thinkers of early America – Thomas Jefferson being on the forefront – advocated against slavery. In his writings, Jefferson acknowledged the intellectual dishonesty of advocating all persons being equal while simultaneously keeping slaves. For this reason, he freed his slaves – at huge personal cost (he went bankrupt).
The boos had nothing to do with Sykes’ race OR sexual preferences. It had to do with insulting the audience and believing there were no consequences for doing so. The “deplorables” among us have had enough of the expectation that we remain civil while others do not. Self defense is still a right, and we are now going to exercise it – vocally, as well as toward those who believe our property and our persons should be open territory. Sykes earned what she received. She’ll need to get used to it. As will you.
Jean, I appreciate your points and agree with them. Unfortunately, the more exposure to a college education many have, the less educated they are in world or American history. I don’t know Brandon’s background, but I’m quite sure that you and he have studied different history lessons. How we can get on the same page again is a huge question. The Founders, including Jefferson, were very aware that the sin of slavery was a major one that would impact this country’s survival. Unfortunately, the Sixties civil rights movement that responded to a real and terrible problem has caused new real and terrible problems. I would be curious to know if any Clinton voters booed Sykes as well. The fact is that whether you agreed with her or not, her diatribe was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Brandon – like so many others – isn’t interested in the facts surrounding the founding of this country. Suffice it to say that the enslavement of people’s went on long before America and still goes on today in other parts of the world. It was the “Western” world, the Christian world that eventually put an end to it here… another “inconvenient truth.” Brandon probably finds it easier to remain aligned with those who seek to keep us divided… We’re used to it.
Dianne, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Brandon isn’t interested. Poor guy – I don’t want him or anyone else to feel that they open themselves up to attack by posting here. Discussion and disagreement, yes; attack, no. I do think that our teaching of history is appalling and biased and would love to see the educational establishment have to deal with opposition, debate and reassessment. By definition, not everything can be taught, but we have certainly veered to the idea of America as an evil place which is completely backwards. Flawed – yes, but incredibly great.
Susan,
Great post! This is encouraging.
Thank you for voicing the obvious. The problem remains, how do you point out these issues to those who refuse to see them?
When you stop enjoying and laughing at their infantile jokes, they will get a great message. Thank you, Mrs. Lapin–you have given me hope that our backbone is finally developing as it must. Gail Jo