Sean Spicer, the angry muppet whose previous job was Press Secretary to the Donald Trump administration, appeared at the Emmys on Sunday. Spicer nodded towards Melissa McCarthy's portrayal of him on SNL by rolling up to the stage with the White House podium, and there were scattered laughs throughout the crowd.
But I'm not ready to laugh with Sean Spicer. I don't even think I'm ready to laugh AT him, which is what those who coordinated the Emmys are claiming was their intent.
By making jokes about how the crowd was the "largest audience to view the Emmys ever, period -- both in person and around the world," Spicer is admitting to the fact that he knew the Trump administration was having him feed the press lies, and he went forth and did so with pride. He continued to do so with pride, anger, and aggression until he was asked to step down.
"Who cares?" people will say. "It's funny that he's turning his back on the administration that is trying to ruin the lives of those who aren't rich white men!"
No, it's really not. The taxpayers paid for Spicer's salary, paid for him to feed the press lies and stretched truths, and the dreaded "fake news." Taxpayers -- ahem, hard-working Americans whose rights are slowly being stripped from them by the Trump administration Spicer so proudly defended -- paid his salary as he attempted to shut media out and prevent them from doing their job.
His appearance on the Emmys was validating himself -- what he did wasn't wrong, he was invited to appear on a major awards show and celebrities laughed at his jokes! So obviously he didn't do anything wrong! In this country, the court of public opinion is what matters, and Spicer was able to rebrand himself as a "critic" of the Trump administration in three short minutes.
Except it isn't funny, it isn't acceptable, and it isn't good enough to make a joke of an administration you defended. This administration continues to lie, stretch truths and be "shady" without you, Spicer, and don't think that that excuses your behavior.
I'm not ready to laugh with Sean Spicer. I'm not ready to let go of my anger, my disappointment, my horror, or the deep hole in my chest that the Trump administration has caused. I'm not ready to forgive him for associating with that crew, for agreeing with those decisions, for blindly following his leader instead of questioning him. I'm not ready to pretend that these past nine months haven't broken my heart time and time again. I'm just not ready to make people's suffering a punchline.
I'm not ready to laugh with Sean Spicer, and maybe I never will be.