Last Saturday, a group of friends traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the Women's March. While they intended to join the peaceful event, some of them were jeered, mocked, and one of them was groped. That last one is utterly unacceptable, and I’m still mad about that.
One of my friends, Elizabeth Flora, a liberal-minded feminist, joined the March in D.C. In that one sentence, I told you 100% more than what Milwaukee Sheriff, David A. Clarke, Jr., said earlier this week.
My friend Liz is the woman on the right. She didn’t know who took that photo, but I know that she didn’t ask for that tweet, nor the flood of negative comments that followed.
I know nothing about the sheriff of Milwaukee except that he can pull off a cowboy hat without irony, and he’s willing to use juvenile insults towards women he doesn’t know. He could be the best sheriff in all of Wisconsin, but that doesn’t mean anything to most people outside of that state. He is a man in a respectable office, but the way he has used his platform is anything but respectable.
Before I go further, I am not trying to make a political stance here (there’s too much of that nowadays), I’m making a stance for civility. Whether or not you agree with Liz is one thing (personally, we don’t always see eye-to-eye), but the moment you insult a stranger, not based on her beliefs or stances, but on her looks, you should be disqualified from having any legitimate say on real topics. Sheriff Clarke will never be someone I look to as a source of insight on women’s right.
I understand the President is a public figure, and people in positions of power should be kept in check through humor, but they should be pressed on their policies. Sure, I’ve made fun of Donald Trump’s hair, but I also discussed the ethicality of his immigration policy. Satire is only as good as the amount of substance and effort put into the joke. The more sound and thoughtful the point is, the stronger the point becomes.
Liz was the target of straight up bullying. There is no reason to dismiss someone just because they look the way they look. It’s unfair, it’s uncivil, it’s unAmerican to shut someone down without allowing their voice a chance to be heard. Liz is a funny, opinionated, strong woman, and I know that if you would like, she would be willing to have a discussion about why she marched in D.C.
Disallowing someone to formulate a thoughtful idea or response by distorting them with a unpolished, low-hanging fruit comment doesn't just hurt feelings, but hurts the quality of one's message. It's the difference between a gourmet, five-course and a drive-thru, fast food meal: one option takes time, patience, and thought, while the other is fast, cheap, and easy. If you are going to go out of your way to insult someone, please make fillet mignon, not a quarter-pounder with cheese.
On the flip side, there are plenty of Trump critics out there with whom I know I’ll never be able to have a fair discussion. I think it’s great that the President is pushing for corporations to bring jobs back to the U.S., but I’m concerned about reopening the Keystone pipeline and the long term effect that may have on this country. If you don't care about any of those topics, and exclusively bring up Trump’s tiny hands and orange skin, I know that conversation will go nowhere constructive.
It’s an honor to live in a country where we can disagree with each other freely, and I think it’s important to have open conversations about each of our unique standpoints. That’s what make America great.
