Some good news, for a change…and, from me, some fury expressed in the general direction of my own progressive friends and allies…
The Good News: You’ve probably already seen it, but on the off chance you haven’t, check out the video of Gabriel Sterling of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office absolutely trashing Trump and the GOP for failing to take a stand against the all too many Deplorables who are threatening poll- and election workers with physical violence…even death!
Some Good News For A Change...the brave Mr. Sterling
(source: Twitter)
You can see the video here: https://www.cbs46.com/watch-gabriel-sterling-of-the-ga-secretary-of-states-office-decries-post-election-threats-rhetoric/video_47d0943a-5fe3-5543-9b40-7d18c53837ca.html
And you can read about Mr. Sterling’s remarks in a couple of places, including the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/02/republican-georgia-trump-election-gabriel-sterling) and the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/us/politics/georgia-election-trump.html).
Mr. Sterling, in both his video and his remarks, is quite impressive. The journalist James Ball summed it up nicely, I think, when he tweeted, “This is what cold, hard fury sounds like.” (https://twitter.com/jamesrbuk/status/1333919015174098950)
My only problem is that, alas, I’ve been reading the comments on social media about Mr. Sterling’s performance. Most of them, thank goodness, are lauditory. This, most people write, is well said, and the gentleman himself is being rather noble.
But, there are some people…far too many…who are dismissive of Mr. Sterling and his gesture. Where was he, they ask, when Georgia’s entrenched Republican machine was cheating Stacy Abrams out of the governorship? Where was he when Trump supporters were threatening Democrats?
Maybe there’s something to those complaints. And I should hurriedly add here that the day is young. Mr. Sterling remains a Republican and a Conservative. He may do something in the future which will annoy the socks off me.
And yet…
Come, let’s be honest. Mr. Sterling is taking an enormous risk by saying what he said. He may lose his job. Georgia’s less forgiving Republicans will seek revenge, no matter what. And, frankly, he has put himself in real danger. Trump’s supporters have made it clear that they are more than willing to use violence—that, indeed, was the whole point of his statement.
Face it, the guy is being kind of heroic...
In other words, it is all very well and good to b1tch on the Internet (as I do), and to congratulate yourself on your moral superiority. But, let’s confess. It isn’t that dangerous. Not yet. Maybe some day there will be a Trumpian Internet Thought Police tracking down everyone with an “un-American” opinion, but at the moment, you or I can say pretty much anything you like on the web and get away with it. Facebook may censor us, Twitter may ban us…but no one will try to kill us.
That isn’t true for what Mr. Sterling has done. He has taken a real risk, and is being genuinely brave.
How many of those who, on the Left, now criticize him so harshly…
…can say the same?
*
Speaking of which…one of the incidents that moved Mr. Sterling to righteous fury was that a lawyer for Trump’s campaign, Joe diGenova, has called for physical violence against Chris Krebs, “the former cybersecurity official who was unceremoniously ousted from his post by President Donald Trump after he rejected the President's unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.” (CNN)
Specifically, diGenova said that Krebs “...should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot." Which, of course, is really, really scary because there are Deporables out there who are just crazy enough to take diGenova at his word, and actually try to, well, kill Krebs.
According to the article, diGenova then tried to “walk back” the remarks, and claimed they were “a joke.” Specifically, he said, “it was obvious that my remarks were sarcastic and made in jest.”
Really?
Well, then, I guess Mr. diGenova wouldn’t mind if I envisioned him in a dark alley getting mugged by a giant anthropomorphic flesh-shredding mutant MAGA mega-leech with an attitude problem, a gutting knife, and severe halitosis.
A Flesh-Shredding Mutant Leech Monster For Mr. DiGenova
I mean, I’m just being sarcastic right?
And f**k ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
*
Until next time…
Onward and upward.
~mjt