The news today about teenage boys being rude, crude, disrespectful and confrontational with a Native American who turns out to be the epitome of peacefulness and gentleness got Pamela and I talking. Pamela noticed how many people whom we thought and hoped would be expressing outrage were quiet.
This seems to have two possible explanations. The first is that we have become so caloused, and this type of behavior has become normalized to the point that if you put on a red hat with MAGA on it you can do any damn thing you want, that we don't even notice any more. The second is that we are a gagged society. Even if you express your opinion in a civil and calm manner, you are subject to severe retalliation.
Most of you know that I'm far from the world greatest fan of homo sapiens, but, as we got talking, I'd have to put my money on the second. We're gagged.
Shortly after I retired I had made a rather unpopular comment among friends. They expressed feeling that I had changed. I was more radical. What?! I still believed the way I had believed for many years. The only thing that had changed was I'm retired. I don't have to worry about losing contracts, losing patients, being retalliated against by an administrator or state employee. I don't have to worry about losing my ability to provide for my family. Since we do not yet have a Gestapo, about the worst thing that's going to happen to me is someone is going to get mad and 'unfriend' or not talk to me. But what about all those people who still have such concerns.
All of the people in the group which made the observation have employers, customers or clients. They must think about what could happen to their ability to care for their family if they make the wrong statement. As a result they don't say anything. I think that they noticed that I was no longer gagged.
If only 37% of the voters approve of Trump, 59% disapprove and 4% have no opinion per January 2019 polls, why is there such a silence?
Oh, sure, there is a very vocal group who post a lot of Trump cartoons, but when we have something like this hit the news, there is a conspicuous silence.
Before I go any further let's get one thing straight; viz. I'm not demeaning or chastising those who fall into this gagged category. I'm trying to make the point that this is modern US reality. They are its victims.
Pamela recalled how, when she became a tenured full-professor, she almost felt a responsibility to stand up for those who didn't have her security and didn't dare speak up. If they criticized the college, college administration or state, they could find themselves out of work.
Anyone with any sense knows that, if you stick your neck out you risk having your head cut off. In other words, much of our society is gagged.
The teenagers today were in Washington for a church-related school event. They attend a Roman Catholic school. Even their school took several hours before making any comment. Despite my views on religion, let's have a little compassion on their school board. These kids put them in a horrible situation. There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that these teenagers were guilty of every accusation. It's on video. Can you imagine being on that church's board trying to do damage control. How many of the teenager's parents had political or financial power that could do significant damage to the church's income which determines the ability to keep their school open? They were like so much of our population . . . . gagged. Their response was very carefully worded and just a bit sterile.
All this is really nothing new. The only thing new is the normalization of violent retalliation. Trump supporters, a diminishing group if you follow the polls, come wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross and the rest of us are expected to fall on our faces pleading for mercy - mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I think Pamela is right. Our hearts go out to the many people we know who are still in the work force and exposed to trumpist retalliation. We will not try to shame them into risking their livelihood to speak up. We've been there. This means that it's left to us old farts who don't have a job to lose or career to destroy.
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