I’m probably going to lose quite a few people with this one. Do you know who we will likely not lose after this?
The very Republicans we’re trying to get rid of.
If you follow politics at all, you know at least one of the individuals in the photo above, if not most or all of them. If you do not know, here is a quick rundown:
Top-Left: Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA)
Top-Center: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
Top-Right: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Bottom-Left: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
Bottom-Center: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Bottom-Right: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO)
For those who know any or all of them, chances are, you don’t know them for any good reasons. Each of them has committed acts that are unethical or even questionable at best.
Taylor-Greene has made social media posts encouraging violence against Democrats, along with claiming that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a hoax. These posts were made prior to her time in office, with the only explanation being that she “had a staff member writing posts for her” with some posts getting likes and that she “doesn’t support all of it.” Gaetz is currently under investigation for serious accusations of sexual assault. Graham was accused by Georgia’s Republican secretary of state of pressuring him to throw out legal votes in this last presidential election; ironically, at about the same time as former President Donald Trump was on a wild and aimless crusade to declare the election as a fraud, providing absolutely no evidence. DeSantis just signed a bill that would make it legal to drive through protesters who block roads. Cruz recently went on a trip to sunny Mexico in the middle of a statewide emergency in which much of Texas was freezing and citizens were without water and food. Boebert recently entered the United States Capitol with a firearm.
As one of my friends/followers pointed out on Twitter a little earlier today, here is something that you already know if you’re old enough. If you don’t know; once upon a time, a politician being caught up in a scandal of any kind, guilty or not, would not be far away from resigning. Now, many are deep into it and it seems to be a badge of honor. My Twitter friend also pointed out that anything short of a straight-up arrest, and they will just carry on like normal. Some would even buck and talk about “not backing down” from those who call for resignation (Taylor-Greene).
Needless to say, we are headed in a bad direction.
With some of these and others who have crossed over into “dangerous” a long time ago, there is little question that removing them from office would be in the best interest of Congress, the government and the country. However, there is something we as Democrats (and many Independents) are doing that can ensure that anything but their removal will happen.
Making fun of them.
I know…I wish I could give you something much more profound, but nope…making fun of Republicans, especially folks like I mentioned above, won’t do anything. At all.
This is where I’m sure I will lose some people.
First off, laughing at someone is just silly and extremely childish. I go through social media at times and grown adults are not addressing the things they’re doing wrong, no…they are making fun of things like…looks.
Yes, looks.
Looks (Taylor-Greene and Cruz), hair (Gaetz), lack of intelligence (Boebert), alleged sexuality (Graham) and the ever-popular, kindergarten-level, changing of someone’s name (“DeathSantis”).
Let’s be clear. Laughing at someone in this manner is bullying. Period. I know what you’re going to say. I got it. And yes…and it’s still bullying. Doesn’t matter what they do, who said what, or how much you think it is deserved. You laugh at someone with the intent of hurting feelings or putting them down in some way, and that is bullying.
It is really no different than those school kids who were in cliques and they would laugh at someone whose hair was out of place, their clothes were not the most popular/up-to-date, and so on. Remember that? You make fun, tell your friends and you all laugh. Same exact thing.
Being of adult age does not change any of that.
But let’s forget all that for a second.
What does laughing at/making fun of any of them above change?
A lot of people post some kind of insult on social media for no purpose other than to get laughs and clout. That’s it. And how exactly does that get people like these removed from office?
It doesn’t.
It is one thing if these people are doing things for the sole purpose of getting laughs. But what many are doing is once again…DANGEROUS. I will repeat…Marjorie Taylor-Greene called for the ASSASSINATION of Democratic leaders. She claimed that a school tragedy DID NOT HAPPEN. Lauren Boebert entered the Capitol with a firearm and REFUSED TO LEAVE. They are both widely believed to have assisted in some way with the insurrection on January 6th. Both are also believed to be Q’anon supporters.
All this…but yes, calling any of them some form of “stupid” is going to be the trick. That will show them. They will resign, crawl into a hole and never come out.
Bravo.
Sarcasm aside, these people are dangerous. If just about all of us did even ONE of the things at our jobs that many of these Republicans have done, we would not only be fired on the spot, but hell…some of us might even be arrested and oh yeah…if you’re Black like I am, well…you might see a worse fate than that.
One thing I always say is that there is more than enough material to work with in regard to the bad and dangerous that they have done to where we don’t even have to stray from that. That is, if you absolutely insist on “laughing” and think that is all you will have. You don’t necessarily have to stay there.
And that is another thing. When are folks going to realize that these days, laughing at and making fun of someone is still giving them attention? That’s all they are looking for. The one thing most of us want will never happen, because most are too proud to stop giving the attention that they crave.
I think back to why so many people followed Donald Trump. Trump was a businessman, failed or not, and if he knew nothing else, he knew how to grab attention. It pained me not only to see and hear that so many people followed him when they did not vote for/support him, but to know that so many who did this thought they had the upper hand. They would say things like, “I follow him for the same reason people watch a car accident” or “It’s fun watching a train wreck!” Some would even attempt some semblance of maturity by claiming that they are watching “To keep tabs on what he doing.”
Whatever the case, we all knew what needed to happen. And the bottom line is we (yes, at times, me included) spent way too much time laughing at his hair, laughing at his speech, engaging in the “train wreck” and doing everything other than what needed to be done. This is why he made it through an entire term and was almost elected to another.
Oh, he lost? Right, he did. And to the tune of receiving most votes of any presidential candidate in history to not win an election (that means that while we all know Joe Biden won with more than 81 million votes, Trump finished with more than 74 million, which is second-most all-time, winner or loser). That might not be a big deal to some of you, but with way too many people focused on waking up each day and finding something to laugh at Trump about rather than figuring out how to get him out of office by calling our representatives, senators, etc., this is how he still finished as strongly as he did.
Here’s why I truly believe that. Many Trump supporters openly admitted that they enjoyed “pissing off the liberals” so much that they would vote for and support Trump just because they knew how much it bothered us and exactly where our focus was. As dangerous as Trump was and still is today, it didn’t matter that much to us; at least to the point that laughing at him still was a top priority for way too many people. Oh, I’m sure many who laughed at him did in fact, want him out of office, just as they do with some or all of the folks above. But the immaturity of the desire to get a laugh or social media clout existed just a little (or a LOT) stronger, so that became it.
By this point, as many have seemed to be asleep at a wheel for the past several years, the old adage remains; bad publicity is still publicity. There doesn’t seem to be much in the form of shame anymore. But it has appeared to me on way too many occasions that lawmakers are doing outrageous things for no reason other than to get people (us) talking.
And we take the bait. Every time.
There have even been Democratic candidates running for office and their supporters who mentioned the opponent more than their own candidate. Seriously? Along with the childish making fun of and laughing, the public sees and hears you speak more about the opponent than the person you support, or if you are the candidate, yourself. Just like in the case of each of these individuals above, you may think you’re being clever, but the truth is, you are helping them out. You are giving them FREE PUBLICITY.
To put it in perspective, many companies have entire departments dedicated to publicity/advertising. Political campaigns likely similar. Millions, tens of millions and even hundreds of millions (8 zeroes) of dollars is spent on advertising alone. And with many politicians seeking to spend their entire careers there, they quickly learn the value of publicity. Anything that gets them out front helps them; bonus if they don’t have to absorb the costs.
So mentioning opponents primarily or thinking that “laughing at” someone is somehow hurting them; you are actually doing the opposite. No matter how you want to spin it. No matter how clever of language you use. No matter the hashtags, the hype, the pictures, the popularity of your social media post(s), whether or not your post(s) went viral, no matter who retweeted it…NO MATTER WHAT.
YOU. ARE. GIVING. THEM. WHAT. THEY. WANT.
Even those “SHARE THEIR SHAME!” photos. Give me a break.
People say all the time that they don’t understand why reality shows are popular. Ironically, these very same people know a whole lot of details about those reality shows.
And please spare me the “It’s on the news all the time!” rebuttal. Because I’m into the news pretty well and when I come across something I am not interested in, I move on. I don’t learn/study details about it and then act as if it was forced down my throat. There is a lot about reality shows that I know nothing about. It’s just ridiculous to hear people complain about these shows as though they aren’t just sitting there and watching them. It would be different if they gave honest critiques from the perspective of someone who admittedly watched. But they claim not to be interested, they know everything, and they wonder how and why the popularity is what it is.
It is the same with Republicans. Trump has popularized ridiculousness for publicity and to put it bluntly, these and others are following that lead. Nothing more, nothing less. And they do it because they know people like you all are waiting to laugh at them.
Because while you’re laughing, you’re watching.
And for every second, every minute, every tweet, every Facebook or Instagram post, etc., in which you are making fun of a Republican, however dangerous they are and no matter what they are doing, do you know what you are not doing?
What you need to do to get them the hell out of office.
They know this.
And they appreciate it.
People's Court 