The ignorance and the lies were appalling. The rudeness they so proudly display disparages San Diegans, casting locals as the fodder for jokes on late night tv. The time they waste could be spent in a million different ways that might actually further their cause. The threats of bodily harm are the actions of cowards. And they’re not even pretending to hide the racism anymore.
It’s theater. It’s a contest to see who can be the most disruptive, organized by groups that are superficially respectable. KUSI TV, which ought to have its license to broadcast revoked, handles the advance publicity and ignores the banality of the participants.
It’s all protected by the First Amendment.
This Is. Not. Normal.
I’m not going to waste anybody’s time fact checking stuff emanating from the minds of wazzocks. While the one dude who called Dr. Wilma Wooten “Aunt Jemima” appropriately led to the most outrage, (I watched hours of the Board of Supervisors broadcast) the tone was the same throughout.
It’s almost unreal to see social media comments from these vaxxers, who somehow think they’re doing a good job.
Just watch this video.
(Partial transcript below, edited to remove speaking over & unintelligible dialogue. I’m not going to give this individual the recognition he seeks by naming him.)
[…] …We are your adverse reaction. You should resign…Vargas, I can’t wait for your arteries to clog, they’re not doing it fast enough…
[audience laughter]
[…] And Nathan, you should kill yourself…. A dishonorable discharge would be you blowing your brains out… let’s see you Tweet that, blowing your bird brains out… And then Remer…you’re a little monkey, I’d like to see you hang from a tree…And then Wooten, you’re a f*ckin Aunt Jemima…
Supervisor Vargas interrupts: I’m sorry, you’re not allowed to say that to her.
[…] I’m not allowed to say you’re a fat piece of shit?…
Vargas: You can call me that all you want… you are not allowed to say that… I’m going to ask you to apologize to her..
[…] No.
Vargas: You are not allowed…
[…] You’re a piece of furniture… a chair has more intelligence than you.
Vargas: You are not allowed…
[…] You’re garbage
Vargas: You are not allowed to talk to her that way.
Crowd shouting…
Vargas: pounding gavel… No not under my f*cking watch, no.
Crowd boos…
Chair Nathan Fletcher returns to the dais: Your time has expired, please take a seat.
***
From the Union-Tribune, which gave this outrage the front page coverage that it deserves:
- Board chair Nathan Fletcher, who had stepped away from the dais temporarily while the back-and-forth occurred, returned to demand a higher level of civility going forward.
- “Some of you have legitimate points and fair points that deserve to be heard, but they are completely debased and completely erased with this for fun or sport mindset of ‘how racist can I be,’‘how rude can I be to the staff,’‘how absurd can I be?’” Fletcher said.
- But it was clear that the comments the supervisors so roundly condemned resonated with many in the audience Tuesday. Cheers are audible in the video recording of the meeting, which was streamed live on the Internet.
- Fletcher had a few additional words for those who laughed and cheered.
- “Everyone that cheers him on, you’re just as guilty,” he said. “The reality is, you can stand up here and say whatever you want, that’s your First Amendment right, but it’s disgusting, it’s vile, and it contributes nothing to what we’re doing here.”
We are increasingly witnessing active attempts to undermine democracy through intimidation, threats, –and although it hasn’t happened in San Diego, YET– violence.
Mark my words. It’s only a matter of time before an individual or individuals decides to “go for the gold” and commits acts of violence against county employees or elected officials. It’s the only logical path for somebody frustrated by false promises made by leaders of a faction representing less than 10% of the population.
Given the low vaccination rate of San Diego County Sheriffs, I’m not sure we can trust them with the job of protecting those likely to be targeted by this sort of aspirational terrorism. Of course, any request for additional help will be denounced by right wing media as an attempt to stifle their freedoms.
In the longer term, why would any sane individual want to pursue elected office, given the extraordinary abuse heaped on people acting to protect the (vast majority of) the public?
Since these vaxxers couldn’t win an election, they’re willing to settle for some variant of authoritarianism. All that needs to happen is for good people to remain silent.
Excerpted from my daily post at Word & Deeds.
