Paul Pelosi (nonfiction)
Not a Joke
It is imperative that we zoom out and see a bigger picture, because how some of the country reacted to this attack, particularly many prominent Republican politicians and their cheerleaders and normalizers in the media, is chilling. It should also be shocking. That many of our fellow Americans are not shocked is a sad validation of how vitriolic right-wing rhetoric has become.
Decrying violence should be a given. But instead, we have seen outrageous conspiracy theories, false equivalence, a general lack of outrage, and even people trying to turn a violent assault into a joke. A joke. It is obviously not a joke. It is the opposite of a joke.
We have Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and the new owner of Twitter, taking to that platform to mainstream a vile conspiracy theory that somehow this was a lover’s quarrel between Paul Pelosi and the assailant. Donald Trump Jr. eagerly promoted these lies. The former president’s son shared a picture of a hammer and underwear with a quote: "Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready." Such behavior is beneath contempt. It is inhumane.
Then there was Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who said at a campaign rally, “There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re going to send [Nancy Pelosi] back to be with him in California.” There never should have been a “but” in his sentence, and certainly nothing so heartless to follow.
Kari Lake, the conspiracy theorist and promoter of the Big Lie running for governor of Arizona, said at a campaign event, “Nancy Pelosi — well, she’s got protection when she’s in D.C. Apparently her house doesn’t have a lot of protection.” The moderator sitting on stage with Lake could barely control his snickering. The crowd laughed and cheered along.
These were but a few of the many reactions that are so far beyond the pale that they would have been unimaginable in the not-so-distant past. Now they are part of the discourse within a Republican echo chamber bouncing from the stump to the studios of Fox News to the legions of trolls on social media eager to bathe in lies and the supposed humor of political violence.
- https://steady.substack.com/p/not-a-joke Not A Joke
A dangerous response to a serious incident
Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner