'Make them pariahs': how shaming Trump aides became a resistance tactic

[workinclasszero]

After another week saw leading Republicans accosted in public places, many on the left are arguing that harassment is legitimate
Sam Wolfson Wed 11 Jul 2018 07.00 EDT

The day after Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia, Maxine Waters, the representative for the California 43rd who has become a leader of the anti-Trump resistance within Congress, addressed a rally in Los Angeles. Up until that point, national Democratic leaders had mostly urged respectful protest in response to the Trump administration.

“Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up,” she said to cheers from the crowd. “And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

Over the weekend, Steve Bannon was called “a piece of trash” by a heckler at a bookstore; a bartender gave Stephen Miller the middle finger, apparently causing Miller to throw away $80 of sushi he’d just bought in disgust; and Mitch McConnell was chased out of a restaurant in Kentucky by protesters, who followed him to this car yelling “turtle head” and “we know where you live”.

These follow similar encounters for other members of Trump’s top team. The homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, was confronted by protesters chanting “shame” while she ate at a Mexican restaurant. Last week, Scott Pruitt was accosted by Kristin Mink while he was eating lunch. Mink, a teacher, held her two-year-old child as she asked him to resign “before your scandals push you out”. Days later, Pruitt did resign, and although he was probably asked to do so by Trump, in his letter he cited “the unrelenting attacks on me” as his reason for leaving.

“Public shaming of Trump regime officials isn’t just useful, it’s a moral imperative in these difficult times,” says Markos Moulitsas, the founder of Daily Kos and the author of last year’s The Resistance Handbook: 45 Ways to Fight Trump, which offers practical advice for protesters and advocacy groups. “We have a Republican party that has surrendered to the Russians, encourages white supremacists and Nazis, separates families, and locks up children in cages, and we’re supposed to treat these people as respected members of society? We have no choice but to turn them all into pariahs, now and forever into the future.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/11/trump-protest-harassment-public-sarah-sanders

[brush]

1. Let's keep it up. Maxine Waters got the word out and it's working.

Let's keep shaming these Russian sellouts.

[workinclasszero]

4. Totally!

There is no normalizing people that are carrying out the separation of BABIES from their parents and locking them up in CAGES!

The deserve NO PEACE in their evil lives ever, anywhere, anytime!

These Trump minions are nazi bastards! Not only that they are attacking sick children, old folks and all PoC in this country!

We must resist this evil everywhere!

[mythology]

20. Working from what?

No seriously what exactly is this supposed to accomplish? Is it supposed to make them support different policie? Is it supposed to decrease their odds of being reelected?

[brush]

21. It got one of them to resign, and ya think McConnell isn't worried...

about hsi popularity and getting re-elected after getting run out of two restaurants in two days?

Resistance to these nazi, white supremacist bastards has to come from as many avenues we can wage it from.

And the most important part, which you apparently aren't aware of, is resistance is a marathon not a sprint.

We have to keep at it (see the Civil Rights movement).

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Exactly - it's a marathon

I don't understand the "pretty please with sugar on top" approach. I understand/get that people are different - but for me - that would be weakness.

[Maraya1969]

2. YES! I am so happy this is happening. We have been kicked down so much it is nice to see us

fighting back and winning on some level now!4

[LuckyCharms]

3. The harrassment from the left is perfectly legitimate.

Ever since some asshole got in my face in a car dealership service waiting room...shooting his fat mouth off about Chuck Schumer on the TV...I felt assualted. The fucker just started spewing at me...I gave it back to him 10 fold and told myself...never again.

They use bullying tactics? We bully them right the fuck back.

PROGRESSIVE DOES NOT EQUAL DOORMAT.

I've dealt with bullying, lying and cheating when I was younger. The ONLY way to get their attention is to use their same nasty tactics and put the fear right back into them, just like they are doing to us.

[malaise]

5. Excellent

K & R

[gratuitous]

6. This administration refuses to engage with the American people

So the American people are engaging with individuals in the Administration. When was the last time Trump held a press conference?

I know the schoolmarms and the pitty-pats are just overcome by the incivility of it all, but when elected officials won't meet with their constituents, this is the first, most logical step. And if you're alarmed or concerned about public officials being accosted by the public in public, you're really not going to like the next steps if our public servants continue to ignore the people.

[workinclasszero]

9. "When was the last time Trump held a press conference?"

Never I think.

Shitler spews his hate and lies via twitter and calls that a "press conference".

If for no other reason, we must show people in other nations that what Trump is doing is not approved of by the majority of the American people.

A hateful, lawless, racist and traitorous cabal has seized control of our government.

They DO NOT represent us AT ALL!

[gratuitous]

11. He did hold one

But since then? Well . . .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/trumps-last-press-conference/2140/

It's been about 510 days.

[workinclasszero]

12. This is what really makes my blood boil

Imagine the OUTRAGE by the main stream media if President Obama or a President HRC refused to give a damn press conference for 510 days!!!!!!

It would be all they would be talking about 24/7 and yet the rich, white racist prick GOP President gets ZERO push back from them for it!!

And that's just one thing the media covers up for Shitler!!!

[LisaM]

28. That's very true, and a good point.

I have some mixed feelings about how to carry out these protests, but it's abundantly true that the members of Trump's cabinet have no interest in serving the people they were elected to represent.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Is it working much though?

[NastyRiffraff]

10. They're upset

so yes, it's working. It probably won't change their behavior but it's showing their evil to the world.

[workinclasszero]

15. This is all I know

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. There are a lots of "somethings" we could do

Not entirely sure that this is the *best* strategy but, frankly, not shedding any tears for any of them.

[Rebl2]

26. I agree with you

All I see this doing is rallying his base.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

30. Me too

I get that this may be emotionally satisfying/cathartic for us and I don't blame people for being outraged and upset at everything going on being done by the Trump (mis-)Administrations, but, by the same token, I want what we do in response to be an actual, winning strategy for changing people's minds/weakening support for Trump.

[BBG]

37. So what?

Their base isn’t as large as the rest of us.

[Hekate]

16. It will

[Shipwack]

24. The object of the protest is not to make the Administrstion uncomfortable.

High ranking Republicans are beyond shame.

The object is to show other people that the administration is not accepted as being decent human beings.

If no one says or does anything, everyone thinks that they’re alone, or that their friend or relative is the aberration. This shows that opposition to these people is widespread, and more importantly, motivated.

[uponit7771]

25. On the rest of humanity to keep it from normalizing? YES !!!!!

[Aristus]

8. Exactly. Make them understand that "You're not welcome here!" is not a pleasant thing to have to

hear.

[Ponietz]

13. #ShameTrumpsCivility

[dalton99a]

14. An honor they have earned and deserve.

Evildoers cannot rest until they do evil. We cannot rest until they are out of power.

[aikoaiko]

18. I can't put my finger on it but there should be some lines

Because what is good for the goose is good for the gander and I wouldn't want the deplorables to say or do things to our folks that we are doing to their "leaders"

I support the polite, but assertive decision by Red Hen to not serve and Kristen Mink's direct confrontation of Pruitt was honorable.

Some of the other instances, I wouldn't want our side to endure. But it will happen now anyway so maybe it doesn't matter.

Its kind of like peaceful disobedience versus rioting.

[WillowTree]

22. Turn about will surely be considered fair play, you can count on it.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the ante gets upped, as well. People have to understand that they have little to no control of the Genie once it's out of the bottle.

[The Mouth]

23. Nah... next thing you know we'll throw out the filibuster in the Senate, reagardless

of how stupid that would be *when* it came back to bite us..

Oh, wait... snap!

[WillowTree]

38. Exactly.......

[uponit7771]

27. This is true, they'll just make crap up and then protest about it ... all 200 of them. I think thats

... the difference is their numbers are smaller and more concentrated.

[treestar]

19. the Golden Rule applies here

They've already set the example of how they treat others.

[AlexSFCA]

29. they need to know what discrimination feels like

[workinclasszero]

31. I love this..posted by dixiegrrrrl

[BumRushDaShow]

32. Truth!

Great meme!

[workinclasszero]

34. Truth indeed, thanks dixiegrrrrl!

Spread it to all your family and friends, the American people have had ENOUGH!

[CTyankee]

33. Yes, public shaming is great but let's be careful and not say "We know where you live" because

it sounds to me like a threat.

So keep shaming but cut out what sounds ominously like we'll come to your house and do something horrible to them...

[cannabis_flower]

36. Here's the thing..

since many of these Republican congressmen and appointees are either not making themselves available to their constituents, it is perfectly legitimate to confront them in public.

If they start making themselves available to constituents and groups of constituents then confronting them in public wouldn't be necessary.