Pitchforks and Torches

 I’ve had a week to reflect on the rally I attended on President’s Day. I’m glad I went and delighted to have seen so many people came out, and not just in Washington. Given how Felon has now jokingly put himself on social media as “King Donald,” something I thought of at the rally has bothered me more every day. (Christ, I hope he was joking, though his lack of a sense of humor is legendary).

Those of us I think of as The Resistance are too goddamned polite.

This is part of the liberal curse. A good LibDem doesn’t want to offend anyone and is always on the alert for a poorly-chosen word that might allow someone – anyone – to take umbrage. This policy is fine when dealing with people of good will, where differences or misunderstandings can be negotiated.

Felon and his minions are not people of good will.

I taught for two years in a high school one of my teaching peers described as “80% hoodlum.” She was only half kidding. The percentage wasn’t that high, but we did have (unauthorized) “gang color days;” fights were common. I was assaulted by students three times in two years.

What I learned from that relationships are about you treat other people’s asses: you’re either kissing them or kicking them all the time. The trick is knowing which to do when, and how much. There were some kids I couldn’t raise my voice to, not even a decibel, neither in jest nor greeting. Others only responded if I got right in their faces.

King Felon and the MAGApublicans have made it clear they don’t respond to reason or complaints or even threats. They respond to actions.

It’s time we gave them some.

The President’s Day rally started with at least ten minutes’ instruction on how we should behave so as not to inconvenience anyone not participating.

I say fuck that. The time has passed where we can worry about inconveniencing people. In fact, I can think of quite a few motherfuckers I’d love to do more than inconvenience.

They also cautioned us not to go beyond the parameters of our permit and reminded us the permit was to rally, not march.

I say fuck that, too. (Hat tip to Ray “Bones” Barboni.) The day is coming when we won’t be able to get permits. Are we just going to stay home? It’s not like the Capitol insurrectionists had a permit.

King Felon and the MAGApublicans are depending on The Resistance’s good manners and willingness to see more than one side of a situation and are using it against us. We can’t let that happen. We have to at least throw it back in their faces. Even better, stick is up their asses.

I’m a big fan of civil disobedience. It can work wonders under the right circumstances. Britian was exhausted after fighting two world wars in thirty years; the time was ripe for Gandhi to liberate India. Martin Luther King was a great man, but the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts came about because the protests he led brought the plight of Blacks to the attention of a public that hadn’t really thought about them much. Once confronted, people of good will started doing the right things, though not without considerable opposition.

King Felon and the MAGApublicans are not people of good will. What succeeded for Gandhi and King isn’t going to work here. Business as usual is no longer like bringing knives to gunfights; it ‘s like bringing Nerf balls.

I am not advocating violence or destruction. I am advocating not being so well behaved. Let’s cluster around some government buildings when a congressperson wants to gain access. Nothing wrong with a tense situation. Let’s block some streets. Let’s inconvenience people while we still can because what King Felon has in mind goes way beyond inconvenience.