In case you did not know why so many on The Right are using the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon”, it is code for a vulgar statement referring to President Biden. This should come as no surprise given The Right’s affinity to a politician who bragged about grabbing women by their genitals and shooting someone on Fifth Avenue.
As George Bernard Shaw once said “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
Michelle Obama told us “When they go low, we go high.”
I’d like to take this one step further. When they go low, let them go. We will remain on the high ground no matter what The Right does. We will justifiably claim the high ground as ours alone. As tempting as it is, we will refer to him as “Senator Mitch McConnell” and make no other schoolyard reference about his physical appearance. We will refer to him as Trump, or Donald Trump, or President Trump; no degrading nicknames or comments about complexion or hair style.
We will address all elected officials by their proper position.
The Right wants to “Own the Libs” – lets not allow that by joining them in vulgar rants and cruel remarks intended to inflict pain on others. Let The Right own that. Let them own the cruelty, the vulgarity, the meanness. They are clearly better at it and seem to enjoy it.
Let us own the high ground.
I enthusiastically agree with and appreciate this diary.
Thank you.
The Right has changed. As we all know, I was once a right winger and one of the aspects of conservatism that I relished was the manner in which William F. Buckley could skewer his opponents in a manner of tone and words that almost sounded complementary.
Of course this does not require one to be a pushover or retreat from ones position.
I have found that being clever with the new vulgar Right brings me the same warm feeling without having to lower myself to their level. It does require a bit of thinking and patience, but with practice, it becomes second nature.
Profanity and name calling are the last refuge of the ignorant and lazy. Let the Right own that ground.,
Civility does not work with fascistic Puke domestic terrorists. It only encourages them to be more Trumpistic. This has been my experience with the fascists but, heh, to each his own, I guess.
Although I have a Trumper neighbor who stopped by the other day to congratulate me on Biden’s win and recognized him as our duly elected President. We had a kind and respectful conversation but he was definitely an outlier.
My neighbor DOES NOT accept the Poor Losers’ Big Lie. THAT is where I draw the line in the sand. And THAT is why we are still good neighbors.
Perhaps it depends on what we mean by “work”.
In a forum like BMG, I seek to inform myself, learn about what others are thinking, and offer my insights about all of the above.
In my view, name-calling interferes with that exchange. You know I consider you a friend and thoroughly enjoy your commentary. That commentary would work even better for me if it followed the constraints that John and I are talking about here (which, as I recall, I first encountered as editorial guidelines of the New York Times).
I don’t mean that as a criticism or insult, just a statement about what commentary I best respond to.
Oh, I agree 100%. Civility will not convert or convince a Trump supporter, but neither will being crude and vulgar. This is a moment to think of the independent on-lookers (yes, there are some still around) and let them see that no, both sides do not do it. One side is civil.
And I can tell you from my personal experience dealing with Trump supporters and the Hard Right, being civil and restrained with a slight grin in a condescending manner gets under their skin, and that gives me a warm feeling.