Nothing sets my teeth on edge more than people whining about “political correctness.” We all know the code when it comes from the right.
But in trying to lower my defenses so I can honestly look at ways we can do better at winning hearts and minds, I can’t help but wonder if Bill Maher is touching on something we should at least consider in our self-examination.
Liberals must examine all the reasons why we keep losing elections, starting with: Democrats have gone from the party that protects people, to the party that protects feelings. From "Ask not what your country can do for you…" to "You owe me an apology."
…In 2016, conservatives won the White House, both houses of Congress, and almost two-thirds of governorships and state legislatures.
Whereas liberals, on the other hand, caught Steve Martin calling Carrie Fisher beautiful in a tweet and made him take it down. I'm not making that up; that really happened. Here's Steve's offensive tweet:
"When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well."
How could you, Steve?! We thought we knew you, but… this?! You noticed her appearance first, and then that she was witty and bright! You're a monster!
Liberals do this all the time -- they get offended for people who themselves would not be offended.
You know that whole controversy about the name “Washington Redskins”? They did a survey: 9 in 10 actual Indians don't give a shit.
… Here's Hillary Duff last year [at Halloween, dressed as a Pilgrim and accompanied by an Indian], and then of course her tweet:
"I'm so sorry to people I offended. It was not properly thought through. I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart."
Chris Hemsworth was even more beside himself with self-loathing after he attended a Lone Ranger themed party dressed as an Indian. He wrote:
"I was stupidly unaware of the offense. I sincerely and unreservedly apologize to all First Nations people for this thoughtless action. I hope that in highlighting my own ignorance I can help in some small way…"
Oh for fuck's sake, you're THOR, grow a pair!
…Last year Justin Timberlake tweeted that an African American, Jesse Williams, inspired him. And again had to apologize for the sin of giving someone a compliment:
"I apologize to anyone that felt that was out of turn. I have nothing but love for all of you…"
Oh good, good, because life knows no sin greater than the one he was accused of doing which was “cultural appropriation.” Cultural appropriation -- that's the idea that white people shouldn't adopt things from other ethnic groups. How dare you mix-and-match cultures to produce something new? Where do you think you are, some kind of melting pot?
You know the majority of Americans are actually with the Democrats on the issues: raising minimum wage, sensible gun laws, path to citizenship, abortion rights, pro-environment… you name it. But we keep losing. Now there's a lot of reasons for that, but the one we can immediately fix is that too often, Democrats remind people of a man who has taken his balls out and put them in his wife's purse. And please, someone tweet me right now and tell me how that was somehow inappropriate, so I can tell you to go fuck yourself.
…What matters is that while you self-involved fools were policing the language at the Kids Choice Awards, a madman talked his way into the White House.
What matters is that while liberals are in a contest to see who could be the first to call out fat shaming, the Tea Party has been busy taking over school boards.
Stop protecting your virgin ears and start noticing you're getting fucked in the ass.
I hate his balls-in-a-purse crack.
But yet, as a progressive logger on the nonreligious channel at Patheos, who has left no religion unscarred, I know that blog timing is everything. For example, this week is not the time to criticize the tenets of Islam. That’s for another day, not now when we must stand in solidarity with Muslims, so horrifyingly targeted by the new American fascist administration.
But increasingly before the election, some progressives criticized us for denouncing repressive religious ideas... if it wasn’t Christianity. Our Christian-bashing is always applauded. It seemed obvious to us that the “no punching down” rule didn’t fit when we were criticizing Islamic nations’ treatment of women, LGBTs and nonbelievers. And we as a rule were rigorous about clarifying our objections were to some Islamic tenets and laws, never the Muslim people. Yet we were told to stop spreading Islamophobia. Hearing this from progressives was and is bewildering.
We know now that conservatives were paying close attention to this trend. When asking ourselves, “Why do they vote against their self-interest?” could it be we too often unnecessarily trigger a deep-seated, emotional revulsion that overwhelms logic? Could this play a significant role in the backlash against us? Maher tells us to find a compromise. Is he right?
I know all too well this is a difficult topic for us, that all too easily devolves to namecalling and agenda-questioning. Think twice before you try that with me… or anyone else here, on either side of this debate.
Can we improve our priorities and our messaging without losing our soul?