This is not about some mundane philandering or innocuous legislating. The issue at hand is the presence of out right fascism in America. It's a pretty big deal. Child concentration camps, racial profiling, bigotry and racism are being promoted at the highest levels of our government.
This situation constitutes a national emergency. Any and all peaceful means of combating this fascist regime is acceptable and desired. Give these abusers in our government a very small taste of what minorities of all types are subject to every day and we have accomplished something worthwhile. It's the right thing to do. It is passive resistance.
4
Why try to detect faults in our foundation while news of the sky itself falling is beong reported.
I believe it is shooting yourself in the foot.
Is it 'public shaming' when you stand in front of a rabid, hooting and hollering crowd and announce that Mexicans who have sought refuge in your midst are 'murders, rapists, criminals and drug dealers'? How about branding women who flee violence and poverty, seeking only the opportunity to work and a chance at a better life 'criminals,' taking their children and locking them up without due process, for who knows how long - to the applause of millions of mean-spirited, resentful 'conservatives'? Is that 'shaming' perhaps?
Is it 'public shaming' when you proclaim 'a complete and total ban on all Muslims entering the country, until we figure out what is going on,' on the purported grounds that 'they all hate us' and 'they're out to kill us, they're vicious people'? What if in response, bigots burn down your houses of worship, curse you, shoot you on the street?
Is it 'public shaming' when roving bands of ICE agents stop anyone who 'looks Hispanic' or who 'speaks Spanish in public,' and demands identification?
Is it 'public shaming' when armed police stop young African American men for the crime of walking or driving while black, because 'you match the description of a suspect,' i.e., you're male and have dark skin? If the armed police then throw the young man to the ground, hit him with a taser, twist his arms behind his back while pushing his face into the pavement, and handcuff him - if they don't just kill him first?
Sarah couldn't finish her cheese plate? Poor baby.
5
I mostly agree that such public shaming is unproductive and helps to distract the news cycle away from the Liar in Chief. But I have absolutely no problem with public shaming and harassment of Trump and the unpaid advisor members of his family.
Second, let us remember that the “public shaming” episode involving HuckaSanders at the Red Hen involved HER OWN post on Twitter, not anything done by the restaurant, which was collaborative and discreet. She thus demonstrated that she is more than willing to play the victim card when it suits her, even if she is not entitled to it. She released her post from her official government account, which according to some watchdogs may have been a(nother) violation of federal law.
2
My wife and I live comfortably in retirement. However, we never forget how fortunate we were. We're highly-educated, and we worked hard all our lives. But we were lucky, by who bore us, lucky our ancestors were successful.
If I had the choice of lucky or talented, I'd take lucky any day.
But I digress.
To Ms. Waters I say: You're a better Woman than I a man.
Her words sparkle with authenticity and refreshment. She reminds me of an earlier time, the Sixties, when many of us felt there was no choice but to stand up to bullies running the government.
I still maintain lifelong friendships with a few Sixties radicals. Former members of the SDS, even the Weather Underground. They are professors or retired, and quite harmless now. But in their heyday they were a terror, literally. I myself never protested, never committed any acts of civil disobedience. I was not as courageous as they.
I saw nothing wrong in what they did. For the same reason people are willing to engage in foreign wars to protect their country, I saw my friends doing the same domestically.
With Trump, a clear and present danger, and with no Republicans taking action, I see a concrete reason for the resurgence of a new radical Left.
Not some Radical Chic nonsense of Tom Wolfe's spinning. I mean the real deal. The US is in the deepest crisis of confidence since the Sixties. When those elected do nothing than it is up to the young to hit the streets as do as my friends did.
DD
Manhattan
4
Your are correct Mr. Bruni, two wrongs don’t make a right. Unfortunately the stain on America is already sadly indelible. I’m heartbroken.
2
I suspect similar conversations about civility went on in Germany in the 1930s.
3
Actually, the owner of the restaurant acted on her beliefs and it was Sanders Huckabee who made it public, therefore it would seem that it was Madam Press Secretary's attempt at public shaming that backfired. We've all had uncomfortable restaurant experiences, she could have kept it to herself. As for Maxine Waters, well, I think she has it just right. No justice, no peace. She didn't invent that you know.
2
Parenthetically, the Mayor of Canada’s capital city- Ottawa, for those who don’t know- has just announced that he’s turned down the invitation of your Ambassador to Canada to join her for her embassy’s annual July 4th celebration. Such is the disgust of the normally friendly Canadian people for the current U.S. administration that his snubbing your Ambassador has been greeted with wide acclaim.
Thank you, Frank, for bringing your measured opinion. In general, I concur that keeping the resistance to and criticism of the dreadful administration to a civil tone and largely in a civic/governmental/working environment-- going high, as Trump & Co. go ever lower--is the best choice. In most cases, they should able to eat, shop, travel in relative peace. Nevertheless, the reprehensible Trump corps should not be immune from criticism, anymore than he is. They are complicit. Furthermore, those, like Nielsen and Stephen Miller who make such tone-deaf moves as choosing to eat in Mexican restaurants after their own callous comments and actions regarding the cruel border separations, virtually invite the treatment they received.
I think the thing with the Sarah Suckabee Sanders incident, as you, with your sensitivity to the restaurant industry, are surely aware, is the aspect of serving. The beauty and the giving nature of preparing food for someone and serving it--their mission--was, for the Red Hen staff, betrayed by this customer's disgraceful stances and persistent falsehoods and fealty to a tainted regime. How, in good conscience, could they do their jobs for that party of diners?
By all accounts (except that of Sanders's father), the request to leave was delivered politely, although it was in every way a confrontation. For the restaurant, the results of their move may reverberate for some time. But I think the owner there made, in that case, the right choice.
1
Thanks, but I wii shout down any Trump official at at any time or any place, peacefully and within my 1st amendment rights. Placating lost the democrats 1000 seats, in case you forgot.
7
This ex liberal remembers a day when shunning was done by religious groups to members who strayed. Libs back then scolded such shunning..
Now ANTFA gets a pass with their violence. Liberalism is dead replaced by virulent socialism that has used these practices to destructive ends since 1790's...
Venezuela's destruction began using these identical tactics a few short yrs ago. Socialist mobs hounded the opposition into exile rationalizing their actions the same way.
2
Let me get this straight.
You mean like those tactics used against women's health clinics: death threats, bombings, murders, etc.?
Or, was it the hysteria over the "Gay Plague" -- that was the term those civilized conservatives used, right?
Maybe you're referring to the Tea Party protests against the ACA?
Or wearing t-shirts that stated, "Trump that Xxxxx", or "Trump 2016 - Xxxx Your Feelings", or that sign that read "Trump vs Tramp"?
Gosh, this list can go on and on and on...
By the way, it's ANTIFA, not ANTFA.
1
Sarah Huckabee Slanders and the rest of the people who work for President Trump are not civilians.
5
Some of Trump's opponents stand accused of bringing a knife to a gunfight. Mr. Bruni suggests we bring a creme brulee.
7
I cannot agree with Frank Bruni’s opinion that political activism to “take back the House” is the only “the right approach.” If we’ve learned anything at all from the 2016 election—and revelation after revelation since, about voter suppression, gerrymandering, election and social media hacking, bots and meddling—it is that we can no longer rely on the ballot box to fairly and accurately represent American voters.
As a freedom- and justice-loving U.S. citizen—and immigrant from white, Christian, genocidal, fascist Germany—I believe no one should remain silent in the face of Trump’s and the GOP’s totalitarian corporate, oligarchic takeover of America.
I speak up and stand up whenever, wherever and however I encounter uninformed and/or misinformed thoughts and opinions that support the Trump regime, to thoughtfully, respectfully articulate, clarify, document and source with facts, information on how Trump is reducing our government "of the people, by the people and for the people" to a heartless, oligarchic, white supremacist dictatorship that aims to disenfranchise minority populations and privatize and sell for profit all our public goods and services.
4
The sleeper movie, "Mars Attacks" is a perfect example of taking the high road. We all "Can't just get along"!
1
re: that's no reason to do it - I beg your pardon.
One of the ploys that the Radical Right has used for a long time now is to be outrageous (And the befuddled Left - who really, in today's political climate, where the Reactionary Right has moved the national conversation so far from center as to make what would be in another time conservative republicans look like the Dems of today) - to act outrageous - to say outrageous things - do illegal and immoral things - because they know that the mechanisms of our democratic republic and our public institutions are SO SLOW that they will never be able to quickly stanch the havoc that these actors wreak upon the body politic. Meanwhile, these fascists are allowed to get their message out there - do their acts (e.g., Rudy Giuliani's crowing on Fox News about Hillary being about to be indicted, which he says he heard from 5 different sources, no less! - and then, after he had done his damage, coming back and saying - oops - sorry - no evidence - literally right before the 2016 presidential election), and accomplish their ends.
This, and the many other acts like it, is most foul. These days the government. including the executive, is filled with adventurers, grifters, and clowns. To counter their outrageousness, which threatens the body politic so much that many feel that we are in a constitutional crisis every day this goes on, ad hoc devices like public shaming are absolutely, positively necessary.
2
I will not condemn anyone who was involved in what you call public shaming. People of principle can reach a tipping point and frankly, it took a while to emerge. These acts by liberal minded activists pale in comparison to what has been endured by polite society since the rise of Trump. Taunting at restaurants and chanting outside their homes are mild responses compared to real damage being done to just about everything that has been part of American life and culture.
The despicable comments made by this president and his clear intent to enact policies that upend American life as we have experienced it are well known and there’s no need to relive them by naming them now. It’s also true that those around him who do nothing to rein him in, reveal they are ok with it. Even though he has encouraged and defended violence against his perceived enemies.
If there were anything good coming out in the mix, I don’t believe the response of so many of us would be quite so vigorous. America is able to tolerate differnces when the process is deemed fair.
Our eyes are wide open to what is going on and keeping it in front of us to spur active participation in the democratic process is the only way to put all things Trump in the rearview mirror.
2
Mr Bruni,
You are wrong and make the same mistake that the Hillary Clinton campaign made.
You refuse to acknowledge the irreversible legal problems Trump has been able to create with a Supreme Court that is now turning a blind eye to raw racism, hate toward women who want or need an abortion and a labor force which has no chance to ever file a group lawsuit as nobody will have the monetary resources.
And these are just three reasons.
To suggest after democrats have been offended, bullied, threatened and called names by a sore looser of a President, you are telling real democrats that they have to ignore everything and pretend that nobody has noticed this brutal offense,
Just like Schumer and Pelosi who contributed in a huge way to Clinton’s loss with their arrogance, your suggestion to progressive democrats is to behave like the Christians ( protestants and catholics) in Germany and turn a blind eye to the wave of brutal racism and fascism that took over their nation in no time.
You seem to forget, that the non- reaction to nazism, suggested by the religious leadera in Germany, resulted into a situation from which their was no way back.
That same will happen here. Too many new laws and rules and Supreme Court opinions have made it impossible.
The only way to fight back is hard now, Trump and his blind base want a war. That war has to be stopped, not with niceties, but with strength and combative conviction.
2
It's interesting the media starts talking about the end of civility as soon as Democrats start pushing back. At this point Trump is just reaping what he has sown. Trump has used divide and conquer as his strategy from the very beginning, how do you think people will react eventually?
Sarah Huckabee Sanders should be shamed for lying to the American public every day. If the press had a backbone they would walk out on her every now and then.
3
For too many years, liberals and left-of-liberals tried to be reasonable and play nice while Republicans bullied, harassed, insulted, and humiliated people.
From the twisted, ugly faces screaming at Shannon Faulkner as she entered The Citadel...
To the twisted, ugly faces screaming at staff and patients of women's health clinics; or bombing clinics; or protesting at doctors' homes; or issuing death threats to staff and doctors (and their children); or injuring staff and doctors; or murdering doctors; leading to passage of the FACE Act...
To the silence of Republicans over hateful protests by Westboro Baptist members (until those protests happened at military funerals)...
To the screaming hysterics at politicians' town hall meetings during the ACA debates; or the screaming, racist slurs hurled at Congress members as they entered the Capitol...
To the fried chicken, watermelons, and Confederate flags set out to greet the Journey for Justice/Ferguson marchers in Missouri...
To the sneering adulation of Trump as he spewed the bile of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and demeaned the disabled (and still does).
The institutions and foundational principles of our democratic republic are under grave threats.
And some want us to remain civil and tolerant.
3
Frank, I'm usually in your court but what I see you doing here is shaming the shamers. I think it took courage for those individuals who heckled Nielsen to do what they did; they could easily have been arrested. I am also in awe of the Red Hen for asking Sanders to leave. The Trump "faithful" didn't care one bit about the crying children. One was quoted as saying "he's doing his best" about Trump. Really?? Doing his best about a situation HE created? I for one wish I lived in DC so I could join some of these direct actions. Interestingly, this is an ongoing debate in the animal rights community - do we sit back & send in donations to Humane Society of the United States (I don't - they're way too corporate and they have a board member who is a hog farmer) or do we join with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) & go into restaurants shouting "It's not food, it's violence". I don't know the answer. But I understand that the average individual who is dealing with the daily assaults of the Trump administration and the pathetic GOP led Congress is pretty frustrated with what politics "as usual" is doing.
5
POTUS praises his base for doing the same tactics that some Democrats face criticism. We need more voices and more action to draw attention to the madness of this administration. The Republican party would never sit quietly if this was a Democrat President. The old guard of the Democrat Party should step aside with all the worrying about manners and political correctness. I say shout loader, protest and send a message to the hand wringing Democrats that we don't want to sit quietly while our democracy is being destroyed. Another point that bothers me is the belief that only Democrats protest the atrocities of this administration. I, for one, am not a registered Democrat. I'm a person that cares about what is happening in my country.
1
I'm tired of ideological purity being exalted over practical results. We saw how that worked in Mao's China. "A socialist train coming with a delay is better than the capitalist one that comes on time." Give me Deng's approach: "It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."
Enough of the "Resistance". Instead of outrage and protests, come up with practical solutions. Propose laws. Work to get them into effect. Compromise. Negotiate. Innovate.
We have seen too well how ideology can beggar people. There is no better example than the Palestinians, who have pursued abstract rights for 70 years and refused good compromises that would have given them much more than they will ever get now.
Don't let the perfect make you pass up the good. Instead of resisting, negotiate. Learn the art of the deal. Do deals, don't walk away from the table and fight a war you will probably not win.
2
The republicans are almost better at optics. And they don't do nuance. And that works electorally
1
So many rationalizations by the alt-left for unacceptable behavior. What's wrong is wrong regardless of the political party involved.
2
In reading through many of the replies, I am struck by how many refer to “they” or “them”, without specifically defining who “they” or “them” are. Even within a single reply, the author at one point will seemingly be referring to senior Trump administration personnel but then seemingly shift to talking about all who voted for Trump or perhaps all Republicans, as if these are interchangeable homogeneous groups. In fairness, a few replies do make the distinction, being willing to tolerate shaming of public officials but not of private individuals. But most do not.
The unwillingness of people on the left to accept that there are differences among people on the right and in the center is shortsighted in the bigger picture. I am a highly educated, socially liberal, fiscally conservative individual who voted for Trump. I found him to be deplorable personally and egomaniacal. But for reasons that I considered well-founded, I viewed him as the better choice. I am neither a bleeding-heart liberal nor an arch-conservative. I never watch FOX, but also am disappointed that CNN has devolved into a clone of MSNBC.
To those on the left, I am a unicorn, not possible that I exist. To them, it is not possible that someone would have voted for Trump, unless that individual was intellectually damaged or a racist/facist. I am neither. But the message I am getting loud and clear from the left is that I don’t exist. So presumably you don’t want my vote. Is that what you meant to say?
Shaming people for promoting shameful policies is not being uncivil as long as the shaming does not follow the Trump playbook of insulting and bullying. A racist should be ashamed, anybody defending or inciting violence against vulnerable people should be ashamed. Crying "shame" is not equivalent to calling a whole class of people an infestation, murderers and rapists.
8
Is Maxine Waters advocating violence? Is she telling people to rough up demonstrators? Is she spouting lies on the campaign trail about every person she dislikes, or who disagrees with her? Is she coming up with derogatory nicknames for her opponents?
There are times when public shaming is called for. There are moments when, in our national dialogue, the appropriate response is to shame the perpetrator(s). The GOP is not publicly disavowing Trump or his more reprehensible actions in public. That leaves us believing that there is GOP support for what he's doing. It's not unreasonable assumption given how the likes of McConnell, Ryan, Paul, and others behaved during the Obama years.
And why should Sandra Huckabee Sanders have expected to eat in peace in an ethnic restaurant after the administration and she herself, have said so many incorrect things about immigrants. Nearly every statement this administration has made about the ACA, immigrants, crime, the economy, the tax cuts, have been lies or completely incorrect. They deserve to be shamed with the facts and our feelings.
Do you, Frank Bruni, like being lied about with respect to your sexual orientation or religion or economic status? I bet you don't. Well neither do we. If this administration refuses to correct itself, it's our job to speak out.
6
"Oh my goodness - if we just ask King George nicely, he'll surely grant us independence. And if he doesn't, at least we'll still have our civility." Geo. Washington, before the Revolution
"Gosh, let's just all mosey up to the Big House and ask to be set free. Surely the master will let us go. And if he doesn't, we'll at least have been civil about it." American slaves, just before the Civil War.
"Hey, I've got an idea! Let's just ASK Congress if we can vote. I mean, if we ask nicely, what can they say?" Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony, and later, the Silent Sentinels.
"Guys, it worked for White women, maybe it'll work for us! Let's give it a try. Let's meet up at the Woolworth's lunch counter. If you take the bus, make sure you move to the back if they tell you to, ok? And if we're nice about it, maybe they won't turn the firehoses and dogs on us." Rosa Parks, Rev. Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, John Lewis.
Sorry, Mr. Bruni. In the age of "Womp womp," I know which side I'm on.
13
"So why, when the strategist said this to me, did he sound upbeat? The answer is that it was Monday night and a miracle had occurred: The Democratic Party — well, one Democratic congresswoman in particular — had given journalists a different story to turn to, and this new narrative allowed Trump and his enablers to play the parts of victims." Too bad that Bruni could not rise above his own political bias to acknowledge that the Democratic Congresswoman's call to nasty opposition was just a more honest display of what goes on in his newspaper everyday.
2
The blame for all the public shaming going on lies with trump and his supporters. Trump incited violence during his campaign and he is the public shamer in chief. He has publicly shamed many women in particular and even republicans. Sarah sander, neilson, and his party are all complicit in trumps shaming of others.
There was no public shaming of dc officials, or it was rare, before trump.
3
Democrats are all holding hands and singing kumbaya and fretting about incivility, while Republicans are stealing supreme court seats, blowing holes in the deficit, enabling a racist president and his cruel immigration policies, building a stupid wall, planning for a space force and Mars-a-Lago and a Pyongyang Trump Tower.
Meantime, the reactionaries are winning public support because they look decisive.
And the left holds another seance.
8
You know what this reminds me of, those families who give Grandma a pass when she makes a racist comment in front of everyone at Thanksgiving dinner. Someone invariably refers to as off-color with a shrug indicating, "well, you know, it's Grandma." Well you know who learns from Grandma, her grandkids.
4
Read Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and get back to me, Frank.
5
I agree with Frank Bruni that Maxine Waters and her "Red Hen" approach are wrong. But I also think Frank Bruni's approach is wrong.
We have a problem on our Southern border. We have millions of illegal aliens here already, and more coming. We are a country with the rule of law, which means we need to enforce the law or change it.
Congress is the body that makes the law. Not the president. Not the courts. Only congress can make the law, and so congress needs to fix our immigration system.
Political realities mean that compromise is needed to pass immigration reform. Those who think outrage about 2,000 children separated from their parents is going to help solve an issue that affects millions are misguided. Think bigger than that.
For all his faults, Donald Trump comes from the real world where you need to deal with harsh realities to get results. People like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren come from an idealistic world where abstract ideas triumph over reality. (Bernie Sanders is a socialist who admired the Soviet Union, Cuba and Nicaragua.)
Focus with Donald Trump on solving the big problem and making sure we are a country of laws that work. That is the best way to help the (fortunately small number of) children who are caught up in our mess of an immigration system.
3
"Public shaming feels good. That's no reason to do it."
I don't think all of those folks are doing this because it feels good. Some of them no doubt don't feel good at all about it. Speaking for myself, doing such things is difficult. I am uncomfortable putting myself out there in that way. I was very involved during the last presidential election but doing so took real effort. That doesn't mean of course that getting involved in that particular way is wise. They do however have one thing going for them. They all telling the truth.
7
I respectfully disagree. Rep. Waters' speech and the owner of the Red Hen's action were encouraging protest, nothing more, nothing less.
If anyone bothered to even listen to the whole of Water's speech given at the Keep Families Together: Protest Rally and Toy Drive, they would immediately "get this." Her words were words of encouragement to protest, not exhortations for public humiliations. She was rightfully fired up about the treatment of migrant children, and encouraged people to make their voices heard loud and clear, including "pushing back" by letting Cabinet officials know, wherever they may be, that there are people out there who vigorously disagree with their policies.
The Red Hen owner's request to Saunders to leave her restaurant, as stated by Saunders herself, was done discretely and professionally. And, although initially starting with an RH employee's FB post, the story only came into the "public forum" with Saunders Sat. morning Tweet.
How, either of these equates to public humiliation or a lack of civility is truly mind boggling. Seriously. What's even more mind boggling, given Trump and his supporters consistent aggressive behavior at his rallies, is how it is that this only now has b/c a matter of public discourse? Why not before.
It only takes a single person to be the catalyst of change. In extreme times such as these, if you're not standing up and shouting, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.
4
While I agree with Mr. Bruni in principle, what we are witnessing is a wholesale takeover of our country by an extremist, racist, right wing branch of brutal lunatics.
The irony is that for the first time I know of in our history, our country is actually under siege from the government; this would--or may become--the first instance in which taking up arms could be justified, although it is the opposing league of grifters and hooligans who support a citizen army!
Making life uncomfortable for people who feel comfortable lying, imprisoning children, and conspiring with a foreign and hostile power to throw our electoral process doesn't seem too extreme to me.
3
I disagree. the executive is lawless. the legislature is feckless. the supreme court is hostile. how else but through acts of defiance against government functionaries made by citizens of conscience can decent people make their hearts known?
3
Those who advocate civility in the face of unrelenting incivility forget that it was at least partly the unrelenting incivility in the face of the proponents of the Vietnam War that drove Lyndon Johnson to not seek election in 1968. It got to the point that he couldn't leave the White House.
Non-violent incivility works.
4
If Americans keep blaming Trump for their own rough and rude behaviour, US will be very uncivil by 2024. The problem is that not many liberals are speaking up. Speak up but with respect, otherwise you are no better. You can follow Trudeau’s example and ignore Trump.
At this time we do not even want to visit the US, especially the non-white friends around us.
Careful about your conclusions, Mr. Bruni. It's OK to advocate for civility (and you may get enough takers on that), but it is NOT OK to then say we should elect the most likely person to beat the Republican candidate in November, no matter how flawed, or off-message, or unrepresentative of the population they may be. New Yorkers just showed your friend just how wrong an approach that is. The lessons of two summers ago ought to stick better than this!
2
This debate is fascinating and important.
I’d argue that Michelle Goldberg and Frank Bruni are both right. Goldberg is right to call out the false equivalence between Trump-world’s cruelty and (e.g.) Red Hen’s blunt ejection of SHS. And she is right to recognize our rage. She is right to call it victim-blaming when the left is accused of provoking Trump-world’s incivility by, for example, shouting or using profanity.
But Bruni has a point also. We SHOULD strive to choose the smartest tactics. We WILL be best served by creative and dignified forms of civil disobedience. And we need to VOTE, yes, of course! But let’s not sit around for four months until election day while this monster tortures children with our tax dollars. He has to be resisted, NOW.
3
Every time I read one of your essays I receive reinforcement that what I think is shared by someone else. Both of the hot stories in the last couple of days are manna for Trump to divert attention from the border. Diversion is his biggest tool for obfuscations and thus division.
Our memories are short. Do you remember the attacks by the T partiers on Dems? Some even showed up carrying assault weapons. To make a fuss over someone politely asking someone to leave in private is not comparable.
Maxine Waters is a little more uncivil but still did not reach the T party actions.
It doesn't even compare with the attempt of the liar in chief Tweeting that the restaurant involved was dirty. That is a clear attempt to ruin the Women's business and earnings. That's uncivil!
3
Frank Bruni is the man who scolds us to shut the barn door after the horses have already left. The way to restore "civility" isn't to allow the uncivil to pay no penalty for their behavior, and in any case the point is to mobilize a social movement that will keep a fire under any Democrats that are elected in November by reminding them that we have ways of putting unbearable pressure on them as well as Republicans. History shows that public shaming gets a lot of things done that can't be accomplished in other ways, something the Civil Rights Movement should have taught us. He also assumes that people can't - or rather, shouldn't - pay attention to more than one thing at once. We can dog the people responsible for outrageous public acts, organize social movements, and vote all at the same time. In the end voting isn't the sum of democracy but the tail end result of a vibrant, active, and organized public that is willing and able to take direct action to advance its goals without waiting for politicians to get up to speed.
3
I disagree. Public shaming has been proven to do nothing good. It doesn't work in public policy as well as personal policy. You are only strengthening the opposition. A great example of how to win over the other is in a story about the granddaughter of the horrid Phelps family. And how through the kindness of those she and her family had disparaged and insulted she finally left that church.
https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2015/mar/30/phelps-roper/
1
I think rather than open shaming, quiet shunning. Meaning, you are civil but with no warmth or interest. The person will get the message.
2
No, the person will not get the message. They will not notice anything at all. Your message will be lost unless you openly express it.
"Quiet shunning" is an excuse for not doing anything.
4
It's difficult to have good table manners when your host threatens you with his knife if you don't agree with him.
4
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!” Obama being called a liar while delivering a speech to the Congress; the president making fun of the disabled and the disadvantaged, and repeatedly calling Senator Warren, “Pocahontas”. His threatening punitive actions against any entity which doesn’t go along with his programs(Harley Davidson), and stating that he’d like his people to jump to attention like the people around the dictators from Russia and North Korea do. His overt support of “fine people” marching under Nazi flags, and retweeting misinformation from Fox while calling the rest of the press a threat to the nation. Maybe he is the result of absolute fear given power, but we don’t have to take it as the way things will be, so it’s time to stand up, call them on their lies and vote them out.
6
WRONG! We will not hide fearfully in the shadows. We must speak truth to morons.
5
Key to remember: civility and capitulation or “playing nice” are not the same thing. A stronger substantive, highly critical of the failures and negative outcomes of Trump and the Republicans is called for. There are so many ways that Trump and the Republicans have not only failed to deliver on their own 2016 campaign promises but have taken actions with exactly the opposite intention and results that they can consistently be characterized as letting down and harming their own supporters and the rest of us. We are all in this together.
2
A tweet by Ms. Pelosi encouraging improved conduct of elections? Please! After the 2015–2016 Democratic Party primaries, the irony drips forcefully, like accelerated high-viscosity syrup, upon any of us who realize what a sham those elections were. And with respect to Rep. Waters, it's merely another symptoms of our society's preoccupation with veneer over substance. Politicians of both parties do it with regularity, another reason why the percentage of "no-party-preference" registrants continues to increase.
1
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for helping me decide which way to go on this. I’ve been on two hearts about this issue, feeling sympathy for the hecklers but, at the same time, feeling very uneasy about it. If nothing else, we need to be smart about this, there is too much at stake. If you wrestle with a pig in the mud he’ll win, and he will enjoy it, to boot.
1
There are alternatives to wrestling in the mud or being quiet. You can speak out without getting in the mud.
Please Find a way to do it.
1
It will be such a pleasure to see the Dems crushed in November. That will be the best Public Shaming for Waters and her ilk.
1
We likely will be crushed. I think it will take maybe a decade or more of life under 100% GOP rule for folks to come around to what a rolling disaster it's been.
So if you're in Youngstown, Ohio and unemployed because your factory's Republican owners looked for cheaper labor elsewhere, just hang in there. Trump's gonna take care of you. Meantime, keep checking in at the vape shop to see what new flavors have come in
.
This immigrant children topic du jour is really the height of hypocrisy. Every day, across the USA, in every state, american citizen children are taken from their parents, who are also us citizens by CPS, Child Protective Services. These children are also traumatized and possibly scarred for life. No media outlet reports on that.
2
To the advocates of lunch-mobs mentality and reactionary tactics... This is how it started in the south so many years ago; People taking the law into their own hands and acting on the impulse to punish offenders. Who are we to judge a person's heart or intentions? Who are we to exact justice? What gives us the right to proclaim someone guilty based on media soundbites and innuendos. What's next? Will we start lynching the Wall Street tycoons that crippled the US Economy and cost thousands of families their homes? Will we attack Washington DC to rid ourselves of this hated president and a corrupt Congress? Will you attack everyone that voted for Mr. Trump? What gives us the right to act violently? Think through this carefully. Who's feeding this rage and who is responsible for inciting this riot? Is it the Democrats? The Republicans? The Communists? Or is it the media?
Please think it through, boz, there are lots of middle ground solutions -- not just lynching or sitting back quietly
I don't advocate sitting by but taking action, but not by shaming or attacking, but by using the system and passive resistance. Gandhi changed a nation. Dr King changed a nation. It is impossible to greet change with a clenched fist...
A speech given to a convention of Rabbis was reported in the NY Times on June 15, 1934:
Professor Cadbury is chairman of the service committee, American Society of Friends:
“Oppression of Jews in German by Hitler and his Nazi forces can be ended not by hate that their victims may display, or by attempts to fight back,” he said, “but by efforts to cultivate good will.”
Kudos to diarists on the Dailykos for researching this information.
1
Mr. Bruni, I submit that you would look at public shaming differently if you did not have a forum in one of the nation's greatest newspapers that lets you shame the president and his minions regularly in front of millions.
Most Americans do not have that advantage.
Worse, there is still no well-planned, well-funded and well-executed national opposition movement led by seasoned political heavyweights to counter Trump's lies and outrages. Also, our hallowed checks and balances are broken. The Republican Congress is so indebted to Trump for the massive tax cuts for the rich that it dare not exercise its constitutional powers to rein in a runaway president. Is it any surprise people like me feel that the legislative branch isn't protecting the nation from Donald Trump?
On top of that, we have a president who is not the president of all Americans. Apart from being the president of his narcissistic fantasies, he is also the president of the racist and xenophobic members of his deplorable base. As if that weren't bad enough, Trump is so terrified of being embarrassed in public by dissenters, including hecklers, that he only ever appears at events packed with his adoring base. I will never be able to tell Trump what I think of him.
To borrow words from the late Malvina Reynolds, it isn't nice to shout our cries of protest at the hotel and the store, but that's the price of freedom at a time when ordinary Americans who oppose Trump are powerless and disenfranchised.
5
If I owned a restaurant, I would not serve trump, or anyone in his administration, appointed by him. Include Melania and his older sons and daughter Ivanka. They all are complicit in a portion of his wrongful deeds which they themselves own. I would however, serve their children and Barron totally free meals, including their security teams. The reason is simple: Family separation: My religious beliefs prevent me from taking any “blood” money from the above cohort. I believe trump is directly responsible for the suicide of the father who hanged himself after he was separated from his son and wife. The father is but one example. trump has caused irreparable damage to thousands of families. In addition, I would not serve any of the dastardly GOP Congress, that support him, because they, along with trump, are directly responsible, for any and all deaths caused by the removal of health care insurance, now and in the future...
4
Maxine Waters would be better served if she encouraged fellow black people to vote. They came out for Obama; they did not for Clinton. Had they done so, we wouldn't have ended up with Donald Trump. The Democratic party sorely needs the black vote to help tip the scales.
3
If the margin for success is as slim as Mr. Bruni suggests and Democrats have to be very careful about their behavior lest they embolden Republicans to respond, then it's clear that the country desires a future with feckless Republicans and a corrupt president. Based on everything I've been reading everywhere over the last couple years, there are enough Americans who think the Republican controlled Congress is one of the worst ever and the President is an embarrassment to the country. Isn't that enough to get 90% voter turnout by Democrats in November? Not to mention a lot of independents and a few Republicans? If not, then the country you have now is, in fact, the country you are.
1
In the Christian scriptures Jesus overturned that tables of the money-changers who were polluting His father's temple because what they were doing was immoral. It was unconscionable. It was wrong. Christ decided it was time to take action.
Works for me.
6
Many commenting on this column make an argument that Democrats are taking a knife to a gunfight in being civil.
They seem to me incapable of understanding the difference between soft and hard power. Both are effective in politics, and when you find yourself in the OK corral, it is best to play to your long suit. For Democrats, that was, and still is, soft power. If it comes to hard power, the Republican party will take you down EVERY SINGLE TIME !
There are lots of reasons Trump won, having primarily to do with the electoral college, gerrymander, and as we may one day understand better, the Russians. It was assuredly NOT because more Democrats were not even more self-righteous and condescending than they were to the independent voters in a few, key swing states.
Scolding and shaming middle-aged white guys in the suburbs accomplishes... ...just exactly what? And being rude to the public officials whom those guys may see as their proxies make them feel exactly how? If progressives ever want their goals for public policy realized, they are going to have to convince at least some of those middle-aged white guys to vote for Democrats. And those Democrats will be effective only if they stay focused like a laser beam on those policies, including even the rule of law, because if they take the low road of personal, ad hominem attacks and character assassination, the Republicans will win that gunfight EVERY SINGLE TIME.
To repeat, EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! They have better guns!
Trump, from Day One, has used invective and fabrication to denigrate and subdue any naysayers. With a brash, bullying voice, he manages to tap into primate brains and bring out our inner gorillas. Just watching a few nature shows about monkeys and their behavior will tell you how far from civilized we really are. Road rage and recent airline disturbances indicate we are descending as a species, and it only takes a poke with a verbal stick to set us off. A Kipling quote comes to mind. Something like, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you."
I truly believe that Waters is a shame!
maxine waters is a serious threat to the Democratic Party. the Party needs to reject her in simple plain terms by putting up against her a viable alternative. a young Hispanic or black well-spoken woman would be an excellent choice.
Meow! Liberals have had it with being polite, and they've had it with the DNC, the Democratic Party and the Democratic dinosaurs that take up space milking their office for personal gain while ignoring their constituents. I'm watching conservatives throwing all kinds of gauntlets down, just daring the electorate to act, and now they are.
Liberals will take this to the mat now, and I love it. This is war now. Welcome to the majors!
5
When public figures behave badly they deserve to be shamed in public. Anyone who is in public office is not immune from getting flack for their actions, especially when what they do or say runs counter to our values. Its about time to stand up and call these people out for what they are, mean spirited racists.
7
And child abusers.
2
If elections were the answer we would not be in this position. Many would-be Democratic districts are so gerrymandered that it doesn't really matter how many liberal people go to the polls (see Travis Count, TX). In addition to that, the left has concentrated itself in cities and college towns that leave enormous swaths of available districts to Republicans. Lastly, our electoral college system dilutes the voting power of liberal states like California (718,909 people for every 1 electoral college vote, whereas North Dakota has 251,798 for every electoral college vote, nearly a 3-fold dilution factor, for example).
Appeasement is not the answer. That is what Neville Chamberlain tried and Mr. Hitler literally laughed when he left the room. Luckily, Trump isn't nearly as intelligent as that mendacious populist. And luckily the US is enormous and in no need of lebensraum so we have no need for war and carnage. But, what is at stake is the future of this country as we once knew it. That shining beacon on the hill. Considering this, I think the public shaming is more than warranted.
2
The NYT again instructs us on our behavior.
5
When a person is stepping on your throat, you don't summon the courage to find higher ground. You throw sand in his face
6
Here we go again with the moral scolds. Aren’t there more important things to write about, Frank?
8
we tried being polite...it did not work. we must fight this administration with all our energy.children in cages REALLY!!!!!!
2
Let me ask you a question, Frank: Should Germans have chased Goebbels out of their shops back when they were still able to do so? Or Mengele? Or should they have smiled and nodded and bit their tongue and served them a nice dinner, forgetting what these men were doing, eager to be polite no matter what atrocities they were committing? If you think so, you are not a person I want to know. (And no, the comparison is not too extreme. There was a point when germans could have stopped Hitler. We are in that same place in America today.)
7
Totally "disgusting" behavior for a woman representing this country. She would never get away with her nonsense if white. It is amazing how the democrats are now the party representing hate/discrimination. I cannot wait until November; no blue wave is coming; eat your hearts out. The democratic party is selling out this country; they put illegals and Maxine Waters ahead of the rest of us.
The tea party treated Obama and Democrats a lot more harshly in the lead up to the 2010 midterm election. They spit on Congressmen, harassed people at town halls, etc. They took the House of Representatives that year, the Senate in 2014, and the White House in 2016. Back then, they were freaking out because the first black president was trying to lower healthcare costs. Now we have full-blown fascists running our government and everyone's supposed to sit calm and politely wait until November?
5
This is war. Trump and his Brownshirts have declared war. If you do not have the stomach for the fight, Mr. Bruni, step aside. We will defend the Bill of Rights for you and the others too dainty to confront the challenge to the American way of life. I wonder where Martin Luther King, Jr. would have stood on the issue?
4
Right. Let’s remember that Freedom Riders and lunch-counter sit-in folks were frequently accused of... oh right, incivility! Excessively polarizing behavior!
3
Here is what Frank Bruni should read before pontificating in such a shameless manner and it's (funnily enough) from the records of the NY Times itself. From Daily Kos today:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/26/1775487/-Historian-Pulls-Up-N...
Mr. Bruni... sometimes you are just such a good Catholic. And yet as we well know... if the Catholic Church followed your advice they would have died out a long time ago.
3
Spoken precisely as one might imagine of a "white moderate", as MLK would've called you.
3
No one is calling on Democrats or those of us who are independents to adopt a zen-like cool ala, Mr. Obama. But acting like boorish spittle-flecked, red-faced ignoramuses screaming invective? Isn't that the scene at a Trump rally? No, don't be like them.
If may be cathartic but it is counter-productive. Like it or not please get one indisputable fact through your wandering minds voters of the opposition. People over 50 control the outcome of the election. They are put off, to state it mildly, by loud threatening incivility. The Gen-X and Boomers who like boorishness are already in Trump's corner and you're not getting them back. The persuadable others need to hear and see the less threatening behavior. Argument and decency, not brownshirt tactics. As Bruni so rightly said, it is about winning and nothing else.
Shamers are losers. They got nothing. Shrill is not logic. Screams are not arguments. Hostility is not reason. Karma takes care of Shamers.
Chamberlain was civil.
Churchill was not.
Get it?
Abortion providers have been killed. Children have been forcibly separated from their parents and thrown into cages. Nazis march openly in the streets. White male terrorists, feeding on a steady diet of Fox and alt-right sources, are shooting students and church goers. And you’re still moaning about the left?
Go home, Frank. Your dry meatloaf is waiting for you.
5
There are few things more repellent than the concept of public shaming. It presumes that the speaker is morally pure and the issues clear. Gee, I thought that was the province of the Christian Right.
Think also: there are few things that could backfire more readily on Dems than widespread adoption of public shaming. If the power of one's passion, and one's moral certitude, justify making public figures' lives hell, be prepared for the (metaphorical) incineration of Planned Parenthood's president when next she ventures from the Beltway. To say nothing of the abuse that Hillary could suffer when she steps out of Chappaqua.
The President, his minions and henchmen, no matter how bad their behaviour, have not faced any consequences for their terrible actions. Too long have the left been willing to turn the other cheek and appease bullies. Neville Chamberlain tried to appease Hitler. Look how that worked out.
This battle can only be won in November. Until then consistent, in your face opposition might slow them down.
4
Mr. Bruni,
WE really DO care , don't U ?
3
This public shaming business is going to rebound ten times worse from T supporters. Wait and watch this play out in real time. Really stupid move(s). Always remember, if you anger one, you anger the entire trailer park.
1
The people did not speak up in Nazzi Germany either.
3
It's amazing how the more Democrats demonize and dehumanize Trump and his supporters and condemn them as fascists and Nazi's, the more Democrats actually turn into real-life fascists using the well worn Nazi tactics of harassment, intimidation, and assault to silence, shut down, and terrorize all those they disagree with.
It's stunning to watch the lack of self-awareness on the part of Democrats as America looks on horrified by how unhinged the their party has become. And I guarantee that the Independents Dems need to win in November are a lot more terrified of the violent rhetoric of crazed trump hating Democrats than they are of Trump's vulgar tweets.
1
At last! Public shaming be damned! Trump dishes out incivility like we've never heard from a president, and his loyalists, sychophants and nepots only love him more.The new broom who will sweep away public shaming is 28 year old Millennial Socialist from the Bronx -- Alexandria Ocasia Cortez -- who soundly beat her 56 year old Democratic opponent for a seat in the 116th Congress. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez won the Primary for the Bronx/Queens 14th C.D. Joe Crowley, Chair of the Democratic House Caucus, will be looking for a job and no longer be considered the successor to Nancy Pelosi for Minority Speaker of the House. We have all been waiting for Alexandria, the Millennial Democrat -- a young Latina woman -- to appear on the Dem horizon like a rare "strawberry moon". May Alexandria's name "defender of mankind" - be a harbinger of good tidings for the Democrats in November as Barack ("blessed") was for us in 2004.
3
Maxine Waters is not a pariah. Like most of the thinking world she's had enough, she can't take it anymore. Her rage comes from a deeper place than any white liberal or conservative can know.
There's no need to upbraid her or apologize for her. You need only to explain where this rage comes from-it comes from being black and female in America. To make it worse and more outrageous she finds herself and the rest of us in a Trumpian America, which is about as close to hell as we'll get.
Good politics ? Who knows, all I know is that she will not go gently into that good night and I don't blame her.
5
Sarah Sanders is the Joseph Goebbels of the Trump administration. If Goebbels had been shamed early on, perhaps 6 million Jewish people would not have died and millions of Americans, Europeans and Russians would have been spared the deaths of their sons and other loved ones in WWII.
"Historian Karl Dietrich Bracher argued that the success of Nazi ideology can only be understood via the role of propaganda in the Third Reich. The Nazis’ modern techniques of opinion-formation in order to create a “truly religio-psychological phenomenon”1 made the propaganda especially powerful."...
"Propaganda was the operational method of the Third Reich, the idea that projected the ideology. Hitler’s chief architect, Albert Speer, told the Nuremberg Tribunal “that what distinguished the Third Reich from all previous dictatorships was its use of all the means of communication to sustain itself and to deprive its objects of the power of independent thought.”5 Hitler was a magician of illusion. The cultural historian Piers Brendon has described propaganda as the “gospel” of Nazism and notes that Goebbels “liked to say that Jesus Christ has been a master of propaganda and that the propagandist must be the man with the greatest knowledge of souls.”" The above quotes from Slate Academy article on Fascism. The link will not attach. Search "Goebbels propaganda Hitler Third Reich".
The owner of The Little Red Hen has done the world a great service. Sarah Sanders is, indeed, fair game for protests.
6
Let them sit and eat but grab a table close enough. Enjoy your meal, your friends and family while you catalogue everything that's vile and dangerous about this Administration: the latest lies, the hypocrisy, the incompetence, the poor quality of political appointments throughout government and courts; the many ethical and likely criminal breaches, national security breaches, the actual state of the economy (thank you Obama) and what trump's doing to blow it up and, of course, what kind of person would continuously lie, would sell their soul to prop up this know-nothing, lying, incompetent, delusional, photo-op wannabe king....and how they'll regret their part in years to come.
Make zero eye contact.
Dems, you cannot win a fight with the Devil if you play by His rules. Bees & Honey (my Momma always urged) is required, which doesn't preclude protests, even very loud ones but Congresswoman Waters' call to what is essentially "swarming" is just wrong in terms of strategy, public safety and common sense. She was riled up and should have immediately apologized. It takes strength to admit you're wrong; it takes strength to admit mistakes: you need to flip the script on the notion that trump is "strong" when all he is is a weak little bully with a penchant for catchy name calling.
In Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" there's one of the greatest American lines:
"Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big enough majority in any town?"
This is said by the "King" to the "Duke," a pair of grifters working their way down the Missouri river towns.
They are moving a bit too slowly though, a big mistake for grifters, and in Twain's morality tale a mob of people from the towns upstream they have swindled come and tar-and-feather them.
That's old-time shaming ... didn't happen in reality very often even in Twain's day. And tar-and-feathering wasn't just shaming, the hot tar inflicted real burns.
Or one could be put in the stocks. In an article in the New York Times dated November 13, 1887 we see,"Gone, too, are the parish stocks, in which offenders against public morality formerly sat imprisoned, with their legs held fast beneath a heavy wooden yoke, while sundry small but fiendish boys improved the occasion by deliberately pulling off their shoes and tickling the soles of their defenseless feet."
It was also common for horse manure to be thrown at those in the stocks -- readily available from the streets of the day.
What would be so wrong about Trump and Pruitt, our modern-day "King" and "Duke," grifters both, in the stocks?
After WWII French women who were Nazi collaborators had their heads shaven and were paraded in the streets. I'm not suggesting that we go that far with Sanders, just that any proprietor of a commercial establishment is within their rights as a matter of free speech to refuse members of the corrupt Trump administration service. After all, didn't the Trump administration make the same argument in the case of the Colorado baker who wanted to express his religious bigotry? "What's good for the goose..."
Are Donald Trump and his cabinet worthy of our respect? Do they care about civil behavior? Are they turning our beloved country into a cult that worships a dictator-king? If you are not happy with the Trump "my way or the highway" school of governing, if the corruption and self-dealing sickens you, if you think we are being lied to on a daily basis by "those in charge," you are obligated to vocalize your outrage any way you can. Vote, register others to vote, and call out injustice, corruption and lying every chance you get.
2
Well said. We should heed Michelle Obama's "We go high."
Frank, this column is not about decorum. In my opinion, this is navel gazing inside a bubble at the NYT. A would-be Fascist is in power. His true believers are enabling the downfall of our republic and committing atrocities right in our faces (see any article on what's happened/happening at the border). I'll go with Elie Wiesel on this one, because he knew, he knew the true cost of staying quiet.
"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
5
It wasn't just Maxine Waters. It was the treatment of Sarah Sanders, it was the equation of the Trump policy to Nazism, the detention camps referred to as concentration camps, and so on. So now there is a huge side story about the appropriateness of the Nazi equation. This is insane, and as you say, beyond self defeating. No one can do what Trump does, and the only response to get rid of him is to VOTE HIM OUT. So, it's all about the midterms, about local elections, and then 2020. It's about moderating, not going the other way. The other way is directly into Trump's arms.
1
“Let’s direct voters toward the red meat of their wrongdoing, not their indigestion when they go out for a chimichanga.” Who are you speaking of? The manager who finds her staff upset at serving a woman who directs bigotry against many of them? Restaurant patrons who find them selves in unpleasant company? These are not Democratic strategists. They have no bully pulpit. They cannot direct voters toward the red meat.
But you can, Bruni. The NYT can. All you have to do is your jobs and not be continually led around by Republicans. Republicans can only make Waters the face of the Democrats if you help them.
If you want to do something useful, Bruni, write a column about how the Republicans manipulate the supposedly liberal MSM.
Dear Frank, As is often said if you are not outraged you are not paying attention.
3
Democrats, Hang in there! There is big HOPE! According to this NYT article Dem voting in the primaries is up 20% including in Devin Nunes' and Kevin McCarthy's district!!! We've got to remain strong, keep up our integrity, be strategic and get out the votes!
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/25/us/politics/midterm-prima...
3
Hypocrisy (n):
OK: Homophobic baker in Colorado that didn't want to serve Gay weddings.
Not OK: Non-homophobic restaurateur that didn't want to serve a person who they feel is anti-american.
The Leftists are losing. Throwing tantrums is making it much worst. Good and decent people couldn’t get themselves to vote for Hillary and her corrupt machine. They are watching.
Down the rabbit hole, descending into the abyss. It’s breathtaking to watch.
Get out the vote! Particularly, get out the vote of people especially hurt by Trump ; Hispanics,Blacks , The Young , The Poor, The Deceived Trump Voters and All Those Who Believe in Democracy!!!
3
Frank, are you shaming Congresswoman Maxine Waters ?
Then shame on you !
Democrats need some backbones and not go after their own when they should be going after vile President trump instead of Ms. Waters .
3
The most un-civil person in this country right now is Donald Trump. He gets to call people all sorts of things in his tweets and no one criticizes him. Anyone who is against him for any reason gets called out with some sort of name. Low IQ, failing, dumb, etc. etc. Why not ask for civility from the top? Why does Trump get away with his beyond crude behavior and the rest of us get shamed?
1
The theatre's on fire, Frank. Time to start shouting.
1
"De facto cages", Frank?
Newspeak is what the Left is all about. "De facto cages" actually means chain-link fences. Which aren't cages.
Trump should have put up wooden Tom Sawyer fences, instead! Then nobody would have thought of "cages". Corrals maybe? Not as punchy....
1
Take the high road.
Let Robert Mueller throw the punches in the appropriate venue.
Congrats, Frank, on perpetrating for a second straight day the biggest media false equivalency of modern times.
The idea that a restaurant refusing to serve the WH press secretary should generate this type of across the board media coverage is as bad as the coverage and equivalency by the MSM of Michelle Wolfe making fun of same's eye make up.
The fact that almost the ENTIRE MSM lied yesterday claiming Waters promoted violence against opponents is fake news on a level Fox News would be proud of.
The fact that you show her picture in your story perpetuates the false narrative regardless of what your opinion might be.
Newt Gingrich was obsessed with making Nazi analogies
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/very-long-list-dumb-and-awf...
but he was called the "ideas guy" of the revived Republican Party.
Frank Bruni is another in a long list of ersatz tribunes who believes Democrats should bring a water pistol to the OK Corral so they appear civil and keep the noise done.
1
The more Democrats heckle, the more they lose
Bonita Kale
Bonita Kale
Cleveland, Ohio | Pending Approval
But is public shaming supposed to make me feel good? No. Is it supposed to have an effect on Trumpeters? No. It's supposed to shame the targets. It's supposed to let them know that they are misbehaving, and that the community sees that. Like a person who smokes in a restaurant, or pees on a park bench, a person who kidnaps children, divides the world, and makes enemies for America should be shamed, in the (admittedly feeble) hope that they'll think, and maybe repent.
I’m with Maxine.
2
Frank, according to your Twitter feed you are enjoying the cuisine and culture of Italia!...reckoning back to your original job as a food critic.
You have NO idea what is going on here. As the trade war begins in earnest, (just ask Harley-Davidson), the tension has become palpable.
I visited my internist, a wonderful young third generation of medical doctors of Indian descent. He LOST it. He has a 20 month old daughter and the audio tape of the separated children sobbing “mami” and “papi" tore him apart.
His eyes were wide as he said “We’re going to Europe next month! What if I’m not allowed back in? Or they take our child? Separate me from my wife?”
He was terrified (It’s awful to see your physician in crisis!)and he is more of a patriotic American than that cruel beast in the WH.
So Frank, no more missives from Italia. Come live with the common people to understand the anger. WHEN has the EPA director and the Press Secretary been given security forces before?
Did Josh Earnest EVER need protection? We’re getting closer to physical battle and TRUMP LOVES IT!
“See how POWERFUL I am?” You don’t get it safely ensconced in the NY Times building.
2
- So, Fascists win votes based on lies and hate. Is it good to shout Fascists out of debate forums?
- Oh, no. That reduces free speech.
- OK so, is it good to discuss with Fascists?
- Um, no. They don't respond to argument.
- So, how about slapping Fascists?
- Violence! No, no, no, no, no. No.
- Then, how about shaming Fascists in public?
- No way. That creates a toxic environment.
- Then what can we do?
- Um. Voting. Voting is good.
- So, Fascists win votes...
Trump's a Nazi. a sociopath. A sociopath with the nuclear launch codes. If you're on the fence about public shaming, just imagine the ones being shamed sitting there in Nazi uniforms.
I'm not exaggerating. Playing by the rules of normal civility and decency is worse than useless against these monsters. They'll have us debating and they'll keep feigning wounded outrage right up until the moment they feel safe opening up the first US "re-education" camps. Then they'll laugh at us for trusting them as they're clubbing us in the head. That's the disturbing truth of it.
We have to fight, peacefully, now. Calling out Sanders, Miller and the other Nazi enablers is the very minimum we can do to preserve freedom and rule of law in this country.
1
Remember Mr Bruni those Democrats who took the high road lost - Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, Hillary. Those who fought back, Clinton and Obama, won.
1
While Frank Bruni is wringing his hands over Maxine Waters completely defensible statements where she does not in any way lie or suggest anyone behave violently, here we have a little news flash from the other side:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/26/1775579/-Sinclair-forcing-sta...
The right wing is winning and Frank Bruni and the NY Times need to step up their game.
Is the right to harass public officials a one way legitimacy? Do only liberals, due to their 100% rightness on all issues, get to do the harassing? If Republican activists decide to take on that strategy themselves—in traffic, in restaurants, in front of people’s homes, in speaking platforms and debates—is that okay too? Or only liberals get to decide who is “right” enough to have that privilege? I ask this as a registered Democrat myself, but unsettled by this self righteousness, this glorification of trying to shut up people with whom we disagree . Calling someone a Nazi doesn’t make him/her one—but it is a good tactic for dehumanizing people.
Keep it coming, Maxine Waters. Trump is an illegitimate president who uses Twitter to malign, to defame, to insult, and to lie. The minute a Democrat stands up against him the media cry in unison, “Now, now, Maxine.” Huh?
Keep shunning this pack of predators, liberals and Democrats.
1
Wow, when Maxine Waters tells people to tell others that “they aren’t wanted here anymore”, why do I suddenly feel like I’m in Nazi Germany? And for her of all people to talk. People can blame Trump all they want but they were the ones who allowed themselves to become as they have. He’s just their scapegoat.
Well, if Sarah Huckabee, Stephen Miller, DHS Secretary Nielsen, Labor Secretary Chao had any ounce of shame......ok never mind
Look....even Sean Spicer is getting a television show!
We even have to put up with this: “And I think you saw the other day, we're reopening NASA" – DJT, June 20, 2018
Sigh.....the late, once great, United States of America. Thanks, it was awesome.
I hope Maxine Waters gets censured by the House.
The Democrats blew their lead in 2009 when the held power and refused to use it. They tried to play nice and compromise, and got blown out the water!!! Obama was called a liar and worse! These folks do not understand civility if it gets in the way of what they want.
Frank Bruni, you're becoming really tiresome with your constant admonishing to "go high...". Martin Luther King worked his magic WITH the help of Malcolm X. It's absolutely essential to call out, shout out these liars and criminals.
3
“One horse-laugh is worth ten-thousand syllogisms."
--- H.L. Mencken
Or angry threats.
Humorists of America unite.
The future is in your hands.
1
"The Democratic Party — well, one Democratic congresswoman in particular — had given journalists a different story to turn to, and this new narrative allowed Trump and his enablers to play the parts of victims."
"Gave journalists a different story to turn to?" What, they were tired of covering the inhumanity at the border? The problem isn't Maxine Waters or the Red Hen. It's that journalists like you are desperate to go back to your false equivalence, the "see both sides do it." It doesn't matter whether I agree with the Congresswoman or not. It matters that you and the Washington press corps so easily parrot the GOP's lines, clutching your pearls over Sam B, Michelle Wolff, and Robert DeNiro. You are all still waiting for the pivot, for Trump to act like every other president, and swoon when he manages to say two coherent sentences.
Frank Bruni, journalists and columnists like you give this administration cover with columns like this. Why not just ignore Maxine Waters and keep your focus on the kids at the border, or on what this administration is doing to the environment, or on a host of other stories? Stop giving Trump and his cult ammo to feel justified in their victimhood.
3
I really hate to say this but I think the GOP have the voting booths covered too. The GOP is way ahead of us in cheating and dirty fighting. We can just keep complaining and apologizing, but we may have to do it from inside a cage.
2
From Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, making the point that polite, placating moderates are as much of a danger as the outright bigots:
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
2
Because privilege means never having to say your sorry.
Nothing rallies white privilege more powerfully than women of color and other minorities attempting to shame the shameless.
2
Trump is waiting for his Reichstag moment, when he can block the internet, freeze all bank transactions, and declare martial law. If anyone would "invent" another 9/11, it's Trump: killing several thousand people as collateral is part of Stephen Miller's master plan. Tens of thousands of people should be storming FOX NEWS headquarters and destroying it in a act of public violence before it's too late.
2
Vladimir Vladimirovich is having a great week. First, the Russian soccer team continues on out of it's Group at the World Cup where on a global stage everybody seems to be having a great time and then he gets to read all these comments in the NYT.
Da svidania, US Constitution!
Maxine....don't back down. The Trump Administration is evil and dangerous. Every citizen needs to let them know that we won't accept them or their fascist policies.
We need never resort to physical violence but any words are fair game.
5
Frank you need to read Michelle Goldberg's column which is how I started my day. Brilliant analysis and opinion by Ms. Goldberg. I have ignored yours because I had an idea of how you would address this issue. The contrast between you and Ms. Goldberg is stark. You really need to go back to benign restaurants reviews or something because you really are not in the same league as most NYT's opinion writers - well then there is Maureen Dowd but that is another post.
>
Where was all this outrage Nov 2016?
Stupidity is the most destructive force in the universe.
Amen. Thank you Frank.
What you and the rest of the knickers in a twist political pundit class are missing is that there are a whole lot of people out here with a lot less to lose than you.
1
Sinking to a new low, everyone? Vote with your feet not with your mouth.
1
Another fine article, Frank Bruni.
Keep shouting this from the rooftops.
The Dems will not beat trump and his sordid band of haters by being equally as stupid, loud, obnoxious, and offensive - just with a dash of gay, latino, minority, and respecting global institutions on top - just because we like it that way.
Dems must be better, more dignified, offer actual policies that make sense and unify the xounth, not divide (as beat as can be done).
The gop is on the ropes. Trump has all bit destroyed it. This stuff from maxine waters, well meaning, only makes Dems look as stupid. It is madness. Madness and stupidity.
Do we want control of congress? To stop this border madness? No more trade war? To realign with our long standing allies?
Or do we just want to mindlessly vent, like Miss Waters?
Can liberals please stop this pearl clutching. These are dangerous times and a lot of people are very upset. Some of us are going to scream and it's okay.
1
More wishy-washy drivel from Bruni. Trump is a corrupt, sadistic, and racist reactionary who heads a party that is 100% in his corner. It's no exaggeration that this illegitimate president and the GOP are leading us to a distinctly American brand of fascism. And Bruni is worried about manners and decorum and upsetting the awful people who support this president. He endorses Pelosi's inane call for "unity from sea to shining sea" when the only unity Trump and his followers want is submission to their agenda.
1
Shaming is childish and petty. Want to make a point? VOTE THE NUTS OUT.
1
Intelligent advice, sure to be ignored.
Asking a public official to leave a place of business because of moral convictions is an act of bravery. SS was asked to leave because she lies and she supports children being separated from their parents not because of her actions as a private citizen. After last week with the children issue, today with the Muslim ban and now the ok for anti-abortion clinics, this country is in real trouble. The idiots are truly winning. Nothing polite seems to be working.
1
Thanks Maxine!
What a lame brained frustrated call to action to stalk people in political office and then loudmouth them!
From a woman of color and a supporter of Metoo no less!
Maybe next would be harassing their children and parents?
All this to get indirectly back at Trump?
But why?
We learned definitively how to control the Capital Bonehead this past week: Put the fear of God into the lily-livered politicians who surround him.
Scare the carp out of them as mid-terms approach. Get the mothers and the children and the preachers and the media on your side, and go after Senators and Representatives zealously and for as long as it takes.
What? You think he gave up Kids-in-Jail Month willingly? Not a chance.
His puppets in the House and Senate leaned on him so hard he couldn't breathe.
We just need to do it again. And again.
1
Hey Frank, what about #metoo and #timesup movements along with characters like the Farrow family, and Oprah Winfrey publically shaming alleged sexual abusers, gropers and harassers? Nothing? Where have you and your Times bosses been? Only applicable to Democrats shaming Right wing fanatics? I've seen hypocrisy but you guys have just taken it to a new level.
2
How many elections have you won, Bruni?
The public shaming sticks to the Democrats like smell of a dead animal. It won't go away and everyobe wants nothing to do with you. Keep it up!
Shut up Bruni. Mind your own business. There are plenty us who are not afraid of insulting Trump’s acolytes. It puts them off balance. I am concerned that the acolytes are not smart enough to know they have been insulted.
4
Heckling public officials, such as with Kirstjen Nielsen, can easily backfire. You can expect next that neo-Nazis will go out and heckle Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, or Maxine Waters.
What nice, decent person would want to run for public office if they get heckled when they have dinner at a restaurant?
Enough with the milquetoast, "when they go low, we go high." That's what the Nazi's want, it encourages them.
Doesn't anyone remember what happened when the AntiFa stood up to the Charlottesville Nazis? They turned tail and ran home.
Haven't heard much from them since.
"Baked Alaska was maced at the neo-fascist rally and Colligan says that he’s received hundreds of death threats after having his personal information posted online, a practice referred to as being doxed. In response, Baked Alaska has now published tweets saying that “violence is never the answer” and that everyone “must come together as a country and try to understand each other peacefully.” Colligan even released a video on YouTube where he said that, “there’s nothing funny about threatening people’s lives.” The life he’s referring to in this case is his own."
https://gizmodo.com/white-supremacists-suddenly-very-concerned-about-tol...
Donald Trump is one of the nastiest, meanest individuals alive and he won the Presidency. His Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders is also a nasty, rude woman who Lies for a living. It is sickening to see Democrats in Congress standing up for people like Sarah Sanders. It looks weak and cowardly.
Frank and I often part company on many issue but I always enjoy reading his thoughtful column - I am happy he has taken this stand against a lib-swell of vitriol and hate.
And fellow commenters - before you invoke Hitler one more time see - Reductio ad Hitlerum argument.
Confront racism, cruelty, lack of compassion, greed, corruption with courtesy?? Come on...America fought against fascism ones, now we have them in the White House, and Congress. Wake up.
1
Another silly piece about how the Dems ought go bring that knife to the gunfight. Guy yells YOU LIE at Obama, he breaks fundraising records and his party takes back the House. In 5th grade I punched a bully twice my size right in the nose, made him bleed, he never laid a hand on me again. HAte got him elected. Let’s try it.
how naive?
Would you have said it was politically and morally wrong to shame members of the Nazi Party in 1933 for their beliefs?
Shaming in this instance is not politics, it is shaming for moral depravity.
Trump has taken control of our brains over the last year and a half, like the brain eating monster of a science fiction movie. We have no defenses left, we are powerless and overwhelmed, we need to be able to scream to act out, to allow a bit of safe space for our brains. In this brain worm called trump we need something to keep our sanity, to help us feel that there is a future. shaming is the only weapon available. It is better than violence which is the other option.
1
I will vote for anybody other than trump, and his servile, sycophantic and pathetic party in november.
1
Frank,
Please read Elliot Hannon’s piece in Slate. He reprints an article from the Times in 1934 in which a professor from Bryn Mawr who urged Jews not to be angry or fight back against hitler, but to be “civil.” Chilling. Sorry Frank, I’m with Maxine.
1
As we lose our collective minds over what Congresswomen Waters said, we do have a president who once suggested to his audience that maybe Hillary Clinton should be shot to protect their gun rights. We do have a president who said he can grab a woman whenever he wants to and they like it. Let’s not forget we are now putting children in cages. And let’s not forget that Congresswoman Waters is an African American woman and that is very unacceptable to our current president.
2
An example of Republican civility:
“I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight." -Milo Yiannopoulos
Of course this is perfectly acceptable and will do nothing to "sour" "Trump adherents."
Because, you know, political correctness and all.
2
Oh, please. These articles are incensing me. Republicans are glued to Fox News, fed lies and garbage all day and night, but Democrats are getting scolded for refusing to serve Hermann Goering? And yes - I do think the analogy is fitting. Ms. Huckabee has shown absolutely no sign of moral decency. Cue the screaming children. Democrats need to fight back. We're not just going to keep taking the high road. That didn't work. Neil Gorsuch is sitting where Merrick Garland should be.
2
One of the many reasons the Democrats lost so miserably in 2016 is still obvious. Issues not important or even worth bringing up makes Democrats scream and cry.
Nobody I know seems to care much, if at all, about giving illegal aliens a free pass and the keys to the city. "Political correctness" doesn't have any effect on the world either.
3
How is it ok for a baker to refuse an lgbt couple service while it is not ok for a restaurant owner to deny sarah sanders the same ? I would not give such a baker a single star on yelp or buy a cake from him
it wouldn't surprise me if someone else has already mentioned this here...
But a lot of us recall the "Shame" episode of Game of Thrones. That approach kinda blew up in the self righteous ones' faces...
1
Voting is the best medicine.
3
Helpful interim analgesics:
disbelief, determination and pity.
1
Civil discourse. . . As we watch the Supreme Court disassemble every last stone of the edifice on which our democracy was built? I wonder if that’s what the “good Germans” were indulging in as their courts were being turned over to fascist, so-called judges.
Trump and his cohorts do not sow civility -- far from it. Why are they expecting to reap it? As others have rightly stated, liberals spend far too much time worrying about the injured feelings of people who defend putting children in cages. Stop the hand-wringing madness!
3
"Two wrongs don't make a right...."
1
We should all be sharpening our pitchforks. All three branches of our government are working against us and we can't just sit back and take it. I despise the Republicans, and the Democrats in Congress are nothing but a bunch of cowardly custards. We the people, other than the rich and big business, have no one to represent us.
2
Appeasement of a bully did not work for Neville Chamberlain.
1
The Republicans including Trump are supposed to be working for ALL Americans. They are very clearly not doing this. They are both incompetent and malevolent. Trumps the incompetent, liar, Mc Connell et al are the malevolent liars. We have to speak up and challenge them at every turn because: they are ruining/dismantling the country by repudiating the rule of law. Trump skirts the perimeter of the law pretending not to know and not learning anything. Congress by omission abets him.
The incitement to violence is in every Trump rally and tweet. His base loves and expects this crude language and thug like approach to all his problems. If he doesn't get his way, the wretched wall for example he holds babies hostage and blames the democrats. Then he spins up the facts and gaslights on Fox.
We have to fight back, we have no choice as he is daily chipping away at truth and doing a whole lot of harm, compile the list please. Stop being nice. Trump isn't nice, he's vicious and cruel and he enjoys it to get his way. Congress is mute and complicit and not nice either, think Merrick Garland.
I think the restaurant owner has every right to make ask Ms Sanders to leave. The amazing reaction by Sanders is to feel offended, when she lies and patronizes the press every day. She needs to feel the heat and get out of her bubble. The rest of America has to be heard and challenge this regime. It works both ways.
What hypocrisy, we all remember how you and your colleagues treated Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Do you?
This worked better than Melania's coat at distracting the media from displaced toddlers, cages and our inability (or unwillingness) to deal with a humanitarian crisis.
Let's get back on topic please.
1
Should Europeans have been more polite to Joseph Goebbels? Would that have saved 60 million lives?
The only question here is whether or not the public shaming we have seen in recent days advances the cause of ridding America of the un-American governance it has visited upon itself since January 20, 2017. If the cause is hindered, the shaming should stop. If it is advanced, the heat should be turned up until the Law of Diminishing Returns is reached.
Right or wrong has nothing to do with it anymore. As Gary Young of the Guardian opines, "Donald Trump’s enforcers have lost the right to civil courtesy." We haven't seen civil courtesy in the Oval Office since January 20, 2017. When children are secretly and systematically abused by our own government, what does civil discourse matter?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/26/donald-trump-sarah...
3
Trump has helped me recognize the racism, misogyny, sexism, bigotry, xenophobia, stupidity, insensitivity, hatred, Islamophobia, ignorance, intolerance, homophobia, narcissism, hypocrisy, arrogance, and cowardice that resides within me.
His brazen and unrelenting exemplification of these qualities on the national stage and the single pointed condemnation I feel toward him as a result has forced me to reckon with these same qualities, (however tempered, milder, or nascent) within myself.
Yes, we must speak up, speak out, speak against, use our time and most importantly, VOTE and use our time and energy to support the disenfranchised.
But it is also vital to recognize whether the qualities we condemn in others are ones that we harbor within ourselves.
Change begins within an individual and ripples out into the family, the community, the country and the world. For true lasting change, one must take small steps (ie. voting in the midterms) and truly transformative giant ones as well.
Waters' words are a dog whistle to those on the left who want to intimidate. We know what she means, and it is despicable.
1
Frank, you're a really decent and nice man. That's why we need less of you right now.
5
Frank, you are surely doing your part to advance the Right's agenda by shining a spotlight on every single controversial thing a Liberal says or does and treating it like a federal case! Maxine Waters is just one person. Let it go. The Righties are laughing at all our ridiculous handwringing.
1
Excuse me, but didnt the court rule that a baker didn’t have to bake a cake for a gay couple? And didn’t the right wing rejoice?
I’m with Maxine Waters. The “higher” road has brought us to the brink of fascism ( or are we already there?)
1
"Let’s direct voters toward the red meat of their wrongdoing, not their indigestion when they go out for a chimichanga."
That's adorable. Don't think it will get you a pulitzer, but it's adorable all the same.
Like many sentient folks, I am 'appalled' by Mr. Trump, and wish him ill.
Yet, I am (not quite) equally appalled by DeNiro, Bee, the righteous chick restaurant owner, Maxine, and on and on and on.
That's right. I'm a 'hater.' (I also hate people who use the word 'hater', as well)
I 'hate' Trump. and I 'hate' the political and cultural left almost a much.
What's going to happen to me? What will be my fate?
I just. don't. know.
Evaluated in the light of civility and all its forms: etiquette, humility, grace, and so on, "public shaming" is a no-no. However, evaluate it in the light of civil disobedience, and it can be a strong yes-yes -- as in the case of Maxine Waters's call to "harass and heckle" Trump and his Trumpian cronies.
It's one thing to turn the other cheek; another to let yourself get slapped time and time again by verbal and policy bullies like Trump and his fellow fascists.
If these Trumpian jerks don't like our retaliatory treatment, well, we have a kind word of advice: Start treating us better and we'll start treating you better. In other words, Trumpian jerks, Grow Up.
1
The left as truly lost its pieces. These are the policies that they espouse? They are in for another 6 years in the political wilderness. Selective outrage, hypocrisy and, well, tantrums abound. Nothing to see here.
1
The writer has helped stir the pot, as has his employer. Stop telling us about his daily tweets and who is threatened and insulted here and around the world. Instead, tell us about the negative impacts of a political leader who suffers from malignant narcissism personality disorder and then call for impeachment.
Counterpoint: Deny them service and civility everywhere they go.
They celebrated the bakers who refused to make wedding cakes for gay couples on "moral grounds" -- why should anyone who objects to the depraved policies of the Trump administration on "moral grounds" be forced to serve them food?
1
You're falling for the equivalency outrage Republicans are known for, Frank - locked up babies compared to that poor tax paid government employee that treats us as fools by repeatedly lying to us every day is asked to leave a restaurant - the outrage! At this point there are no trump skeptics. "Trump can’t win on facts" - he wins on lies.
We should be outing, pointing the finger at and fighting back against those who are scorching the Earth we all share? We should confront those locking up thousands of innocent children and defending it. We should not be silent in the presence of those who are doing evil. Should we simply ignore those who continue to lie to as we pay their salary? Perhaps our behavior does not imperil but enables the victory.
Being lied to is not a political difference. Being lied to is insulting. Being lied to is treating the listener as a fool.
Decent people disagreeing. I agree. But lying - officially lying on behalf of the executive branch of government - to the public is indecent. Indeed, Sarah Huckabee IS NOT serving her country, she is lying to it.
Perhaps we can take the higher ground, but that does nothing to contain the trumpsters from throwing the first stones. I, for one, with take those stones and throw 'em back, or be stoned to death and forever silenced.
I' all for a politically correct way of ostracizing these horrible people; not that anything we do matters to them.
Amazing how the dumbest person in the room thinks he is the smartest.
2
People are not shaming these minions because 'it feels good'. Because you know what would feel really good right about now? Not hearing the sound of our democracy being flushed down the toilet in the background of just about every news story/SCOTUS decision we read.
Since we are not being given that particular option, protest is an absolutely reasonable response. And protest, by its very definition, is 'uncivil'.
I think Maxine Waters should be encouraged to Yell Out everyday of the week. Blue collar men and women listen to her and say the Democrats are nuts. She represents the large group of Americans who think they are the elites-the press, gays, blacks, university professors, etc. Keep it up Maxine. We love it.
2
I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; — but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.
William Lloyd Garrison
1
NO! We are fighting for the future if our country, it is now or never. Maybe we should start using juvenile names like Trump does. Did sloppy Sarah have her feelings hurt? Did scary Steve get heckled? Poor daycare Donnie and his deplorables. Let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. This is the fight of our lives, free and fair elections will soon be a thing of the past. November will determine our fate. Choose wisely.
There is only one Trump, no one can do what he does.
The Republicans worked successfully for years locally and now control most of the country. Where were the Democrats during the Obama years?
Hillary made the mistake of not visiting towns and cities every day the year before the election; had she explained her positions 365 times - why TPP was a GOOD THING, for instance - she'd have won. In spite of Comey.
I will never become an idiotic partisan the way I see so many behaving, and so rudely and meanly. This includes the way Melania is being treated.
1
Public shaming is legitimate non violent protest.
Ask Heather Heyer about civility. Oh you can’t she is dead. Mowed down by one of the ‘good people on both sides’. If you are not outraged by this, you are not paying attention.
1
First, so where's Obama hiding out these days? As when Hillary and the DNC needed him, he was where?
Second, more important, Waters and Ellison are the cultural Marxist center of the DNC Politburo. If it doesn't have something better to offer the heartland than Berkeley street-thug "free-speech" in restaurants -- which seems the case -- Trump in 2020, for certain.
2
Does anyone here honestly think that a Clinton victory in 2016 would have resulted in Trump and his supporters, not to mention the Tea Party and other right-wing nuts, quietly nursing their wounds, reflecting on their positions and working hard to maintain civility while strategizing on how to win back the WH in 2020? Does that sound plausible? No, we would have had violence in the streets, 2nd Amendment shootings, takeover of government facilities by frothing at the mouth militias and a whole bunch of kangaroo courts in Congress investigating and convicting the Dem traitors and RINOs who didn't think like them. Sure, the long-term strategy has to be some return to normalcy and civility in government/society with regards to differing political opinions, but were not going to get that from the current administration or congressional dupes. To say it another way, you can try to talk some sense into the guy with his balled up fist in your face, but you better be prepared to either punch back twice as hard or get beaten into submission if he's not in the mood to listen.
When your conduct is utterly shameless and so totally cruel and heartless, do not expect anything other than ostracism.
These people should be made to realise that their behaviour is untenable. They should feel shame and humiliation; because that's insignificant compared to what they are inflicting on others.
Their conduct needs to be called out, loudly, clearly and relentlessly, irrespective of time or setting.
Remember some guy from the 60s named Martin Luther King who loved his enemies and those who persecuted those he represented?
If you're a Democrat, guess not. This demonstrates the Democrat moral vacuum. "Shame thy enemy" -- and if you can do it on Twitter and Instragram, all the better.
What rot on either side. This feeds the Trump beast. How sick.
You've looked at all the facts, balanced the evidence, used your critical thinking and arrived at this "opinion"?
You are putting into writing, in nothing less than the New York Times, the newspaper of record, that Ms Waters is standing up to this administration because it "feels good"?
That's what you've got? That's your "hot take"?
Representative Waters comments are on the record. Trump has repeatedly misstated (lied) about her comments. The fact that Trump is happy or sad about it is irrelevant.
Eventually, history will judge us all. It will judge Ms Waters well, but will not judge kindly those who misrepresent her or others like her, fighting this administration tooth and nail.
Mr Bruni, one last thing to consider, history will judge your article too.
2
My goodness! The outrage is honest, genuine and appropriate. Every day I ask myself, "Could this really be happening?" The lies, corruption, racism, cruelty, incompetence, treason. The cult-like behavior, the proto fascist rumblings, the punch-you-in-the-face mentality. The white supremacy, the brain-dead nationalism, the daily attack on our voting rights. This Republican Congress and this stolen Supreme Court have abandoned their Constitution duties. How can we the majority of Americans find the wherewithal to channel this unbearable outrage into the optimum tactical and strategic actions? I honestly don't know. But we can because we must. Yes, vote. Be a precinct captain. I did all of that last time and it wasn't enough. But carry on we will, because we must. And by all means do what Frank suggests and for heaven's sake give them no more helpful diversions as they rip young children away from their families.
1
The NYTimes and Bruni have played this game for too long to denounce it now. I am no Trump supporter but we now know who the least tolerant people in the US are.
1
Frank, YOU could have written a column about the 2,047 kids still being held hostage by the administration. Maxine Waters, civility and so on aren't worth writing about. But you had to write yet another column about it and keep the story going. You could have done so much better.
2
Something is happening,but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?
We are in a fight for our lives. This well-brought-up WASP is not going down without a fight: and it's all-in.
It was fear and anger that got a large minority of the electorate to vote for this nut case: a minority, some quirk in the electoral college and fear. They're a minority, a fake majority. And, it was fear of the other. Fear of the different. I, for one, will play on those fears. Guess what, Obama was born in the US, Iraq was worse than Benghazi, there were no WMDs, Fox news is not news, you can thank Obama for the great economy that the Great Negotiator is trying to tear down, Harley-Davidson is moving off shore, there is no immigrant crisis, your president is a failure at business--facts, folks, facts. No, I will not drive my car into a group of unarmed protesters or blow up a building to make a point but I won't run and hide or keep quiet. I will not agree to separating families and incarcerating children. Russia and North Korea are not our friends. I believe in the freedom to worship in the denomination of your choice. I don't believe in special privilege based on skin color, gender or sexual orientation. You have the right to freedom of speech and so do I. And by confronting these nasties, I will do my best to drive them back to their dark nasty holes in the ground. Yeah, yeah, try to stoke my fear that this will lead to Republican victory. It's already here and it is not a victory. It's not pretty. It's not brave.
Please, spare me the violins. These officials are dismantling our civic rights in real time as evidenced by the Republican stacked SCOTUS. Their followers assassinate abortion providers and hang President Obama from a noose in effigy. They should be publicly shamed six ways till Sunday. Yes, vote, but we should not weakly stand by just because some pundits chuckle at Democrats literally voicing their opinions. History is not made by the meek and obedient.
What weeping children?
The media circus has moved on.
1
Again, another silly headline in the NYT. Shaming someone should never “feel good” and people who are moved to publicly shame someone do so because it is necessary to stand for what is considered right by a vast majority of nations worldwide. Shrinking violets who would gladly lay down their civil liberties than be uncomfortable should perhaps consider their complicity in engendering human rights abuses? If you can’t handle it, sit down and let the progressive, “third-party” grownups fix the problem. We are not afraid to stop what is going on even if someone’s feelings get hurt. Trust me, those in power with vested interests on both sides of the isle couldn’t care less about anyone else’s as long as the palms are greased.
1
Appeasment did not work out too well in Europe in 1939, did it...?
What Bruni calls "public shaming" is an act of conscience for many.
Need I remind Bruni that Sanders defends separating children from parents FOR A LIVING without apology and usually with gratuitous sneering.
Forget "shaming" too. The Trump wrecking crew is incapable that human experience,
2
Trump did not pay a price for repeated chants of, "Lock her up!" aimed at his opponent Hillary Clinton. So I see no problem with verbally expressing hostility to members of the Trump Administration when in restaurants and other public places.
Violence is out of bounds even though the President called violent Klansmen and Neo-nazis in Charlottesville "Fine people." Telling Trump's critics to take care to always be polite, will spread timidity boldness is required.
The administration claims to have zero tolerance for illegal immigration but is also showing zero tolerance for asylum applications. Asylum seekers, who had a right to be in the US while their case is reviewed were physically prevented from submitting asylum applications. This was used as a pretext to arrest these asylum seekers for crossing the border illegally. Actually what was illegal was the refusal to accept asylum applications. Then, until late last week, the unlawful arrest was used as a pretext for the government to take away infants, toddlers, and children from their parents. In my opinion, this taking should be considered kidnapping, and President Donald Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen should be prosecuted for kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, and conducting a criminal enterprise under color of law. And the attorneys who threaten those arrested with never seeing their children again unless they withdraw asylum applications should be disbarred.
Maxine Waters has said many stupid things over the years and she is a terrible voice for the Left. These particular comments ranks among her worst. However, sometimes in order to get a rat you have to go into the sewer and I would remind everyone, that when we "went high" Donald Trump went to the White House. And Republicans are in control of every branch of the government and 33 state governments. Republicans have figured out one thing that Democrats haven't: "going low" wins elections.
Everyday we are having our rights stripped away from, little by little. Our President is a thug and the Republican congress support his bullying and disdain for democracy. We are powerless to fight against the merciless tactics of a group of right wing fanatics and you tell us to be civil!
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You lost me at "feels good." Possibly the dumbest thing I will read today. I haven't "felt good" in over a year and a half. The barbarians are INSIDE THE GATES, Mr. Bruni.
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Though I tend to agree, I do feel people feel so insanely downtroden and enraged by this vile subhuman, they now see Eye for An Eye rather than Turn Thy Cheek. Which in itself was its own form of public shaming. The problem is when the soul of our nation is at stake, someone has to finally punch a coward bully in the face.
I am not sure that your wise counsel will or should prevail. We used to regard Hitler as a freakish aberration. In the Trump era he is merely a benchmark that could be approached, if not met. I have no idea what our appropriate response to the escalating outrages of the past couple of years should be. But conventional wisdom and a narrow focus on victory in the mid-terms may not be able to meet the challenge that history seems intent to throw at us.
Here's my takeaway from Bruni's op ed piece: it's time for Schumer and Pelosi to step down as leaders of the Democratic party.
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Shaming won't work because it's never worked. The last three Republican Presidents were racists or promoted racist policy. Republicans are 'irredeemable deplores' whom 'cling to guns and religion' dontcha know? Trump fights back and fights dirty. Democrats can't shame him into silence and now must defend nutty policy that previously went unchallenged.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won tonight in Queens and the Bronx. She beat Joe Crowley, who was a frontrunner to take over for Nancy Pelosi one day.
This is a movement. Frank Bruni and the rest of the NY Times (and the Washington Post) are in denial, but it's happening. We're taking back our country and it's going to be like the Tea Party, but with smart, moral people. Get ready.
And if we need to throw in public shaming, not because it "feels good" (which shows Bruni REALLY doesn't get it) but because these people cage babies and this is the ONLY thing that bothers them, we will.
Sorry, but the switching of attention from the weeping children to Sarah Huckabee not being allowed to eat her cheese plate in peace is all on you, the media.
The Washington Post has (so far) run 23 columns or articles decrying what is apparently now the biggest crisis facing us.
I don't think the NYT is quite as bad, but here's another self-loathing column from the "liberal media."
Do you think columns like this are going to make Trump and his people suddenly like you? News flash: they won't. All they do is make angry liberals dislike you as much as they do.
Congrats.
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Wow do I disagree! Want to stop these bigots? Expose them. Not unlike publishing lists of sexual predators who physically and emotionally destroy, public shaming publishes the names of those who emotionally destroy.
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The contest is between what is support of a reasonable leader and what is support of a monster. You support a monster, you are a monster. Trump backed down because he could not control the definition of human.
"Let's direct voters to the red meat of their wrongdoing."
Which voters?
Racist jerks will always be racist jerks. I don't blame them, because they don't know better. I blame progressive Democrats who stayed home or voted Green: THIS is on you.
Trump golfs and reads TV Guide while he shreds due process granted by the Constitution - but you believed that Clinton, who logically should have hidden her emails from right wing spies,was evil because she used her own email server. Trump admires and emulates the worst murdering dictators in the world, yet you hated Clinton for being too hawkish. Trump's daughter "advisor" made $80 million in the first year of his presidency, yet you were angry about Clinton's Wall Street ties, even though, with Citizens United, big money is absolutely needed to win the presidency. You hated Clinton for being too wooden, so now we have Trump who, very personably, called neo-Nazis "fine people" and says we need more guns sold in our country, right after horrible massacres.
Enough - stop the stupidity. Put Axelrod and Plouffe in charge of the DNC and join together under a big tent. We are battling an entrenched GOP, a GOP Supreme Court, 100 new young alt-right civil liberty-destroying judges, advanced voter suppression, disenfranchised media, and a highly sophisticated Russian enemy of state aiding and abetting the destruction of our democracy (Russian trolls are actively egging you on to vote 3rd party again!)
Vote for democracy. VOTE DEMOCRATIC.
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Can one shame them?
So, a couple of Trump officials’ getting a hard time in restaurants and a Democratic Congresswoman’s making some intemperate remarks represent a crisis of incivility among Trump opponents, handwringing mainstream liberal pundits like Frank Bruni tell us.
Spare me the drama, Frank. No matter how trivial some word or gesture against Trump or his deputies or supporters may be, the right wing media will use it in whatabouting and constructing a false narrative. Your pearl clutching only aids that effort.
Agreed. But Progressive have not been potty trained. Their impulses are all about authenticity, sincerity, and political correctness. Focus on what demands information, intelligence, persistence, self-discipline--forget it. Their resort to Trump-like behavior merely reveals that the extreme ends of the political spectrum meet in shared tactics.
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I think the late night comics do a fine job of public shaming. And they get paid for it!
Your call for "civility" is really a capitulation. You want to remain polite and neutral and that's the most dangerous position to be taking at this point in time. Your neutrality helps the oppressors. Why should Democrats always have to play nice? Where has it gotten us? Obama and his "we go high" got us creamed in the 2010 mid-terms which in turn led to so many Republicans taking over state houses along with both houses of their legislature. And it didn't stop there. They stopped President Obama from legitimately nominating a qualified nominee for the Supreme Court. When exactly will you think it's okay to start shaming this behavior? When thugs beat you up for being a gay man? I mean really.
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The only reason the shaming of Trump apparatchiks seems -- seems -- ill-advised is that our weak-kneed media panicked and covered it as such. Moral choices are hard when all one is ultimately concerned about is market share. But out here in America, a great many of us are sick and tired of being civil to the bigots in our lives, and ashamed we have done it so long that they, everywhere, are so emboldened.
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Curbing our voices in service to civil disobedience isn’t your finest argument, Frank.
I wonder what the chances are that Maxine and Nancy are playing good cop / bad cop? Maxine (my hero!) speaks for the progressive wing, Nancy for the moderates, and everyone goes away fired up and happy.
Frank, there's definitely merit to the view you've expressed, but making Trump's lackeys uncomfortable as much as possible is not a terrible strategy. Certainly these people must have some internal conflicts about working for such a horrible man, and making them as uncomfortable as possible may have the benefit of reminding them that what they are doing is not OK, which means 1) they'll look to exit the White House sooner, and 2) potential replacements will consider more deeply whether they want to step into that hornet's nest. The more we marginalize Trump, the better chance we have of taking him down, and one way to do it is to peel off the layers of liars and spinners who help protect him and help propagate his great deceptions.
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How about icily polite shaming? "Good evening, Ms Huckabee Sanders. Welcome to our establishment. We are proud of our table service, which owes itself to the hard work of Miguel, to whom your administration would deny citizenship because he was brought here as an infant. By the way, Miguel is working his way through college." "Ms Huckabee Sanders, here is your appetizer. It was designed and prepared by our sous-chef, Greg, who is gay. While you are enjoying his work, keep in mind that your administration is working to deny him and his partner the civil status that comes from marriage. Bon appetit." And so forth. The only downside is that she may not realize that she's been contemned.
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The shame is on all of us who do not vote in November. Period.
No, no, no. Frank is right. I hate the Trump administration and everything it stands for. One of the hallmarks of the administration and its adherents is treating people without dignity and a dehumanizing lack of respect and basic decency. If we do the same, we hand over nothing less than our HYPOCRISY to them. We simply must not do what we ourselves condemn! That is the truth. Remember MLK. He had abundant reason and justification to amplify his defiance with incendiary and uncivil behaviour. But he didn't take the bait. Had he, he would have achieved nothing and we would not recognize him today as having achieved anything good. Nothing! How can we forget this lesson? We cannot become what we abhor. It's despicable and to be vigourously resisted by those who wish to turn this whole situation around. We must BE what we wish to restore. Whay is this not obvious?
Frank you and I as gay men of a certain age have spent many years suffering silently from unjust, ignorant public shaming know something about how this works. Much of it came from the pulpits in the name of God. Much of it came from politicians eager to feast on fear. Politicians amplified it to get votes. Decent people sat quietly on the sidelines because they erroneously thought it was "none of our business".
What turned it around? Truth. Celebrating our reality rather than fighting other peoples fears and demons. Exposing the ignorance, fear, hypocrisy and craven politics of those who attacked us.
Yes, it is different now. The hyenas are being fed by Big Money who finance ( if not outright own) the media, politicians and even the pastors who are the powers behind Trump and the Republicans who do his will. Better to threaten them than belittling (albeit justly) some servant girl who makes a living by dissembling and evading.
Fine, Mr. Bruni. You have a problem with "Public Shaming" -- well, I have a problem with Donald Trump and his entire administration.
But at the same time are you also taking into account the public shame this president is causing the MAJORITY of Americans who didn't vote for him -- and who must succumb to the racist pall he's casting over this country?
Let's face it.
The 'Checks and Balances" system is dead because the Congress is fully under the control of this president, just like the three branches of our government.
As a result, Civil Disobedience is the only alternative Americans have left to show their displeasure -- and YES, it's also guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
If there is any "shame" to be felt, Donald Trump and his hand-picked band of acolytes should feel it... But they don't.
And you call this 'winning'?
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Public shaming in a way it was done to Ms Sanders, Ms Nielsen, Ms Ivanka Trump and Mr. Miller is utterly shameful and will have serious unwarranted possibly violent confrontations.
The worst of this shaming came from Maxine Waters and it would be best for the democratic party to expel her before she continues on being the obstructive opposition to women in the white house in responsible high places doing their jobs.
The democratic party leadership needs a change if their dream to be once again in a majority has to be realized.
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You and Pelosi and Schumer’s would have Democrats censor our outrage for fear of galvanizing Trump’s base. But his base is rock solid. What Maxine Waters has touched is the chord that may rally the liberal foot soldiers who carried Obama into office. We should not fear poking the beat. What we should fear is silence. Outrage is healthy. And the Supreme Court opened the door for the Red Hen by allowing a baker to refuse to serve a gay couple.
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Call it shaming if you will. I call it a totally legitimate and appropriate protest against the policies and actions of those elected or appointed to represent the people of the United States. These people are working on our dime, and have sworn to uphold an oath, yet they act as though many of us not only don't matter but are to be scorned ourselves. No, no, no, no, no. We absolutely must let them know that we object to their actions and hatefulness that is tearing our country apart, much of which is directed toward many of us. I was born here, am white, middle-class, and also a lesbian. I feel like my life is under threat every single day by these creeps, who think they have all the power. Well, we have power, too, and we need to use it. This is not like the cake baker case--these people work for us. We have an obligation to express our dissatisfaction with their performance.
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Thank you Mr. Bruni for being the responsible adult.
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Playing nice with sociopaths is a waste of time. Maxine Waters is doing her job. She is representing her district without apology, calling out that which harms her constituents, and noticing and shaming those responsible for these significant harms. More power to her and to her represented district.
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When the Supremes just voted that nobody can be forced to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple, a restaurant owner has at least the same right not to serve food or drink to the sycophants and liars working for the Apprentice in the Oval Office.
In addition, as it turned out, the owner of the Red Hen did askl her employees to vote about serving food to the little Huckster or not. Obviously the Yea's won. Now that is called "democracy".
Maxine Waters though was a bit too much carried away, which hopefully will not backfire.
What I wish the NYT and other credible news sources would do about the crisis we face with this administration, is every day, on the front page, quote something Trump ( or one of his cabinet members ) just said or did, and call it whatever it is, an untruth, void of facts,made up, baseless, or whatever word you want, and then correct it. Straight forward, and simple. NO drama, just facts and reality, not a lot of verbiage, over and over.
My first reaction to Maxine Waters’ words were: Shut your mouth, Maxine! Upon further thought I find it next to impossible to come up with an effective strategy for thwarting Trump’s boorish and downright treacherous behavior. It’s awfully hard to sit back and watch Trump suffer no consequences as he daily, maybe even hourly, destroys our American democracy. I know that voting for Democrats in November is imperative. It’s my fervent hope that Trump doesn’t completely eliminate all the rights and goodness that have been fought for throughout our history!
WRONG Frank. You have to speak "their" language if you want to have an effect... I totally disagree.
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Frank,
I understand your strategic concerns. And indeed, the most important efforts should be directed at getting people to vote - to oust the haters.
But at the same time, you are suggesting that we not stand up to monstrous people who do inhumane things? You are suggesting we not shame public servants who repeatedly lie, who condone child abuse?
This is not a discussion about "political debates". This is a "Brave New World" where our leaders are lying to us all day long. Where horrific hateful policies endanger the very democracy we have taken for granted. Where children are deliberately traumatized for political leverage!
Sorry. But in this case I suggest we not worry about angering the haters. They hate us already. We need to boldly confront politicians and their puppets about their cruelty and especially their lies.
Sanders got off easy. I would have preferred to have inserted her into that very special episode of Game of Thrones:
"Shame! Shame! Shame!"
So Frank, as someone who is really familiar with the restaurant scene, if you had an eatery, would you have served dinner to Sanders? Would you serve dinner to Donald Trump?
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And sit-ins were going to do more harm than good. We need to stop worrying about being responsible for the decisions other adults make. First, the restaurant incident wasn’t a news item. SHS was asked politely and privately to leave as the gay restaurant staff were upset; the restaurant comped the 8 person SHS party for the wine and cheese. SHS turned it into a hate fest. Second, the administration is on call 24/7. They don’t get to have off limits time when they are committing and defending human rights abuses. THEY are breaking the law and violating treaties. WE MUST speak out loudly and at every chance we get. As for their children being off limits, they’ll get to be off limits again when their parents stop tormenting other children. Immigrant children torn from their parents, dispersed to other states don’t stop screaming for their mothers when the work day is over. #neveragain #thankyouMaxineWaters
American patriots feel democracy slipping away as we slide toward fascism. So let them have their say while they still can. Trump won't allow the midterm elections to take place, so it really doesn't matter how our protesters' behavior affects an election that will never happen.
The only person who can stop Trump is Secretary of State Jim Mattis, and he has apparently been neutered according to recent reports. Trump's Veterans Day parade will usher in a new era in American politics as Benedict Donald orders our military to enforce martial law in our nation's capital.
The blue states of the west coast and the northeast should have seceded while they had the chance. Now I fear it's too late. #Sad
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You are so right. Michelle Goldberg's article was wrong in every sense. We're in the midst of a moral panic, not unlike the McCarthy era. Almost no one is capable of thinking clearly, logically, or morally. You are one of the few. Keep up the good work.
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Great to channel rage and outrage into positive actions. Like working to take back the House. Or the Senate. But what Dems still haven't told us. To do what?
Ms.Waters is wrong. We don’t need public shaming of individuals. You can leave a place. It speaks badly of us when we do that. Pubic shaming, confrontation etc. is a bad path. It’s revenge, it’s a play right out of our terrible presidents playbook. Rise above this. Not god like in any religion. We should defend the right for anyone to eat in peace unmolested.
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Sorry, Frank. Gotta go with Michelle this time. News columnists are always over-estimating the public's interest in the day-to-day mudslinging and its effect on anything. The problem is the chattering classes are now giving false equivalence to a Mean Girls moment aimed at a woman who props up Trump's policy of child abuse at the border, and the child abuse itself. You've taken your eye off the ball.
So if we're nice to the white nationalists, the misogynists, the bigots, etc, they will be nice and vote Democratic in the midterms?
Right.
Last night Trump was hosting a rally, and he was bragging that there was literally NOTHING he could do that would cause his base to abandon him.
Nothing.
"So what matters now isn’t what’s viscerally satisfying and morally just. What matters is the absolute best strategy. What matters is victory. And behavior that could imperil that victory can’t be encouraged on the grounds that it’s reciprocal and feels good."
You got that right.
Donald Trump is a selfish, morally repugnant individual.
I am absolutely opposed to him and reject the tactics he uses.
That having been said, I refuse to employ the same.
I am better than that and so should decent Americans be.
It's ok to refuse to bake a cake for a gay couple but not to choose who you will serve at your restaurant? As always, double standards abound. Really, if they can't take the heat, they should get out of the kitchen.
to take ones country back means fighting. if shaming gets results the pundits and leaders should be happy. it's not like anyone shaming these people has called for the 2nd amendment guys to take care of things. only a fool would utter such tripe.
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I just subscribed to this rag, reluctantly. They wanted to charge me to see more articles, so I'll get my 1 free month and dip.
This article is a testament to the strange thinking that a small but powerful portion of the left has taken. It starts out ok. It defends the innocent (in a sense) politicians against ol' crazy Maxine.
Then, it takes that bizarre turn. Where it turns from defending against hate, to..."well, Trumps worse so..." which is just really begrieving because it turns on the whole point of the article which is "don't public shame (the conservatives Maxine speeks of)".
And the ending "she has the right passion. She has the right approach." is just deplorable compared to the article's intention.
Call me a troll, call me whatever. You can't deny the 180 this piece does, starting with defending, and the encouraging the harassment of, the right.
Where do you draw the line? Who would you NOT serve dinner to in order to maintain civility? How about a known white supremacist? A known child murderer? If they behave well in public, of course. At some point, maintaining good manners slips into complicity in atrocity.
Waters and Ellison are the cultural Marxist center of the DNC Politburo. If it doesn't have something better to offer the heartland than Berkeley street-thug "free-speech" in restaurants, which seems the case -- Trump in 2020 for certain.
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I just witnessed Paul Ryan's "outrage" about Maxine Waters' allegedly uncivil call for civil resistance to the depredations of the Trump regime. It's laughable that this zero-sum cipher of a congressional House speaker could express such offense simultaneously with his feckless lack of spine while his Party boss in the Oval Office is a 24/7 walking, talking, lying, bullying wall-to-wall carpet of violence-stoking incivility.
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders stands up and LIES to the American people every single day of the week. Clearly, she has no shame. The same goes for Trump and anyone else who attempts to speak for him. Their lies are absolutely galling and they deserve to know when and where they're not wanted.
Michelle Obama said “When they go low, we go high.” Public attacks on individuals is a fools path. Don’t give in. Take the high road.
Trump and his debased base love to play the victims of Democrats, liberals, 'elites', coastal liberals, Hollywood, globalists, and anyone else who disagrees with their nasty populist rhetoric.
Nevertheless, attacking them in public restaurants or at their homes only gives Fox News ammunition for more distortion and distraction. Attack the policies, not the people. These people have made their choices and hopefully will pay a steep price for their support of those lies and bad policies sometime soon.
What you call public shaming is not about feeling good nor is it about shaming, Herr Bruni. It's more about identifying an ungodly metastatic threat that directly affects people lives and livelihoods and ways that the effected ones – men, women and kids of targeted groups – can do to address the threat and express their displeasure. Not necessarily you, but mainstream corporate news pundits lined up years ago to say incredulously stupid things like the election of Barack Obama was a sign of the end of American racism and Trump was not someone to take seriously as an electable presidential candidate.
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So, just wondering you're saying that a person whose only job is lie in public, to the public, and lies dozens or hundreds of times per day, thereby doing significant short-term and long-term damage to our Republic, should suffer no consequences for that choice?
It's fine to demonstrate outside the house of a racist making anti-immigrant comments in a Starbucks, but not outside the house of a racist because she works for Trump?
The owners of the Red Hen should accept any and every customer, even fascist thugs? Or only has to accept them when they have a government job?
I think you need to refine your thinking on this a bit.
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Public shaming works if taken to the next level. Don't cut their hair, don't sell them food. Don't fix their cars or teach their kids. Ultimately, we'll have to go as far as saying "It's my strongly held religious belief that these people are minions of the Devil, and as a Christian I cannot provide any services for them in this emergency room."
Then we'll be segregated by neighborhood like apartheid South Africa or Iraq. I'm good with that, and I'm not the only one.
Although Maxine Waters has every right to be incensed by the actions of Trump and his lackeys, her outburst only served to feed the clickbait of the Trmplicans.
Trump and his clam are immoral, unAmerican bullies who came out of the gate spewing hatred. It is incumbent upon ALL of us to fight against bigotry, fascism, irrational partisanship and incompetence at every opportunity, BUT THERE ARE BETTER WAYS.
By maintaining the moral high ground and defending the Constitutional rights of ALL AMERICANS, by not allowing perversion of our freedoms under the guise of "security" or narcissistic whim and Tweet, by VOTING at the ballot box and marginalizing these viciously destructive parts of humanity and by EXPOSING LIES for what they are - we, as a country, can reestablish our ethical equilibrium. Lowering oneself to the level of Trump is an insult to who we are, and a terrible legacy for our children.
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We are in the fight of our lives! They will roll over us while we are patting ourselves on the back for being nice to them! It's time to fight back!!!! I'm with Maxine Waters!
If you believe public shaming is bad, just wait until the public stoning starts. At the rate things are going it shouldn‘t take long until the US reaches that stage
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Trump’s people should be ostracized and shamed whenever they go out in public. They are not entitled to any consideration or respect, considering the damage they are doing to our world and its people every day. After the travel ban, separating families at the border, insulting our G7 allies, starting a trade war and trying to cripple the EPA, just to name a few, Trump and his minions deserve no peace.
If these wretched people had any sense of shame they wouldn't be working for this administration so it's pointless to try to induce a feeling of shame: they're as sensitive as rocks.
Right, like Bruni and his ilk don't engage in public shaming all the time. The President and his cabinet are basically fascists and the more shaming they get the better; let's not embolden them and their supporters any further by letting them think this behavior on the border and elsewhere is OK. Associating Trumpism with low status is actually a very helpful tool against what has been happenin the last couple of years. What a shame that Frank Bruni, a restaurant critic, thinks the best way to fight is to surrender.
It is hard for me to understand how stupid some of these so-called liberals are. I begin to wonder if they are really any better than the Trump supporters. From my perspective, they appear to be more hypocritical than anything else.
For heaven's sake, we are only a few months away from an election which could well put Trump into a strait jacket. Let's not blow it now with petty tactics like what we saw at the Red Hen. How can people justify that, even with somebody like Sanders. As a human being she deserves to be treated with respect.
Thanks, Frank, for the admonition. There is a reason why you write a column for the NYTs. It's called intelligence.
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Sanders was treated like a human being with respect. She was respectfully taken aside and informed that her business was not welcome at the Red Hen, and she left without making a scene. Then, Sanders disrespected the business owner and whined and played the victim, poor poor hypocrite. "Let's not blow it now with petty tactics like we saw at the Red Hen" is another unjustifiable false equivalence in a long line of same. Enough already.
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If it's OK with the republicans that a pastry shop refuses to make a cake for a gay wedding, why should it be a problem if a restaurant refuses to serve people in the government who are OK with separating children from their parents?
I have no idea if public shaming of public officials will prove sucessful or not. It is most likely yo fire up the base on both sides. I must ask WHY two different op-ed writers think this is the most important issue of the day? This is mostly a bletway issue. Frank, the House has voted drastic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and veterans. Why are you not writing about that? How about acknowledging the explosive growth in debt thanks to the Republican tax cut? Or the dangerous idea of militarizing space? Why this holier-than-thou attach on a female restaurant owner and a female congresswoman? I do not recall that you led a charge decrying the gradual loss in civility from the tea party, of Trump, or the millions of racists who have crawled out from under rocks in the last 18 months. Write about something important please.
What I know about life, is that bullies always see decency and civility as a weakness and a tool to use against you They will have no respect for you if you consiliate, apapologize,complaim, reason, grovel or plead. They are far more likely to respect you if you are earnestly, consistently and unrelentingly tough and cruel to them because they secretly harbor a masochism that is only set free if you are skillfully being sadistic. So we see it. They see it as being strong and smart and will never capitulate, and they see it as capitulation, to anyone who is not what they consider stronger and smarter than themselves. Think of wolves in thea animal kingdom. There can only be one unquestioned alpha and that position is not achieved without humiliation of the vanquished.
People voted for Trump because they hated he GOP and the Dems. They found all the equilibration disingenuos, weak and...very feckless. I cannot advise the Dems how to play it, but every time you think you can make nice,reason, appeal to the better angels, "respect his office"and back down from a show of brutal crushing strength, Trump wins. Look at the GOP. Do terrible things. Don't apologize. Double down. If you tried Dems, I bet you could do this without losing your soul in the least and reclaim some of the crude strength of LBJ his fiercest as he fought unrelentingly for civil rights and the voting act. And you should reconsider your censure of Maxine Waters.
Almost all the comments are from people who loathe Trump to the extent that nothing is off limits. Obviously their world is populated by those who share their sentiments.
They fail to realize that most Americans have moved on from the results of the 2016 election, not living day to day in a state of outrage over the latest tweet or imagined crisis of democracy.
When they see Maxine Waters, she seems nuts. They know how they would feel to be screamed at by strangers while eating supper or asked to leave a restaurant simply because of their job.
The people doing this are calling ordinary Americans bigots, racists, and worse. And then they claim that it’s just payback? On what planet?
Trump is looking sane and downright well-mannered. He may well be by comparison.
Sorry frank, you are wrong. In my 63 years I have put up with plenty of abuse by the right. It started with being a long haired kid in the sixties and continued ever since. I’m tired of turning the other cheek and I will loudly call a thin skinned trump supporter what they are: traitors to our democracy. It’s time for them to love it or leave.
Those people should be happy they were shamed out of that restaurant. If they weren't, god knows what would have ended up in their food.
Well said, Frank. One thing to be on the lookout for is that once Trump loyalists see that this sort of public shaming works to their advantage, they may start staging such encounters themselves, quickly followed by feigned revulsion ("these simply aren't decent people!"). I don't think we're there yet, but in the J. Edgar Hoover era this was SOP.
With respect, I vote in every election. I write polite, reasoned comments to media outlets and thoughtful letters to my elected representatives. I avoid promoting political views on Facebook and social media. I do the work to be informed about issues of concern with facts and context. I avoid politics at the dinner table when my in-laws from Trump Country come to visit. In short, I do civility. Guess what? Trump still separated children from their parents and his staff supported his policy and lied about it to the American people. Trump's DHS secretary said during her press briefing that the family separation policy wasn't happening. Sarah Huckabee Sanders abuses the truth (and working journalists) daily and defends the excesses of a certifiably uncivil President. Steven Miller brings his pathology to public policy and amplifies Trump's fantasies by concocting the most vile immigration policy actions we've seen in a long while. Since "civility" hasn't seemed to be an effective deterrent to the Trump pathology, please excuse my satisfaction that these political appointees paid with tax dollars didn't get to finish their dinners and carry on like Louis XIV courtiers. They expected to exploit the peaceful normalcy of the public space they work to disrupt all day long. Really, where is their shame? Why isn't this the question of this column?
Frank, give it up. The cult of Trump is beyond any form of reason or moral high ground. The time is over for civility in this matter. Decorum left the White House with the previous administration and it is not going to return until the dissolution of the current administration. Evil, yes evil, like Trump and his ilk needs to be opposed now, forcefully, with words so that it doesn't need to be opposed forcefully later with other instruments.
Mr. Bruni,
I agree that Democrats blew their lead on Monday, but it wasn’t all because of Maxine Waters’ advice to constituents to harass Trump administration officials in public. And it was only partly because Democratic leaders like Schumer and Pelosi, and much of CNN’s team, reacted to Waters’ rant with criticism (some of it warranted).
Democrats blew their lead because they allowed the opposition to seize the narrative and turn it to their own ends. Instead, they should immediately have faced down the right with a strong rebuttal about what civility really means in public /political life, and taken command of the narrative by praising Stephanie Wilkerson, owner of the Red Hen.
Wilkerson should have been lauded for asking Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave her restaurant as an act of conscience, just like the Colorado baker who couldn’t make a cake for a gay wedding because of his moral beliefs. Wilkerson, as I see it – but certainly as liberals in goverment and media might have successfully directed the story – didn’t want to serve SHS because she is person whose lack of ethics offends Wilkerson and her clients: a liar whose daily work is based on colossal mendacity; a hypocrite born and bred in elite Evangelical circles who ignores the 8th commandment while serving in a position that requires truth-telling to the American public; and a person who never hesitates to mock or ridicule others in the course of her duties.
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Erdogan, in Turkey, just won by large margins in the recent elections. It is reported that he is cracking down on the following groups: lawyers, journalists, civil servants and the judiciary.
Remind you of anyone?
Although taking office as a result of an election that some say was "rigged" (remind you of anyone?) he has assumed broad powers to implement rules and regulations that fit own agenda, not that reflect the wide spectrum of people he now leads. (anyone?)
If Erdogan or one of his cronies entered into a restaurant or theater in Ankara, what do you think would happen to an owner that asked him to leave, or a crowd that heckled him - however justified?
That is precisely why private business owners in this country must be able to express their "free speech" and eject - or allow protests to - members of the Trump team. It is the very freedom that has been fought and died for.
These people knew who Trump was when they signed on, continue to work for him after all the debacles, and actually lie and obfuscate for him.
Their choice. What do they expect? Words and deeds matter.
No, incivility does not feel good. It is against my values.
Not the incivility of Trump rallies, or the "incivility" shown to refugees. Not the incivility of a president who drools openly over the unbridled power of the tyrant with the worst human rights abuses on the planet.
We have to start somewhere in our protests. Its nice to see the Secretary of Transportation spitting nails in indignation that she be discomfited by public displays of protest, as she is swept into a luxury limo, by a phalanx of body guards.
I'd rather see the entire Republican Congress shamed by a hundred million Americans using their economic power to boycott advertisers on Fox News. I'd rather see them marching.
The conversation about incivility, as a madman, wrecks our alliances, and threatens not only our institutions of law, but our economic stability, is a joke.
Civility, as children are lost somewhere in a confusion of hatred, never to find their parents again, is a joke.
Civility, as Americans begin to lose their livelihoods because oligarchs want to speculate over tariffs, is a joke.
I have compassion for all humans, all of them. Perhaps shaming the Trump administration will inspire them to move to monasteries in Tibet, open their hearts, and improve their ways. If my incivility towards them, helps them on that path, my prayers would be granted.
1
What will help Democrats win in the midterms is for all of them to come out fighting like Maxine Waters. Who wants to go to trouble to go to polls to vote for Pooh Bear when the country is being ravaged by Attila the Hun? Do you really think either party's candidates can turn out their voters with this message: "I am the nicest person. My party has the best manners"? There is only one person associated with the Trump administration that should be off-limits for public criticism or shaming: Barron Trump. Anyone he has hired or appointed represents him and his policies and, by the way, are our employees, accountable to us. If they can't take the heat they should leave the kitchen.
There is nothing uncivil about protesting against the evil being perpetrated by these officials. They're not going to stand down because we ask them politely. And given the gerrymandering, voter suppression, and Russian interference, I have little faith in the next elections.
The obvious next step will be the government, or whatever nascent paramilitary force, imprisoning or shooting protesters. When that starts happening, I guess all these pundits will say the protesters brought it on themselves for being uncivil.
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Normally I would agree with sticking with the high road, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I commend my fellow citizens who see the creation of baby internment camps, and the boldface lying that has accompanied it, and who are saying to the enablers, "Your life is going to get a little uncomfortable tonight for locking babies up and lying to my face about it."
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The shaming of political reprobates in public places, while understandable, does the Democratic Party and its supporters no good. We need to take the high ground, not sink to the depths that Trump and his flunkies adopt every day. Our eye needs to be set on the day that we will remove the crudest individual to ever occupy the Oval Office, a day that can't come too soon.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders lies five days a week on behalf of Donald Trump. It's not spin. It's not obfuscation. They aren't even "alternative facts." They are outright lies. I have no problem with American citizens heckling her at a restaurant, or even restaurant owner asking her to leave. She is a public person, and she carries her lack of character and morals with her whenever she enters the public realm. She has no right to lie all day and eat in peace at night in public. She has a home. People should respect her privacy and leave her and her family alone when she is there. Otherwise, she should get out of the kitchen if she can't stand the heat. Harry Truman was right, and she wouldn't be going through this if she was an honest broker of information.
This civility/incivility debate is distraction.
Most of us will not have an opportunity to give an elected or appointed deplorable a piece of our mind, but we can do something. Be angry, Be passionate, Be productive - volunteer to get out the vote. The low hanging fruit (90 to 100 million eligible voters) must be harvested in November.
Volunteer to get out the vote.
Public shaming of public officials when they are engaged in private activities is plain old wrong. Protest all you want when they are in their places of business, speaking at rallies or in some other way representing their official positions. But in the name of civil rights, allow them the same courtesy and respect we would demand they show women who seek abortions or gays who want to marry. Disapprove, protest appropriately, vote - but please, liberal/Democrat outrage doesn't 'trump' conservative/Republican outrage and it drags us further down into the swamp of Trumpish juvenile behavior. We can do better.
I think public shaming can work, but only if it's done right. Rather than kicking Sarah Sanders out of the restaurant, which just plays as mean, how much more effective would it have been if the wait staff, after she finished dinner, politely, but firmly, asked her, on Facebook Live, how she feels giving cover for what is morally indefensible; or they could have asked her, "as a Christian, which kids would Jesus have separated from their parents?" How truly feckless she would have looked if she refused to answer or looked confused or guilty.
It's okay to shame these people who promulgate and defend these immoral policies, but do it in an effective way.
We do need to protest what going on and by whom now. Using free speech and civility. Colin Kaepernick's kneeling was strong and despite Trump's epic misconstruing it, many heard the message.
When hundreds of New York Police Department officers silently turned their backs to Mayor Bill de Blasio at the funeral for slain Officer Miosotis Familia, they were heard.
I think shouting down these misguided people and asking them to leave gives fodder to the others that blindly go about enabling tyranny. They claim victim. Turning a back to them says everything.
Let's do that, especially next November. And in 2020. Turn your backs to bullies that lie, cheat and steal.
Let’s get the facts straight about one recent incident that has been labeled public shaming. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was not publicly shamed. The restaurant owner politely asked her to follow her to another room, where, out of the public eye and ear, she was politely asked to leave. So far, so good. No public shaming. Huckabee Sanders then had the option to say no, she wouldn’t leave. Instead, she left in a public huff and went on her government Twitter account, to whine and kvetch about public discourse, about which she knows nothing and is possibly the worst offender of, next to her boss. She had the option to quietly gather her party and leave, and not say anything on Twitter. But like a child who knows they can get their sibling in trouble for something they themselves did, she couldn’t resist telling the world and her big daddy in the White House, making it public. I would have to say that Sarah Huckabee Sanders shamed herself.
"Let’s," sez you, "put aside the question of decorum and how we get back to a place where political debate is constructive and Congress is a realm of problem solving and progress..."
"Let's not," it sez here.
Let's "get back to a place where political debate is constructive" and decorum will take care of itself, yourself (imagine checking your basket of pejorative qualifiers at the door) and maxine waters, forthwith.
getting the over-perked, under-worked congress to show up might also be easier.
Trump was elected to break norms by and for his Republican base. It's about time we do the same from the Left and stop engaging in all of this bad faith pearl-clutching from those who will never feel the actual damage of this Presidency (including you, Frank Bruni.) Maxine is smart to tap into the energy of the Dems' progressive base (does it really bode well for a "Blue Wave" when you're apologizing to Republicans on the Senate floor, Mr. Schumer?) Interrupting the dinner of a woman literally enforcing a policy of sending children to concentration camps at the border is literally the least we can do as private citizens to break a few norms of our own.
Mr. Bruni, your argument is specious. Trump will rally his base before the November elections, regardless of what his opponents do now. He will find a cause to enrage his base, and if there isn't one he will invent something. Try to get this, Mr. Bruni - this is a war for the soul of your nation. Trump's base will show up en masse to support him, regardless of what his opponents do. America's (and the world's) hope rests on the majority of voters who oppose Trump actually showing up and voting. Most Americans oppose the beehive wearing, preposterous demagogue in the White House. They are the people who need to be riled up. The sane majority must rise up and drive out the forces of fear and racism and faux patriotism. Cede Trump's base to him. It's everyone else that matters.
Sorry, Mr Bruni, but extremism in the defense of moderation is a bit passé.
It is difficult, but gratifying - even sustaining - to shame the shameless. The American people should not stand idly by for the sake of decorum, but should volubly decry the insult these people are doing to the principles that define their polity.
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I am a Democrat horrified, mortified by the Trump presidency and the Trump enablers. And there are many intelligent, articulate people speaking out against the many Trump horrors. Unfortunately, Maxine Waters is not one of them and I find her behavior predictable.
Democrats have tolerated the intolerable for too long already. The core of the GOP philosophy is driven by their collective antisocial personality disorder.
The GOP ideology is fact free, religion based, lacking in moral or logical consistency. Their ideology can't be debated with logic or facts. The only remaining form of counter attack is emotional.
Public shaming is the only resort left when dealing with people who have no shame.
Republicans have been demonizing their targets for decades. To listen to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the rest of their ilk is to hear constant denunciations of their 'enemies'.
Being silent in the face lies and insults, giving respect to those who have no respect for others... at some point the entire ethos breaks down when those who practice bad behavior on a daily basis suffer no consequences.
It's not public shaming when it's telling the truth.
1
Sorry, but the calls for civility are the real counter- productive act. Sitting idly by, planting election signs and handing out bottles water at polling places just normalizes the behavior on the other side. What's the worse outcome: a few "undecideds" are turned off by this lack of "civility;" or this top-down civility enforced by cultural and political gatekeepers makes it seem like kidnapping children en-masse is nothing to get upset about? Or, we won over a few undecideds but lose this animating energy among fed up Americans, the majority of which think democracy is in crisis. Your op-ed feels like a cheap attempt at getting clicks via a contrarian position, and it's working. But that doesn't mean anyone should agree with you, because attitudes like the authors is what deflated enthusiasm and turn out in 2016. Go back to your cloistered world of Democratic politics and leave the struggle to those with heart and grit.
First, they came for the Asylum seekers... they will come for you, Mr Bruni and me if we stay silent. Never forget
No, it is past time to be nice to these bullies. The Democrats have rolled over too many times and look what happened yesterday with the Supreme Court. Trump tells his base to physically hurt those who oppose him and the clapping and cheering are deafening. We are not dealing with a normal person or a normal group of people. We are dealing with those like Stephen Miller who get thrills out of locking up 9 mo. old babies. They need to be shamed, if that is even possible. At least we can stop them from eating with us.
What Maxine Waters has advocated when she said "you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere" is not shaming, it is intimidation. As a Democrat, I regret that she has descended to the level of Donald Trump himself.
We need more DInero
and more more Maxine Waters.
Its called push back the bullies.
Why is it that victims of bullying are always shamed for aggressively asserting their rights to secure and safe environments free of threat and abuse .
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No, Frank. First, people who do shameful things should be shamed publicly. That's simple fairness.
Second, there is no up side to civility. Obama proved that for eight years. The bombings of abortion clinics and assassinations of doctors whether in their kitchen, office and even church proved that even longer. Try selling your plea for civility to the family of Dr Tiller, shot in the head on the steps of his church.
Third, there is a down side to civility in the face of things like the torture of children: It normalizes them. We saw that, too in the Bush Administration, when some observers normalized lying the country into aggressive war, imprisonment without trial, and torturing people to death—I mean "enhanced interrogation" to death.
Fourth, advocating civility gaslights and demoralizes Trump's opponents. Maxine Waters rallies us. The child victims of the Trump regime's deliberate cruelty deserve to have the rest of the country howl in outrage on their behalf. It is our OBLIGATION to these children to publicly shame the officials who serve in an administration that has taken a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome from her mother.
Finally, incivility towards Trump, his staff and his supporters may make Trump voters even angrier than they already are. However, civility looks like weakness to them and only encourages them to push harder until they finally find our breaking point.
1
what the democrat bullies are doing is the best recruiting tool for us - the proud silent majority which is pro-trump, pro-immigration enforcement, pro-freedom, and pro-small and accountable to people Govt. people I know who were not Trump supporters are coming to me asking how they can help in November to increase Republican majority. Pease, democrat bullies, keep shaming people for believing and voting Trump. How about i public bathrooms? in hospitals? in elementary schools? the list goes on and on, you know.
I think we can confront them without sinking to their level. We don't have to be vulgar and shameless - that's not the only alternative. We can confront strongly and reasonably. #RESIST
Even though the shame is theirs, why waste energy on something that will accomplish little. I hope none of them sleep at night but I will work to elect decent people in November and spend that energy on getting out the vote. Believe me, I am outraged with every silly tweet, but I am doing everything I can to restore checks and balances beginning November 6. Your vote matters!
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Trump is where he is because more people voted for his bigotry and his venom and his views on what is wrong with America than did not. Sure, you can blame his victory on the Russians or Comey or Jullian Assange or anyone/anything else but the Democrats if you'd like, but Trump won because he cornered the anger-rudeness market in 2016 and his supporters have perfected the expression of outrage as their default dialectic. To even the most casual observer, neither the President nor his followers seem to display much adult behavior, which should matter to those who are so fed up with the state of national politics that they might just repeat sitting out the election in November if the Democrats try to shame their way to victory. The Democrats need votes and they're not going to get them by sticking their tongues out at the opposition and, as Michelle Goldberg suggested, by calling the fence-sitters uninformed. The "deplorables" debacle of 2016 should have proved that you don't win through insult, you merely provide bulletin board material for the opposition. If you want to change the status quo you need to prove that you are offering an upgrade.
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Frank, your eloquence, your ability to craft a beautiful sentence, your evocative images inspire me to believe that there is still, what has become my favorite word, civility, among some of us. The bullies, I have discovered, look for, enjoy, in fact NEED confrontation in order to feel good about themselves. Their shallow, pathetic egos are strengthened by inflamed rhetoric so that they can show the world how important they are and even play the victim, if need be.
The everyday bully can simply be ignored and they will seek ego gratification elsewhere. Our politicians are another story since they can craft legislation that affects all of us.
The solution, of course, is voting. I am heartbroken every time I hear of the millions of eligible voters who did not vote in the past election.
Ignore the bullies, especially the one in the White House, and encourage, prod, motivate, those voters in November as if our lives depended upon it, because, in a very real sense, it does.
So now Democrats have to watch what they say because the media and the President's enablers might try to use it to change the subject? Maybe then no Democrat should ever say anything least it be misunderstood or intentionally misconstrued. I think you misunderstand the problem Frank. It is not Democrats expressing themselves, in whatever way they chose to. The problem is that we have an illegitimate President wrecking havoc on our Democracy. Stick to that and you'll be doing fine.
C'mon Frank, making someone's dining experience uncomfortable is such an insignificant infraction compared to the atrocities these people are committing daily, there really is no legitimate comparison. Depriving Sanders of her entree compared to snatching a baby from her mother's arms??? In Sander's debased mind though, which do you think is the greater outrage and would count for more in governing her future behavior?
I think Mr Bruni has missed the point. The jackals in the WH ignore the wishes and opinions of the majority of the country and the GOP Congress has abandoned the majority of its constituents by pandering to the vocal ConDon fringe mob. So reasonable citizens feel compelled to be heard. Protests that directly affect ConDon's enablers simply show that actions have consequences. Those who arrogantly assume that they can act with impunity deserve the consequences.
Calling out a liar and a bigot, shaming a government employee who is paid with tax dollars is our duty. Inciting violence is not what Maxine Waters is advocating. Unlike what Trump has done full throatedly at his rallies and in sotto voce whispers to his more radical fan base. Sanders, Pence, Pruitt, McConnell and the whole rotten lot work for you and me. Not the occupant of the Oval Office. When they cross lines in terms of truth, ethics and accountability they must be called out. If that’s at a Mexican restaurant (oh, the irony of that one) or on a plane (even in first class) they should be confronted. If they can look in the mirror while working in this administration then they can handle a little shaming. These are public figures who have chosen to stand by their man all being paid with tax dollars.
If we comply with the admonishment to be 'civil' and focus our efforts on the ballot box, how many more babies and toddlers are going to be taken from their mothers' arms between now and November? It's painful to say this, but it's really hard to trust the institutions of government when its ability to implement checks and balances is so impaired... On issues of morality, we need to speak up: remember "The Whole World Is Watching"????
The great advantage Republicans have in politics is that they are able to entirely divorce themselves from morality and whatever it was they said yesterday and focus entirely upon the political chess game before them. There is no morality in chess, just as there was no morality in Mitch McConnell blocking Merritt Garland and Paul Ryan becoming a Trump lapdog. But in terms of the chess game, McConnell and Ryan were able to mate the Democrats, who kept waiting for morality and the memory of the standards the GOP used to swear by to come to their rescue. Those who do not study Machiavelli, or instinctively follow his advice, are doomed to get their butts kicked by those who do. Not that the Dems should abandon morality and decency. But they should be aware that they are playing chess with people who don't believe in those things.
We have to oppose injustice, whether it is slavery, japanese internment, seperation of kids from undocumented immigrant parents, denying an lgbt couple service at a bakery, or a muslim ban.
I couldn't disagree more.
MLK wrote, "I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice…”
You would have us leave some of our best weapons -- shame, public censure, the awareness that comes with the sting of being treated as they are treating others -- against this obscene administration unused! Even as they fight to legalize discrimination against the LGBT community, we are to serve them silently?
No way.
I have every confidence that the Democratic Party will ham-handedly squander its advantage in the mid-terms and we will end up after the election right about where we are now. You need agenda to win, not just uncontrolled anger. But - you ask - weren't Trump's voters angry? And they won, right? Yes they did, but they had a real agenda. The top issues on the agenda were foreign trade and immigration. What's the Democrat's agenda? GLBTQ rights? Open borders? Wow, there's a couple of winners. How about trade? What have the Democrats had to say about that for the last 30 years? Now, the Democrats think they can win by being profanely and obnoxiously angry. Deocrats: try a real agenda, issues that affect all or most of the voters, not just narrowly defined groups. Select a couple of good issues, then tell the electorate what you're going to do for them. And don't forget: you couldn't beat Donald Trump in a straight-up election. That says much more about the state of the Democratic Party than it does about Donald Trump.
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After reading these comments, I, like Marius, am ready to throw my lot to these “revolutionaries” as we heard and saw in Les Miz.
I’m looking for Enjolrus to follow him into battle.
The time is here!
Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer
Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts
But a jubilant shout
They will come one and all
They will come when we call!
VoteBlue2018!
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What could the Red Hen owner have done differently?
She could have sent out any non-standard-white-person, preferable a newly arrived American, to wait on the table, with no smiles, but cold efficiency.
She could have seated any gay couples close by the Saunders party (and given them a free meal at a later date for any discomfort caused).
She could have had her wait staff wear buttons, badges or tshirts that proclaimed an anti-trump or pro-humanity message.
After the party left, she might have stepped outside the doors of the restaurant and onto the street, and calmly told Sanders that she and her staff find abhorent the current policies of the administration and its defenders, and are ashamed for the country.
In other words, she could have delivered the bare minimum of decent service as the proprietor of her business, and spoken her mind on neutral territory. I doubt that Saunders would ever return, civility lines would not have been crossed, no fodder provided to Fox News, and she would have sent her message.
Of course hindsight is 20-20...
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Why is it we never consider protests and movements in the past and how well or poorly they turned out?
The protests in the 60's and 70's got a lot of attention and many, including myself, believe they hastened the end of the Viet Nam war. We should seek out information about what has worked in the past and try to apply that to the present.
The Acela Villagers and their stenographers are desperate for a return to business as usual, extracting all the surplus value from the hoi polloi, while safe from experiencing the consequences of the policies they champion.
Shorter Bruni: Let them eat table scraps and be grateful for the privilege. I have dinner reservations.
I greatly disagree with the use of the term "public shaming" in this context and believe that the wrong name for these current events has distorted the debate. It's wrong to frame these events as democrats versus republicans. Maxine Waters aside, the people actually doing this are simply members of the public. We are not talking about what a political party or a member of Congress ought to endorse. The term "shaming" is a modern concept, usually applied to those who make others feel bad for things that are not really moral issues, such as body condition, sexual choices, apparel, etc. The term shaming implies that the shamers are in the wrong. When it comes to the government kidnapping of 2000 children, it's that which is wrong, not those who object to it. Shame is an appropriate feeling for perpetrators and supporters of immoral, cruel acts. Members of the Trump team eating in a Mexican restaurant while the children were crying for their mothers is deeply offensive to moral sensibilities. And a restaurant owner has a right to say, "Your presence is too upsetting right now, would you please leave." That said, I don't agree with protesters going to the houses of members of government. But when members of government come into public spaces, ... well, as Lincoln said, "To sin by silence when they ought to object makes cowards out of men." "Shaming" is a hopelessly superficial way to describe an act of conscience.
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Bruni is right. The shunning is counter productive. Rather, the Democrats should resort to a Trump like repetition of, not lies, but simple truths like: "Vote Republican and watch your and your parents' Social Security and Medicare vanish". The "Red States" are over represented regarding the poor and uneducated. Trump hammers lies at them in a cult leader fashion and one way to counter that is to hammer them with truths that have clear and simple relationships to their situation, as I have suggested above. It is not time for sophisticated policy development, it is time for beating Trump at his own game. Keep it simple, relevant and continuous.
Mr. Bruni, I beg to differ on this one. As Elie Wiesel said, "We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." However, protests alone are insufficient. Voting and actions to increase/facilitate voter turnout are the greatest acts of civility.
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One of the most well-mannered gentlemen I ever met was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Being soft-spoken in restaurants, airport lines, receptions in no way weakened him. History shows clearly how he was mistreated and insulted countless times and never repaid hatefulness with like conduct. May I add that Rep. John Lewis and Rev. Andrew Young, two stalwarts of the Civil Rights movement, are cut from this same cloth.
Rudeness, thoughtless and cruel behavior are too easy. That's wasted energy producing nothing of value for the greater good. Civility is far more challenging and it keeps the door open for communications. We lead better when we lead by example. Public shaming is a worthless device waiting to be used by "little Trumps," and it should be avoided. Try voting on election day or working door-to-door for a decent candidate. You'll feel good all over for the experience.
I do think that in an ideal democracy where reason triumphs, Frank Bruni has a point. But the world is messier than theory, and social context, what we learn through our daily interactions, are even more important than ever. trump and his supporters have the internal cohesion in values and movement, and wield the power they do through the insularity of social contact idiosyncratic in our age. It used to be that we could all speak together with more or less the same set of facts drawn from a shared social and informational circumstance. Now, a rabid 30% or so of our population has their own social lexicon, and set of historical facts -- our reason, as a country, is no longer shared.
So how can we truly communicate in a democratic way without reason? With emotion. With our opinions, loudly expressed in the public sphere. Given some quarter, these abhorrent excuses for human beings might blithely continue with -- and find public sympathy for -- their opinions, actions and positions. They are vile, they are unreasonable, and they should be shunned like Harvey Weinstein, as effigy, has been shunned.
1
Maxine Waters must know that this was wrong. A primitive expression of shaming might be tempting for someone who has no other platform, but she surely does. We are a nation of laws and due process, and there are political avenues open to change what is happening to our country.
Rabble rousing, which is what this was, only muddies the water. Instead, mobilize voters, bring them out in numbers, and let us show our power at the polls.
Remember November, and make it one that marks the end of Trump's influence and power once and for all.
This isn’t public shaming. It’s harassment. Do you want Tea Party people doing that to Democratic politicians? Political protest is protected, but there are limits. Just think about how people harass Planned Parenthood clinics and providers.
The so-called progressive wing of the Democratic Party and these Democratic Socialists are a force that will drive moderate and independent voters away. These people have no idea how bills maneuver through Congress, how executive agencies make rules, how governing actually happens. Chuck and Nancy know how things work. Why do you think domestic social spending increased in the budget? Why do you think so many political nominees are delayed in the Senate? Because tactics matter.
2
Right with you, Frank, thanks.
I was impressed by Stephanie Wilkerson, owner of the Red Hen, who considered the concerns of her employees , a number of whom are gay, and therefore objects of contempt and discrimination, along with Muslims, women, African - Americans, "Coastal Elites," "libruls," and others who do not fit into Trump & CO's MAGA vision.
I decided to visit her FaceBook page, which, shockingly, but not surprisingly, turned out to have become, since Sunday, the scene of a gathering cyber mob of Trump followers, people whose online cackling, vulgarity, and un-veiled threats to Ms Wilkerson show just how useless what we think of as "civility" is in dealing with Trumpism and its followers.
The more coherent among them, following the lead of Huckabee Sanders, continued to insist that Ms Wilkerson didn't want SHS in her restaurant because of her "political views"
In fact, the conversation Wilkerson reportedly had with her staff before she even went to the restaurant indicated she was reacting to the feelings of her employees, many of whom are gay, a minority group that is included in the day to day opprobrium Trump, and SHS as well, happily dump on minorities and others who don't fit into the MAGA picture.
1
In a time when small children are being caged on our borders, when the conservative majority in the Supreme Court is pushing back on back on the basic liberties this country has always stood for, when our elected representatives turn a blind eye to the unconscionable in order to be re-elected, and when we have a deranged and vengeful autocrat in the White House, I’m only surprised that the shaming of Trump enablers in restaurants has not evolved into the wide scale peaceful civil disobedience and economic boycotts used by MLK during the Civil Rights movement. As right wing commentators fulminate against the harassment ( largely verbal) of the Nielsens, Miller’s and Sanders, I keep hearing lines from that wonderful 60’s protest song by Malvina Reynolds running through my head -
It isn’t nice to block the doorways,
It isn’t nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it,
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn’t nice, it isn’t nice,
You told us once, you told us twice,
But if that’s Freedom’s price,
We don’t mind.
1
Kind of curious that an older African American government official , Sen. Maxine Walters, is the person many media pundits criticized for being too outspoken, too indignant. Not "ladylike." But in my demographic of older white suburban women opposed to the president there is seething rage--made powerful by Sen. waters. The tragic scene right now is not about our incivilities. It's about more than 2000 children held hostage by the US some without parents, and all asylum seekers are being turned away or deported. No due process. It's mass kidnapping, round up the usual suspects.
1
She is a member of the house, not the senate.
1
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I deplore just about everything the Trump administration thinks and does. But I worry that if it's okay for those that oppose Trump and his cabinet members, and then by extension those who voted for him, to get up in a restaurant and scream and yell at them, then it's okay for Trump supporters to do the same to 'liberals" (which they brand just about everyone who doesn't support Trump). Or is it only okay for one side to do it? I worry it will just turn into one big shouting match where the only prevailing winners are the ones who can scream the loudest.
5
Stephen Powers -- I suggest you do something besides worrying -- that is, think of ways to make this something different from "one big shouting match."
"Democrats showcased internal divisions rather than a united front and, in the parlance of sports, blew their lead."
This is the recurring problem with pundits commenting on politics ... seeing it as a game instead of, in many cases, life and death policy-making. Bruni’s use of sport as a prism for his points reveals he is watching from the luxury sky boxes where the privileged reside, a spectator living free of consequences others must endure.
5
Win at the polls?
Does Mr. Bruni forget that Trump supporters are all in favor of delaying elections or overthrowing the results of elections that they lose?
That their cheerleader believes elections are rigged against him?
That Milo Yiannopoulos, not long ago a darling of the right wing free speech movement, now pines for the vigilante shooting of "liberal" journalists?
That Trump himself consistently instigates violence against his opponents in his tweets, most recently against Maxine Waters?
That the Supreme Court was stolen and now tilts in favor of the Trump Administration?
What we are dealing with here will not be stopped through civility or the political norms of the past.
People should not act because it feels good. They should act because they believe they must.
Ask any good German.
5
Self control, not ever easy to achieve, says to an opponent: I can’t control what you do, but I’m in control here, and resolute in my opposition. During the nuclear disarmament campaign in the years under Reagan, I had the chance to stand in silence with Quaker friends, hours on end. It was powerful, dignified, and I think it let observers know: these people are determined, centered, won’t back down.
2
Greg -- I hope your standing in silence was within the view of members of the Reagan administration. If not, it served no purpose but to make you feel better about yourself.
Let the strength of facts, science, compassion and conviction persuade the same people who voted for Hillary, maybe even Obama, and have since sat on the sidelines or even voted for Trump. We will not turn the avowed Trumpists, but we don't have to. We are aiming to organize the left and add the moderates. If we sink to the level of Trump's incivility, our message will be lost because at that low point it's all about the attack, the counterattack, and who can go the lowest. And trust me, in the arena of incivility and cruelty, Trump will always win. So we must aspire to the high road, always, especially when aiming low begins to feel so good.
1
MWR - fine - let's take the high road, but what does that mean? Surely not sitting in silence or feeling smug about being better than "them."
What do we actually DO?
Waters' advocacy for shunning and shaming is appalling. This is yet another example of a person who does not have adequate tools for anger management. At least it hasn't escalated to the suggestion of violence--to property or to persons.
But these instincts--which we all have to a greater or lesser degree--must be self-disciplined and kept under control. To do otherwise is uncivilized and simply another iteration of the Trump tactics. The high road awaits us.
1
Why must Waters' instincts and those who are appalled at this administration be kept under control? Why can this administration not be kept t under control?
There must be something we can do besides keeping our instincts under control.
Please think about what that it, and then DO IT.
Bruni gets this one right. The kind of shaming he's talking about is wrong, but it's wrong for more reasons than he's giving.
He thinks its wrong because it's a bad political tactic that turns attention away from the wrongs the person being confronted has committed.
But more than that, it's wrong because, first and foremost, everybody, regardless of their prominence, is entitled to their private space in public settings such as restaurants, theaters, a park bench, etc, where an attendee is not attending as a political person. It's clearly rude to invade someone's space when that someone has every right to expect privacy and anonymity in that space (eg, Sarah Sanders in a restaurant). But more than rude, it violates basic decency.
Save the confrontations for those times when the person you want to confront is acting, publicly, in a political capacity. Invading someone's private, personal space takes that someone's rights away and accomplishes nothing but diminishing the humanity of the invader.
7
Thank you for these important points about private space. I would add that even in public spaces, confrontation should be respectful in that it should allow the other person to respond. If I don't care what my opponent has to say, why should I expect to be heard? Confrontation without attention loses all meaning.
5
You are so wrong.
Sarah Sanders and her crew should be called out at every opportunity. You don't get to harm people all week long and then sit down with impunity and be served by those same people. NO.
Frank, I enjoy reading your columns, but I disagree with you here. I respect your decorum. There is merit to it because it reflects decency. But they’re not decent, and if we wear boxing gloves to a bare knuckle fight we lose.
When we try to distinguish ourselves from them by going high, all we are actually communicating to them is fear of taking on the fight with the same means they’re using. They certainly do not respect that. They think it’s weakness, and it is.
We can easily rationalize not acting for the sake of tactics or strategy, but when a restaurant owner shows the courage to stand up to power and that draws Trump’s anger, that person is doing the right thing.
Criticizing this is wrong, and you have absolutely no evidence that your way of thinking will lead to a better outcome. Trumpsters won’t stop hating us because we’re polite, and the ones in the swing states still sitting on the fence might as well understand the anger, courage, and moral fibre needed to stand up to power better than pale discourse and civility in decorum.
Whatever the ways we choose to fight this man and his enablers, the most important clearly being to vote them out, we should not turn against each other to decide on the ‘right way’ to fight them. Clearly, there are different opinions, and that diversity is good. Let’s fight their policies and their behavior.
5
For the DEMs to turn the House blue means they have to win over voters in districts that most recently voted for the GOP. There are 2 possible ways that can be done.
1. The district has a significant but apathetic DEM base that failed to vote in 2016 and they need to be riled up to vote.
2. The district has a significant number of swing voters who need to be convinced to cross the fence yet again and step off on the left side.
It appears, in the 2018 election, that we're looking at #2 type districts. These are the districts that need to be captured back from the GOP. If I were running in one of those districts I would NOT want Maxine Waters stumping for me.
Finally, there are the currently DEM controlled districts where the GOP candidate poses a significant threat. In those districts, it may be necessary to do both things, convince the apathetic DEM voters to get to the polls AND appeal to the swing voters. This can only work if the DEM voters accept the need for a centrist candidate capable of winning over swing voters. This may be the most difficult situation of all. Riling up the Left base may scare away the swing voters. Appealing to swing voters with a centrist candidate may result in apathy on the part of the DEM base.
2
Winning is all that matters. DEMs need to keep a laser focus on strategies that will lead to victory.
Does barring government officials from restaurants improve DEMs chances of winning elections?
That is all that matters at this point.
4
It's worth looking at this from the reverse perspective.
What would the GOP want DEMs to do, to increase the GOP's chances of winning?
Fox News is devoted to the GOP cause. Look at their programming if you want to see the GOP strategy. Does Fox News run lengthy articles about immigrant family separations? No. They run commentary in response to Maxine Waters' speech. They run articles about the seemingly hypocritical actions against Sarah H Sanders, by DEMs who complain when a baker won't do a cake for a gay wedding. The GOP loves this stuff! It's the fuel for the fire they light under their base.
This is why I think public shaming is not a winning strategy for DEMs.
And winning is all that matters at this point.
No, J Jencks - You're wrong. Something else matters -- finding things that will actively help Dem's chances of winning elections.
I couldn't agree more Mr. Bruni.
It's disappointing to see people focusing on what feels good or right. We must have a laser-like focus on defeating Trump and Republicans in the congress. So much is riding on that outcome.It would truly be a tragedy if our internal conflict results in a re-election of Trump and his agenda.
9
I disagree. This is not about incivility; it is about our democracy. The issue is a little larger than someone getting their feelings hurt because they were asked to leave a restaurant.
7
I agree that this is not about incivility. It is about WINNING.
Whatever works to increase DEMs chances of winning is what we should be doing.
Will public shaming help or hinder? Might it help in one district, with one kind of voter base, but hinder in another, which has a different voter base?
Whatever the answers are to these questions, we will only get to those answers if we keep our wits about us and think strategically. If our emotions distract us from the focus on winning strategies, then we are hurting ourselves.
4
We can also use our emotions to help us focus on winning strategies.
It happens all the time. It happened in the last election with some Trump voters.
To those who think our democracy is inches away from destruction — maybe it’s not. This mindset is making you think and do questionable things you otherwise wouldn’t.
One of many problems with public shaming is that it fuels both sides' self-righteousness. The recipients feel like victims, and the shamers justify their own actions. Neither side is likely to look at its own mistakes. Thus the mistakes multiply, the screaming grows louder, and people turn on their neighbors. Bruni is right. There are better ways to protest.
15
My opinion of how the resistance should react towards Trump officials has waffled in past days. But I’ve come to agree with Mr. Bruni to an extent. But the question we must ask is: what do we stand to gain by using our collective voices to publicly shame them vs. What do we stand to lose by doing so?
It goes without saying that all high profile trumpists are deserving of non-violent public shaming. No one should be shedding a single tear for Sanders, who acts as a shill for a proto-authoritarian regime that uses racist policies to cage innocent children amongst countless other daily indignities.
But in the end, what does this approach actually accomplish for the resistance? Will it truly help us improve our chances for the midterm? Will it genuinely do anything to help increase voter turnout?
I think an equally strong case can be made that this approach does nothing to help us, and instead is only helpful to the trumpists. They, by way of their FOX propaganda, use examples of our understandable public outrage to further their own false narrative that “they (the base, the white aggrieved working class) are the real victims here”. Seeing these videos only plays into their false sense of victimization and marginalization..which are key elements of Trump’s support. It energizes them, while also potentially turning off those “swayable” former Trumpers, and does little in a tangible sense to help us win house seats.
To win we must think tactically....and strategically.
6
So maybe we need other videos or demonstrations or other actions, that will energize people on the fence about Trump to see him as a threat to our democracy.
"the whit aggravated working class" are the actual mothers and fathers, sons ad daughters, who have lost hugely from the republicrat's sell off of the country's manufacturing strength to the highest bidder abroad. you and your democrat friends are turning this country into Columbia or Namibia, where the haves are thriving and the have-nots are dwelling in misery, while even poorer foreign illegal immigrant have-nots are fighting with them for remaining crumbs. Hail Clinton!
Stop the hand wringing. This won’t tip the midterms to the GOP. I doubt that Democrats will decide that public shaming of Republicans trumps voting. 92% of Democrats don’t just oppose the immigration disaster. They are enraged by it. And Maxine Waters? Really? If that’s the best that Republicans can do they are in real trouble. She will soon be forgotten as this administration bumbles its way to economic uncertainty and more cruelty. Also, a fired up Trump base will give rural GOP candidates huge margins but will not help with women, minorities, suburban moderates and well everybody else. And one other thing: you’re thinking that 2016 is the template for 2018. That makes no sense at all. And finally, wait til Trump gets out on the campaign trail defending a trade war and an immigration policy that is at once cruel, expensive and ineffective. His appearance this weekend in Nevada didn’t do Dean Heller much good. As Ted Cruz rightly said, Democrats will crawl over glass to vote in November. The Red Wave Trump mentions will be the bloody remains of a GOP majority on both sides of the Capitol.
3
Well put, with one exception. The purpose of Democrats is not to "take back the House." It is to GIVE THE HOUSE BACK TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
9
While the elite in the press and in Washington cry and plead for civility, thousands of children have been ripped from their families and lost everything they know and care about. They are alone in a strange country among hostile strangers. They may never see their mothers and fathers again. Is that CIVIL, Mr. Bruni? While you cry about taking a moral high ground, you ignore the fact that the morality lies in fighting for what's right. These officials are as responsible as Trump for the great evil they have committed. They need to be called out. Not because it feels good, but because our humanity demands it.
3
Shaming and shunning does not have to be uncivil. Anyone who reads Jane Austen knows about the "cut." Just refuse to acknowledge the person's existence in society. If they speak, they are not heard. Their reservations mysteriously are not logged. Their servers do not ask for their drink orders. Credit cards are denied.
But no yelling at them. There should be training sessions on how to best achieve this end.
4
I don’t think that “passive/aggressive behavior” such as you suggest is a valid form of protest. Government officials (either elected or appointed) are not a “protected class” under our anti-discrimination laws. Accordingly, they have no more right to be served than someone showing up to an upscale restaurant dressed in ripped shorts, tank top, and flip flops.
No less than Trumpsters, Democratic (including persuadable Indy’s) voters need red meat to build and maintain the enthusiasm needed to to bring overwhelming majorities to the polls in November. Trumpet officials deserve no quarter in this fight.
3
Frank, our country is in deep trouble. I don't think it has ever been this divided, even during the Confederate War.
I detest all politicians, and cannot find even one to admire. Perhaps that is because I live in Washington State, and Seattle.
1
I can't agree with you here, Frank. We're not talking about matters where reasonable people may disagree.
We're talking about shameful matters of religious discrimination without due process and reprehensible behavior toward asylum-seekers without preferable options.
Silence = Complicity. Public shaming is a moral imperative.
6
No, citizens should not go quietly into the night. There is an absolute duty to protest a increasingly illegitimate administration. That being said, our democratic leaders and representatives have a duty as well, to perform their job with the utmost professionalism and to maintain a higher standard of behavior especially in the public sphere. Becoming a target and part of the distracting drama only adds to the incivility of the times.
2
Maxine Waters is advocating that people she doesn't like should be subjected to nothing less than Mau-Mauing. Fine, then become indignant and cry racism, sexism, phobiaism, etc., when they return the compliment.
Public figures have private lives that should be respected. Picket their places of work and their public meetings in response to their public roles, but not when they are in their private life.
One day Waters and her ilk will be on the receiving end, and we shall see how she and they handle the abuse.
5
To San Ta -- kidding right? Waters and other women and men of color have been "on the receiving end" of abuse for their whole lives - in public and private.
1
No. You don't get to spend your weeks trying to destroy my private life -- my marriage, my civil rights -- and then retreat with impunity into your own private life.
1
Not worried, her and her ilk can handle it & then some.
In the last week we've seen the Supreme Court defend the rights of business to refuse service to gays on "moral" grounds. We've seen a woman refused a prescription because it offended her pharmacist. We've seen the Court uphold Trump's Muslim ban while pretending that it was not what he has explicitly, publicly and repeatedly claimed it to be. We've seen children stripped from their parents and held as hostages against their claims of asylum. And you're upset that Sarah Huckabee Sanders had to change dinner plans?
Forgive us if we are a little outraged at the number of columns that have been written in defense of the right of the agents of these policies to go about in public "in peace". Huckabee-Sanders, Stephen Miller, Kirstjen Nielsen - these are some of the most powerful people in the country and they have not extended the same civility to anyone.
Shaming them is one of the only responses available to most people, and I refuse to believe that the only acceptable reaction is to wait every two to four years for a chance to vote at the polls - these people aren't even on the ballot and will have a long lucrative career working at Fox News, or possibly even writing columns for the New York Times when they're done at their current jobs.
8
Public shaming is actually very effective sociologically. Rejection by others lights up the same areas on brain scans as pain. Many years ago, I did a medical rotation in Alaska. In the rural areas -- where there were often few resources to combat domestic violence -- women would get together outside the assailant's home and make noise with pots and pans when they heard that someone was being abused. This put on notice to that person that the whole community recognized what they were doing and that it was wrong.
Now, we don't have to be loud or violent but there is nothing wrong or uncivil about shunning people in this administration (like the restaurant owner kicking Sanders Huckabee out) or going up to them individually and making them realize how their policies affect your life. Drips and drops of water will eventually carve a canyon out of stone.
8
Mr. Bruni, with respect, the issue in my mind is not whether we are going to be nice. The issue is when fistfights will break out in the streets.
There needs to be radical change in America, which now lives under the tyranny of the minority, vastly over-represented in the Senate and the Electoral College.
Five states with barely 2 million citizens in total elect 10 Senators. Two senators from Wyoming, which is smaller than the population of the 100th largest COUNTY in this country, are in Senate leadership.
The NYT did more than any single newspaper to elect Donald Trump. Kindly do not lecture us about the need for for less resistance, not more.
8
The national political press corps isn't actually required to devote a large amount of time to pondering the pros and cons of public shaming. I'm not saying various incidents shouldn't be reported. Maxine Waters's is a member of Congress and should be covered. It was noteworthy that Pam Bondi faced public criticism while in a theater showing the Fred Rogers documentary. And, of course, Sarah Sanders took to Twitter to publicize her own originally discreet humiliation. So that tweet deserves mention, and possibly a paragraph or two considering what Sanders might have gained from sending it. But the nature of the coverage is a choice; the amount of time given to the discussion is within the control of the editors and commentators who are doing the discussing. As a major New York Times columnist, Frank Bruni probably wasn't forced to spend a column chastising Democrats for incivility. If he'd wanted to he could have devoted all of those column inches to detailing the chaos and pain engendered by the Trump immigration policy.
11
Trump thinks the presidency is a reality TV show and sees his chief skill as being able to hold and direct people's attention where he wants it. Our passion must also be smart, so we frustrate his ability to do this, not play into his hands.
The GOP has so much power now because they worked quietly but steadfastly over many years to get control on the local and state level, as well as during midterm years. I voted in 2010 and 2014, and even from so far away, I saw how important those elections were. I am thrilled that US Dems have finally woken up to the importance of political involvement across the board, not just presidential elections. We need to keep in mind, though, that the GOP is not only ruthless, it is also smart. The current president has only one skill, but we need to turn it against him, at every opportunity.
6
Trump just engaged in some public shaming of Harley-Davidson on Twitter. Harley-Davidson is apparently guilty of not wanting to lose money to make Trump's trade war look good. But it's going to work. They might not cave 100%, but I think we will see Harley-Davidson scrambling to please Trump.
Public shaming is legal, and it gets results. And we're not talking about private citizens here...we are talking about public servants like Huckabee Sanders, who collects a taxpayer-funded paycheck. Her abuse of her position affects us 24/7, but we need to be considerate of her dining out?
8
You say Nancy Pelosi did "damage control," I think she caused the damage. It was her and Schumer who showed divisions in the party by trying to reinforce their failed strategic choices.
8
A lot of mild-mannered people are livid with rage on the inside over this administration. I doubt there will be an explosion of public shaming but it's good for the psyche of the liberal electorate to celebrate the occasional well-placed jab. If such jabs ultimately cost us our democracy, there was never any hope of saving it anyway.
11
Yes, Maxine. Say it like it is. We are dealing with raw, red hot belly, mindless hatred. This calls for a stalwart and undeniable perseverance and strength, an undeniable will for good, an in your face response that is emotionally intact. We don’t have to scream but we must resist. Friends, our Democracy is at stake. Resist or peril. Resist when a Nazi waves a Confederate flag and/or gun in your face and calls you the n word or curses your religion, threatens you, gas lights you, intimidates you. Resist when your beloved, easy going town is overrun with bigots who try to terrify you with violence and smack you in the head with hate. I will not lie down and beg conversation while hate walks on me. Maxine, I hear you. Democrats, we must speak up.
21
It all depends on whose bull gets gored. When you are figuratively at war the nice guy loses. It is not necessarily a good idea to be nice to the opponent that uses all the dirty tricks. It is not a good idea to be polite to the opponent that does not play by any rules and who is strangling democracy. I think the time for being nice and holding the high ground is over. Being nice to bullies is really a bad idea.
11
Sorry Mr. Bruni I am not channeling Rodney King today. I started the day with Davids Brooks' op/ed regarding that kinder conservatism he seems hell bent on selling to the NYT readership and ended it with your advancing your brand of gentle,rational liberalism. Me, I am in my kick the bums out mood. So here is to Ms. Waters who at least won't be going quietly into that good night.
16
I am okay with shaming, public scenes in restaurant if that's your thing, and "protesting" in general. It lets the young and misguided blow off a lot of steam. We don't teach them to run laps or take cold showers anymore.
What I'm not cool with is violence and endangering the safety of others. No shutting down freeways by marching in the middle of the road. No getting into people's faces and assaulting (unwantedly touching) them. No guns, no fists, no swear words in public.
Let's see if you can convince anyone of those more serious things, Mr. Bruni. Your call for no shaming, and more focused efforts to create change have gone unheeded, it appears. If Obama couldn't work that magic, I doubt you can.
Keep your eyes on the prize: keep the violence in check, and make that your goal first and foremosts. We can do without civility. We can't do much as a country when we ignore the rule of law.
4
I second your emotion, Frank.
There is a new Silent Majority in America, and it is not of the same ilk that Richard Nixon salivated about. It is a Silent Majority that sees the value in the ideals of the American Dream, and what "America" has always striven to be... that imperfect, though beautiful Democracy.
That is why my Grandparents came here. That is why my wife's family came here. That is why others across the globe still want to come here.
We are the last beacon of hope going through a sort of mid-life crisis.
We must not add fuel to the fire of the ignorance and hatred that has "temporarily" taken over our dream.
We must suck the oxygen out of the ignorance and hatred by being civil and going to the polls.
"Be water, my friend" ~ Bruce Lee
7
There was a time when the dishonest, the hateful, and the bigoted were shunned by decent people. Now that they've been empowered, they're trying to remake themselves as victims.
I, for one, am not having it. I
f you want to confront, confront. Don't allow "manners" and "civility" to be used as excuses to let bad people skate. We're way beyond that now.
If you don't want to confront, that's okay, too.
But whatever you choose, however you feel... PLEASE vote in November. That's the only permanent way to stop the destruction of this county and everything it stands for.
12
It's all part of the Trump re-election campaign. Backfiring doesn't begin to name it. The cumulative reaction to this will eventually be huge.
5
There is only one path for the Democrats, if they are to win the House in November. That is the path of local politics, as identified with the successful Congressional campaigns of Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania, and Doug Jones in Alabama.
In his victory speech, Conor Lamb said, "We fought to find common ground, and we found it." He found it in jobs, education, healthcare, retirement security, and the opioid crisis. These were the issues that mattered most to the people in his district. https://youtu.be/I_ZyLppT25g https://conorlamb.com/priorities/
There were no litmus tests, no angry denunciations, just kitchen-table talks where people spilled out their fears and hopes. In the process, he drew many Trump voters into his column. Voters found in him someone they could trust—who, they believed, would work for them in Washington.
Lamb avoided the hot-button, divisive issues of the day, such as guns, Trump or immigration. By focusing instead on local concerns, he demonstrated that he was committed to solving problems, not to waging partisan or cultural warfare.
Most importantly, he treated everyone with equal respect. That is what Democrats must keep in mind as they debate public shaming of Trump’s people. The choice is outrage or outcome.
If Dems hope to retake the House, they must win some rural and suburban districts currently represented by Republicans. To do that they must offer an alternative to the Trumpian chaos. They cannot do it by following Trump into the gutter.
17
We need to win this battle for America. We must do it carefully. As Michelle Obama told us, we need to take the high road -- as they will always take the low road. We must not become them. The president takes the low road every day; we must take the high road every day.
6
Members of this administration should certainly not be immune to the consequences of their actions or statements. That immunity doesn't exist that enables the destruction of those institutions that allow us to exist as a society." Load with grape; fire at will..."
Understand the outrage of those responding. Frank's article though is important to take note of...we want to change this and the strategy to do so will not be responding like Trump does. It only changes the narrative of his latest agenda and saves him from having to divert once again. Go with the America we want to be, people need relief from the screaming, bullying tactics to visions of what can be. Sure stand up but do it firmly, strong and with dignity and class.
6
As the summer heats up, I am constantly reminded of Samuel L. Jackson's exhortation in "Do the Right Thing": Y'all need to chill!
3
Calling these acts anything but civil disobedience misses the point. Being passive at the lunch counter was a dangerous act of speaking out in silence. Speaking out with words is another strategy in our time. If we could sit in and defeat Trumpism, we would. Don’t fall for Republican rhetoric designed to further silence opposition. Their hypocrisy in backing Trump disqualifies them from preaching righteousness to anyone. Some will and have crossed the line. I believe more will move it towards justice.
4
"Does public shaming serve the cause of thwarting Trump and limiting his considerable damage to America? The answer is more likely no than yes, and I don’t think that we can take that risk when a man is this miserable and the stakes are this high."
Question - Does Mr. Bruni not understand his own hypocrisy here? Is the left this intellectually challenged that they cannot even understand their utterly conflicted statements? There's no reason to do it especially "when a man is this miserable..."? If it wasn't so serious, it would be comedy.
I personally hope Maxine shrieks this rhetoric into a bullhorn daily. Every time she does this, more independents and undecideds just become Trump supporters. It's startling too that this alleged champion of civil rights is now advocating segregation. Didn't we have the civil rights fight in the 1960's to stop forcing people of color to have separate restaurant counters & water fountains? Is Maxine really suggesting we now segregate based on politics?
1
If we had Democratic strategists who knew what they were doing, we wouldn't have to resort to telling people to harass members of the Trump administration in private settings. (So, no, I totally disagree with Ms. Waters' exhortation). But time and time again, the Dems fail to seize an opportunity to set this administration back on its heels. The first opportunity came early in Trump's presidency after the first very public failed attempt to kill the ACA. Trump said the law was failing and there was nothing he could do. That was a lie, and the Dems should have called him out on it over and over again, much the way Trump would have done when his opponents showed a weakness. Instead, they said nothing and have remained meek. More recently, the Dems should have roared about the tax bill which made corporate tax cuts permanent but cuts for individuals temporary. Where was the outrage? And, they should have rang the alarm on the tax bill's repeal of the individual mandate. Hello, Dems, the ACA is being gutted and you're not even discussing it. Instead, they threatened to shut down the government over DACA. Wow! Way to win more votes, Dems.
1
It's not "public shaming," and it definitely doesn't "feel good." It's civil disobedience protesting the inhumane and illegal separation and internment of innocent children from their parents. It's an outrage--both morally and legally. It's as American as Thoreau, and we all need to resist the creeping darkness of autocracy descending on America. If you don't resist; if you don't protest, then you are condoning the fight for our democracy.
3
Let us do both. Surely we can multi-task.
3
I'll bet that those in favor of public shaming have never been publicly shamed. As an older lesbian who has endured hatred spewed at me from total strangers, allow me to remind everyone that those who shame are also in positions of power--maybe not political power, but social power of some sort. And the holier-than-thou rhetoric of "morals" offered to justify that awful behavior reminds of days I had hoped were past. Instead, nowadays, everyone acts like the Moral Majority.
10
I think it comes from helplessness to make any difference in this administration.
6
I think it was a Republican who said you cannot negotiate with terrorists. Well, you can’t play nice with Republicans either. There are no more rules, Frank, let alone manners. Republicans have broken every one of them, including those that used to ensure that the guy who gets the most votes wins. They are not going to allow Democrats to retake the House or Senate this fall, no matter how polite they are to Trump’s collaborators in restaurants. When gerrymandering, voter suppression, Russian hacking, and Supreme Court interference deny all those pumped up Democrats their due this fall, what will your counsel be? Be nice, and wait for 2020?
24
To those who think Bruni is a "sell-out" ~ Where do you think this trend is going? Are we going to have "liberal" restaurants and "conservative" restaurants instead of public gathering places? Will I get kicked out of a B&B or hotel when I'm traveling because I "look like someone who might be a liberal?" I don't want people to have to produce a party ID card before they can be served. The Right is panting for a culture war, why should we join in? We don't need more reasons for people to avoid talking to one another.
13
The restaurant story unnerved me because I could so easily have imagined it happening to the Obamas. No matter how much we abhor Trump and his policies, that hate probably won't ever match how millions of people in this country felt about President Obama. I am sure they were aware it could have happened and avoided places where incivility was predictable. Sanders and company assumed a nice place with white patrons, owners, and servers in the South would have been welcoming; they were wrong. I'm with Frank; my disgust at this administration is justified, but that doesn't justify mirroring the administration. The same behavior could (and did in cartoons and conversations and all sorts of other conveyances) when the disgust was based on race.
9
Public shaming is wrong and it is also very dangerous. Maxine Waters shouting and screaming about hounding and harassing those in the Trump cabinet could have negative consequences. There could be a slightly deranged individual in the crowd who could become unhinged and do serious harm and injury. She might be inadvertently encouraging someone to attack a person that could have lasting damage.
This negative behavior will only hurt Democrats in the upcoming elections and may even help Republicans to gain more seats in congress. The fact that the country is sound financially and the economy has been growing is further proof that the Republicans are also in a good political situation. If Ms. Waters continues spouting hate and rage against the Republicans, she no doubt will hurt her party. They will not be too happy with her and she may find her political days numbered.
9
“Slightly deranged individual” must be referring to the armed, Trump-supporting neo-Nazis who killed a woman in Charlottesville, attacked African Americans with sticks and bats, and marched on a temple carrying AR-15s. Trump supporters want to make sure people like that aren’t publicly shamed.
Frankly, I've never been more proud of my fellow outraged citizens than these last few days; those fronting for Trump are as inherently flawed as the lord and master they serve and if it takes calling them out rather than sitting on the sidelines devising strategies then as they say (said) in the newspaper industry, "Let 'er rip!"
5
Among the Times Picks, Anne from Portland, Jean from Holland Ohio, and Morgan K from Atlanta are correct.
As for this idea that the left tried being civil and nice and taking the high road but that didn’t work, when and where did that happen? Working to defeat Al Gore by supporting Nader so you could send a message to the corporations doesn’t count. Neither does whining about single payer when it was time to defend Obama and the Affordable Care Act. The way many people on the left have talked about “white males” for much of the past 45 years surely hasn’t been excessively nice policy talk.
Quick - bring to mind the standard cogent factual Democratic policy defense of the progressive income tax, necessary regulations, public infrastructure, and the ways to protect small businesses and American labor from unfair business practices.
Name calling and labeling have far too often been the left’s stock in trade.
"No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'." That’s the Texas Ranger creed from the days of frontier justice. Switch the context to the verbal defense of facts, reason, honesty, decency, and good policy, as best you can determine those things, and see if that works.
3
You know what? I'm tired of being nice. I'm tired of being told to not hurt a Trump supporter's delicate feelings while listening to that same supporter shout racist things about the Obamas or chant "Lock her up!".
My mother asked me to not upset her brother with a discussion of Obamacare while he railed against women, immigrants, gays, African Americans, and Hispanics. Like all Trump supporters, apparently, he can't handle his worldview being challenged and, therefore, should be handled with kid gloves.
I'm done with being nice and polite. It's time for Trump appointees and supporters to take what they've dished out.
22
I'm with you!
1
Amen Lex, amen
Why is this not an NYT Picks comment?
1
Civility has not worked for the "liberals" for years. - Are the "civil" still a majority? It's about time we expressed outrage instead of pussyfooting around. President Obama was hammered by the GOP for 8 years. He may have remained above the fray, but his humane policies have been dismantled by the Trump administration, and the Supreme Court will be conservative for the rest of the foreseeable future. I don't think the meek will inherit the earth. I think the angry ,racist , gun lovin' , deregulation happy, anti-intellectual , press-hating nationalist base's representatives are enjoying their coup. And I don't see politeness as a winning strategy. I'm with Maxine Waters.
18
Friendly reminder that these restaurant episodes, and especially the Red Hen one, show how much power everyday working people have over those in positions of authority, namely, by refusing to work for them.
And it's really pretty striking that the supposedly left wing NY Times, along with the Washington Post, which has an editorial similar to this piece here, absolutely cannot accept that---that is, the supposedly liberal media can't bear the thought that working people might engage in political action outside of voting, even when the action taken is so unbelievably small. After all, the action at the Red Hen is absolutely minuscule compared to something like the sit-down strikes at car factories in the 30s.
I would encourage every worker who interacts with these politicians and their lackeys to refuse to serve them, or at the very least, to engage in slowdowns. That's the only way to get anything that even remotely resembles meaningful social change, because voting certainly isn't going to get it
19
IDK about dumbest it seems to be doing exactly what it was intended to do.
1. Terrorize immigrants and their children to create fear about coming to the US to ask for asylum. I happen to believe the long term psychological harm and its knock on effects are also intended.
2. Distract the press and the public away from discussing the Special Counsel, Cohen, Manafort, paying attention to what Congress is doing to Social Security and any number of other important programs we pay for ourselves.
3. Get the base wound up and angry with more lies appealing to their fear and victim logic which El Trumpo has fed for 3 years now.
The public What is it being called? Shaming? Well it is wrong headed if well intended. The place for that sort of protest or speech to a public employee who is part of enacting a policy that is bad is when they are at work, by letter, or in person for a protest outside. In a case like Ms "Mendacious Mama" Huckabee-Sanders the Press should be on her relentlessly. She should find no comfort in coming to work or a moments peace as she stand at the podium. But no one should have to worry about being interfered with while living their lives in the off hours.
If you think the person is doing something bad or wrong then get it proven in a court of law. Even then it is only OK to get t hem removed from the position and if jail is warranted be satisfied with that. Enacting a personal vengeance is almost literally the antithesis of the founding principles of the US.
2
I've been disappointed in a couple of recent opinion columns by Mr. Bruni in which he urges people to not be confrontational toward the current administration leadership and its enablers.
Should we all act like sheep, which is what the Republican Congress is doing. I dislike confrontation, but I certainly will be one of the first to protest with extreme vigor against individuals like Sessions, Neilson, and, yes, Sarah Sanders in any venue if I see them. All three of these people are complicit and stone-cold liars in enabling the vile actions that are taking place in this country.
So J.B., Kirstjen and Sarah don't get to enjoy a meal out in public. Tough. Young children are being detained in steel cages and can't go anywhere. How can a caring nation let this happen?
Get tough, Mr. Bruni. Manners and niceties won't work in this battle for the country.
15
Thoughtless comments by Maxine Waters, Samantha Bee, and Robert De Niro are going to get Trump reelected. Dems have to stop talking about Trump and his followers, and start talking about income inequality, health care, and voting rights.
13
You in the media have accepted Trump’s bullying from day one. He excluded certain news sources from press briefings, and you breathe a sigh of relief, instead of standing up to the bully. You continue to report on administration lies as though they are the truth. You are very polite, perhaps thinking that it will have a successful outcome. Don’t be surprised if you are proven wrong.
6
Where were all these hand-wringing articles when the Tea Party began its rise to influence during the Obama years, terrorizing Democrats and brandishing racist signs and effigies?
This article fails to address the very real fact that for many Trump supporters, their entire political agenda is trolling liberal coastal elites who they see as looking down on them. They don't care about policy, they just care that it will make liberal "snowflakes" (as they call us despite their paper-thin skins) mad and demoralized. We never see articles about this reality. Instead the same people lecturing liberals right now decided to humanize these people and write a ridiculous number of articles about their supposed "grievances" that led them to vote Trump.
It's frankly absurd to lecture liberals for civilly protesting (at least compared to the Tea Party and conservatives) Trump administration OFFICIALS. Maxine Waters was not advocating the public shaming of Trump supporters or conservatives, only the public shaming of those working for his administration, while Trump supporters' sole political motivation is hurting and beating up on liberal voters and their political beliefs.
6
Thank you!
Thank you, Frank Bruni, a million times. Our country already has lost so much and, sad to say, has much, much more to lose. I'm not just worried about the midterms but also 2020. It's way past time to wallow in our indignation, grief and outrage and instead time to get smart and stop this.
8
If there were an effective line of opposition to Trump in the normal channels, I'd find myself agreeing with Frank as usual. But in this case we're seeing abdication of moral and ethical leadership and so of course we must fall back to another level. As Chuck Yeager says, keep trying things until you make a safe landing if possible. Here we're dropping the landing gear because the speed brakes have failed to deploy and we're spiraling into a swamp of moral depravity, despite clear instructions in the pilot handbook that landing gear should not be deployed.
2
These people who work to implement tRump's policies need to be shown, there is no place for them in decent, honest, polite society. The should be outcasts, shunned bay all, the have lost the right to be treated civilly.
8
Frank Bruni is absolutely right. Time for pragmatism, election reality -- not hissy-fits. The issue is about taking power, not feeling good for five minutes.
13
There is room for both. People are complex. And it is just that they vent and call out those who are causing our country harm whenever and wherever they may be.
So, if the right does it, it's OK and ultimately gets rewarded, whether it's tea party mobs breaking up Democratic town meetings, or Brooks-Brothers-outfitted thugs shutting down the vote count in Florida.
In the other hand, if Maxine Waters merely speaks out, or a restaurant owner politely si.asks Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave, it's beyond the pale (unlike her Dad's racist vulgarity directed against Nancy Pelosi.
24
What this article does NOT address is what if the actual votes are there to flip the House (and even the Senate), but the votes are gamed through the action of the Russians.
5
It is not about it feeling good: it is that it is an integral part of fighting for our democracy. Michelle Goldberg put it very well in her essay: "[T]here’s a moral and psychic cost to participating in the fiction that people who work for Trump are in any sense public servants.... But there’s an abusive sort of victim-blaming in demanding that progressives single-handedly uphold civility, lest the right become even more uncivil in response."
Bruni does not get it. Here's his tell: Maxine Waters
"had given journalists a different story to turn to". Waters did what was appropriate and healthy; it is the many journalists and pundits who lack the analytical ability (not that much is needed) and/or the courage to do what is right that have failed us. One reason our democracy is in danger is because many journalists and pundits have not been doing their job. Now, some of them are trying to raise that inadequacy to a high moral standard. Time's up for that.
22
If harassing Trump officials going about their private were an effective strategy to bring Democrats back into power, then I might not be as concerned about whether it was rude or morally justified. It seems to be OK with people who already oppose Trump, but I don't think the people doing the shaming are aware of how poorly this looks to middle America. I recall 1972. After years of this kind of behavior by coastal elites and college students, Richard Nixon, an otherwise unpopular president, won by the biggest majority in history up to that time. Millions of people in this country express their politics through the voting booth, not by harassing people in restaurants. They're the ones you should be thinking of, not your circle of friends who already agree with you.
15
It's not harrassment; it's confrontation. You should also vote.
Excellent point
Agree. But is it too much to ask our representatives to resist? There's nothing saying they can't walk out of the Capitol. That is leadership by example, an amazing act of civil disobedience, that would show the extent of Republican leadership dysfunction.
5
"It’s also the case that Trump can’t win on facts..." Au contraire. Here are a few "winning" facts: Real GDP growth in the second quarter will likely top 4% on a y/y basis, the best in nearly 7 years. Real wages are growing at the fastest rate since before the financial crisis. There are now more job openings in the U.S. than people looking for work, for the first time ever. Corporate confidence and capital spending are hitting decade highs. These are the facts, and Republicans will win in November because of them.
7
The battle is no longer between the right and the left, it is between the human and the inhuman. There is a human way to be against the cruel breakup of families at the borders. There is a human way to be for minority rights. There is a human way to be pro-woman, anti-gun, pro-LGBTQ, anti-hate. This isn't it.
Ten hours volunteering at an immigration rights group, mentoring program or free legal clinic will do more good than ten weeks of invading coffee shops and restaurants and making the good and the bad in there all wish you'd go away. The more we look like them, the more they win. The more we look like us, the more we win.
5
While I do generally agree with this "strategy" argument, for me a line has been drawn in the sand: Trump is obviously morally illegitimate. And I am not an "extreme liberal". I am a god fearing Christian whose ancestors go back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and two of my ancestors fought at Bunker Hill, true rebels indeed. I hold many "conservative" views... All that being said, I think anyone with principles needs to stand up for them, else it is a slippery slope. If the elections are lost on these grounds, then to me as a gun carrying liberal and no fragile butterfly, it will be time for revolution and you will not find my on the sidelines...
5
Having any kind of sane political discourse has depended on the expectation that Liberals will shut up, cower, and not fight back--going on for about 20 years now--to the detriment of our democracy. Good people have the responsibility to fight for their ideals. The owner of the Red Hen has a good ear and a sense of proportion and did not harass or deny anybody their ''civil rights''.
Caveat Water's statements were not strategic--revenge is best served cold, even/especially when it's fully justified.
7
YES: "Caveat Water's statements were not strategic--revenge is best served cold" I think that's Bruni's point.
2
Ms. Huckabee Sanders was refused service because of something over which she has complete control: she has engaged in a level of mendacity which is unprecedented in our history and which has disgraced our country.
I don't think any reasonable person can confuse Trump's inhumanity with a robust but rather mild rejection of his enablers.
5
Depends on how bad you think it is, doesn’t it?
As a single example among many morally and ethically repugnant acts, I find that the President is, at a minimum, guilty of negligent homicide in the deaths of at least 500 human beings in Puerto Rico. American Citizens. People on whose sufferance his office depends. I think this is crystal clear. Any political appointee who has not resigned is complicit. I think that is enough to justify explicit outrage, much less a simple request to leave. I read one comment elsewhere that Trump’s supporters don’t really understand how abhorrent he is to millions of Americans. It might be time to let them, and him, know.
8
IF Maxine Waters, democrats, and Hollywood actors keeps up their rhetoric and behavior, Trump is assured a second term.
8
Fox news is nothing but a propaganda tool. When we give them amunition that's the story they run over and over again instead of people's reaction to the travel ban. Some of these people are so trapped in their partisan bubble they can't be reached but moderates receive their news from more resources than Fox news and we don't want to turn them off.
Nixon won because the public was turned off by the violent and disruptive actions of young people regarding the Vietnam war. A war that might have stopped sooner was kept going because the public wanted order and Nixon promised to give it to them. If the election had just been about the issues then the Democrats might have won instead but Nixon was able to make it about the violence of the protesters.
Trump is chaos and hate. This next election needs to be about healthcare, infrastructure, and jobs if we want to beat the Republicans and stop Trump. People care about one thing and that's how are you going to make my life better.
2
If a brutal dictator and his friends visit your restaurant, you are not required to welcome him in and treat his entourage with warm hospitality.
When the Germans occupied France, many collaborated. They smiled and helped their oppressors to the best of everything. Many others stood their ground, no matter the cost.
I'm with anyone who chooses to stand her ground. If a baker in Colorado can refuse to share his 'artistry' with gay customers just for being who they are, all of us can refuse to share our hospitality, our food and wine, our friendship and our aid with those whose words and actions are belligerent, vulgar and calculated to inflict pain and suffering on tens of thousands of other human beings. Such people can fend for themselves. They have made their own bed and can lie in it.
That's neither bigotry nor prejudice. Bigotry and prejudice make judgments independent of the qualities, words and deeds of an individual, by 'prejudging' based on characteristics like skin color, national origin, religious belief, gender, physical handicap -- all things the individual cannot or should not be asked to control. Here, we are speaking of people who make the conscious decision to act in reprehensible ways and bully those who refuse to cower in their presence.
It is absolutely my right to shun them and treat them as outsiders, as interlopers, as enemies of our social contract and of fundamental human decency.
Because that's what they have chosen to become.
22
Bruni uses the word "resentment". It is the reason Trump/far right supporters and Waters/far left supporters are so alienated. Jordan Peterson is clearly on record as pointing to Nietzsche as identifying that "slave revolt in morality" begins when resentment becomes a creative force. Slave morality is essentially negative and reactive, originating in a denial of everything that is different from it.
1
While I agree with much of what Bruni said here, it is a huge waste of a valuable column. This is the second time in two weeks that he is complaining about a liberal person's (relatively innocuous) comments taking away attention from more important issues. See the irony? And by the way, has anything new been added to the story here?
He is falling into the same trap as so many of the pundits: taking the easy road and diving into an very interesting, but inconsequential story. Perhaps he should take his own advice and help put the spotlight back where it belongs.
And I can't help but think there is a racial, sexist, ageist component to targeting Waters on both the liberal and conservative side.
15
I'm looking for a place in the Opinion section to speak out about the Trump cartoons! They are clever, they are right on point as satire, they are accessible and colorful. But I am not laughing!
Let's not trivialize what Trump is doing to American democracy. The time for those cartoons might have been before he got the office of the Presidency, to warn and inform people of what might become of our country. Today's news tells of the damage to our immigration policy, how the Supreme Court is allowing the Travel Ban, how our natural resources are being exploited, to name a few of the travesties being foisted upon us during this Takeover. Let's not laugh folks. If you are not crying about all the damage being done to our relations with former allies around the world, the impingement of our free trade policy, our back-turning on measures to improve climate change, and turning our backs on the rights of people of color . to Truth vs Facts , then you should be protesting, not laughing. Take what is happening seriously. It is already late.
2
They may have won the argument on civility, but what good is that when Fascism takes over? The rulebook is out the door already, and we need to fight in any way we can to stop this nightmare. If it means Sarah Sanders feels uncomfortable at dinner, than so be it. I'm proud of Maxine Waters and she has nothing to apologize for.
7
How does making (the admittedly mendacious) Sarah Sanders "uncomfortable at dinner" prevent fascism from taking over?
some of us progressive have become the new Moral Majority. We seem to think our views are so correct, we are full of self righteousness and anger. Let's have open hearts and open minds.
11
And let us not be afraid to express our concerns about the horrible accident who is our current president.
You play Trump's game, or you play by the rules, which do not include public defamation of character.
3
Asking someone to leave your restaurant is not defamation of character. Not by a long shot.
One thing I feel has been grossly overlooked here is Sarrah Huckabee Sanders's own father just 3 short years ago PRAISED someone for refusing someones "business" based on moral grounds...
Mike Huckabee praised and held hands with Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis when she was released from jail, who infamously denied same sex couples their recently granted right to marriage based on moral objection.
Apparently Sarrah Huckabee Sanders didn't get the memo from dad that it's cool to do this.
the end
P.S. have a nice day
9
A County Courthouse is not a place of business, and Ms. Davis went to JAIL for refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay couples.
"...public shaming intensifies an ambient ugliness that sours more Trump skeptics than Trump adherents, who clearly made peace with ugliness a while back."
I have been making similar statements since the day he won the election. Every time a democrat resorts to this type of attack, it strengthens the resolve of Trump supporters.
Even worse is when people call his voters names. That will win them over! The vitriol leveled at Trump voters drives them further into his "loving arms." It is tantamount to making a cash donation to the committee to reelect Trump.
If democrats don't get smart soon there will be the nightmare of a second Trump term.
8
Please elaborate on what it means for Democrats to "get smart."
There is no link that supports your mis begotten opinion.
Thanks to the unfortunate public shaming incident at the Red Hen restaurant Sara Sanders is now going to receive Secret Service protection.
3
@Susan: First off, what do you mean "if" pro-lifers "started" attacking and denying services? Just yesterday, a Walgreens Pharmacist denied service to a woman trying to fill a prescription. The woman wasn't a government employee, but I'm not sure that distinction matters here (if anything it's WORSE than your hypothetical).
Secondly, denial of service is almost quaint compared to how the "self-righteous rage" of pro-lifers has manifested in our nation's recent history. Some of the most famous acts of domestic terrorism have been committed in the name of stopping pro-life. Eric Rudolph bombed the '96 Olympic Games, 2 abortion clinics and a lesbian bar. Crazy right? But it's hardly the only instance. There's also Robert Dear, Jr. His pro-life "incivility" manifested in the form of shooting up a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs in Nov. 2015. Still, that's just 2 examples.
Michael Griffin, shot and killed Dr. Gunn in Pensacola, FL (March 1993). Minister Paul Hill, also in Pensacola, would do the exact same thing to Dr. Britton and his bodyguard in 1994 (he was inspired by his fellow murderer Mr. Griffin). There's Scott Roeder, who entered a church in Wichita, KS in 2009 so he could shoot and kill Dr. Tiller. Tiller had been shot before by a woman named Shelley Shannon in 1993 (she also firebombed and acid-attacked 10 clinics).
Side note: Strangely, Trump passionately advocated death sentences for loads of people but never anyone on this list. [shrug]
10
Shame on you Mr. Bruni for suggesting my right to free speech be curtailed out of civility. It was quite a surprise coming from one of "my kind" who's undoubtedly suffered persecution, humiliation and violence on the street. You now seem to condone homophobic cake makers in Colorado who can refuse service to gays, shop keepers that post "We do not serve gays" and maybe you'll stand by when we have to wear the pink triangle on our outer garments (Mr. Sessions has probably thought about this). Unless you are interpreting the first amendment like the majority of the Supreme Court justices, we have full right to shame these people with our free speech, and demonstrations (remember Stonewall). I'm not advocating violence but those who protest must be heard and their actions must match those words. In the meantime your profession (journalism) has caved to the Trump base by your very civil need to produce balanced reporting that does nothing more than provide fodder for the next load of tweets. Shame indeed, shame on you for giving in.
12
Check your privilege, Bruni, and stop telling POC how to channel their outrage at inhuman atrocities. Anyone who doesn't see this administration as a forest fire consuming our democracy isn't paying attention. When there's a fire, people shout about it and then keep shouting as you do whatever it takes to stamp it out.
13
Waters is behaving as a mini-Trump, raising discord, hostility and incivility because she can. What is scary is that so many Democrats support abuse and attacks on people they disagree with politically. Why take the high road if you can take the low road?!
9
Now, tell me again, how Trump won the presidency by being polite? And Dukakis? And Kerry?
Sorry, Frank.
We need to resist Trump and his apparatchiks at all levels; High, middle, and low level.
We are long past the 'civility' tradition, which has been fully discarded by the crypto-fascists who are now in power.
When do we get to resist? When they are goose-stepping down 5th Ave. and Main St.?
These little 'banality of evil' bureaucrats in the Trump Admin. all need to realize they are no longer part of, nor will they be welcomed back into decent society.
The time for caution is long long gone. The DNC, Obama, and Hillary all tried it during the summer and fall of 2016 and it blew up in their face.
Our liberal bubble was burst on 11/8/16. We are now in Trump's world.
But the Trump, his agents and base are still reveling in their own 'security zone one' bubble, moving from place to place insulated by the SS and crowds of adoring fans.
Caution, good faith debate, intellectual honesty, common courtesy, and yes, plain old civility are long gone.
5
Yes, Mr. Bruni, what matters is the absolute best strategy. But you know what *doesn't* matter? The Public Shaming. Because if it weren't that, then it would be something else.
The current Republican Party runs on Victimhood; at the moment, the merry band of child abusers is being asked to leave restaurants. (O! The HORROR!)
But anything gets them going ... point out that Trump voters are working against their own best interests, and you are labeled an elitist. Mention that this President lies like a rug and you hear that Obama was worse. And so forth.
No one would have known that Ms. Sanders was asked to leave if she hadn't tweeted it out. And if I owned a restaurant, yes, I would ask a child abuser to leave.
20
Trump is the world's champion troll. If you try to out troll him you are just playing his game, you are playing to his strength and you are going to lose. So some people in a restaurant had the satisfaction of chasing Sanders out rather than serving her. I'm sure it gave them all a warm and cozy feeling of righteously standing up to someone who actually does deserve scorn. But what did they actually accomplish? For days now this incident has been a distraction from the very real issues that we should be confronting. Trump has been given more red meat to throw to his fans in his tweets. It's unlikely that even one mind was changed by this action. I'm all for confrontation, but you need to be smart about it. This wasn't smart. Besides, after all the arguments we've been making about the obligation of public venues to serve everyone equally it makes us look like hypocrites. I share the emotions behind this action, but they should have just served her with a cool professionalism and left it at that. If you want to do something try doing something that actually makes a difference like getting involved, organizing, actually voting in every election. If all you want to do is act like the Trumps then you've become them and your opposition is meaningless.
8
Please recommend some smart ways to go about fending off Trump trolling. Telling us not to do it is not enough.
Not more Lectures. I want to know how to make my opposition meaningful.
3
So true " If you try to out troll him ... you are playing to his strength and you are going to lose. "
1
Frank-- everyone--
watch her comments, and then decide.
Everyone is assuming DJT told the truth!
He did not!
3
Maxine Waters should be cloned. Where are the feckless Democratic leaders speaking out vociferously in public, on the airwaves, across social media? Trump has said that when he is attacked he will punch back 10 times harder. The Democrats don't even seem to be in the rink to fight back. Time to get some fearless voices out there punching the Bully-in-Chief back before he wins the fight.
15
With all due respect...This is the second column you've published recently that takes people to task for exercising alleged 'incivility' toward Trump and his enablers. In the case of Ms. Waters, I suggest you should have tried on her shoes for a moment before firing. Trump has appointed at least three henchmen devoted to dismantling agencies that protect the types of folk Waters has been standing for since long before you were even born (EPA, Education, Consumer Protection); quite in addition to systematically and forcibly separating and imprisoning indigent refugee children from their parents. "Civil" members of Congress sit on their hands and watch as future generations - our childen and their children - are being served up a world being thrown into economic, environmental, and racial chaos by Trump and his minions.Take senate minority leader Schumer. Dog whistler Trump calls Waters the 'face' of the Democrat party and calls her low I.Q. Schumer piles on by calling her unamerican. You compound the felony by lecturing her as if she were exactly what Trump and Schumer accused her of being. Stand back and say, 'yes, sir' while a madman wreaks havoc on our children's futures - by overt acts carried out day in and day out? Our 'leaders' aren't doing anything effective about it. Our fourth estate is asleep at the switch - obsessing with personal scandals while the issues noted above go woefully under-investigated and under-reported. Please wake up.
40
Mr. Bruni, please read the opinion piece by your colleague Michelle Goldberg (I'm sure you have), and watch this video about how the right treated Obama as a reminder of incivility even when totally uncalled for:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/history-wont-forget-how-barack-obam...
20
Two wrongs do not a right make.
I'm sorry, but Mrs. Waters broke the law several years ago and just barely squeaked out of going to jail for a number of different serious charges. Issues regarding her sense of morals. She's no more moral than the Republicans, and she doesn't fool me one bit. The fact is, both sides are immoral and scandalous. Democrats are just sneakier and more quiet about it. Trump hasn't deported even half the numbers Obama has in a one year comparison; in fact, after 6 years in office, Obama was called the Deported-in-Chief. 300,000 a year. Where was the outrage then? Where were all the self-aggrandizing, self-appointed progressive saints then? Sound of crickets. This is because...shhhhh, quiet and secret. So now, now that Trump is doing almost exactly the same thing, everyone is outraged? Really? It's called being disingenuous at best; bloody double-dealing and underhanded at worst. This is the truth, not fake news. Democrats have a selective memory problem.
9
Fox News knows how to rile up the GOP base. That's its reason for existence. If you want to know what the GOP thinks works, watch Fox.
Is Fox broadcasting the immigrant family issue? No.
Fox is broadcasting Maxine Waters and the restaurant that refused service to Sanders. This is the fuel that feeds their fire.
3
When there are sufficiently full throated a.nd passionate Democratic leaders speaking out with full force, there will be less incentive to do ehat Ms. Waters suggested.
8
I have been angry about how this president, in particular, has made such a mockery of the truth that our democracy is in danger. I have been angry that the sycophantic GOP Congress and its leaders licks the presidents hands and rolls over whenever he speaks crossly. And I'm angry about the mess at our southern border that has caused parents and children to be parted and made asylum seekers criminals, which they are not.
But I would never let my anger and frustration boil over to the point that I start pubicly shaming these perpetrators. There are ways to make my views known without appearing to be a threat, because that's just what these people want. And think of this: if a group of people got into a shouting match with a Senator, and the wrong thing was said, that group could become a mob prone to the psychology of a mob. There could possibly be violence. Nobody wants violence. I don't want violence, and if there were such a terrible reaction, then forget it. Don't forget, Trump wants to be an autocrat. Don't give him any excuses.
3
Publically shaming these people will do two things- 1.) It will make the one doing the shaming feel better. And 2.) It will reinforce feelings in the person being shamed that he is politically accurate in his views, a victim of an irrational mob mentality, and fighting for a just cause in which he will double down on his protecting the policy decisions of his boss. It will also enhance and strengthen tribal affiliations whereby those who already side with the shamed/shamer will feel a deeper sense of solidarity within their own group. What shaming will not do ever is to alter someone's opinion and create some 'mental epiphany' where the shamed person wakes up from his 'belief' and thanks the shamers for showing him the light. Think of it this way. Have you ever told a friend or child that you can't believe they are going out with a particular person? And that they should exit the relationship 'cause it's not good for them. Do they thank you and leave the person? Of course not. They double down and become even more entrenched in the relationship until you give up and stop annoying them. Then, at some point, later on down the road, they come to their senses, and slink away. But because of you? Certainly not. What you did was prolong their misery - and yours.
3
The joy of isolating people you don't like priceless. You can't read the news without reading the profound disgust over anything Trump. Nixon no matter how disgusted with him had Detant. We were able separate the good from the bad. Not with Trump. Not with anyone who might be construed as a Trump supporter.
It goes much further than that. Things done or said decades ago can destroy your life if it doesn't agree with the progressives view. Believe or not you could be written of for being a cigarette smoker or laughing at a Don Rickles joke. There's a zero tolerance for anyone without high moral standards of the liberal elite it's not looking like politics anymore but religious hypocracy.
3
No one does rude and offensive better than President Trump. It doesn't affect him in a negative way. Strangely, he gets more popular. On the other had, ask Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio what they got for getting down in the mud with Trump. They were both losers in the end and that is what will happen to the democrats. It doesn't play well on anyone else. They will rue the day they went down that path of no return...
6
Public shaming may feel good for a while, but it is entirely unproductive. These people do not know shame.
5
Dear Amie,
Summer has finally arrived and we are expecting hot weather this weekend. Half the country is in such an uproar over our current state of affairs that it feels at times that we are stuck in a carnival. You mention that I do not care to watch politics on T.V. and instead I am reading about rich bankers and happiness.
Americans need to be entertained and get bored easily. 'Politics have become fashionable' is what my parent would have tweeted at the dinner table. Her husband would have frowned and I would have looked into my soup. It brought to mind the prisoner who starts weeping because his soup is cold.
Now. Life continues but everything good about America is topsy-turvy at the moment, and while some of us are struggling to place food on the table, others are feeling hollow and uneasy.
Slightly nostalgic earlier, I even read an article about the first Mrs. Trump when we were not behaving like barbarians. Our community remains quiet; the town voted in the Democrat primaries; the sunlight was brilliant, the birds were singing but there were no children to be seen.
This is what happens when going on a walk in the park, if one listens to the call of a stranger sitting on a bench wearing dark shades. One should ignore him; one should keep going forward because the little man is nothing more than despair.
3
Frank - you wrote a similar piece a few weeks ago. IMO you're 0 for 2 on this topic. Thanks for linking to Michelle's piece. I think she nailed it.
Agree that turning out to vote is paramount; that doesn't preclude stepped-up, non-violent, in-your-face activism.
We may get the House back - barely, and for maybe a single term. We likely won't get the Senate back. And the good people of OH and PA will probably re-elect Trump under our powdered-wig presidential election system.
We're going to be playing defense for years to come. Let's get tough, and let's be relentless.
18
The old adage, Two wrongs do not make a right’ applies to the recent public shaming of Trump’s staff. As my parents used to tell me, ‘just because someone behaves badly does not give you the right to behave badly.’ Or, as Michelle Obama said ‘When they take the low road, we take the high road.’
Trump and his entourage engage in an almost daily public shaming of immigrants, national & International democratically elected leaders, non-white & independent minded women, scientists & other educated people, Muslims, Africa-Americans, Mexican, the continent of Africa, Latino & Hispanics, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Liberals, Democrats, kids who survive school mass shootings, John McCain and other GOP who do not genuflect in front of Trump or kiss his ring. Their behavior and prejudicial beliefs are in full display each day,
Yes, it may feel good to deny service to Sarah Huckabee Sanders because she believes in denial of service to a gay couple. However, it is wrong to deny anyone service because you do not agree with them.
When anti-Trumpers shout at Stephen Miller in a restaurant, they are not changing anyone’s mind about his heinous beliefs nor taking away his power. Instead, they give Trump and Miller more power.
Grandi, Mandela, and King changed hearts and minds by behaving in a peaceful and compassionate manner. Their opponents angry and aggressive tactics were magnified by their peaceful and dignified opposition.
14
Markets high and steady, unemployment near record lows, Americans in combat negligible. Sorry, but those three facts form a formidable bulwark against the End of Days hysteria driving Democratic midterm strategy. Or fantasy. We’ll find out soon enough.
7
Debt exploding, yield curve nearly inverted, witless trade war escalating.
Prices for corn and soybeans are way down.
It's a while till November.
11
I think it's not public shaming, Frank. It's speaking truth to power. I'm not going to maintain civility if might rights are being threatened.
15
"Speaking truth to power" is an abominable, facile phrase that debases our discourse.
3
Maxine Waters encouraged people to exercise their 1st amendment rights and protest. Express your displeasure for Trump's enablers in public spaces. She did NOT call for violence or 2nd amendment REMEDIES like Trump and many Republicans do.
That said I'm not sure why partisans are trying to pin the spate of uprisings against WH staff, advisers, and Cabinet Secretaries on Rep. Maxine Waters. The American people chose to perform these actions before Waters ever opened her mouth.
Trump and his people live in a bubble and a web of lies, outside of truth and reality. Republicans in Congress won't hold town halls for their constituents in their home districts so people are very frustrated that their voices aren't being heard.
Everyday Americans make small sacrifices and engage in small acts of civil disobedience because they know when history is written for this time our posterity and people of the world must know we all did not go along to get along.
People feel useless just waiting for Mueller. They feel they must engage and feel like they are making a difference which is their right.
If such acts don't suit you, then don't participate but please do not denigrate those who put actions behind words. Deeds and plant seeds.
We need Maxine Waters to be vocal because other Dems don't have the courage to; they're always concerned how they will be perceived by the right wing echo chamber. Everyone can play to their own strengths.
21
Does public shaming feel good? I don't think so.
People like having enemies usually because their lives are not very good, even terrible, so they make up enemies to place the blame of their problems (or 'leaders' like Trump do it for them).
A feeling of belonging, sharing joy, having fun with others; that feels good. Hating does not; it has an emotion to it but I wouldn't call it 'good' in any sense.
Maxine Waters was wrong on this one. Vote. We are a democracy, so bad government is our own fault. Poverty is our own fault. Having billionaires and criminally concentrated wealth is our fault.
Vote. Run for office. Speak love and truth. Don't be greedy. Or hateful.
4
Mr. Bruni, I agree. Screaming, harassment and heckling are not effective political discourse. I suggest calm, civil and reasoned confrontation.
Confront Donald Trump and his surrogates whenever and wherever you can. Do it kindly, with love for them and love for your country. Come November, vote.
3
Is it a coincidence that these calls for civility come from white, educated, middle class to upper middle class people? Is it a coincidence that the one politician willing to tell you to "push back" is a black woman. (What she is talking about, mind you, is still non-violent, entirely legal protests in public spaces covered by the First Amendment.)
For folks like Mr. Bruni, this recent unpleasantness involving Trump might be distressing, but not immediate and personal. It might involve uncomfortable dinner parties with your Trump-supporting pals. But I am an naturalized US citizen and immigrant who came here because of family. Should I honestly wait for civility from "the other side" who vote for demagogues that whip their crowds into a froth over the evils of "chain migration?" How about my friend who came from El Salvador as a refugee? Even though he served in the US Army, given all this vitriol about how refugees are frauds who are really "economic migrants" coming after American jobs and welfare checks, am I to believe the Trump crowd will see him as a fellow American?
I think Congresswoman Waters, being a black woman, questions this call for mutual civility because her life has taught her that she can expect little of it from the Trump crowd.
16
So true!
A thought full column. Shaming, protests, anger, insults all feel good and release steam even as they fuel the fires of disrespect. The only thing that will truly cause change will happen at the ballot box and it will happen because some of the people who voted or stayed home will come out and vote for change.
Demonizing people is unlikely to contribute much and will sap the energy and the resources of those who most want change.
Don't decry how the system is broken or unfair. Don't just rail against bullies and possibly become one. Let's demonstrate how a working democracy works and vote for change. Its Primary Day so I hope every one has made it to the polls. If you haven't, get off your media couch and vote now.
4
What exactly is left if Democrats sacrifice their outrage at the administration attempt to undermine all fairness and integrity? Reason? Is that what you suggest? Which form of reason do you think Donald Trump ascribes to? What kind of reason do you expect from a man who has already established himself as an unrepentant liar who admits that his goal all along has been to decertify legitimate journalism in order to undermine anyone who would report, with honesty and accuracy, his corrupt and malevolent exploits. What kind of reason would you suggest people employ to deliver their concerns? Because after four decades of watching this self-aggrandizing egomaniac attack anyone who disagrees with him, I'm pretty sure he isn't the least bit interested in reason.
18
Sorry, Frank, I am all for public shaming as these individuals have no shame of their own.
Remember the pillory, where shameful individuals were placed head and hands in a wooden apparatus in the town square and where citizens came by and publicly and verbally abused them? They sometimes threw household debris at them. The individuals had acted in a way that the community felt worthy of this (mis)treatment. There is such a pillory still (though unused) in the Village of Sag Harbor in Long Island, N.Y..
Sara Sanders who regularly lies in front of millions of viewers to the National Press and who regularly treats these journalistic professionals, whose assignments to the White House is the pinnacle of their careers, in a vile manner has been begging for the very civil treatment she received at the hands of the rural Virginia (not DC) Red Hen. She, Sara, is on the public payroll and should at the very least behave in a professional manner, which she rarely does.
Her boss threw the rules out the door and it is time for the citizenry to take matters into their own hand
s in a non threatening way and let the abusers know that, "No, we do not approve of your continued lies and vile treatment of our cherished press".
I not only applaud, but heartily approve of their actions.
Political correctness brought us to this impasse and it is frankly (no pun) time to call a spade a spade.
11
"Civility" has not worked for the Democrats so far. This is not a game of chess. We can go to the polls and shame the shameful. We can and should express outrage at the outrageous and we can and should shun those who are cruel and use government office for personal enrichment. We have had enough of polite conversation with those who are ruthless. Civil rights were not won with courteous requests. Gay rights were not won with high minded debates and we will not save our democracy by catering to the delicate sensibilities of bigots and autocrats.
6
It is so hard to bite your tongue when daily we are subjected to lies and taunts.They are hurtful and demoralizing .Obviously the best solution is to win the vote, but in the meantime can't we say,"you offend us" , please we don't want to hear any more lies!"We don't have to call people names but we do need to stand for what we believe is right and constitutional.A majority of us did not vote for Mr.Trump.
3
Publicly displayed outrage feels like its ethically correct and politically effective.
Trump disparages it perhaps because he feels publicly displayed outrage at putting kids in cages is morally correct and could be very effective politically against him.
Please don't take your cues from Trump
8
There once was a time, not that long ago, when "incivility" equated to Jesuit priests breaking into draft boards and burning the records they found. If the worst we've seen so far is Trump Administration staffers not being able to enjoy a meal, we're far from what real "incivility" might look like.
8
Mr. Bruni, I'm curious about when you think it will be an acceptable strategy to engage in public shaming. Never? If and when the Republicans retain a gerrymandered House? If and when the Trump administration commits even worse atrocities than putting in babies in cages? What will it take?
25
If harassing public officials who are going about their private lives were a good strategy, then it would be acceptable. But Frank's made a pretty good case that it won't produce the result we need. The result we need isn't you feeling good about yourself, it's electing a Democratic Congress and president. Nobody who approves of this behavior has made a good case for its success. There's a big country out there, and you need to win more states in 2020 than you did in 2016, not just more angry people on the coasts. Think of how this sort of thing plays in Peoria, not Seattle.
And when it becomes apparent that the Democrats will NEVER recapture a gerrymandered House, that Presidential elections will ALWAYS be stacked against us because of the the structure of the electoral college, and that the GOP will PERSISTENTLY ignore Russian hacking of our elections because it's to their advantage, will you then decide it's okay to be something more than mild-mannered?
The unfairness didn't start with Trump. There was plenty of lying and deplorable behavior within the Republican and Tea Party base during the Obama presidency. GOP operatives and members of Congress hounded him about his birth certificate (yes - before Trump) and screamed "where are the jobs?" incessantly (Boehner). Yet - God forbid Michelle show her arms too much or "Barry" wear a tan suit. The GOP was nasty during the Gingrich era too. Sadly, the hypocrisy and unfairness is baked in. The GOP is Eddie Haskell; the student who instigates and gets everyone else in trouble.
I sense that despite the calls for civility from Pelosi and Bruni, we may be at a crossroads here. I am fed up. I feel it with my friends and colleagues and see it in these comment sections. But, between the EC, and the message war the Dems just cannot ever seem to win, so I am resigned to be a permanent minority; why not "feel good" by throwing the hissy fit?
2
If a baker can refuse to bake a cake for a gay wedding on religious grounds, then any business proprietor can deny service on moral grounds. I am surprised no one has recognized the parallel.
9
I think Nancy Pelosi is the last person Democrats should look towards for advice. Her leadership brought Democrats the worst structural disadvantage any party has ever experienced in living memory. No one should listen to Nancy Pelosi. The Republicans winning red state elections have cast her off. You should take that as a pretty clear indication of her status among the nation. Whatever Nancy Pelosi recommends, do the opposite.
To that point, consider civility for a moment as a game of trade offs. We're talking about the political elasticity of incivility with regards to voters. How many voters do you gain or lose for each uncivil action? If the ratio is positive, you're already too polite. I would argue Democrats currently hold an elastic political sensitivity. Meaning: A little incivility can go a long way to getting out the vote.
Said another way: Who cares if you lose one voter if you bring out five?
Trump has the opposite problem. His market for outrage is pretty well saturated. He's still campaigning against Hillary Clinton for crying out loud. You're not going to get much out of pushing the victim routine any farther. Consider the organization of the incivility.
Trumps rallies are organized, government sponsored events. Shouting down restaurant clientele or voting them out of the restaurant is decidedly grass roots. In an atmosphere of anti-elitism and anti-establishment politics, I want the grass roots supports every time. Not some quasi-fascist ego fest.
7
The Supreme Court says that you can keep Muslims from coming to our country who are fleeing the war and atrocities we help to create and that you can refuse to serve people who are not heterosexual, but apparently you can't refuse to serve Republicans. We need to develop a good sort of rules to determine what groups we are and are not allowed to discriminate against.
5
Wow, it is horrible being locked up in this Trump camp.
Bruni: Hey, that's not fair. We have fresh air and two meals of slop a day. We're never going to get an extra portion with that attitude.
8
It not only feels good but it also feels necessary. For several years now this creature named Trump has redefined politics and civil discourse in a totally negative way. Trying to maintain discipline and decency in that relentless onslaught of cruelty and disgusting behavior is probably too much to ask of mortals. Playing by the rules sure hasn't worked.
So after spending a few days sort of agreeing with both sides I've decided that everyone in the Trump Administration should be shamed, and loudly. Sarah Sanders has no problem shaming the press corps for asking questions; so why does she or any of her colleagues get to eat out in peace? She has a home, no doubt a nice home where her children are safe from government snatching. She clearly sees nothing wrong with that policy and so I see nothing wrong with the owner of an establishment asking her to leave.
There should be a cost to telling lies to the American public and treating human beings with such disgust. A loud and shame pointing cost - not that I think any of them have any shame left to point out.
24
It's distressing that democrats do not think about strategy ever. When Trump was really on the ropes, after Schmidt had dumped the GOP the first thing that happened was Melania's green jacket. Completely changed the conversation away from Trump and separating kids. It was the strangest thing to witness. We have to be smarter. But how?
2
We Democrats, liberals and progressives have been turning the other cheek for the last 50 years Frank. What do we have to show for it. First and foremost we have a party leadership in Pelosi and Schumer that is too meek and afraid of their own shadows. They spend their time backpedaling and apologizing, apologizing for what? They should apologize for stacking the vote for Hillary's nomination.
In the last 50 years the Republicans have given us the following gifts: 1. wars in the Middle East. 2. huge budget deficits. 3. enabling terrorists. 4. destruction of labor unions. 5. Numerous tax cuts for the rich. 6. Taxpayer bail out of Wall Street. 7. Racism. 8. Anti-gay policies and rhetoric. 9. Attacking a womans right to choose. 10. Demonizing immigrants of color. 11. Intrusion of christian religion into our government. 12. Gerrymandering and voter suppression. 13. Citizens United. 14. attacks on the press. 15. Over 50 recall votes on Obamacare. This is just the short list.
So Frank after 70 years in this country I don't want to play nice anymore. Trump and his people are trolls of the first order. They lie, cheat and steal. They are traitors in our midst. We need to root them out at the voters booth yes, but we do not need to stand by and subject ourselves to their rude crude vulgar vicious behaviour.
18
Serve them. And then put the picture up with the note that their money is the same color as everyone else's. And if people want to turn up outside and express their opinion, so be it.
Mr. Bruni, I'm not with you on this issue. We've tried politeness and it hasn't worked out. [Insert that saying about the definition of insanity.] Politicians need to hear the good and the bad - they surround themselves with lickspittle yes people.
8
Hello, Dems? (I am one.) Think that public shaming will work... to do what?
Come on.
Won't work.
Vote.
11
Thank you. Too bad everyone's too busy worshipping Goldberg for explaining to them how they already feel to listen to these wise words, which they've probably assumed are just "Play nice with each other!" rather than "You're shooting yourselves in the foot, darnit!"
1
Public shaming is out. De Niro's naughty language is out. Fortunately, Bruni's lecturing is all the rage these days.
Nothing to get upset about here, people. We can resist Trump as if he was just another politician. In fact, why even show up to the polls. All is normal in Bruni's world.
9
The Dems need to take the gloves off.The "High Road" has not worked.Look what the republicans have been doing since 2008.We need to get our country back.
15
While I agree basically that the recent harassment of Sara Huckabee, Nielsen, Miller is silly, there is nothing for Democratic leaders to apologize for. It makes them look weak. Nancy Pelosi (sadly the face of the Democrats-rich, old woman from San Francisco) always leads the chorus, with Chuckles right behind.
This is a cultural civil war led by a bully from NYC. Stop fretting over the behavior of Trump and his mobs. The only thing he (and they) will understand is a beating at the ballot box (then he will proceed to whine about the fixed election, but who cares)
Time to take the gloves off Dems!! Take no prisoners. His supporters (around 40+% of the voting population ) don't care about his racism, misogyny xenophobia and the rest.
The war will be won only at the polls, and not convincing the Trumpsters to listen to their better angels..
18
Chuckles - great name.
May I remind you that the supreme court legalized a baker not serving a gay couple who asked for him to bake a wedding cake. If he can refuse service to some, why is that not the right of others?
3
Nancy and Chuck were excellent in the past when their talents and methods of communication were effective, but now we urgently need a new breed of politician within our party who know how to fight real monsters and win. We're dealing with a dangerous psycho and being fair and polite will only bounce off this bully. Intelligent, factual responses will result in him hurling insults on social media to take his frenzied fan base to a new level of turmoil. We need to replace the knife when going to a gun fight.
4
You're right in principle, Frank. But we're not dealing with a principled president, and his followers have used this as an excuse to release their own inner animal.
Dignity has gone out the window, along with respect, kindness, introspection, fairness, and all the other qualities our society used to value. Even good people are crumbling under the strain.
Trump has reveled in the destruction and abasement, and has made our country a world-wide laughingstock. He feels he has us trampled into submission. It's hard to be surrounded by his disciples, people who consider this diseased imposter their new messiah, and act like a human being. But I won't submit. You won't see me screaming down the street or becoming a spectacle on national TV, but at least I can vote.
And I will.
2
The opposite of shame is dignity. We need dignity centered leaders.
https://globaldignity.org/our-story/
1
Once again the Times runs an editorial telling the kids to play nice and to sit up straight. What this latest batch of uncivil behavior ought to be telling you is that there is currently a huge power vacuum in the Democratic Party and on the Left. There is no leadership! Instead, everyone is either on the defensive or keeping their heads down, like cowards. In the face of this vacuum it should be no surprise that the energy is rising up from the bottom.
People on the Left are full of passion but until they find something coherent to rally around and someone dynamic enough to be a true leader, the kids are going to continue to act out.
6
Agree 100%
So; Republicans could support Roy Moore with full lungs and no real backlash from the party or pundits (a sigh here and there). But...all Hades breaks loose (bring on the smelling-salts) when a Senior Democrat law maker (and a black female no less) stands tall with no hedge in her voice says "Back at you." "You don't get a safe-space from shame."
Public Shaming is what this Presidents does every day with his vitriolic tweets; in rally mode, he's worse.
It seems that underneath it all, pieces like Frank's are really saying "be nice to them" and they just might vote Democrat; which is ludicrous since doing so would deprive them of their life-blood. This is a real battle.
7
That’s Frank Bruni with the establishment line. Be nice, and thanks for watching.
5
I am a big fan of Mr. Bruni, but respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree with his perspective. Under Barak Obama, Democrats spent 8 years being polite. They lost both houses of Congress and a majority of state legislatures. Pelosi and Schumer are now trying to sleepwalk the Trump presidency, on route to even worse results. If ever there was a time to rise to battle, this is it. The nation is at stake, with millions of demoralized Democrats and Independents craving signs of leadership in the Democratic party to tell them they are not alone. No, this is not the time to be polite. We're in a knife fight to save the country.
13
This is two sides of a bad coin that's being nurtured by social media and crass partisanship. According to pewresearch.org only 55.7% of registered voters participated in 2016 national election. In California's June 8th primary 36.8% of those voted and that was with ballots being mailed to all registered voters. America is getting what we deserve because not enough of us want to participate in the voting process.
5
Absolutely agree. Descending to Trump's level accomplishes nothing. He can always be nastier and more of a bully, so it's likely a competition he can win... AND he wants to spend the time between now and November fighting in that realm AND taking each insult to his cheering throngs.
Beside that someone has to be decent and act the grown-ups in this country. I dislike Ms. Sanders almost as much as I dislike her boss, but do not think anything is accomplished when someone is shamed like that. Sorry, but she is a human being. Some will say that she/they don't treat others (immigrants, refugees, the poor) as humans so why should we treat her as one. Well, someone has to take the high ground lest we all descend to Trump's level. Is that what we really want - to be Trump copies????
10
Thank you for being consistent. I value your comments and think other commenters have gone off the deep end in praising the kind of behavior, until now, mostly shown by Trump supporters. We can't descend to their level and not harm civility in the whole political process. It is going to hurt Democrats in the end. Let's use some common sense here and not feed their resentment, it's what they want.
Mr Bruni, everything you say is true.
But people who believe that anyone associated with Trump is a Nazi, and has committed crimes against humanity, will not be swayed by the argument that it's bad politics.
Did Clinton's "deplorables line" cost Democrats some votes? Who knows? I think some Trump supporters saw it as a badge of honor.
If you think there are people to be swayed--and I do--mobbing Trump's associates, etc doesn't look like a good move.
3
The problem with Mr. Bruni is that he advocates ineffectual private fretting and political busy-work. There is plenty of room both for the plodding work of political organizing and the energizing work of public confrontation against these bullies who have taken over the national government on the vote of an engineered minority. I won't be shouting at an official in a restaurant, not my style, but I won't criticize those who do.
16
Bruni is absolutely right, for Dems it wasn't about separated families, it wasn't about children - it was about a political lead.
Martin Luther King led what was fundamentally an uncivil campaign to gain civil rights. He did it by making whites assert their racism until it was so obvious that many of them fell away from the Jim Crow paradigm. Taking civil actions against bullies and oppressors in government is not a problem, but contemporary freedom fighters have to remember the discipline of overtly peaceful resistance. Give them enough rope to hang themselves. Yes, it hurts. But it's what we have to work with.
7
Sorry Frank.
Our attention hasn't shifted away from cruel separations at the border, only yours.
While the 24-hour news cycle hyperventilates, most of us have no problem with businesses refusing to serve white supremacists because the owners realize that the vast majority of their patrons will no longer wish to share the premises with white supremacists.
You see, there is a difference between discriminating against people for whom they are, and singling out individuals for the vile acts they commit or are complicit in committing.
22
Remember Neville Chamberlain. We are past civility if we want to remain a democracy.
13
This is not a matter of the philosophies behind personal goodness. It is a matter of what "plays" on TV. Here, in New York, I have overheard Trump supporters complain of "hating all Dems". Things are worse than they were in November, 2016. Is this how it went down in 1930's Germany? Republicans have a media star as their leader, and his media fans are stuck on their man, in "I really love him" mode. It is visceral, emotional. Example: if a person likes Frank Sinatra, will that ever change? Its very hard to argue with feelings. The media will cover the most shocking events regardless of goodness, and attacking a media star without serious thought is simply taboo. Trump gets that, do Dems? Visuals are stronger. What Waters said may not have been so off base, but the visuals told a different story: a dark skinned women advising Dems to call out Republicans for the bad things they have done. Trump supporters only imagined the worst. It is not that Republicans have such thin skins, it is that they are so able to twist the facts into Fox News red meat. Lets not let a controlled media paint Dems as extreme. Republicans are already masters of gaslighting. Dems, take back both Houses of Congress, then undo the horrible decisions being made by SCOTUS.
3
At first I thought Maxine had blown a fuse but then I started thinking about it. Trump administration officials deserve to be called out for their behavior. Publicly shaming someone for who they are or what they believe is, in most cases, off limits. But shaming them for what they DO - particularly in our names? How is that not okay? How do they deserve to be accepted in polite society when they spend their days working as hard as they can to hurt ordinary Americans and others from around the world while on the public dime? We shouldn't be making it comfortable for them to do what they're doing. So shame away, America.
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Public shaming is necessary because certain thresholds have been violated: the liberty of innocent children, parental rights, and the most basic concern for human beings have been set aside, such as asking parents for their names and contact information before placing their children in detention...
Perhaps Ms. Waters comments, or the milquetoast timid Democratic politicians might have the better tactics --but this is not a matter of tactics, it is a matter of Principle. A Democrat who does not stand forcefully is aiding and abetting these moral monstrosities. No qualms about it.
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Frank, you seem like a classy guy, but these are not classy people. When you try to treat them with class, it gives them permission to play you - which is exactly what the Republicans are doing. The Trump White House is being judged by the content of their character - not the color of their skin, who they're in love with, which country they were born in, what gender they were born as - or any of the other uncontrollable things the Republican party wants to judge Americans on. If Sarah Sanders doesn't like being judged by the content of her character, she should stop lying to the American public. Most five-year-olds understand this basic concept. I wish you would.
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