David French, senior writer at National Review and Bill Kristol’s personal choice to run against Donald Trump as an independent conservative, posted this thread Monday, as it was clear the news cycle was turning from “concentration camps for children” to civility, and whether civility was even a consideration when dealing with an administration like Trump’s.
In an environment where you have agitators chasing people out of restaurants, protesting in front of their homes, and doxxing ICE and DHS agents for harassment (and being encouraged to do so by at least one congresswoman), French makes some great points:
In the last few years we've seen too many examples of direct, aggressive, personal confrontations (including violence) to believe the Twitter message of the day that it's all about the unique threat of Trump. There's a larger problem, and it will remain after Trump's gone.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
And don't for one moment think I haven't recognized the dark embrace of violence in some quarters of Trumpism and the incitements from Trump himself. I've been sounding the alarm for a long time: https://t.co/uMRMNU8ER1
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
People have gotten hurt. People have died. It's evil, and key portions of Trump's team embraced the darkest evil of the alt-right: https://t.co/BCfFElsTYc
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
Indeed, the direct personal attacks from Trumpists extended to my family. It was vile: https://t.co/sEriBr9MJx
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
But if you think the answer is to get vicious and personal — If you think the answer is getting in a woman's face, physically intimidating her, and blocking her path (like happened to Pam Bondi earlier) — then you're not beating Trump, you're helping break America.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
My view is simple: Live the values you want to see advanced in public life. Model the values you'd like to see in our leaders. The necessary courage isn't the "courage" to bully, but the courage to speak and to protect your family if and when the bullies come for you.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
But if you choose to bully, know that you harden the will of your opposition, you drive away people you could persuade, and you create conditions that are ripe for violence. I've never been persuaded to change my mind by a bully. They've only increased my determination.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 26, 2018
Well said.
Believe us, there were plenty of party-line objections to French’s point (“It’s conservatives’ fault for being evil!” “No one was more divisive than Obama!”), but some people seem to have gotten the message.
This moment in time has and will reveal a lot about who we are. Our issues are far greater than Trump — he is merely the result of sentiments that have lingered and finally exploded. Now that they have been revealed, how do we as a society tackle them?
— Shermichael Singleton (@Shermichael_) June 26, 2018
I think it begins with both parties being open to the possibility of being wrong at times, having the humility to admit when wrong and to seek wisdom on corrective actions.
— Joshua (@RealJoshPerry) June 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/1211jeremy/status/1011573870216798208
Great thread of reason
— ⭐️Xena Sings – NDP (Yeah You Know Me) (@XenaResists) June 26, 2018
People giving you a lot of hate for this thread, but you're absolutely right.
— Austin D. Campbell (@LeDepresso) June 26, 2018
This is important. Thanks for going there.
— Rob Ray (@robray3) June 26, 2018
Now if we could keep the media from stirring the pot to keep the weekly narrative of outrage in the headlines, maybe things could cool off.
Related:
While it will almost assuredly HELP Trump, this kind of rhetoric from Maxine Waters is VERY dangerous https://t.co/tYBisDINrU
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 25, 2018
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