The End of Tolerance

I was following a thread on Facebook where people were offended by the word “fuck” on a t-shirt. It basically said, “Fuck Trump and the people who voted for him” and went on to condemn those who still support him, after everything we’ve seen him do and say.  My feeling on the word is that it’s hardly worse than the vile things Trump and his Republican allies have done. I’m through pulling punches.

Then I saw this meme:

I listened as they called my President a Muslim.
I listened as they called him and his family a pack of monkeys.
I listened as they said he wasn’t born here.
I watched as they blocked every single path to progress that they could.
I saw the pictures of him as Hitler.
I watched them shut down the government and hurt the entire nation twice.
I watched them turn their backs on every opportunity to open worthwhile dialog.
I watched them say that they would not even listen to any choice for Supreme Court no matter who the nominee was.
I listened as they openly said that they will oppose him at every turn.
I watched as they did just that.
I listened.
I watched.
I paid attention.

Now, I’m being called on to be tolerant.

To move forward.
To denounce protesters.
To “Get over it.”
To accept this…

I will not.

I will do my part to make sure this great American mistake becomes the embarrassing footnote of our history that it deserves to be.
I will do this as quickly as possible every chance I get.
I will do my part to limit the damage that this man can do to my country.
I will watch his every move and point out every single mistake and misdeed in a loud and proud voice.
I will let you know in a loud voice every time this man backs away from a promise he made to them.
Them. The people who voted for him.
The ones who sold their souls and prayed for him to win.
I will do this so that they never forget.
And they will hear me.
They will see it in my eyes when I look at them.
They will hear it in my voice when I talk to them.
They will know that I know who they are.
They will know that I know what they are.

Do not call for my tolerance. I’ve tolerated all I can.
Now it’s their turn to tolerate ridicule.

Be aware, make no mistake about it, every single thing that goes wrong in our country from this day forward is now Trump’s fault just as much as they thought it was Obama’s.
I find it unreasonable for them to expect from me what they were entirely unwilling to give.

Author Unknown

I did not write this. I wish I had. My tolerance for treason is also at an end. My tolerance for immorality, corruption, nepotism, criminal acts, obstruction of justice, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, racism, and most of all intentional stupidity is at an end. My tolerance has ended for Republicans in Congress and all over the country who continue to excuse him, shield him, ignore his crimes, and contribute to the corruption, dismantlement of government, obstruction of justice, and collusion with the Russians. They are just as much to blame.

When a society ignores these behaviors in their leaders, it can and does lead to authoritarian regimes–yes, like the Third Reich and Putin’s Russia. We see it spreading into Poland, Turkey and other countries all over the world. We are well on the way to instilling a government built to support the wealthiest 1% of us while ignoring the needs of all those beneath. This is not what the brave men and women fought for in World War II. They fought to crush this same movement in Nazi Germany.

I was also appalled at the abysmal voter turnout in California and other primary states. It seems many Americans, many of the ones who did not vote in 2016, leading us into this cataclysm, have still not figured out that their votes, their actual participation in government, is essential no matter how inconvenient. Too many men and women and fought and died in wars, in peace rallies, in protests, in marches to win the right to vote and keep government honest and representing the people to sit by and watch as our nation falls into the hands of oligarchs, neo-nazis, white supremacists, bigots, racists, misogynists, homophobes, and immoral deplorables.

Bill