Bernie says Sarah Sanders should dine in peace – but #Resistance digs in
Bernie Sanders came to the defense of Sarah Sanders (no relation) after the White House press secretary was booted out of a Virginia restaurant for her politics. Some Democrats are refusing to back down, however.
After the most recent recent flare-up of liberal hostility towards the Trump administration and its staff, Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined some Republicans in calling for civility and told MSNBC on Wednesday that Democrats need to take out their anger in a “constructive way.”
The left’s anger over Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy spilled out onto the streets over the past week. In addition to Sarah Sanders being asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, a mob heckled and spat on Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in a movie theater; protesters chased Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen out of a restaurant in Washington; a dead animal carcass was left outside a DHS official’s home; and ‘Antifa’ groups published the names, addresses, and children’s names of over 9,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Twitter.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) threw fuel on the fire over the weekend, when she called for more public harassment of the Trump team.
"If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere," said Waters, a committed anti-Trumper who has called for the President’s impeachment dozens of times.
"I’m not a great fan of shouting down people or being rude to people," said Senator Sanders, distancing himself from Waters’ rhetoric. “As I’ve said before, yeah, I think people have the right to go into a restaurant and have dinner.”
As an example of constructive change, Sanders pointed to the primary election victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York on Tuesday. The 28-year-old socialist ousted the incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley, an establishment Democrat who had not faced a challenger from the left in 14 years.
Many on the left have angrily rejected calls for civility, however. Daily Show host Trevor Noah said that such calls are meaningless, as they “come from those in a position of privilege.”
Isn’t it Interesting how calls for civility tend to come from those in a position of privilege?: https://t.co/gsQPKEHst2pic.twitter.com/k2AnjsMRF1
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 27, 2018
Simran Singh, a New York University professor and ‘anti-racist activist’ chimed in on Twitter, arguing that ‘civility’ itself is a “racially coded” concept, and “a power play by those who feel that white supremacy is under threat.”
Fortunately, though, we have all sorts of post-colonial scholarship, history, and theory that help us understand how calls for civility are just a power play by those who feel that white supremacy is under threat.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) June 26, 2018
In a separate Twitter rant on Monday, a writer for ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’ made a similar tweet, saying: “Civility is a tool of white supremacy. Ok cool. Byeeeeee!”
Oh hello. I didn’t see you there! Civility is a tool of white supremacy. Ok, cool. Byeeeeee!
— Ashley Nicole Black (@ashleyn1cole) June 25, 2018
Earlier this month, Bee stepped into the limelight after vulgar comments about the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump.
Among much of the #Resistance, Senator Sanders’ comments appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
Our country is being destroyed and Bernie thinks Sarah Sanders should be able to eat her restaurant meal in peace. Not the way to get me past my antipathy to Bernie. https://t.co/N3iPawv1bt
— Jeri Dansky (@JeriDansky) June 28, 2018
We're about to lose all kinds of very important rights but by god Bernie will go to the wall for the rights of conservatives to stuff their faces in peace. That's so Bernie.https://t.co/kzhUri73C9
— Resist. Register. Vote. (@emigre80) June 27, 2018
You know what, @SenSanders? Sarah Huckabee Sanders does NOT have the right to eat dinner in peace. She shills for a man who puts babies in cages and whose party wants to kill my dad by stealing HIS benefits and giving them to the rich.
— Shadow of Dot Calm (@DotCalmsshadow) June 28, 2018
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