CommentsLEANING RIGHT--To begin with, while the official state vote/tally counts are not yet resolved, and/or legally held valid by the Supreme Court, congratulations are in order for President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris presuming that the major media outlets' declarations are legally certified.
Unfortunately--and it's known by more people than any of us dare to acknowledge, the right wing of the nation was doing pretty much all of the law-abiding these past four years, while the left wing was doing either the rioting, the physical violence to others, the cancel culture and/or defamation of anyone who didn't "toe the line"...
...but did a pretty damned good job demonizing America's right wing (even the moderates) that was guilty only of obeying the law.
I'm sure that some will point at this incident or that, where one right-wing protestor got out of line, did something wrong, or even (gasp!) defended himself or herself against an assault...but perhaps President-Elect Biden can find it in his heart (if he really does want unity, and not a suppression, to say something like the following:
"The era of Open Season on Republicans, be they Trump supporters or otherwise, is OVER."
Because for over four years, violence was perpetrated against all major cities, and even some minor ones, by infuriated and outraged mobs who couldn't and WOULDN'T accept the results of the 2016 elections...and who now expect an election which 70% of Republicans believe was rife with fraud to be accepted immediately, and gracefully, and without complaint, even before the final vote tallies and recounts are duly and legally completed.
Nice job of modern-day mind scrambling: scream that the other side is violent, do the violence yourself, and then get away with blaming the other side YOU were screaming at that THEY did the violence.
And THAT, boys and girls, is what we call FASCISM. ORWELLIAN. BIG BROTHER. 1984-STYLE GROUPTHINK.
And while some reading this might have a more balanced view that there were terrible acts from the Left, and some from the Right, the honest but painful truth is that:
1) Whether it's the Tea Party or any other right-wing concert, rally, or march, generally those attending behave and clean up after themselves.
It's that whole law-abiding, law-and-order, Christian thing that is so popular now to defame and decry.
2) In contrast, the wanton violence and destruction of businesses, the defecating on police cars, the harassment of restaurant patrons minding their own business and wanting to be left alone?
That came from the Left...but yet the Right had to bear the brunt of the blame, somehow, and had to toe the line of "both sides are bad" or "the Right started it" when anyone with integrity could see what was going on:
The Left wanted a pound of flesh, and anyone who defied them was going to blamed and targeted to BE the problem, and not the victim of it....even if they WERE the victim of the Left:
1) The political leadership of New York City, Portland, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, and a host of other cities caused more death to black and other inner city Americans by mob violence and the spread of COVID-19 than any straw-man "right winger" figures presumed to be the element of dangerous out-of-control Americans.
2) Those who died were (at best) treated like cannon fodder who suffered for some nebulous "higher cause".
3) Perhaps that higher cause was just to chase the Orange Man out of the White House...but innocent people died while "the other side" took the blame for it.
But for those who want to adhere to actual history, and what REALLY happened (you can handle the truth, right...it don't bite!), after the tragic death of George Floyd:
President Trump and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott quickly came up with a Police Reform measure that included the creation of a nationwide registry for bad cops to be identified...because they were pretty pissed off at what happened to George Floyd, too...
...only to see House Majority Leader Pelosi slap bipartisan police reform aside and let the cities of America burn when we needed unity the most.
1) Black Americans dying in droves every doggone weekend? Not from the Right...but somehow they got (and still get) blamed.
2) Black Americans getting abused and their civil rights stolen in Left-Wing strongholds like Baltimore and Minneapolis? Not from the Right...but somehow they got (and still get) blamed.
3) Black Americans having better schools, school choice, and educational opportunities all taken away from them? Not from the Right...but somehow they got (and still get) blamed.
4) And the promotion of "defunding of police" that caused a shockwave of House and Senate races to go Republican despite the outpouring of money from Big Tech, Big Hollywood, and Wall Street? Not from the Right...but somehow they got (and still get blamed) for both bad cops and lack of cops altogether.
But it worked, and for years Republicans (and particularly those who performed the "sin" of voting for President Trump) had to keep their mouths shut, stay away from others who might expose them, and live in fear of losing their livelihood, and even face physical assault.
All while the Loudest Voices in social media, traditional media, and Hollywood increasingly squelched any honest debate on the issues. Republican/Right Wing...bad, and they "caused" the violence, while Democratic/Left Wing...good, and they are the "victims" of the violence and are only fighting back.
Even when everyone with the ability to remain impartial, objective, and fair knew that that was the BIG LIE.
While behind this BIG LIE are the hordes of those continuing to flee Left-Wing strongholds (often liberals as well as conservatives) to cities and states where those "awful" Right Wingers still dwelt and oversaw lands with free speech, and where violence was and still is a no-no. So clearly, the "evil" Right Wing must be a nice place to flee to in order to live free and in peace.
But, again, it worked. In this "open-minded" era of "wokeness" there was only one point of view "allowed", and woe be unto those who dared to aspire for an open and honest discussion on the tough issues.
The Right was told to watch it and don't do violence when, obviously, we all knew why businesses were being boarded up before election night:
Because of the rightful and accurate fear of a swarm of Left-Wing violence should Trump have been declared the winner on Election Night.
And now that Joe Biden is declared the winner by a media that has called the results final even before they have been legally certified, and with the understanding that 70% of Republicans strongly and angrily believe that the election was stolen by widespread but clever fraud...what happened?
The "evil, violent Right Wing" did what Right Wingers do--they gritted their teeth, did the adult thing and quietly and lawfully went to work because that's what "law-abiding" is all about.
Even when they believed they'd been terribly violated, gaslighted, and vilified by a nation that is becoming wildly more fascist.
So, let's see what President-Elect Joe Biden can really do to "heal the nation" when roughly 40% of Americans believes this was the most corrupt election in history.
Words won't do it, particularly after suggestions of "enemies lists" and Truth and Reconciliation Commissions from leading Democratic figureheads such as Robert Reich and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are being tossed up for public consideration.
So, is it safe yet for anyone, including Joe Biden, to include Trump supporters (many of whom voted for Barack Obama before him) as "off-limits" to physical, legal, economic, or psychological intimidation and bullying?
Or will the Bully Boys and Mean Girls that succeeding in oppressing virtually half of America still be able to proclaim that the BIG LIE is true in order to keep the collective boots of Media, Hollywood, Wall Street and other non-democratic overlords squarely on the necks of Americans who want to continue proclaiming that 2 + 2 = 4.
Because it always was, and always will be, the BIG LIE. The violence, intimidation, and gaslighting of America always came from the Left, and always will be from the Left for years to come.
And pretty much anyone reading this goddamn well knows it...or just doesn't have the heart or spine to admit it.
(CityWatch Columnist, Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 8-9 years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
-cw
