Austyn Crites walked into a Republican rally in Reno this Saturday under the delusion that he had the right to express his own opinion. He is one of those poor souls who believe in the ideals and values of the Republican party, just not in the man who sits at its head. According to Crites, he had no intention of causing a commotion when he held up the outrageously offensive sign reading “Republicans Against Trump”. How dare he! How dare he trust his fellow Republicans not to gang up on him and beat him up for voicing a different opinion? Some of the people in Crites’ vicinity later said they thought he had a gun, others claimed he had started the brawl in the first place. There was, of course, no such gun. And, right, he tried to single-handedly take on a mob of angry Republicans.
The only sensible thing to do in this situation is obviously to help this poor defenseless mob, which is exactly what 45 year old professional bystander Michael Newton did. “I thought I had to do something. I put my knee on what I think was his head, so I’m not really sure. There were five guys on him and he was moving. I tried to help them immobilize him.” I guess the bystander effect only works when the person yelling for help has the right political stance, otherwise the “I’m in an environment of hate and distrust” effect kicks in and all your senses tell you to attack the person being attacked.
Getting kneed in the head hurts, but getting burned on social media can hurt even more. As is to be expected, Crites’ devious cohorts got him placed among the likes of John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. He was instantly labeled a “Clinton Thug” and a “Trump Killer” and many more much less cool-sounding names with a little more profanity added for good measure. He tried to explain that all he did has hold up a sign, but his post received so much hate and threats that he had to delete his Facebook account. Another win for free speech!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/06/donald-trump-nevada-rally/93385996/
I really, really hope that this isn't foreshadowing the things to come for our country. It's crazy to me that in a country where we supposedly value our free speech, those who speak out against things they don't agree with are told to shut up, or in this case, pinned down by an angry mob. Free speech is a privilege and to systematically ignore that right is to spit on the feet of the founding fathers. It's something that we must undoubtedly preserve and treasure.
ReplyDeleteThis is horrifying. Someone who is, in many ways, aligned with Republican values is attacked in the same way as any other protestor at a Trump rally. This is truly a sign of how divided our country has become, and how little empathy and capacity we have to listen to one another. Already Trump's victory has inspired violence and an inability for the left and the right to see clearly. I'm worried to see if this devolves. Is political polarization too extreme to remedy?
ReplyDeleteThis is horrifying. Someone who is, in many ways, aligned with Republican values is attacked in the same way as any other protestor at a Trump rally. This is truly a sign of how divided our country has become, and how little empathy and capacity we have to listen to one another. Already Trump's victory has inspired violence and an inability for the left and the right to see clearly. I'm worried to see if this devolves. Is political polarization too extreme to remedy?
ReplyDeleteThis incident begs the question: How do we resist Trump and his racist acolytes? If a normal Republican cannot express his reluctance to support Trump, how are Democrats (like me) supposed to? After this event, I am truly afraid of the effect Trump will have on political dissent.
ReplyDeleteDespite all the faults Pres. Obama had, at the very least, he did not actively try to suppress political opposition. In fact, he tried to open up a space for his opponents. If Donald Trump cannot do it, we are in for a distressing four years.
This type of atrocity is something that I hope does not become a common occurrence under the Trump presidency. It does not seem as if his campaign respected the first amendment in regards to other people so it makes me worry for our future. The next four years are going to be interesting, and if we continue with with rhetoric of hate I do not what type of country we will have a few years from now. It definitely won't be one I want to live in.
ReplyDelete