Cult of Meanness

Ever since I started on the Benlysta, I've been even more careful than usual about washing my hands. When you're on an immune suppressing medication, you take extra precautions. I wash with singing a refrain or two of "Happy Birthday" and I shake my hands free of the water a few times before taking one towel to dry them. I avoid touching anything in the bathroom after washing my hands. I use antimicrobial wipes in my classroom to clean desks and surfaces now. I do all these things to avoid a contagious infection like a cold or flu. However, sometimes the thing that is infecting people isn't a disease; it's an emotion.

That's right, Goats. Sometimes the emotion is gonna get your horns locked together.

I subscribe to the Big Think YouTube channel and their Facebook updates. I find their research and differing perspectives interesting from time to time. Today I saw one entitled "Did You Know That Meanness Is Contagious?" It was fascinating given the meanness that abounds lately. I'm sure you and the rest of the world are aware of how Montana's new congressman won the election even though on the eve of the election he grabbed a reporter, Ben Jacobs, from The Guardian by the throat, threw him to the ground, and began punching him in front of witnesses. Arrgh! Seriously? This man was running for office to represent me and other Montanans in Washington? Apparently he thinks that hooliganism is the way to get the job done. Reporters be damned. The most baffling part? The number of people who defended his actions. 

 I know, Pug. It's unreal that people think this is not conduct unbecoming a congressman.

I get why Gianforte won: A large number of ballots had already been mailed in and could not be changed. I am glad people called to check though. That's encouraging. However, some people defended Gianforte because that reporter interrupted a private interview, except he didn't. Jacobs thrust his phone in Gianforte's face and grabbed him. But, Jacobs didn't. The Fox reporters in the room fully denounced that account and maintained that Jacobs never showed any aggression. The door was open and the other reporters in the room hadn't finished setting up yet and had not started their interview. But hey! Let's blame the reporter and say that the victim was at fault, not the guy running for public office who will undoubtedly run into far more aggressive reporters in his time in Washington. It's called self-control and elected officials need to possess this skill, Mr. Gianforte. 

 It is funny, Dexter. You, a serial killer, have more self-control than this guy.

 According to the Big Think article, this is not unsurprising. Our society right now is experiencing what appears to be a resurgence in meanness. It is now OK to say what you think regardless of how mean it is. We have a president who has been accused of harassment and sexual assault. We have Southerners who can't let go of their Confederate idols even though their presence serves no other purpose than to legitimize and validate a treasonous force that believed enslaving other humans as a means of economic progress was ok. We have white nationalists receiving accolades and money from billionaires to support businesses, candidacy, and publications. One person who defended Gianforte for example, Laura Ingraham, went so far as to mock the reporter for not being like other Montana men who would've gotten up, dusted off, and then retaliated. She knows this from her ample time spent in Montana getting to know the men folk and studying their sociological patterns. Not really, totally made that up. Facetious me. Ingraham's argument seems predicated on the eye for an eye approach to conflict resolution. She also made fun of the reporter with connecting his calling the cops to a kid being bullied and informing an adult who can address the situation. WTH? 

Yeah, Captain. It's bizarre.

Another defender, the Christian activist called Dave Daubenmire, believes that Gianforte was in the right. He also believes that the Tangerine Shart was right to shove his way to the front of other world leaders. This meanness is contagious after all. If the people holding the highest of offices and responsibilities can be rude and physically aggressive, then clearly the rest of the population would, too. This mislabeled Christian activist actually thinks that we need more like these two truculent torchbearers so that we can have more aggressive Christians. His warped view is that these two were being manly men and were an example from Gad for how all men should behave. This guy's show is called "Pass the Salt Live" apparently. 

It's hard to take in, Buddy. It is hard to fathom. Go drink some syrup. You'll feel better.

Granted, it's not just the extreme right wingers who are being wingnuts. Some of the unidentified political party poopers are getting out, too. I read about how someone left a sign on the lawn of a republican representative, Jeff Fortenberry, that said, "Traitors put party above country Do the right thing for once, shithead" (Christina Marcos, The Hill, May 21, 2017). The guy's 10 year old daughter found that. While Fortenberry did not track down this protester and show that person how A Nebraskan handles business, he did remark about civil discourse being the solution to conflicts. Whew! At least one politician knows how to behave. Other meanness targeted at republican representatives included vandalism death threats. 

That's right, Dude. Don't abide that bullshit.

The meanness also leads to tragedy. This weekend three men who attempted to stand up to the meanness of Jeremy Christian (no really, that's his last name) who went on a tirade about Muslims when he saw two young women on the train. One of them was wearing a hijab. Taliesin Myrrdin Namkai Meche and Rick Best died standing up to meanness. Micah David-Cole Fletcher came near to death when the knife passed within millimeters of his jugular. These three men possessed the strength and courage and principles to recognize and reject meanness. Jeremy Christian subscribed to the philosophy of Ingraham and Daubenmire and Gianforte and President Peach. The contagion of meanness led directly to his assault on two young women and his murder of two men and attempted murder of a third. Christian went further than yard signs or leaving death threat messages. He actually ended the lives of two people. 

At least you feel shame, Dug. I'm not so sure about some of these other folks.

I've been mean in my time. I've been rude. I've yelled, screamed, shamed, and swore. However, I've not thrown my fists in anger (except that one time when I was 5 when I punched my sister in the nose). I've never picked up a weapon to attack or to make my point. I've learned not to do these things. Violence begets violence. Human emotion is contagious. If someone is mean, we react with meanness. If our leaders are mean, it's a conduit to the contagion for the masses. Soap and water cannot wash away the infection of meanness. May the Meches, Bests, and Fletchers be the vaccination our country so desperately needs. 

Sleep well, little Moose. Tomorrow we have another chance to make other choices. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to reject meanness.