ARCHIVE: Mike Pence, Hamilton, and Liberal Politics
Originally published on Facebook, November 20th 2016.
This weekend, Mike Pence attends Hamilton and is booed by audience members but treated respectfully by the cast. Trump takes it the wrong way, makes a show on Twitter, and his supporters start #BoycottHamilton. We laugh at the absurdity because how can you boycott a show that is sold-out for years to come? And come on, were Trump's most ardent supporters really going to see the ~liberal elite~ racially diverse hip-hop rendition of America's history on Broadway in the first place? And then plot twist- Pence actually enjoyed the show! It's hilarious and we chuckle and we make memes to cope but in the mean time, we seem to forget what else has happened this weekend.
**Flint, Michigan still does not have clean water! And peaceful protestors at Standing Rock are having ice cold water and tear gas thrown at them for protecting their native grounds.**
Trump continues to surround himself with people who pander to his persona, and an alarming number of them also seem to have white nationalist ties. I refuse to normalize that their racist comments do not disqualify them from serving in some of the profoundly powerful positions in our country. The people he's selecting for his inner circle are not only the Washington insiders he decried during his campaign, but they are predominantly white men who don't dare disagree with the president-elect.
We haven't been talking enough about how Trump settled his Trump University lawsuit. If he was innocent, we know that he'd fight to the bone to prove it. We have literally seen over and over again how he *has* to be right and how he reacts childishly to people suggesting otherwise. He'd never settle unless he was actually guilty of committing fraud against thousands of people just trying to expand their scholastic horizons, and that is unprecedented for a future president.
We must continue talking about the rise in hate crimes and how white nationalists feel more comfortable being open and visible with hate speech and hate crimes. But it's not just about violent slurs and acts. It's about this feeling that's starting to creep up on a lot of us that we don't really belong here. That America isn't ours too. The United States is home for three hundred million individuals and in the aftermath of this election, it has not felt that way for a lot of us. And it's not always the ones who say and do hateful things, but the people who idly stand by and let them happen that make us feel most unwelcome. We can't stop holding Trump accountable for the hate he has promoted.
Anyways, I'm not saying that we shouldn't take our chuckles where we can, but we can't let them distract us from the bigger picture. One other example that comes right to mind is how Melania Trump's bizarre plagiarism during the RNC distracted us from all of the hateful rhetoric that other speakers spewed. In laughing at how she blatantly copied Michelle Obama, a lot of us forgot to check the other speakers that night who were responsible for saying a whole lot worse. We can't keeping letting him get away with this during his presidency. I refuse to be manipulated like this any longer.
We can still chuckle about the absurdity of #BoycottHamilton, but we must remain vigilant and committed and persistent in decrying what is unfair, hypocritical, and frankly downright un-American. So always find that joy and laughter but please do not let these non-issues distract you from what is really at stake. I'll keep retweeting #NameAPenceMusical tweets but you can bet I'm calling my congressmen first thing tomorrow morning to let them know I want them to denounce Trump's dangerous appointments too.
#StayWoke
This weekend, Mike Pence attends Hamilton and is booed by audience members but treated respectfully by the cast. Trump takes it the wrong way, makes a show on Twitter, and his supporters start #BoycottHamilton. We laugh at the absurdity because how can you boycott a show that is sold-out for years to come? And come on, were Trump's most ardent supporters really going to see the ~liberal elite~ racially diverse hip-hop rendition of America's history on Broadway in the first place? And then plot twist- Pence actually enjoyed the show! It's hilarious and we chuckle and we make memes to cope but in the mean time, we seem to forget what else has happened this weekend.
**Flint, Michigan still does not have clean water! And peaceful protestors at Standing Rock are having ice cold water and tear gas thrown at them for protecting their native grounds.**
Trump continues to surround himself with people who pander to his persona, and an alarming number of them also seem to have white nationalist ties. I refuse to normalize that their racist comments do not disqualify them from serving in some of the profoundly powerful positions in our country. The people he's selecting for his inner circle are not only the Washington insiders he decried during his campaign, but they are predominantly white men who don't dare disagree with the president-elect.
We haven't been talking enough about how Trump settled his Trump University lawsuit. If he was innocent, we know that he'd fight to the bone to prove it. We have literally seen over and over again how he *has* to be right and how he reacts childishly to people suggesting otherwise. He'd never settle unless he was actually guilty of committing fraud against thousands of people just trying to expand their scholastic horizons, and that is unprecedented for a future president.
We must continue talking about the rise in hate crimes and how white nationalists feel more comfortable being open and visible with hate speech and hate crimes. But it's not just about violent slurs and acts. It's about this feeling that's starting to creep up on a lot of us that we don't really belong here. That America isn't ours too. The United States is home for three hundred million individuals and in the aftermath of this election, it has not felt that way for a lot of us. And it's not always the ones who say and do hateful things, but the people who idly stand by and let them happen that make us feel most unwelcome. We can't stop holding Trump accountable for the hate he has promoted.
Anyways, I'm not saying that we shouldn't take our chuckles where we can, but we can't let them distract us from the bigger picture. One other example that comes right to mind is how Melania Trump's bizarre plagiarism during the RNC distracted us from all of the hateful rhetoric that other speakers spewed. In laughing at how she blatantly copied Michelle Obama, a lot of us forgot to check the other speakers that night who were responsible for saying a whole lot worse. We can't keeping letting him get away with this during his presidency. I refuse to be manipulated like this any longer.
We can still chuckle about the absurdity of #BoycottHamilton, but we must remain vigilant and committed and persistent in decrying what is unfair, hypocritical, and frankly downright un-American. So always find that joy and laughter but please do not let these non-issues distract you from what is really at stake. I'll keep retweeting #NameAPenceMusical tweets but you can bet I'm calling my congressmen first thing tomorrow morning to let them know I want them to denounce Trump's dangerous appointments too.
#StayWoke
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