News stories over the last few weeks have exposed the perpendicular reality on the political left. The group of partisans who give voice to women's rights, civility in the public square, free speech and tolerance had their actions revealed as quite problematic considering their words.
Let's look at a few examples.
There's an outbreak of sexual assault allegations against high-profile men familiar to the cause of the progressive left. As reported by Vox.com, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is accused of everything from violent rape to forced nude massages, according to 82 women.
Robin SmithNo surprise that the industry that objectifies and monetizes women and children in pornography, gratuitous sex and even violence on screen would have within its daily operations such abuse, right?
But in major newsrooms, the culture should be professional - or so we think.
In the spring, Fox News had a flurry of sexual harassment charges that reached all the way to cable news star Bill O'Reilly and included several lower levels of the conservative news network. Firings commenced, rightfully so. Good riddance. But, where's the indignant explosion over the reported, and very explicitly described, predatory behavior and molestation alleged by at least a dozen women in the workplace, according to CNN, of Mark Halperin, a familiar face among the left-leaning news consumers who watch NBC/MSNBC?
Remember, it's the political Left that guffaws at Vice President Mike Pence's decision to avoid meetings with women outside the presence of his wife. It's also the Left that laughed at White House Chief of Staff John Kelly who recalled a better day when certain things in our culture were sacred, among them, women. It appears there's a real problem with respect among men who claim to support so much of the women's rights agenda on the political left.
In Virginia, the type of civility on the political left was on full display in a TV ad in opposition to GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. A white man was shown driving a big pickup truck with a Confederate flag flying, a Gillespie for Governor sticker displayed, and a front plate featuring the Gadsden Flag, or the coiled snake captioned with "Don't tread on me." In the ad, the man drove into a neighborhood and appeared to chase a young Hispanic boy. The young boy, along with three other children of color, including a young lady in Muslim attire, are all shown running from the driver.
Yeah, no identity politics, no division and no use of inflammatory imagery, right? So, was the New York City truck-driving terrorist who ran over cyclists and pedestrians last week a white, angry male? Just asking for a friend.
Women should be treated with respect. Racism should be identified and punished. Free speech is a right for all. Now, let's do as we say.
Robin Smith, a former chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, owns Rivers Edge Alliance.