We Can't Let the Bullies Win

[Nevilledog]

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Steven Beschloss
@StevenBeschloss
Ukrainians are “suffering the consequences of an unchecked bully…bent on running roughshod over democracy, convinced international law does not apply to him, certain he can lie & wreak deadly vengeance with impunity…until he’s silenced…a free people.”

america.substack.com
We Can't Let the Bullies Win
From Russia and Ukraine to America, we can see the consequence of electing bullies and letting them act with impunity
7:32 AM · Mar 4, 2022

https://america.substack.com/p/we-cant-let-the-bullies-win

Maybe you saw the video clip. In the scheme of things, it might seem like a minor event. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, had come to the University of South Florida to give a speech about cybersecurity education funding.

But before he spoke, he looked at the row of high school students spread out behind him and wearing masks. He didn’t say hi. He didn’t thank them for coming. “You do not have to wear those masks,” he said, obviously aggravated. “I mean, please take them off.” Jabbing his finger at them, he went on, “Honestly, it’s not doing anything. We’ve got to stop with this Covid theater. So, if you want to wear it, fine. But this is—this is ridiculous.” Most of the students sheepishly took off their masks.

Then DeSantis turned around toward the podium with a huff, shook his head and began: “Alright, well, it’s good to be at USF.”

This could be a discussion of Florida’s coronavirus death rates (over 70,000) and its governor’s aggressive refusal to mandate mask-wearing, all in the name of freedom and the right to choose. I could focus on the fact that Hillsboro County, where this group of high school students live, is still experiencing high rates of hospitalization because of the virus and, as a result, is still urged by the CDC to wear masks indoors.

But this is about bullying—and the unfortunate propensity for bullies to seek out positions of power.

Some of the people who saw the DeSantis video didn’t see what I saw. They heard those modifying words—“So, if you want to wear it, fine…”—and didn’t see a bully. As if DeSantis wasn’t making clear what he expected. As if the most powerful man in the state—an adult authority jabbing his finger at teenagers and telling them they are wrong—gave them the space to make, in that split second, a reasonable decision. Yes, at least one student did not remove his mask.

*snip*

[Happy Hoosier]

1. I agree.

If we let this happen, it will be to our eternal shame. History will not remember the moment kindly.

[lagomorph777]

2. What a hideous piece of shit.

[sop]

3. DeSantis is a graceless slug; a combative, offensive, impatient bully with delusions of grandeur.

DeSantis displays none of the usual politician's charm, he always comes off as stiff, sullen and angry. The more people see of this arrogant asshole, the more visceral their revulsion.