Time for the left to put on their big boy pants

Good golly Miss Molly – what a hysterical weekend!  What we saw was a poorly rolled out EO (by that I mean it appears not to have been run through the normal channels of consultation which would have allowed the responsible agencies to devise specific implementation plans) and a whole lot of selective and opportunistic outrage.

First the implementation. In an attempt to modify (within the rights of the executive) and enforce existing law, they made some unforced errors. Poor marks to the administration.  When you’re sending out something like that it would be nice if those who were to implement the actionable items had at least a passing familiarity of what was being required of them.  And when your chief of staff is saying one thing and one of your senior advisors is saying another about an issue, the lack of coordination appears fairly obvious. The green card nonsense was a disaster because of that lack of coordination. Got it.  Badly done.  A learning experience for a new administration, etc.  Sunday, the problem was fixed by a blanket declaration from HSSec John Kelly:

“In applying the provisions of the president’s executive order, I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest,” Mr. Kelly said. “Accordingly, absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.”

But then there is the selective and opportunistic outrage.  Selective – not a word was said, not a protest was launched when President Obama banned Iraqi immigrants/refugees for 6 months by those hysterically protesting this weekend.   Same with his change of immigration policy on Cubansfleeing that dictatorship, effectively denying them escape.  But oh my goodness, put a temporary ban on a few countries in which it is known that jihadis are trying to infiltrate the refugee stream, and heads explode.

We hear cries of “racism”.  Get a clue, for heaven sake!  Islam is not a “race”.  Nor was what was done a ban on all muslims by any stretch of anyone’s imagination except those who dwell in the unthinking anti-Trump fever swamps – another swamp calling out for draining.

And, of course, there was opportunistic outrage because there was no reason for sane people to take the streets about this when it was clear things were being done to clarify and amend the new process.  But you can’t be a “virtue signaler” if you don’t trot your rear end out and pretend like the world is ending by using hyperbole and hysteria to make your point.  And the virtue signalers were out in force this weekend.  That includes the participants in another Hollywood back-patting event, the SAG awards.  The perfect example was provided by actor David Harbour as he accepted the award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series for Stranger Things.

And I would like to say that in light of all that’s going on in the world today, it’s difficult to celebrate the already celebrated “Stranger Things.” But this award from you who take your craft seriously and earnestly believe like me that great acting can change the world, is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper and through our art battle against fear, self-centeredness, exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture and through our craft to cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society by revealing intimate truths that serve as a forceful reminder to folks that when they feel broken and afraid and tired, they are not alone.

We are united and that we are all human beings and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive. As we act and the continuing narrative of “Stranger Things,” we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies. We will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no hope. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters, and when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and casual violence of certain individuals and institutions. We will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the [inaudible] and the disenfranchised and the marginalized. And we will do it all with soul, with heart, and with joy. We thank you for this responsibility. Thank you.

Who is “we” kemo-sabe”?  And how can we “cultivate a more emphatic and understanding society” when you’re advocating “punch(ing) some people in the face?”  By the way we all know that David Harbour risks nothing playing to that crowd.  Nothing.  Virtue signaling, for the most part, is risk free, especially when done in one’s ideological bubble in front of people who share that ideology.  The fact that Harbour contradicts himself and makes his rant incoherent isn’t the point.  He validated his ideological virtue with the first contradictory statement and made a risk free beta male threat with his last. He’d never carry it out.  He prefers other less stable people be encouraged by his approval to carry that out.

Yes indeed, a rookie screwup by a new administration and we’re treated to another display of what I think will be a long line of examples of why Trump won.

By the way protesters, I’ll make you a bet that those who voted for Trump don’t care one whit how “outraged” you were this weekend.

~McQ