This past week I watched a video of Mallory McMorrow, a Michigan State senator, responding to an attack, by a Republican senator who branded her Democratic colleague as a “social media troll” and a “snowflake” who was “outraged” at not being able to “groom and sexualize kindergarteners”.

She was additionally accused of wanting to make children feel responsible for slavery, to feel bad about themselves because they are white. McMorrow’s subsequent speech went viral and is well worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLWo8B1R0MY

Quite a few pundits have said that this should serve as a model for Democrats on how to respond to Republican attempts at character assassination. Republicans try to hide behind the label ‘Christian’, while engaging in hateful attacks that are antithetical to the morality espoused by their church. Senator McMorrow after forcefully pushing back ends with the statement “we will not let hate win”.

Rachel Maddow, on her show, reflected on Putin’s use of false charges of pedophilia to destroy many standing in his way. Trump cult members of the far right have harnessed that same kind eliminationist rhetoric to vilify their opponents in the worst way.

A good example of this is the confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the Supreme Court. She was accused of being soft on pedophiles. The persistence of their personal attacks is equaled only by their attempts to sow distrust in our institutions of government. In both they are playing with fire, threatening the future of our democracy.

While this kind of behavior is in vogue with Republicans in the news, I don’t often meet people who are this extreme. I was working in the Democratic office recently and someone that I hadn’t met before popped in. He asked me what I thought of Biden. I replied that I thought that he was doing a great job. He then proceeded to attack him, claiming that he was destroying the country by having an open border in the South.

I thought, here we go, a real fire breather spouting a typical right-wing meme. I sparred with him for a while and got a little worked up before I decided that I was spitting into the wind. I told him that as he seemed locked in to his opinions that I saw no purpose in talking to him further.

After he left, I was steeped in anger, wishing that I had a quicker wit so as to cause him to reflect on the error of his ways. I went to bed angry and had trouble falling asleep. I just don’t understand people who spend their lives hating those different from themselves, going to extremes to vilify these people who they perceive as their enemies. I finally had to let go of my anger because in the end I was only hurting myself and I don’t want to inhabit that mind space.

If we don’t want hate it starts with the good will of each one of us. That doesn’t mean that we can’t look them in the eye and remind them that we will stand our ground. We will not let hate win. We will vote in massive numbers this November!