This weekend, someone with hate in their heart picked up a phone, called Child Protective Services, and falsely reported that Pete Buttigieg was abusing his four-year-old twins.
Pete is a highly intelligent man. A man with morals, ethics and honesty. He has served this country in the military. He loves his family with voracity. The people who oppose him have none of these attributes. That’s why they have to scare him out. Because they fear him. They know he is so much better than they are. Tell me why T’s supporters look the other way with all his scandals. He cheats on all his wives, is a pedophile etc. Yet that is all acceptable in their feckless minds. Bring back sensibility, morality and kindness. All of which Pete possesses. Reject the rest.
Well said. The bully and his clique can't lead by example and can't inspire loyalty among decent human beings, so they bully. It's really all they know how to do.
You are spot on! This hate-filled president has not only blessed this behavior, he has INVITED it out into the open! This false report needs to be investigated, and the perpetrator needs to suffer the consequences of an illegal act. Pete Buttigieg has shown himself to be an incredibly smart and absolutely decent person...an example for all of us to follow! He fought for our country! He served our government! Thank you for speaking out about it!
Dear Mike, I just became a paid subscriber because of this no-BS straight-on truth-that-hurts post. Obviously, Common-Sense Curmudgeon isn't my real name. In case you need my real name before the subscription renews in August, please send a message to my e-mail and let me provide it. You are the real deal, and I respect you. I hesitated to subscribe for quite a while because I parted ways with the Dem establishment (the "Democratic Leadership Council" etc.) back when Clinton forced NAFTA down our throats. But this post resonated with me. I'm a former hostage (held by the PLO in Jordan in 1970), and not easy to scare -- still, I -- justifiably, I think -- fear being arrested or having my loved ones targeted because I vocally and financially oppose the current kleptocratic regime. But I will not shut up, and I will not stop donating anywhere I think I can help break the power of this immoral, grotesque, un-American cabal. Thank you for further stiffening my resolve.
Wow! Much respect to you. Thanks for still fighting. It's really hard. It's tiring. It's depressing. It can take over your life. It's marvelous to hear from someone who thinks it's worth it. That gives me hope. Mike and his ilk give me hope.
Great response, Mike. Yes, we have to stand up and refuse to give in to hate. People who file false reports should be prosecuted and penalized, or the haters will just keep doing their damage.
These are scary times, and when this hateful regime uses everything it can against someone like Pete, it's horrible. I'm so disgusted that Trump got back into power. We can never let the likes of him again. They are hate-driven; fueled by ignorance
When I was a kid we used to have a saying "God hates a coward" now I'm not religious at all but that quote hit me and has stayed with me my entire life. Mike you must be one of God's favorites! Remember when we fight we win don't let these losers win vote. We have a historical chance to repudiate this regime in November let's make it such a wave that no one can contest it!
What happened to Buttigieg is absolutely disgusting..but you know what solid, capable Dems like Mike need to do to 'not let them win'? (since we can't do much about MAGA crazies)
Do something to stop these 'centrists' from tearing apart the party. These guys are going after the progressive wing even harder than they go after the GOP.
That is precisely how they 'pick us off' - and the GOP can just sit back and watch.
Just in the past couple days:
Dem consultant fossil James Carville posted a hysterical rant where he says he will leave the party, contradicting his decades of talk about a ' big tent'.
Meanwhile, 'centrist' Tom Suozzi and several other elected Dems signed a pledge to dedicate themselves to capitalism, in a direct attack on a few winning candidates from last week.
Did this 'pledge' say a word about massive income inequality, or the need to tax billionaires or rein in big tech? Nope.
The progressive wing, from AOC to Bernie to any number of other reps, have consistently supported the 'moderates' in the party on almost everything, while 'centrists' like Fetterman, Manchin, Sinema have taken down Dems initiatives over and over.
These same people are more worried about a few tweets than supporting genocide and apartheid, or cozying up to billionaires, or bear hugging Liz Cheney, or throwing trans people under the bus..
The Democratic Party should be excited about this new energy. Instead, they are losing their minds that their big donors may be threatened.
Now big money is freaking out in Colorado - from Drop Site News:
'Super PACs funded by AIPAC and major big tech donors have poured roughly $2 million behind Rep. Diana DeGette on the eve of her contentious primary in Colorado’s first congressional district against democratic socialist challenger Melat Kiros.
The June 30 primary in the Denver area has drawn national attention in the wake of Tuesday’s sweeping set of wins by democratic socialists in New York. Kiros has run as a critic of unchecked AI development, telling Drop Site News she supports a moratorium on data center construction. Her opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its ongoing efforts at occupation and ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, meanwhile, has drawn the attention of pro-Israel donors hoping to rescue their longtime ally DeGette.'
Will Carville support this effort too? Suozzi and his gang of capitalist worshipping 'moderates'?
Diana DeGette is one of the House's most progressive members, ranked well above AOC (#9 vs #29). If Melat Kiros has used the word "genocide" in conjunction with Palestine, she is not good (I've heard enough about her to think that might be true.) Anyone who demonizes "AIPAC," which is an outside spender not controlled by any candidate, in conjunction with a candidate, makes their own candidate appear to be a bad choice. DeGette is also against unchecked data center construction. And I'm sick and tired of elections hinging on Palestine and who can be the most extreme and anti-Semitic.
I don't give a shit what Carville does. His name on an email earns an instant delete.
Oh, wait — Ryan Grim was a founder of Drop Site News? That figures. Formerly with the Berniecept. Definitely a certain viewpoint to be take into account .
oh and PS - big tech is also getting behind DeGette:
Project 218, another super PAC spending big behind DeGette, receives much of its funding from wealthy tech industry donors, as first reported in the Colorado Sun. Project 218 dumped $400,000 into attack ads against Kiros on June 17 after receiving two massive $3.5 million and $630,000 contributions from a 501(c)(4) organization called Democracy Matters on May 26 and May 20 respectively. Campaign finance laws do not require 501(c)(4)s, frequently referred to as “dark money” or “advocacy” groups, to disclose the sources of their funding.
In discussing AI, DeGette has often focused on the energy demands and improving the grid. “After 20 years of stagnation, electricity demand is finally set to grow again, driven by everything from data centers to a resurgence in domestic manufacturing to vehicle electrification, America is demanding more electricity,” she said in a hearing in the House. “This increasing desire for electricity is a good thing... But as we celebrate these new industries being built in the United States, we must make sure our power grid is up to the task.”
Oh, I guess that makes Grim's reporting not true, because you don't like him.
'If Melat Kiros has used the word "genocide" in conjunction with Palestine, she is not good' is not only a comically ridiculous thing to say, it shows you know nothing about her except whatever you just googled.
Calling AIPAC simply 'an outside spender not controlled by any candidate' is ridiculous. Any candidate can choose if they accept AIPAC funds or not, and plenty have pledged not to.
Besides fact that every international human rights org in the world, the UN, several national leaders, and even Israeli human rights orgs and genocide scholars have all affirmed the obvious fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (as well as apartheid -driven ethnic cleansing in the West Bank), majorities of Democratic base voters understand this as well.
As does Melat Kiros how as affirmed this many times.
It is just insane that the red line for so many 'moderate' Dems is to be against genocide.
Look, at the end of the day, if Dems want a 'big tent' like they always claim to want, that means opening to the left as well as to the right. If Kamala Harris can bear hug Liz Cheney, the Dems can find a way to embrace Mamdani, clearly one of the most exciting and popular politicians in the country right now, as well as his allies, who are all supporting issues that are very popular with the Democratic base.
And even more than that, these candidates are proving to be real fighters, and taking strong stands, which is what survey after survey shows Democratic voters want.
So you can lean into your ad hominems, but the fact remains that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has serious energy and is motivating a whole new generation of voters to get to the polls. It is not just ridiculous and hypocritical to dismiss these candidates, it is terrible politics.
I'm more concerned about the so-called "progressive" wing inventing enemies to demonize, not "centrists" (of which there are very few), but good, pragmatic Democrats trying to get kids fed and give people access to health care they can afford. The minute I see someone screaming "AIPAC" I know they're doing damage to progressive goals. AIPAC is irrelevant. It's interesting you can only cite one current Democrat, a guy who is widely criticized for his out-of-synch-with-everyone positions, and two people who basically left the party and politics because they were so out of synch with everyone. Fetterman is alone, and only matters because Congress is so closely divided. He is seldom joined by colleagues on anything.
BTW Bernie Sanders is NOT the senate's super-progressive (that would be the Massachusetts Two). Chuck Schumer has a stronger progressive voting record. Image does a lot of heavy lifting. We all should be less taken in by image.
1- AIPAC is definitely not irrelevant, even 'moderate' Dems have been going out of their way to shun them...the Democratic base is sick of supporting genocide and apartheid, and tired of this massive PAC undermining race after race, both in primaries and in general elections.
2- I did not cite one single Democrat, there are at least 13 elected Democratic who signed Suozzi's absurd pledge, and I didn't even start to list the disparaging comments from other elected Dems, from Jeffries and Schumer on down, not to mention the 'moderate' left leaning press, which has been losing their collective mind over this. It's curious' you talk about 'inventing enemies to demonize' which is precisely what ;centrist' Dems, from elected officials to consultant and pundits to their media allies, are doing right now. The comments out there are downright hysterical.
It is obvious why I mentioned those three 'centrists' because while they were all knocking down Biden's agenda (and now siding with the GOP in Fetterman's case) AOC and the 'Squad' consistently supported Biden well over 90% of the time. Sanders outright campaigned with him in 2020 and 2024 while he was still running.
It's again 'curious' that you hold up Schumer as a good example, one of the single least popular politicians in the country, from any party, while Sanders consistently ranks in the two two or three most popular politicians for many years, along with Obama. Currently , Mamdani is among the most popular politicians nationwide as well. Feckless isn't a strong enough word for Schumer these days. His primary can't come soon enough.
Another thing really terrible about all this is the Dems should be learning from the massive success of the grassroots, old school door-knocking campaigns that put Mamdani and now a few of his allies in power. Instead, we are getting ridiculous reactions all over the place, like hinting that these candidates aren't just as concerned, if not more so , about 'trying to get kids fed and give people access to health care they can afford' than any 'moderate' in the party.
Again, chill. A lot go your facts are incorrect and seem filtered through your desire to see things a certain way. Schumer and Mamdani's national approvals aren't that far apart, despite Schumer being relentlessly demonized for years by both self-appointed progressives and the mainstream media. Mamdani is popular in NYC right now, but nationally not so much as most people don't know much about it. Most people do not know what Schumer has actually done, or that he is more progressive than Bernie Sanders.
God(s) bless Mayor Pete and his husband and their children; god(s) bless you for writing this piece; and god(s) bless the people who truly believe in the United States of America.
I’m still kind of confused about what happened. So anyone can pick up the phone and make wild allegations about someone else and that person is assumed guilty and has to be proven innocent and their kids get swept up in the lie? This is crazy in a country with so many actual pedophiles and rapists who never get held accountable for one second!
I know. It's scary. What if the kids had no grandmother nearby and were taken to some big, faceless office building to be cared for by people they didn't know. They'd likely be traumatized for life. And these kids are probably traumatized anyway.
Agree with you 100%. They want to silence us. Thanks for having the bravery to write this. I feel like you do and applaud Pete for sharing his story. All it takes is one person at a time to stand up and say they won’t be silenced. Let’s do this together.
At some point, we're going to have to figure out how we're going to catch the evil cowards who do this kind of thing, who phone or email anonymous death threats, who menace others on the road, leave dead animals on doorsteps etc. For starters, why are people who do what was done to Pete, who SWAT people, and the like not required to give their names to the authorities? Why can't their calls be traced?
And then we're going to have to decide what we're going to do to them (within the legal system) when we do. Because all this kind of behavior is profoundly un-American and unconstitutional. It's far more reminiscent of what happened under the Nazis in Germany, and continued under the Communists in East Germany, where everyone was constantly informing on everyone else. These people, the MAGAts, are turning our law enforcement into the Stasi, and they need to be held accountable.
Will some good people be afraid to say something when they really do see something? It's possible, if law enforcement and the media handle this poorly. But (a) I strongly suspect the kinds of people who "don't want to get involved" are already not reporting, that it's a fairly binary quality (ie those inclined to report wrongdoing will do so no matter what, and those who aren't, won't) and (b) At some point don't the harms of allowing this kind of behavior outweigh the far smaller number of tragedies that might result if people making reports or threats could no longer account on anonymity to protect them? Because for every Pete Buttigieg with the strength and power to brush something like this off and keep going, there are thousands of ordinary citizens being threatened and intimidated by his brownshirts who don't.
You know what else discourages good people from running? (And this is something OUR side does a lot.) When we declare that they are "all the same," that you can't trust any politician, that all of them lie. I battle friends about this all the time. I remind them that when you tar everyone with a broad brush, the villains don't care — in fact, many of them are proud to be depicted negatively — but the good people back away.
Thank you for this. I am a 74-year-old grandmother who has protested, written letters, made calls, donated, and voted in every election since I was 18. However, I hesitate to stick my neck out farther for the exact reasons you stated here. I wouldn't want to put my family in jeopardy or, for that matter, myself, but I am very grateful for those who do.
Absolutely! If you don't look like them, operate like them, cheat and steal like them, they'll make it difficult for you. They'll take your time, your resources, even your life. We are in the fight of our lives for this democracy and everything it stands for, which is the right to be different and still retain the same constitutionally given rights. Stand tall! Stand firm! That takes sacrifice. Fight now or fight violently later.
Pete is a highly intelligent man. A man with morals, ethics and honesty. He has served this country in the military. He loves his family with voracity. The people who oppose him have none of these attributes. That’s why they have to scare him out. Because they fear him. They know he is so much better than they are. Tell me why T’s supporters look the other way with all his scandals. He cheats on all his wives, is a pedophile etc. Yet that is all acceptable in their feckless minds. Bring back sensibility, morality and kindness. All of which Pete possesses. Reject the rest.
Well said. The bully and his clique can't lead by example and can't inspire loyalty among decent human beings, so they bully. It's really all they know how to do.
Being falsely accused of such a horrendous allegation is inexcusable. I hope the person who made the allegation is arrested and serves time.
You are spot on! This hate-filled president has not only blessed this behavior, he has INVITED it out into the open! This false report needs to be investigated, and the perpetrator needs to suffer the consequences of an illegal act. Pete Buttigieg has shown himself to be an incredibly smart and absolutely decent person...an example for all of us to follow! He fought for our country! He served our government! Thank you for speaking out about it!
Anonymity is a real problem, in swatting and everyday Internet discussions.
Thank you for writing this. Such a sad state our country is in but people like you (and Pete) make me optimistic.
Dear Mike, I just became a paid subscriber because of this no-BS straight-on truth-that-hurts post. Obviously, Common-Sense Curmudgeon isn't my real name. In case you need my real name before the subscription renews in August, please send a message to my e-mail and let me provide it. You are the real deal, and I respect you. I hesitated to subscribe for quite a while because I parted ways with the Dem establishment (the "Democratic Leadership Council" etc.) back when Clinton forced NAFTA down our throats. But this post resonated with me. I'm a former hostage (held by the PLO in Jordan in 1970), and not easy to scare -- still, I -- justifiably, I think -- fear being arrested or having my loved ones targeted because I vocally and financially oppose the current kleptocratic regime. But I will not shut up, and I will not stop donating anywhere I think I can help break the power of this immoral, grotesque, un-American cabal. Thank you for further stiffening my resolve.
I’m sorry for all you’ve gone through and respect the decisions you’ve made.
Wow! Much respect to you. Thanks for still fighting. It's really hard. It's tiring. It's depressing. It can take over your life. It's marvelous to hear from someone who thinks it's worth it. That gives me hope. Mike and his ilk give me hope.
Great response, Mike. Yes, we have to stand up and refuse to give in to hate. People who file false reports should be prosecuted and penalized, or the haters will just keep doing their damage.
These are scary times, and when this hateful regime uses everything it can against someone like Pete, it's horrible. I'm so disgusted that Trump got back into power. We can never let the likes of him again. They are hate-driven; fueled by ignorance
When I was a kid we used to have a saying "God hates a coward" now I'm not religious at all but that quote hit me and has stayed with me my entire life. Mike you must be one of God's favorites! Remember when we fight we win don't let these losers win vote. We have a historical chance to repudiate this regime in November let's make it such a wave that no one can contest it!
What happened to Buttigieg is absolutely disgusting..but you know what solid, capable Dems like Mike need to do to 'not let them win'? (since we can't do much about MAGA crazies)
Do something to stop these 'centrists' from tearing apart the party. These guys are going after the progressive wing even harder than they go after the GOP.
That is precisely how they 'pick us off' - and the GOP can just sit back and watch.
Just in the past couple days:
Dem consultant fossil James Carville posted a hysterical rant where he says he will leave the party, contradicting his decades of talk about a ' big tent'.
Meanwhile, 'centrist' Tom Suozzi and several other elected Dems signed a pledge to dedicate themselves to capitalism, in a direct attack on a few winning candidates from last week.
Did this 'pledge' say a word about massive income inequality, or the need to tax billionaires or rein in big tech? Nope.
The progressive wing, from AOC to Bernie to any number of other reps, have consistently supported the 'moderates' in the party on almost everything, while 'centrists' like Fetterman, Manchin, Sinema have taken down Dems initiatives over and over.
These same people are more worried about a few tweets than supporting genocide and apartheid, or cozying up to billionaires, or bear hugging Liz Cheney, or throwing trans people under the bus..
The Democratic Party should be excited about this new energy. Instead, they are losing their minds that their big donors may be threatened.
Now big money is freaking out in Colorado - from Drop Site News:
'Super PACs funded by AIPAC and major big tech donors have poured roughly $2 million behind Rep. Diana DeGette on the eve of her contentious primary in Colorado’s first congressional district against democratic socialist challenger Melat Kiros.
The June 30 primary in the Denver area has drawn national attention in the wake of Tuesday’s sweeping set of wins by democratic socialists in New York. Kiros has run as a critic of unchecked AI development, telling Drop Site News she supports a moratorium on data center construction. Her opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its ongoing efforts at occupation and ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, meanwhile, has drawn the attention of pro-Israel donors hoping to rescue their longtime ally DeGette.'
Will Carville support this effort too? Suozzi and his gang of capitalist worshipping 'moderates'?
Diana DeGette is one of the House's most progressive members, ranked well above AOC (#9 vs #29). If Melat Kiros has used the word "genocide" in conjunction with Palestine, she is not good (I've heard enough about her to think that might be true.) Anyone who demonizes "AIPAC," which is an outside spender not controlled by any candidate, in conjunction with a candidate, makes their own candidate appear to be a bad choice. DeGette is also against unchecked data center construction. And I'm sick and tired of elections hinging on Palestine and who can be the most extreme and anti-Semitic.
I don't give a shit what Carville does. His name on an email earns an instant delete.
Oh, wait — Ryan Grim was a founder of Drop Site News? That figures. Formerly with the Berniecept. Definitely a certain viewpoint to be take into account .
oh and PS - big tech is also getting behind DeGette:
Project 218, another super PAC spending big behind DeGette, receives much of its funding from wealthy tech industry donors, as first reported in the Colorado Sun. Project 218 dumped $400,000 into attack ads against Kiros on June 17 after receiving two massive $3.5 million and $630,000 contributions from a 501(c)(4) organization called Democracy Matters on May 26 and May 20 respectively. Campaign finance laws do not require 501(c)(4)s, frequently referred to as “dark money” or “advocacy” groups, to disclose the sources of their funding.
In discussing AI, DeGette has often focused on the energy demands and improving the grid. “After 20 years of stagnation, electricity demand is finally set to grow again, driven by everything from data centers to a resurgence in domestic manufacturing to vehicle electrification, America is demanding more electricity,” she said in a hearing in the House. “This increasing desire for electricity is a good thing... But as we celebrate these new industries being built in the United States, we must make sure our power grid is up to the task.”
Yes, tough stand on data centers.
Oh, I guess that makes Grim's reporting not true, because you don't like him.
'If Melat Kiros has used the word "genocide" in conjunction with Palestine, she is not good' is not only a comically ridiculous thing to say, it shows you know nothing about her except whatever you just googled.
Calling AIPAC simply 'an outside spender not controlled by any candidate' is ridiculous. Any candidate can choose if they accept AIPAC funds or not, and plenty have pledged not to.
Besides fact that every international human rights org in the world, the UN, several national leaders, and even Israeli human rights orgs and genocide scholars have all affirmed the obvious fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (as well as apartheid -driven ethnic cleansing in the West Bank), majorities of Democratic base voters understand this as well.
As does Melat Kiros how as affirmed this many times.
It is just insane that the red line for so many 'moderate' Dems is to be against genocide.
you seem very opinionated about things you're not that well informed on.
That's what we call a 'non sequitur'.
Look, at the end of the day, if Dems want a 'big tent' like they always claim to want, that means opening to the left as well as to the right. If Kamala Harris can bear hug Liz Cheney, the Dems can find a way to embrace Mamdani, clearly one of the most exciting and popular politicians in the country right now, as well as his allies, who are all supporting issues that are very popular with the Democratic base.
And even more than that, these candidates are proving to be real fighters, and taking strong stands, which is what survey after survey shows Democratic voters want.
So you can lean into your ad hominems, but the fact remains that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has serious energy and is motivating a whole new generation of voters to get to the polls. It is not just ridiculous and hypocritical to dismiss these candidates, it is terrible politics.
I'm more concerned about the so-called "progressive" wing inventing enemies to demonize, not "centrists" (of which there are very few), but good, pragmatic Democrats trying to get kids fed and give people access to health care they can afford. The minute I see someone screaming "AIPAC" I know they're doing damage to progressive goals. AIPAC is irrelevant. It's interesting you can only cite one current Democrat, a guy who is widely criticized for his out-of-synch-with-everyone positions, and two people who basically left the party and politics because they were so out of synch with everyone. Fetterman is alone, and only matters because Congress is so closely divided. He is seldom joined by colleagues on anything.
BTW Bernie Sanders is NOT the senate's super-progressive (that would be the Massachusetts Two). Chuck Schumer has a stronger progressive voting record. Image does a lot of heavy lifting. We all should be less taken in by image.
1- AIPAC is definitely not irrelevant, even 'moderate' Dems have been going out of their way to shun them...the Democratic base is sick of supporting genocide and apartheid, and tired of this massive PAC undermining race after race, both in primaries and in general elections.
2- I did not cite one single Democrat, there are at least 13 elected Democratic who signed Suozzi's absurd pledge, and I didn't even start to list the disparaging comments from other elected Dems, from Jeffries and Schumer on down, not to mention the 'moderate' left leaning press, which has been losing their collective mind over this. It's curious' you talk about 'inventing enemies to demonize' which is precisely what ;centrist' Dems, from elected officials to consultant and pundits to their media allies, are doing right now. The comments out there are downright hysterical.
It is obvious why I mentioned those three 'centrists' because while they were all knocking down Biden's agenda (and now siding with the GOP in Fetterman's case) AOC and the 'Squad' consistently supported Biden well over 90% of the time. Sanders outright campaigned with him in 2020 and 2024 while he was still running.
It's again 'curious' that you hold up Schumer as a good example, one of the single least popular politicians in the country, from any party, while Sanders consistently ranks in the two two or three most popular politicians for many years, along with Obama. Currently , Mamdani is among the most popular politicians nationwide as well. Feckless isn't a strong enough word for Schumer these days. His primary can't come soon enough.
Another thing really terrible about all this is the Dems should be learning from the massive success of the grassroots, old school door-knocking campaigns that put Mamdani and now a few of his allies in power. Instead, we are getting ridiculous reactions all over the place, like hinting that these candidates aren't just as concerned, if not more so , about 'trying to get kids fed and give people access to health care they can afford' than any 'moderate' in the party.
Again, chill. A lot go your facts are incorrect and seem filtered through your desire to see things a certain way. Schumer and Mamdani's national approvals aren't that far apart, despite Schumer being relentlessly demonized for years by both self-appointed progressives and the mainstream media. Mamdani is popular in NYC right now, but nationally not so much as most people don't know much about it. Most people do not know what Schumer has actually done, or that he is more progressive than Bernie Sanders.
God(s) bless Mayor Pete and his husband and their children; god(s) bless you for writing this piece; and god(s) bless the people who truly believe in the United States of America.
I’m still kind of confused about what happened. So anyone can pick up the phone and make wild allegations about someone else and that person is assumed guilty and has to be proven innocent and their kids get swept up in the lie? This is crazy in a country with so many actual pedophiles and rapists who never get held accountable for one second!
I know. It's scary. What if the kids had no grandmother nearby and were taken to some big, faceless office building to be cared for by people they didn't know. They'd likely be traumatized for life. And these kids are probably traumatized anyway.
Agree with you 100%. They want to silence us. Thanks for having the bravery to write this. I feel like you do and applaud Pete for sharing his story. All it takes is one person at a time to stand up and say they won’t be silenced. Let’s do this together.
At some point, we're going to have to figure out how we're going to catch the evil cowards who do this kind of thing, who phone or email anonymous death threats, who menace others on the road, leave dead animals on doorsteps etc. For starters, why are people who do what was done to Pete, who SWAT people, and the like not required to give their names to the authorities? Why can't their calls be traced?
And then we're going to have to decide what we're going to do to them (within the legal system) when we do. Because all this kind of behavior is profoundly un-American and unconstitutional. It's far more reminiscent of what happened under the Nazis in Germany, and continued under the Communists in East Germany, where everyone was constantly informing on everyone else. These people, the MAGAts, are turning our law enforcement into the Stasi, and they need to be held accountable.
Will some good people be afraid to say something when they really do see something? It's possible, if law enforcement and the media handle this poorly. But (a) I strongly suspect the kinds of people who "don't want to get involved" are already not reporting, that it's a fairly binary quality (ie those inclined to report wrongdoing will do so no matter what, and those who aren't, won't) and (b) At some point don't the harms of allowing this kind of behavior outweigh the far smaller number of tragedies that might result if people making reports or threats could no longer account on anonymity to protect them? Because for every Pete Buttigieg with the strength and power to brush something like this off and keep going, there are thousands of ordinary citizens being threatened and intimidated by his brownshirts who don't.
You know what else discourages good people from running? (And this is something OUR side does a lot.) When we declare that they are "all the same," that you can't trust any politician, that all of them lie. I battle friends about this all the time. I remind them that when you tar everyone with a broad brush, the villains don't care — in fact, many of them are proud to be depicted negatively — but the good people back away.
Thank you for this. I am a 74-year-old grandmother who has protested, written letters, made calls, donated, and voted in every election since I was 18. However, I hesitate to stick my neck out farther for the exact reasons you stated here. I wouldn't want to put my family in jeopardy or, for that matter, myself, but I am very grateful for those who do.
Absolutely! If you don't look like them, operate like them, cheat and steal like them, they'll make it difficult for you. They'll take your time, your resources, even your life. We are in the fight of our lives for this democracy and everything it stands for, which is the right to be different and still retain the same constitutionally given rights. Stand tall! Stand firm! That takes sacrifice. Fight now or fight violently later.