Unless you have been a recluse residing in one of Harry Reid’s beloved wilderness areas, you may have noticed that bullying has become a major concern, mostly of the left. It seems that bullies really haven’t existed too much until now. Or maybe there just wasn’t enough “awareness” then.
Certainly, no one likes to be bullied yet nearly everyone has been at some point in their lives. Now, however, according to left-leaning media types, it seems that incidents of bullying have reached epic proportions.
I submit that as true, just not in the way the media would like us to believe. Those who are the first to claim they are being bullied seem to be the worst offenders. They are, you guessed it, government and liberals.
You want some examples? I only have space for a few. One is fairly close to home. If you watch Fox News or internet news sources, you may have heard about the standoff between Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy and the BLM. After a long-standing dispute, the BLM showed up to gather Bundy’s cattle. BLM arrived in grand fashion with about 100 people, including armed “enforcement” people and reportedly with snipers.
They further instituted “First Amendment Free” zones (yes, they really called them that) because they didn’t want anyone to see what they were doing or record them. One of the Bundy sons was tasered and arrested for video recording them from a “closed” state highway.
I am not opining about the right or wrong of the actions of the Bundy’s that led to this confrontation, at least not at this time. My point is that the BLM arrived with the obvious intent of intimidation. If that isn’t bullying I don’t know what is.
Need more? How about Attorney General Eric Holder when he testified before the House Oversight Committee? Rep. Louie Gohmert, by all accounts a man of integrity and honor, questioned Holder about promised information that was never produced. Holder evidently didn’t want to answer the question. He essentially told the committee that they weren’t important. When Gohmert said that contempt apparently was not a big issue to the AG, Holder replied “You don’t want to go there buddy, alright?”
After the hearing Holder complained that he had never heard of an AG being treated that way. How about Alberto Gonzalez? Or maybe John Ashcroft? The issue was information on Fast and Furious. He is playing the victim while he bullies others, even mentioning race as a reason for being questioned. Funny, I don’t remember Condoleezza Rice or Colin Powell ever using race as a crutch.
Speaking of Condie Rice, she was recently asked to join the board of directors of Dropbox.com. This didn’t sit well with liberals both in and outside of the company. They are pressuring the company to get rid of her, simply because she served under a Republican president.
That is similar to the situation with Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich. His only sin was to donate some money six years ago to support California’s Prop 8. That was the one approved overwhelmingly by California voters to ban gay marriage and then overturned by a gay activist judge. Apparently the act of donating money to such a “mean-spirited” group justifies the act by the gay community of bullying a CEO into resigning.
One agency that deserves mention is the IRS. Not only do they single out conservative non-profit groups, but they threaten with audits and more. For example, I just received a bill for $88 for an “incorrectly calculated” section of the tax return. I can’t see the problem and neither can my accountant, but it is cheaper to pay the amount than fight them.
Let’s see, $88 times 100 million returns equals, well you get the idea.
Bullying from the left runs even closer to home. Try being a public school teacher that opposes Common Core. Your career is basically over.
It even affects children. You may have heard of the fifth grader who was suspended for pointing a finger like a gun. Apparently your index finger is a Level 2 “look-alike weapon.” Who knew? Maybe he should have told the school he wanted to become an Occupy Wall Street protester. Oh, wait, that’s a different finger.
The new norm is that those being bullied are called bullies by the bullies. That is sad. It distracts from the real bullying problems, the kind that lead to school shootings, suicide, and the like as if the left really cares.
Tom Riggins is an LVN columnist.