Psychologists call it “projection” – but sometimes the notion stirs a dash of skepticism in me: Certain people actually accuse others of the very misdeed they’re committing? That’s seriously warped — so much so, it strikes me as rather implausible.
Then again … addressing that very offense, the perspicacious Apostle Paul took to the woodshed some of the religious hypocrites of his day (Romans 2:21-23). And if one scopes out the tendencies of not a few modern Leftists, “projection” seems garishly alive and well.
Take, for instance, the F-word deluging many a “progressive” conversation whenever the topic of Donald Trump — or pretty much any conservative or Republican — arises: “Fascism”. Mention our current Chief Exec or his GOP abettors and accusations of Hitlerian connivings explosively abound.
Yet …
Did you hear about the CrossFit exec given the corporate boot for daring to tweet, during his off-time, he wasn’t a fan of “Pride event(s)”; and that he deemed “[t]he tactics of some in the LGBTQ movement toward dissent … an existential threat to freedom of expression.”? In response, CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman recurred to another “F-Word”: “He needs to take a big dose of ‘shut the f–k up’ and hide out for awhile.”
Classy.
The company muckety-muck must be a graduate of the Robert DeNiro school of rhetoric and elocution. And his is a common tactic of much of the “tolerant”-but-projecting Left, who’ll gladly make allowances for any perspective — providing it agrees with theirs. “We do so much good work with such pure hearts … we’re all upset.”, continued anything-but-humble Glassman. Yep, plainly the vocal stylings of a real angel.
Thankfully, at least law enforcement and legal measures weren’t enlisted in this contretemps.
The same, lamentably, can’t be said for the case of Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church. It’s presently being sued for a hefty $2.4 million by a gaggle of LGBT bullies for refusing to rent them the congregation’s event center. Anyone else see the problem here? The Portland, OR church faces penalties for declining to lease their facility to an outside group that stands for activity which violates the tenets of their faith.
Meantime, a craven Governor Chris Sununu (R(?)-NH) just appended his signature to a legislative tandem which typifies current, all-things-“transgender”-all-the-time daffiness. HB 1319 opens the gates for the sexually confused to steamroll Granite State business owners: if bearded Bob, wearing a dress and lipstick, wants a job at the local coffee shop? And to use the restroom reserved for women and little girls? Step aside, or face legal accusations of “discrimination”.
Reality, schmeality! Sexual-identity discombobulation uber alles.
Then there’s HB 587 which, even more alarmingly, “ban[s] therapy between licensed counselling professionals and minors struggling with unwanted gender identity or same sex attraction.” [emphasis mine]. In civilian-speak: therapists, etc. cannot help young people struggling with “gender” issues come to peaceable grips with their literal, biological sex.
Where to begin on the strong-arming obscenities of these diktats? First Amendment rights? Free Speech and Religious Liberty? Parental authority? Public order? Common sense? All of ’em endure a crippling whack at the behest of the gender-gendarmes.
A continent away, a like-minded shred of legislative mischief is lately slithering its way through California’s legislature. Under the pre-text of “consumer fraud”, AB2943 would flat-out bar “sexual-orientation change efforts” (so-called “conversion therapy”) — including for willing adults seeking such treatment. Furthermore, National Review‘s David French demonstrates “step by step how the bill’s language … could block book stores from stocking and selling books … that make the same claims a licensed counselor is making.”
Book-burning, anyone?
PJ Media’s Paula Boyard recently wrote:
The LGBT militants are on the ascendency in the American culture and they’re coming for us with everything they’ve got. They won’t stop until we’re silenced, cowed, and unemployed. They don’t want a truce in the culture wars — they want compliance. They won’t settle for detente or even a cold war. They won’t be satisfied until we’re all enthusiastically applauding their sexual proclivities and perversions.
North of Sacramento — just to show you the Government-as-thug approach isn’t limited only to genitalia-oriented matters — “greedy members of the Seattle City Council … [b]acked by their union friends … just voted to impose a ‘head tax’ on large employers,” writes Veronique de Rugy. Potentially over five-hundred-eighty businesses would be impacted, to the cumulative tune of millions of dollars.
Tech behemoth Amazon had the audacity to entertain public steps for minimizing their exposure. Guess what happened? “[T]hose who constantly lust over other people’s money” filed their rabid objections. “A union-backed activist group named Working Washington immediately called for … Amazon to be charged with a felony for the crime of ‘intimidating a public servant.’ ” Not a misprint: in the wake of the threatening levy, it suddenly became potentially illegal for the corporation to merely question whether it would pursue a previously planned business expansion in the anomalously nicknamed “City of Goodwill”.
All together now: Click those heels and salute!
Happily, widespread blow-back catalyzed this week’s overturning of the addle-headed act. That it passed unanimously in the first place, though, remains grounds for concern — as does the hilarious Twitter response of Seattle Stalinista and “City Councilmember ~ Socialist ~ Member of Socialist Alternative and AFT 1789” Kshama Sawant: “This is a capitulation to bullying by Amazon & other big biz.”
Hold on: the “bully” in this melodrama is who exactly?
Clueless and out-of-touch doesn’t come close.
Toss in taxpayers shanghied into footing the bill for an omnivorous welfare state, universal healthcare (including abortion services!), lefty indoctrination centers (read: public schools) and whatever fashionable project is capturing today’s liberal fancy; the deathless campaign to squelch Americans’ self-defense rights; pro-life centers forced to advertise the bloody “services” of their baby-killing competitors; campus speech codes; diversity quotas; coerced cake-baking and — well, you get the tyrannical idea: Contemporary secularists and progressives won’t be denied; nor will they abide anyone taking issue with their dystopian vision of a society framed and tamed by their despotic, egalitarian, collectivist, sexual-anarchist, moral-relativist whip-hand.
Picture Hogan’s Heroes’ Gen. Burkhalter in full grimace: You vill pretend men und women are za same! You vill reject free t’inking und free living! You vill co-operate!
Legions of Lefto-fascists also, apparently, gaze into the mirror every morning and then tar innocent parties with whatever it is they spy there. So, it looks like there’s something to this “projection” business, after all.
Image: CC By-NC 2.0; Excerpted from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18946008@N06/3279861175/
