POTUS: No Respect Due
Regularly now, out where I work, someone, almost always an older or middle aged white male makes a loud and quite vocal pronouncement that the current President is treated with disrespect like no other in history. It has happened in a bookstore a few times, and it has happened in a courthouse. One incident in the bookstore involved a display of books about the current President that were all critical of his service as President and how he conducts himself as President, statements, derogatory pronouncements, name calling, etc. The person accusing the disrespect was adamant that the display was intentional and put up to trash the current President.
The response these individuals usually get is perfect too: what did you say when his predecessor, Barack Obama regularly was treated like trash? Did you come in bookstores and denounce the negative books written about that President? Did you criticize those who were critical of Mr. Obama or disrespected him in the general discourse of being President. Did you stand tall agains the eight years of racism and racist statements directed at Obama and the first lady, Michele Obama? Did you denounce the birther campaign against Mr. Obama when he was President (led by the current President)?
The individuals defending the current President usually are either speechless, become more atomic, or become very defensive and claim that the previous President did not suffer as our current President is suffering. Of course, those of us who remember what happened previously are aware that one President was attacked for what he says and how he treats people and the other (Obama) was mostly attacked for the fact that he was Black.
It doesn’t help either that despite the relentless racist indignities Obama endured, he never ever responded with his own nasty vitriol. The current President, of course, has been just the opposite. He regularly disrespects members of the media and has made a cacophony of racist statements and calls anyone and everyone some type of name. Elizabeth Warren is “Pocahantas”; Hillary Clinton is “Crooked Hillary.” Hell, the current President was the fuel for the nasty, and bigoted birther campaign against Obama. That alone was one of the nastiest and most racist and dishonest public campaigns ever in modern political history in the U.S.
Of course, the office of President of the U.S. carries with it some degree of respect just by the nature of the office. But in this instant, the respect is long lost and must be earned back. Imagine if the principal of a high school went around calling other people in the trade names, disrespected members of the media in public and treated some of his students like he or she had no respect for them. Does this individual deserve anyone’s respect?
