Some male senators are Very Concerned about the safety of Justices Alito, Roberts and Kavanaugh because women are shouting things outside their house. I have advice for them: Shut up and step back.
May 9, 2022

As soon as that tweet went up, a bunch of men started scolding women. I challenge you to watch that video and tell me where the dark negativity is. They're resolute, yelling, "We will not go back" at Brett Kavanaugh's home. Still, the menacing tone is a pure invention of the author of that tweet, Douglas Blair, who writes for the Daily Signal, a conservative online publication.

But it wasn't just conservative fear mongers. Among the critics were a number of Democrats and pundits like Bill Kristol and Paul Begala and assorted male reporters, strutting their tut-tuts for the benefit of their respective audiences. After all, we can't have unruly women at the home of a Supreme Court Justice, now can we? How does it look, after all? (Never mind that Brett Kavanaugh's neighbor organized that vocal but peaceful protest...)

Here's Begala's tweet, representative of the whole gamut of Men Wanting Women To Be Dainty:

These men's phony bipartisan concern for the safety of men about to shove women back to the Dark Ages is performative, unwelcome, and insulting. Before they decide to use more of our taxpayer dollars to "protect" the precious male justices about to make us second-class citizens, I need to say some things.

First of all, women shouting, "We will not go back," is not a threat. It's a promise. Again, I repeat: it is not at all threatening or indicative of any physical threat toward the justices. And yet, a Breitbart editor put some bullshit out to stir up some more grievances and give Fox News a talking point magnified by Ilya Shapiro, who suddenly can't recall where he heard it. Hint for Ilya: It came from Kristan Hawkins, who was just lying to make Alito an idiot martyr for the Very Evil Thing he is about to do with very little compunction.

Now. Let's talk for a minute about sacred "free speech," shall we? And specifically, what Alito has said about it.

Back when old Justice Sam was on the 3rd Circuit, he wrote this: "[There is] no question that the free speech clause protects a wide variety of speech that listeners may consider deeply offensive, including statements that impugn another’s race or national origin or that denigrate religious beliefs."

Good deal. So Justice Sam, here's a statement for you from me: "F*ck your fundamentalism. F*ck your intellectual dishonesty. There's a hot place in hell for your kind. The Pope ought to excommunicate you. Give me time, and I'm sure I can think of more.

You know what? I'd be happy to chant all of that outside his house. More speech, just like he tells us. Answer billionaires' speech with more speech! More and more! The only place we know we're heard is when we're in the neighborhood, like women were on Sunday. And boy, did their little "We will not go back" protest get the concern-troll Democrats all riled up. We got a statement from Biden, and one from Psaki, and then Monday, we had good ole Chris Coons sidling up to John Cornyn to real quick-like get a bill to fund some security for those poor, speech-soaked justices. Just for good measure, the Washington Post Editorial Board waggled their fingers at the women protesting the LOSS OF A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT.

(Did I mention that Alito and his mostly-boy pals on SCOTUS are going to strip women of a fundamental right?)

Yes, instead of listening to the women who were raising their voices in resolute anger and frustration at having a Constitutional right ripped from them, our Democratic leadership is worried about the justices.

Fuck that. WOMEN are not the problem. WOMEN are not going to storm his house. WOMEN are trying to be heard for a change. Millions of women marched on January 21, 2017 and no violence happened. Imagine that. And yet, they made us the problem, not the fact that we're losing our rights.

It's high time Democrats stood with women -- really stood with them -- instead of playing Bipartisan Men Friends with their fascist colleagues who are secretly celebrating women losing a fundamental right to control their own bodies. I did mention that women are losing a Constitutional right, didn't I?

Women aren't the problem. I repeat: Women are not the problem.

Where were these concerned Senators when Christine Blasey Ford had to move four times and use her savings to stay safe from the Kavanaugh gang threatening her life?

Where were these concerned Senators when SCOTUS struck down the Massachusetts buffer zone law protecting clinics?

Where, for that matter, are these concerned Senators when zealots exercising their free speech rights menaced women walking into an abortion clinic?

Did they pass clinic protection laws after Dr. Tiller was gunned down? Nay, nay! Instead they hailed Bill O'Reilly's right to incite violence against him. Because free speech and all that.

And now that I think about it, I didn't see a crazed gang of women trying to storm the Supreme Court, the Capitol, or any other government building.

I've seen no quick-like-a-bunny move to pass some legislation to protect clinics or those who serve the women coming to those clinics. Have you? No?

Here's what women face NOW, while they still have the right to an abortion, should they choose to have one.

But we're supposed to be dainty and polite.

I cannot begin to express how lonely it feels to be abandoned by Senators of our own party -- MALE senators, I might add -- because they're more concerned with performative bipartisanship than the health and welfare of half of the people in this country.

Here's a word of advice for Chris Coons and the others enabling this behavior: Decide today whether you're going to be an ally or bipartisan. Let us know today who we can count on and who we can't.

And then get the hell out of our way.

UPDATE: Oh, I guess I have the answer:

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