OPINION:
ShutDownDC has put out a tweet that calls for hundreds of pro-abortion protesters to disrupt the congressional baseball game, saying the “monsters” who oppose Roe v. Wade don’t deserve peace.
And all the left-wing pundits on CNN and MSNBC call foul! — accusing this group of inciting violence.
No they don’t.
That’s a joke. Fact is, ShutDownDC is the left’s welcome wagon for all things conservative.
There’s a double standard at play in America that goes like this: Whatever Democrats do, it’s OK; whatever Republicans do, it’s racist, sexist, misogynist or biased and must, must, must be stopped by any means.
It’s to save the republic, you see. Not that Democrats understand what a republic is — and certainly not that Democrats, if they did understand what a republic is, would want to save it. By and large, Democrats are ignorant of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the definition of such hard words as “republic” and such tricky phrases as “rule of law,” “blind justice” and “equality for all” — so they take their definitions from doing opposite of whatever conservatives call for; of whatever conservatives stand for; of whatever happens to be the conservative line of thought or view. An example?
The First Amendment guarantees a “right of the people peaceably to assemble.”
Notice the word “peaceably.” It gets dropped a lot from accepted definitions and standards of behavior lists, depending on whom is doing the assembling.
By and large, conservatives “peaceably” gather, they “peaceably” assemble. They “peaceably” “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Democrats, on the other hand, don’t. They generally do the opposite of the conservative definition of “peaceably” — which is to say they throw bricks and attack people in the streets.
The left will point to January 6 as an a-ha moment — but don’t let that fool. The years of the tea party movement were marked by peaceful assemblies of conservatives; the months of Occupy Wall Street was marked by Democrats defecating in the streets and breaking storefront windows. The years of pro-Donald Trump rallies and gatherings were marked — and are marked — by peaceful gatherings of conservatives. The years of anti-Donald Trump protests were marked — and are marked — by thuggish assemblies of antifa and Black Lives Matter and like-minded mobs of leftists and tools of the Democrat Party who take to the streets to, well, take over the streets. Violently, for the most part.
See the difference?
One group has a standard understanding of the word “peaceably,” as it pertains to constitutional gatherings. Another group has a standard understanding of “do the opposite of what that MAGA guy did,” as it pertains to public gatherings and protests.
“We disrupted Brett Kavanaugh’s steak dinner and we will disrupt the Congressional Baseball Game,” ShutDownDC tweeted.
“The monsters tearing apart our country deserve no peace,” ShutDownDC tweeted.
“If 100s of us turn out to the Congressional Baseball Game this month and risk arrest, there’s a real chance we could shut the whole thing down,” ShutDownDC tweeted.
Twitter censors apparently haven’t seen these tweets, else they would’ve no doubt removed them for violating the terms of agreement. After all, just a few years ago, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot at a baseball practice for this very game — along with four others — by a man with “a clear hatred for Republicans,” as History recounted.
And now ShutDownDC is vowing to “converge en masse” at this field.
“We will not stand by, watching them play games while the world burns. Everything we love is at stake. Our safety, our future, our one and only home,” the group wrote. “It’s time to leave everything on the field.”
Like bodies?
Like shot and injured bodies?
The First Amendment’s “peaceably” standard needs to be enforced, no matter the politics of the assemblers. It’s time for Americans to insist on equal treatment of the First Amendment.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.