We’re two weeks out from the chaotic night of looting and protests. Two weeks ago the city was stunned with looters and overcome with protestors. Two weeks ago people gathered and violated the directives on groups. Some wore masks, some didn’t. We’re on the edge of finding out if that was a public health disaster in the making, or not.
This summer is shaping up to be a crazy environment. There is a lot of mobilization on the racial equality front, but it’s hard to tell what the differences will be. How will corporations change their practices, how will society become more open and willing to address tough topics.
Frankly the Left needs to lighten the heck up in order to be able to have tough conversations and not be so damn sensitive to every little “micro-aggression” and focus on the big issues. I say this having been engaged in a Facebook “conversation” with a pair of social justice advocates who are taking offense at my asking for clarification of a statement.
The back story is this, one SJA posted a list of proposed societal changes, and the other SJA wrote, “ Yeah and how bout Wyoming doesn’t get the same number of senators as California”. Now, having read the Constitution, and being a lawyer, and passing high school government class I know that every state gets two Senators. I was perplexed by the comment and wrote, “Uh, Why do you say that Wyoming doesn’t get the same number of senators as California? [First SJA] what am I missing?”
Here’s the response I received: “I’m saying a small - less densely populated state should NOT get the same representation in the senate (as it currently does). Ps - what’s with the snarky ‘uh’...?....especially given you misinterpreted my post.”
This gets dicey and turns on the meaning and intent of the errant “Uh”. I didn’t think I was being snarky, but evidently SJA 1 and 2, feel that I was. In my experience, I CAN BE Snarky, Mean, Nasty, Cutting, Quick Witted, heck I get paid to do all that in a courtroom. I’m a paid wordsmith, and I keep in mind that the measure of a message is how clearly it is understood by the recipient. So a little “uh” doesn’t even make a ripple in my world. But in theirs it did. Which I find deeply ironic.
See the far left is all about how things are felt and perceived by the recipient. Trauma has no objective standards - it’s based on the targeted person’s perception (formerly called a victim but we can’t use that word anymore) and how they “feel” about something. Well applying this logic, I didn’t feel the statement about Wyoming’s Senator count was clear, so I asked for clarification, and was then labeled as ‘snarky’. That seems like victim blaming to me, and I feel that I was being treated contemptuously and dismissed. They didn’t support and believe my lack of understanding. How wrong is that?
This is the type of over the top, super sensitive BS that will destroy the left and keep the current occupant of the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in office. The left has got to learn to have a decent, uncomfortable conversation without immediately jumping to, dare I say it? Victimhood.
The protests of two weeks ago are important. They are needed to raise awareness of the overtraining of the police and their militarization. The hard numbers of abuses by law enforcement officers need to be brought to light and the abuses need to be stopped and better community policing is needed. However, if we cannot have the difficult conversations without dropping into victimhood and ad hominems, we’re never going to get anywhere.
I know I’m specially trained in this area. I spent four years at St. John’s College where we studied great books and learned how to be inquisitive and hold difficult conversations. I spent three years on law school learning how to fashion questions. Today I still take courses on discourse, advertising, marketing, mediation and work on my communication skills. The first thing we learn is to not attack the person, but the problem.
The left better develop a thick skin quickly, or all these protests, all the publicity, will be for naught.
David Pisarra is a Los Angeles Divorce and Child Custody Lawyer specializing in Father’s and Men’s Rights with the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or 310/664-9969. You can follow him on Twitter @davidpisarra
