Mitch Perry
With fears running high among Latinos, Muslims, women, and other groups in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz and three of her Democratic colleagues aim to be proactive in telling those groups that they’re thinking of them, and will be wearing safety pins on the floor of Congress as a symbolic gesture. And they’re encouraging their congressional colleagues to follow suit.
“In the wake of the legitimate fear that has been instilled in the hearts of too many of our fellow Americans, a symbol of safety, unity, and love has been advanced by wearing a safety pin on your lapel,” reads the letter, co-authored by Wasserman Schultz, Indiana’s Andre Carson, Texas’ Joaquin Castor, and Pennsylvania’s Brendan Boyle to the Democratic caucus.
“We invite you and your staff to join us in fastening a safety pin to your clothing this week, as a demonstration that we stand for safety, healing, and unity against bigotry, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and misogyny,” the letter continues. “Let’s go high by sending a message that we are a safe haven, a refuge, and a bulwark against hate.”
The safety pin movement began over the summer, after British citizens voted to leave the European Union. According to the New York Times, an American woman living in Britain suggested on Twitter that people wear safety pines to show support for immigrants living in the United Kingdom
The Guardian reported there was a 57 percent rise in reported hate crimes after the referendum. The woman, the newspaper reported, wanted to do something to show she supported the immigrant community. She was inspired by the #illridewithyou movement. In Australia, people used the hashtag to take public transportation with Muslims after a Muslim gunman held people hostage in 2014.
The lawmakers say they’ll be sending a strong message to those in fear that “regardless of which political majority wins an election, the American majority stands against those who wish to divide us. Let us all stand in solidarity with those whose differences are what make our nation truly great.”
More than 20 other Democrats say they’ll be wearing safety pins, according to Wasserman Schultz spokesman.
9 comments
Enlightened Observer
November 14, 2016 at 3:41 pm
This woman is spending her time, and therefore, tax dollars, advocating wearing safety pins? Truly amazing, but maybe not coincidental with being a stalwart of of the Democrats. Truly amazing,
FUDJT
November 14, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Oh just go away already Schultz! You conspiring to get your damaged cohort Hillary the nomination is a key reason why we’re looking at President-elect Trump today. If you had any integrity and remorse for the damage you have done to the party and by extension to the country, you would resign as congresswoman immediately, but judging by your underhanded tactics, you have neither. So try to peddle your empty and ultimately gesture in order to keep whatever relevance you have left as you serve your hopefully effectively lame duck term. The party will be better off without your cronyism.
tt
November 15, 2016 at 12:47 pm
hit the nail on the head!
James
November 15, 2016 at 8:50 am
Another potential draw to the Trump mystique is how he is an almost Gatsby-like character, which our national consciousness has been infatuated with for quite some time. Recall Gatsby’s guide was Dan Cody, which is a combination of Daniel Boone and Wild Bill Cody…marking the beginning and ending of the American frontier…the legal, political and economic system known as the United States had conquered sea to sea…now what? Beyond Manifest Destiny, what could mold the American identity? Gatsby manufactured a personality when electric lights and automobiles were becoming widespread, creating new, virtually unlimited potentials for what it means to be “American”…Trump has manufactured a personality in a reality-TV and twitter age with similar possibilities exposing an open future. Gatsby revealed the ambiguity of the American Dream…in ways, he was admirable…in ways revolting…Nick Carraway (you and I) are simultaneously attracted to, yet repulsed by, wealth and glamour (Trump is a multi-billionaire who speaks to Everyman)…he’s “inside” and “outside” the upper echelons of society. He is one of us. He understands our fears of loneliness and our fears of intimacy. Gatsby “…has smile that understands you in the way you like to be understood,” yet at times he also “looks like he had killed a man.” Trump can be very personable, yet will mow anyone down who stands between him and his Dream.
Gatsby broke a clock…he wanted time to stop…return to the way things were back in the good ole days…Reminds me of how fiction and reality can have reciprocal effects…American culture created Gatsby, then the Gatsby myth continues to refashion what it means to be American. However, Trump does insist the “great again” theme isn’t a nostalgic looking backward, but forward, and refers to fortitude of character, not some particular temporal slot in history. He believes the politically correct police have gone too far and “safe spaces” have moved beyond their original purpose and have become methods to regulate speech to inordinate degrees. After seeing posts on Veteran’s Day of teenagers landing at Normandy Beach and Iwo Jima then seeing many of todays’ college students needing to be comforted with hot chocolate and pizza, unable to attend classes, simply because the election didn’t go as they wanted, I can perceive some truth in the assertion that the concept of safe spaces has gone too far.
As evidence of his authenticity, Trump has refused to accept a salary as President, which is an admirable gesture (Gatsby didn’t care about the money or parties, just Daisy: an idealized vision encompassing aspects of the {ultimately unreachable} American Dream). Time will tell, but the protests are against our democratic process (Hillary supporters didn’t like it when Bernie supporters protested her nomination under more questionable circumstances that led to the “retirement” of Debbie Wasserman Schultz as DNC Chair). Take active change, use future votes, exercise your right to express your opinion / voice (does not include the right to commit violent acts), but give Trump a chance. If he makes significant mistakes as POTUS, vote him out of office, and if he commits any true offense, we have the power to impeach him.
Perhaps because I recently taught this text is why I perceive (real or imagined) tangential connections between Gatsby and Trump. American identity is fluid and dynamic, but one defining feature of what it means to be American is to move forward with courage while participating in civil discourse…unfortunately the latter is largely missing from much online communication, and the lack of civility and desire to discuss competing ideas productively (not whoever happens to be in the White House) is the real threat to our democratic republic.
Mike
November 15, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Blame the voters of her district who care about nothing but there own interests and not the rest of the country. This woman is the WORST, she is the embodiment of whats wrong with politics and why Hillary lost.
Tom Murray
November 16, 2016 at 10:14 am
Isn’t Wasserman -Schultz the one who cheated (screwed) Bernie Sanders?
Leslie
November 16, 2016 at 3:43 pm
If not for DWS, Bernie would’ve won.
Too little, too late.
Laura
November 18, 2016 at 6:48 am
FUDWS
Kevin Henaghan
November 18, 2016 at 10:49 pm
I was actually considering doing this ,until I heard that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was going to do it.If she hadn’t fixed things for Hillary,the country wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in now.Thanks for nothing,Debbie.
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