Qui tacet consentire videtur

Last updated on: September 29, 2016 at 12:33 am by Mark Shea

Qui tacet consentire videtur 2016-09-28T22:43:56-07:00 Mark Shea

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Silence implies consent.

So at the debate, Clinton pointed out that, as is his custom, Trump had indulged himself in his habitual gradeschool playground misogyny and racism by calling a Latina woman “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping”:

Trump, being Trump, is incapable of apologizing for anything and so the next day was doubling down on this with still more gradeschool misogny and gossip with the network he knew would provide him an unchallenged forum for his childishness:

It needs to be understood that Trump’s base sees this behavior as a feature, not a bug. Insulting women as pigs and dogs, declaring them to be incompetent because of their menstrual cycle and doubling down on it with impunity is their idea of “manliness” because they are stunted manboys who don’t know what actual masculinity is.

And it’s no accident he is acting out this way the day after he was beaten by a woman. Moreover, it’s a significant pattern that he has repeatedly suggested that, if she defeats him, this uppity woman needs to be killed.

Here’s the thing: I’m constantly told by prolifers and Christians that we have to support him since, sure he’s not perfect, but he’s prolife (he’s not) and pro religious liberty (um, he wants to persecute Muslims, put them on databases, has talked warmly about the good old days of Japanese detention camps and declared that he will look Syrian children in the face and tell them “you can’t come” merely because they are Muslims. He is the biggest threat to religious liberty since the Know Nothings).

But because of these delusions, we “prolife” Christians are ready to completely overlook such things as his rampant misogny (just to pick one evil he advocates that happens to be in the news at present).

I’m open and frank about the fact that, since it is imperative this grotesque man lose, Hillary will have to win. I make no bones about that. And I am quite happy to shout from the housetops her terrible faults. I object to her support for abortion. I loathe her hawkishness. I detest her servile obeisance to the 1% and her grasping self-interest and dishonesty. I reject her his hostility to religious liberty. I can even point out that, as perfectly true as this video is…

…it is severely hampered by the fact that her husband has a credible rape charge against him from Juanita Broaddrick. #Yesallwomen applies to her as much as it does to Bill Cosby’s victims and it is a stain on the Clintons and their base that Broaddrick has been shamed and silenced and blamed just as much as any other woman with a credible charge of rape.

So I have no problem pointing out all these evils and anything else contrary to the faith in her and her entourage’s worldview and record. Because I need only point out that Trump embodies all this and vastly more evils and therefore, bad as she is, she will not do as much evil as he will.

But the Trump supporter is, by the nature of his predicament, forced to defend, deny, cover up and be silent about every evil he says and does. So when I pointed out his gross misogyny, the only response I got from Trump supporters was:

This is so absurd I can hardly believe that you’re saying this. What utter nonsense. Fr Frank Pavone supports him as does Franklin Graham. (along with some very good devout Catholic men I know). Are you painting them with the same brush?

Qui tacet consentire videtur. Silence implies consent. As long as they do not speak out against Trump’s misogyny, they are for it and they are, by their silence, giving consent both to Trump and to all the people saying “Trump that Bitch” and cheering for shooting her if she loses. They are giving consent to Trump calling women pigs and dogs. They are giving consent to Trump calling women “Miss Piggy”. They are giving consent to “Trump that Bitch”. Show me where these guys or any of the rest of “prolife” leadership who support Trump have condemned this or any other vile thing he says are does.

That’s the thing with Trump and the prolife movement. They dance to his tune, never he to theirs. The man has not so much as spoken about abortion since the beginning of April. Don’t get played anymore.

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