Recently I decided to do something different.
I decided to criticize Democrats.
After all, I’ve devoted a fair deal of ink to billionaires and MAGA Republicans over the last year or two. We know they’re awful. Sometimes it’s actually not productive to keep bashing them. It makes more sense to take some time and look at what we’re doing wrong.
You know me. I speak in hard truths. I want to make people uncomfortable. I want to make them think. Part of me knew there would be pushback, even anger. I was curious to see how Democrats reacted when someone dared to challenge them on key points.
It was a kind of test, really.
Here’s how that went.
Most of them didn’t finish reading.
Democrats have one thing in common, their hatred of Donald Trump. It was the only thing that got Joe Biden elected.
I’m well aware of how much Democrats hate the sight and sound of Trump. They’re almost obsessed, but time and again they’ve refused to acknowledge just how familiar his policies are.
For example:
Donald Trump mocked a disabled reporter, but Democrats have practically written disabled people out of existence. CNN airs ableist propaganda every day now, and nobody cares. The minute I compare Biden to Trump, my fellow liberals lose their tempers and yell at me.
They don’t bother to think from the perspective of any marginalized groups who might be feeling things differently.
They explain why I’m wrong.
They judge me.
It’s telling.
They insulted my desire for child vaccines.
Democrats spent most of the last year railing against anti-vaxxers, while they themselves got infected and spread Covid. Now they’re saying the pandemic is over. They’re ditching masks while 19 million children remain unvaccinated. According to Politico, pediatricians and health officials are deeply concerned. I criticized Biden for the delay.
I also said vaccinated people need to continue masking, especially since every single child under five remains unprotected.
Here’s what Biden supporters told me:
- You’re just fear mongering.
- Your daughter doesn’t need a vaccine.
- The pandemic is over.
- You don’t understand science.
- I guess you did your own research.
- This is baseless misinformation.
- You’re stupid.
These people don’t care if my daughter lives or dies. They don’t care what quality of life she leads. It’s interesting how many of them supported vaccines and masks for themselves, but not my family.
So, that’s nice.
They rationalized genocide.
Later I wrote about America’s selective attention to human rights, pointing out how both Democrats and Republicans use it as a tool to manufacture support for their agendas. I discussed our continued allegiance to Saudi Arabia, and how we quietly sell them billions of dollars in weapons even while they commit war crimes and atrocities in Yemen.
I said we need to be consistent in promoting human rights if we want the rest of the world to have our back against Russia.
Here’s what Biden supporters said:
- Well, we have to keep Saudi Arabia happy.
- It’s okay. They’re our biggest oil producer.
- You just wrote this post for money.
- Life is complicated.
For the record, many Democrats think it’s okay to fund genocide in countries that don’t matter to them geopolitically.
The just ignore it.
They engaged in climate denial.
I also said we needed urgent action on climate change, and nothing less will save us. I criticized Biden for breaking several promises, showing how he’s actually approving more drilling than Trump so far, and he’s also also declining to reverse many of Trump’s reckless policies.
I stressed the urgency in the latest climate reports, saying we only have a few years left to make major change.
Here’s what Biden supporters said:
- You’re just some dumb millennial.
- You don’t understand the economy.
- Are you crazy? We’re in a war.
- It’s going to take us decades to transition.
- Your ignorance is mind blowing.
- I’m blocking you.
Most democrats don’t even want to think about running a different candidate in 2024. They would rather spend their time writing five paragraphs to a climate activist explaining why we need to drill.
It’s a problem.
They made excuses for inaction.
I acknowledged that Biden was having a difficult time passing legislation even with a majority in the house and senate, and that it wasn’t completely his fault. I also said it was hypocritical for Biden to remain silent when two senators are obviously sabotaging his agenda.
I said if Democrats can’t handle their own, then there’s always going to be a few rogue senators who derail progress.
Here’s what Biden supporters said:
- You can’t expect politicians to be honest.
- Are you an agent of Putin?
- You’re such an idiot.
- Nobody’s perfect.
Democrats want to blame rogue senators for inertia, but they reject the suggestion we should hold them accountable. Many of them said Biden just has to keep wooing them harder and longer.
They want to reward bad behavior.
It’s interesting.
Democrats settle for the bare minimum.
I was very clear in my criticisms of Biden. I said the things we need are non-negotiable. They involve the health of our children and the future of our species. Either we do these things, or we die.
Here’s what Biden supporters said:
- You’re naive and idealistic.
- You can’t have everything.
- You’re acting hysterical.
- You’re so negative.
- We have to compromise.
Democrats think I’m asking for too much when I say I want my daughter to live a normal life, and I want her to have a future.
I’m being unreasonable.
Democrats need to get better at reflection.
These responses tell me something unsettling:
Democrats can’t handle criticism.
Most of them weren’t willing to consider new knowledge. They wouldn’t look anything up. They assumed I was wrong, or that I was spreading misinformation. They called me names.
They’re not willing to look at the mistakes they’ve made and learn from them. They refuse to acknowledge their own failures. They won’t apologize. They won’t empathize. They just keep blaming everything on Republicans, or on members of their own party. They deflect hard truths with petty insults. They condescend. They lecture.
I’ve voted in every general election, midterm, and primary for the last 14 years. Every single time, I voted Democrat.
Until this year, I never criticized Democrats. I voted my conscience in primaries, then quietly supported the lesser of two evils. I thought it was the only way. Of course, that kind of thinking has led us here, with everything spiraling out of control. I’ve wanted to point my finger solely at Republicans, but that’s the easy way out.
I’ve had to reflect. I’ve had to admit something.
It’s not just Republicans.
It’s us.
I understand my role in the party now.
This has been a useful exercise.
I wasn’t sure how Democrats would react to hard truths about their own party, but I learned a lot. I learned that they’re capable of showing a fair amount of hate themselves. They’ll rationalize. They’ll deny. They’ll gaslight. They’ll mansplain. They’ll deflect.
They’ll dehumanize.
Above all, I learned my role.
I’m not supposed to hold them accountable.
I’m not supposed to tell them they’ve let me down, or that I feel betrayed, and that it’s damaged my trust in them.
I’m not supposed to tell them that “We’re not Republicans” is a lousy platform that already failed once. It would’ve failed in 2020 if there hadn’t been a pandemic. They don’t want to hear any of that.
I’m supposed to let them walk all over me. I’m supposed to keep working for a nonliving wage, and sacrifice my family.
I’m supposed to shut up and vote.
Message received.
Source: Jessica Wildfire
