Yesterday, I spent my commute home calling my elected
representatives to encourage them to strongly oppose the recent appointment of
Steve Bannon to the position of Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor for President-Elect
Trump (to find your elected officials and their contact info, check this out: www.commoncause.org/take-action/find-elected-officials/). While I bumbled through my awkward complaint/encouragement,
I realized I was having a hard time articulating why the appointment of this
man was so terrifying to me. Which most
times, when that happens, it means that I need to do some more work on
supporting my feelings rather than reacting in an emotional manner (not saying
an emotional reaction is not warranted and should not be respected, but that
for me, I need to be more equipped to express myself).
Additionally, I’ve heard very few conservative folks speak
out in opposition to Bannon’s appointment, which makes me think they are not
aware of the brevity of this appointment or they do not know Bannon’s
history. So, readers, I thought I’d take
a moment to outline some of the reasons I (and many other folks are FREAKING
OUT about this appointment):
-Bannon is executive chairman of Breitbart News LLC and
through his leadership, moved the already radical “news” outlet into the
alt-right territory. He himself declared
the website “the platform for the alt-right.”
Some greatest hit articles include: Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?; There’s no hiring bias against women in tech, they just suck at interviews, Gay rights have made us dumber, it’s time to get back inthe closet, and Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy.
-Bannon was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence,
battery, and dissuading a witness in 1996 following an accusation of his first
wife Mary Louise Piccard. Police were
called to their home where they photographed red marks on her neck and wrists
as well as a broken telephone
(http://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000156-c3f8-dd14-abfe-fbfbbe310001). His wife also accused him of anti-semitism. Charges were dropped when his wife did not
show up to court, which if ANYONE tries to convince me isn’t a flat out
confirmation that that woman was scared for her life, I will remind you that
victim blaming is the norm for any type of domestic abuse claim and she was
incredibly brave for saying anything. I
hope that woman has found peace and safety.
-Bannon was known by his employees at Breitbart for being “a
vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and
threatening enemies."
-Bannon admitted to and was found guilty of threatening employees
at Space Biospheres Ventures. “He told
Pinal County jurors that after Abigail Alling wrote a five-page safety memo, he
once threatened to “Ram it down her fucking throat.” Bannon also admitted calling her a “bimbo”
and referring to her as “self-centered and deluded.”
-“That’s why there are some unintended
consequences of the women’s liberation movement,” he said, according to
BuzzFeed. “That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be
pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They
wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New
England. That drives the left insane and that’s why they hate these women.”
(Political Vindication Radio, 2011)
To be perfectly honest, I’m too tired/disgusted to do much more
digging, but if you can’t see how these are deeply alarming things to have on
the resume of a White House Senior Counselor, please let me know some
redeemining qualities that can trump these.
And if you agree they are abhorrent (which I would venture to say most
people do, even those who voted for Trump), say something! A Trump supporter who speaks out about his
cabinet has a much louder voice than mine right now. We need you!!
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