With all of this talk of “civility” among the traditional media and other hypocritical goblins like Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Donald Trump, it’s a good time to continue stoking the flames of “civility” with a flashback!
The year was 2003, we were two weeks away from invading Iraq under the criminally fabricated lie that Saddam Hussein was a.) somehow connected to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and b.) was secretly housing a weapons of mass destruction arsenal. The popular country music band The Dixie Chicks were touring London at the time, and singer Natalie Maines told the audience:
"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."
The blowback was considerable. Endorsement deals were ended, their tour cut short, and the whirlwind of jingoistic vitriol heaved at them by right-wing news outlets and pundits consumed the traditional media landscape. A noted right-winger, Bill O’Reilly—who you may remember as the man that sexually harassed women so badly that his bosses paid out dozens of millions of dollars to make it go away—famously had this to say about the event.
Bill O’Reilly: These are callow, foolish women who deserve to be slapped around.
You can watch the firestorm below, with O’Reilly’s puke at the end. It’s a short clip. I’m sure you can all watch it and stay “civilized.”