Shaming as a political tactic

We’ve all heard that three Trump administration officials have been either shamed into leaving restaurants or refused service over the past few days.

First a couple of observations...

They are not being singled out because of their political views.  They are being singled out because of the reprehensible actions of the administration of which they are integral parts.  That is a huge difference.

Their cases are being compared to the cases of a bakery and a florist denying service to gay couples by booth sides of the political spectrum, calling out hypocrisy on the other side because of their stands on the florist and bakery cases.  The issues are not the same.  Political views do not render one a protected class (remember it really isn’t about political views anyway) and businesses do have the right to deny service to patrons for any reason as long as it is not because they are part of a protected class.  Second, The LGBTQ folk denied service are being denied because of who they are while the Trump officials are denied because of something they have done.  Some on the right might argue that in both cases it has to do with the actions of the individuals involved and moral judgements, based on religious understandings are what is at stake.  OK... if we give that, there is still a huge difference.  The actions of the LGBTQ couples are private and have zero impact on the public sphere.  Indeed, we have no idea whether any “actions” are taking place at all.  There is no way to know whether or not the couple is sexually active or not.  Finally making a cake for a couple or a floral arrangement has no real implication that the vendor is participating in actions that may or may not be happening. The actions of the Trump administration officials are very public.  They have public consequences that impact all of us. And, as public employees, their actions are being done in the names of the public - you and me.

So... it is legal.  It is morally understandable.  It is politically understandable.

All that said, I do not know how I feel about these actions and Maxine Waters’ call to continue and increase the public shaming of Trump administration officials.  Clearly, I think they should be ashamed.  The actions of this administration are reprehensible.  They are immoral.  They are unamerican (and not only the immigration issues - they are literally working to destroy almost all of the institutions upon which this nation is built).  Clearly I think they should be called out for their public actions... certainly at the voting booth and in the halls of political decision making but perhaps also publicly.  Do they deserve to have that shaming and calling out intrude into their private lives?  I don’t know.  And how far down the food chain do we go?  I saw a report that some lower level administration employees are even having difficulty getting dates when the potential partner finds out they work for the Trump administration.

The more I wrestle with these questions, the more depressed I become... that we have fallen that far and that we literally have given power to a political party that is actively working to destroy our democracy.  Yes, I do believe that.  I also find myself more and more feeling that the folk who are participating in that strategy deserve to be called out at every opportunity.