Politics

I was living in Wellington, New Zealand when Margaret Thatcher died. Some people I knew threw a party at Hotel Bristol, a pub on Cuba Street. I knew nothing about Thatcher, but I assumed she must have been pretty bad if friends of mine were singing “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” in her wake. Today, activist still literally piss on her grave¹.

Years later in Seattle, I worked with a British woman who grew up under Thatcher. She was horrified when people celebrated the death of someone who was an inspiration to many young women all over the United Kingdom. In the past few years, I’ve become increasingly more aware at how conservatives will simply state the facts, or praise what they appreciate, when an ideological adversary dies. In contrast, progressives and our legacy media will often write horrific hit pieces when someone on the opposite end of the spectrum passes away. It’s truly disgusting, and shows the relative levels of maturity of people on the far sides of the political spectrum.

Ginsburg

When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in September of 2020, President Donald Trump said the following when informed of her death by a reporter:

“She just died? Wow. I didn’t know that … You’re telling me that for the first time. She led an amazing life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman. Whether you agree or not, she was an amazing woman, who led an amazing life. … I’m sad to hear that.” -Donald Trump²

Trump only had praise for the Supreme Court Justice. Breitbart, a right leaning news site, listed her history, accomplishments and the medical situation leading to her passing. Although they did address the politically contentious topic of the vacancy she left in the Supreme Court, as well as Trump’s plan to fill it, they said nothing derogatory about her or her decisions³.

Limbaugh

By contrast, when Rush Limbaugh died, the response by left leaning news agencies was downright vile. The Huffington Post ran an article with the headline, “Rush Limbaugh, Bigoted King Of Talk Radio, Dies At 70”, where they stated that Limbaugh provided a “bull horn” for “promoting racist and sexist policies⁴.”

“I love that this book [Rush on the Radio by James Golden] captures Rush’s … generosity and his kindness. I know you experienced it. I experienced it personally. You’re a black man. I’m a woman. He was called racist. He was called sexist. His life said different. People took comedy bits and his irreverence for anyone and everyone … and tried to turn that to make him into this monstrous figure. But the way he actually treated people, was as is his microphone, golden.” -Megyn Kelly⁵

A younger me did find Rush Limbaugh funny. However, by the time I was in university, I was juxtaposing his image next to a crack addict in one of my presentations for public speaking class. I used it as an example of how people are treated differently due to status. However, it wasn’t until last year I learned that his addiction came after a failed surgery to deal with back pain. Rush’s producer commented on how doctors mitigated Limbaugh’s pain with drugs:

“What happens when you are in pain that doesn’t stop and there’s no one really doing a very serious pain management regime on you? Most people get addicted to the drug, and that’s what happened to Rush. When it became apparent that he was addicted, and that he had to stop, he stopped the behavior, and he didn’t relapse … [rehab] really did allow him to understand, so much more about himself, and some of the ancillary reasons why he was using the drugs as well as the pain … anybody who’s been addicted to anything knows how hard and addiction is to break. He broke his addiction, never went back to it.” -James Golden (a.k.a Bo Snerdley)⁵

The Post-COVID Era

Herman Cain was a business man and presidential candidate. The man survived colon cancer, only to die in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19⁶. On Reddit, the community /r/HermanCainAward was created to mock people who chose not to take the experimental COVID drugs⁷, despite the many known risks and side-effects. No matter your view on this current era, mocking those who die, using the name of a political adversary, is in terrible taste. It’s dehumanizing and feels reminiscent of justifying the burning of witches, and yet the prominent legacy media encourages such behavior that even it considers “ghoulish⁸“.

Endling

This isn’t to say there are not people on the right that have engaged in the same type of behavior. I find it disheartening whenever I hear people who are on the right celebrating the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg⁹¹⁰. When Senator John McCain died, Alex Jones “took the high road” when commenting on McCain being “a pretty good pilot,” who “at some level had courage;” a real “blue blood … very elite¹¹.” Although it doesn’t sound like it, those who are familiar with his show knew this was probably the highest praise one could get from Jones. As blanch as Alex’s comments were on McCain’s passing, I want to be clear I don’t have issues with joking about people after they are long gone. I will admit I did chuckle when Alex Jones responded to Meghan McCain’s interview on The View; describing how John McCain supported Al-Qaeda¹², and how Meghan’s father “is now in hell¹³.”

Jokes after time has passed are funny, but elevating celebrations immediately after the death of an enemy feels callous. Year after year, I’ve seen increasing vitriol, from those I would consider left-leaning progressives, against their political enemies. Dancing on someone’s grave is a bitter resentment that can eat at one’s soul. We don’t have to praise our adversaries, but we can at least grant them some modicum of respect. After all, they have come to the end of their time on our eternally bustling world. Their journey is at an end. We can admit their flaws, while also not being petty. We can grant them the decency, of letting them finally rest in peace.