Kathy Griffin Defies President and the Fascist Mob, Saying She Won’t Be Silenced By Bullying and Threats
by Sunsara Taylor
June 3, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
In a matter of days, Kathy Griffin—a long-standing and accomplished comedian—was personally attacked by the sitting president and his adult children, fired from CNN, thrown under the bus by Anderson Cooper and others she worked closely with for years, had all her scheduled appearances in cities across the U.S. canceled, received a flood of specific and sadistic death threats, and had a Secret Service investigation opened against her.
Her “crime”? A joke she made that the president didn’t like.
Whatever one thinks of this particular piece of art (a photo of her holding a fake decapitated head of Donald Trump) and whatever one thinks of her art overall, the attacks and threats coming from the highest levels of the state and from the fascist mob are unprecedented and extremely dangerous. Not just to Kathy Griffin, but to all the arts, to all dissent, and to people all over the world whose lives will be destroyed if the fascism of Donald Trump and his regime is not stopped.
The hypocrisy is howling. Donald Trump twice suggested Hillary Clinton’s assassination. Ted Nugent, the racist rock singer, repeatedly threatened the life of Obama, calling once for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to “be tried for treason and hung.” Trump didn’t condemn him; instead he posed for a photo with him in the White House!
The message being sent is clear: if you dare challenge the fascist in the White House, you will be destroyed.
In the face of all this, on June 2, Griffin held a press conference in which, while apologizing for that particular joke, she told the world that despite being targeted personally by the president who is determined to “ruin my life forever, FOREVER,” she was going to keep making fun of him. She said that the death threats against her are “constant and they are detailed and they are serious and they are specific,” but she will not lie down because, “today it’s me and tomorrow it could be you.” She spoke about young girls and gay people who are “maybe going to be watching me” and described how, despite the pain of having almost everyone she knows throw her under the bus, she wanted to set an example of refusing to be silenced or intimidated.
Trump and his fascist mob want to make an example out of Griffin. It is very important that she is rising above hurt and fear to set a different example—one of courage and defiance. People must have her back—and they must adopt this same spirit. In all walks of life. On the stage and on the street. In many different ways. Do NOT submit to fascist intimidation. Come back stronger. Make this part of the culture and a growing movement to drive out this fascist regime—in the name of humanity.
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