Decorum and Congressional Cringe
Six weeks into his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump addressed Congress and the world at large, the whole shebang a display of American idiocy at its finest. Republicans were on their feet whooping “USA! USA! USA!” while Democrats remained seated, meaning to “disrupt” the chamber with their Barbie pink blazers, glittering brooches, and black and white ping pong paddles.
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez holding a up ping pong paddle at the U.S. Capitol, 📸 Win McNamee/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
During his 100-minute racist, sexist, xenophobic, transphobic diatribe, Trump did his usual Trumpian shit—in the same breath calling on Congress to ratify the automatic death penalty for murdering a police officer while dubbing 13-year-old DJ Daniel an honorary Secret Service agent as Republicans absurdly chanted, “DJ! DJ! DJ!”. It was all so stupid. Halfway through Trump’s speech I had to stop watching. My brain could handle no more of his vile threats and aspirations.
A small flash of hope did go through me, though, at the start of the joint address, when Representative Al Green of Texas managed to shut Trump up for several breaths, several times. He was the only Democrat of the night who displayed some semblance of a spine, hellbent on shouting and interrupting Trump as often as possible. But it was over before it started.
Congressman Al Green giving Donald Trump hell at the U.S. Capitol, 📸 Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Amid Green’s rallying—which successfully emboldened a number of fellow Democrats to follow suit—House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuked, "Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house and to cease any further disruptions!” Soon after, Green was ejected from the room, and, in the name of upholding and maintaining decorum, all Democratic magic and momentum abruptly ceased.
Green’s exit left behind colleagues made of lesser stuff, whose complicit silence enabled Trump to stand on his soapbox and freely spew hate and lies for nearly two hours to roaring Republican applause and approval.
Decorum is a disease. Not only is it totally ineffectual, but what a sorry sight the Dems were, in matching outfits clinging onto dinky signs that went totally ignored by Trump and his collaborators. Absolute congressional cringe.
The very same day as Trump's address, across the Atlantic on Serbia's parliament floor sprang a frenzy of black, white, and pink haze as Serbian opposition lawmakers launched smoke bombs and flares in protest against their government, in support of recent student demonstrations.
Videos capturing the pandemonium show a roomful of hectic gathering and dispersing in the thick of air horns and shouts, while a large black and white banner unrolls—proclaiming "Serbia is rising up for the regime to fall”—fading in and out of the massive rising plume in the center of the chamber. This is how one disrupts, how one cuts through and stands up to power.
Performative allyship fucking reeks. Dems have got to step it up, have got to be rude in their resistance. Enough with the damn decorum; it doesn't work. As far as I’m concerned, any Democrat seated in silence at any U.S. Capitol function over the next four years has effectively endorsed Donald Trump—and perhaps that's the intention.