Credit: Twitter/Tony Awards
Robert DeNiro using profanity doesn’t bother me in the least. Those who are profane do.
At the Tony Awards, the screen legend made clear just what he thought of 45. CBS may have censored him but DeNiro’s words would not be silenced about what he thought of Donald Trump and his presidency.
Bobby used a bad word. Can I call him Bobby? It’s so familiar and I’ve had a crush on him for years. Actually wrote a song in his honor. He’s an actor many of us grew up on. It’s as if we’ve known him for so long. For about half the country, he spoke for us when he cussed out Trump. The standing ovation he received after his remarks showed the resonance of his sentiment but this wouldn’t be the height of the culture wars if the other half of the country were offended that he dared to do anything but recite lines from a script. There are a lot of folks who want entertainers to just stick to that and show deference to the president of the United States and the office. I was raised on a set of values and morals too. Chief among them being respect is earned and you’ll be treated the way you act. It’s one of the many reasons why I wasn’t offended at all by Bobby’s bad words.
Actions speak louder than words and I have more fire in the belly over the multitude of injustices taking place in the world. There are women and children who are seeking asylum that are being separated. Children are being kept in cages and in deplorable living conditions.
My heart hurts and my eyes start to water. I take such offense that these immigrants are being treated with such contempt. Where are the pro-life people who demand the sanctity of life? Kids should not be born just to be treated in such a manner, to be lost in the system and at the mercy of sex traffickers. You’ll have to excuse me if I can’t muster up a shred of righteous indignation over DeNiro being crass when I see the human toll of the Trump administration policies. Those optics stir me more although I’ve accepted that visual proof of abuse is no assurance that some will care.
Police officers engaged in bad conduct goes viral every single day. The latest involved a 10-year-old child who was handcuffed.
It’s so very easy to say that participating in the worsening of our culture is why Trump won. That is a favorite gas lighting pastime but for many. Especially those who dismiss pussy grabbing, sons of bitches and slurrin as “locker room talk”. For many of us, we can no longer be induced into guilt and behaving. Not when there are acts of violence that consume the news cycle at warp speed to the point where these mass shootings now blend into one another. Thoughts and prayers are cynically offered until the vicious cycle begins anew. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that there is now an outright malice directed at those who want gun reform. They’re taunted and subjected to death threats but yet I’m supposed to be more upset at DeNiro’s choice of language? I think not.
While DeNiro’s choice of words distracted or perhaps were the highlight for some at the Tony Awards, the voting booth is still where we will all have our final say. As was once said by Barack Obama, don’t boo. Vote. That’s if you still can. The Supreme Court just sanctioned Ohio purging voters from their rolls due to inactivity. This is a ruling that will target minorities and strip them of their right to participate in the democratic process.
Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. Puerto Rico is still without the resources it needs to recover from the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Healthcare is still in perilous danger for those who depend on ACA. The U.S. is also now at war with Canada of all places. An adviser to Trump telling Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau that there’s a “special place in hell” for him and the president’s trash talk are more out of bounds than Bobby being Bobby but that’s just me.
Michelle Obama is the epitome of class and grace. She held her head high and served this country as a shining example during her time as First Lady. When they go low, we go high are words to live by. But they are ultimately just words. There is a real anger in this country over what has taken place in the almost two years since Trump’s election and turning the other cheek to be bruised is a fool’s errand. If folks want to clutch their pearls over the absence of civility and decency, start with your POTUS. Civility should not be a standard we hold only actors to.
Stephanie Guerilus Online 