This is bullshit, Tennessee, and everyone knows it. Your actions on Thursday exposed the fact that there is no such thing as decorum anymore. You did not expel Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the legislature because they broke the rules of decorum in your statehouse. You expelled them because they are two powerful, eloquent young men who conscientiously represent the district that elected them. You expelled them because they are young and what you might refer to as upstarts, or uppity. You expelled them because they oppose your radical conservative agenda. You expelled them because they spoke out against the proliferation of your beloved guns and your warped perception of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. You expelled them because they were elected from Nashville and Memphis, cities that have gotten too liberal for your tastes. You expelled them because they are black. You expelled them because you are still beholden to your slave-holding ancestors and your own racism.
You also expelled them because you are afraid of losing your own power, because you know that the slew of draconian laws you continue to pass are unpopular with the public and you are trying to force as much of your right-wing neo-fascist agenda through the legislature as you can while you still have that power.
You failed to expel Gloria Johnson, who participated fully in the same way in the same protest because she is white. It should be noted, though, that you failed to expel her by only one vote. It’s clear that those who voted for her expulsion did so despite her being white because she is a woman. Your misogyny and your racism have been laid bare for all to see.
In 1866 six representatives were expelled for tying to stop the passage of the 14th amendment, which granted citizenship and equal protection to African Americans. A representative was expelled due to a bribery scandal in 1980 by a 92-1 vote and in 2016 a representative was expelled for inappropriate sexual interactions with 22 women by a 70-2 vote. That is it. That’s the entire history of expulsions in your history and never before has anyone been expelled for violating house decorum rules. This is bullshit, and you know it.
What you didn’t know and are coming to learn quickly is that despite the threats to our democracy in the last couple decades, Americans know when they have been gerrymandered. We know when politicians are acting out of self-interest and maintaining power. We know political retribution when we see it, no matter how ridiculous the narrative behind it. We know when it is time to react and to protest more fully than anything you have seen before. We know when it is time for a backlash not only against the legislature in Tennessee, but against all the Ron DeSantises, Donald Trumps, Sarah Huckabees, and scores of others who have snaked their way into positions of power in order to shove a far right-wing agenda down our throats. We know when it is time for rules of decorum to be thrown out the window. We know when our backs have been pushed so far back against the wall that there is no choice but to push forward. We know that every action has an opposite and equal, and sometimes greater, reaction.
You inadvertently made heroes out of the Tennesse Three and particularly out of Jones and Pearson. Your time is running out. The young people coming up will not tolerate your racism, sexism, and extremism and some of us older folks will be happy to join them in that struggle, as long as we have, and as long as it takes.
A Single Bluebird 