Barr and Bee, Sitting in a Tree ...

I consider Donald Trump an authoritarian hellbent on destroying our democratic institutions. I never liked him. But his family is another story. I think most people are disgusted by cheap personal attacks aimed at the family members of prominent people, whether it is Michele Obama or Ivanka Trump. They are often treated unfairly. So certainly, I was disgusted at Samantha Bee's vicious remarks about Ivanka Trump, in which she called her a "feckless c---t."  No woman I know has ever regarded that pejorative as a compliment. The White House is demanding that Bee's show be canceled, and that may be entirely appropriate. But there are differences between what Barr and Bee said.

In both cases, the language used was entirely hateful and vitriolic. These kinds of attacks have increased markedly since Trump became President. It has brought out the worst in a lot of people.

Barr engaged in the same kind of racist rhetoric that has been used since the days of slavery  Her simian comparison is one I've heard too many times about black people  It is an attempt to dehumanize black people in order to justify treating them as inferior.

Bee's remark, which essentially disparages Trump because of her sex, should be offensive to any woman. It is an attempt to objectify them. Donald Trump's remark about women was also disgusting, but he made that in what he thought was a private setting. Bee's bluster was on national TV. Though she herself is a woman, Bee engaged in misogyny.

So we have two entertainers, one conservative and the other liberal, making racist and vulgar sexist remarks for which both apologized

Yesterday, in my post about Barr, I warned a reader that I did not want to discuss Bee and Barr together. I think doing so takes away from the offensive nature of both kinds of attacks. That reader responded with her own vulgarities and attacks.

That's the real problem. We've become an ugly people who somehow think we have the right to shove our hate down everyone's throats. We don't.

Ironically, the theme of yesterday's Mass was love. This passage from Paul was read:

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.

Neither Barr nor bee did a very good job of following this advice. Nor did reader "Jamie Kelton." Nor do I at times.