Thread by @sarahkendzior

I appreciate the clarity and force of this man's words so much. We have been living under a culture of threat for so long and it is rare when any public official stands strongly against it. So heart-breakingly rare.

https://twitter.com/jamesrbuk/status/1333919015174098950

It is easier to deal with a predictable threat from a mafia state that advertises its cruel intentions. It is harder to cope with the collective abandonment by those whose job it is to protect the American people. Their utter apathy to constant threats of violence, and to trauma.

My complaint is non-partisan. Nearly all officials failed the American people. Yes, there are different levels of failure and different motives. But at a certain point, negligence becomes malice. And complacency becomes complicity.

We have covered this culture of threat on @gaslitnation so manu times. It structures political life. It transforms expectations of what's normal or right. And nothing changes but the list of victims getting longer. Thread from July:

https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1285917165825200129?s=19

And a thread from November, with new victims:

https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1329094736796409856?s=19

And an op-ed from 2019:

https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1217225040304971776?s=19

I hardly talk about my own threats. They're mentioned briefly in HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT when I was assigned a bodyguard. We also discuss them a bit in this week's @gaslitnation bonus episode, but it's painful to do it.

The point: no one should have to live this way.