The thin line between righteous and unhinged

By screaming at an asshole, I became the asshole (A lesson in political messaging)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past bunch of days, ever since I had this confrontation with Frank Rodriguez, aka: the douchey breh enlisted by Capo Unified School Board president Lisa Davis to fuck up last week’s meeting …

And, in the immediate aftermath, I was sorta proud of the moment. Here was this guy, whose very existence revolves upon hit-and-run chaos and disruption, being called out, then slinking away like a wounded gerbil. With every Facebook Attaboy! and Instagram Way to go!, I felt more and more emboldened.

Sometimes, I ask myself, “What would Tupac do?”

Tupac would have called the guy out.

That said …

One of my good friends is a woman named Bev. She’s a devout Christian, unflinchingly ethical, big-hearted and unambiguously progressive. We were chatting on Saturday, and she mentioned having seen the video clip.

“What,” she asked, “were you trying to accomplish?”

I told her about Rodriguez, about Davis, about a school board overtaken by MAGA nutties, about Gays Against Groomers (Frank’s former organization—which doubles as a right-wing hate group), about being overcome by passion and emotion and …

“Right,” she said, “but what were you trying to accomplish?”

I stumbled.

She pounced.

“Because,” she said, “you come off as sort of unhinged.”

It was a gut punch.

The conversation over the next half hour (or so) was painful, but important. I later watched the clip again, and­—indeed—I do come off as fairly unhinged. Was I correct in my anger? Yes, I believe I was. Is this guy the equivalent of a turd in your morning coffee? Sure. But, well, what’s the goal here? Seriously: What’s the goal here?

If it’s merely expressing my frustration and anger on a website, mission accomplished.

But for this little Truth OC experiment to make a dent, that can’t be the end game.

The goal is not merely to expose these people. No, it’s to expose these people in ways that cause Orange County’s undecided masses to say, “Whoa, those folks are not what I voted for.” I want Republicans and Democrats and independents to be offered a backstage pass to Lisa Davis’ embracing of Jan. 6 rioters, to the zealotry of the Huntington Beach City Council, to Mike Munzing’s cruelty, to the local GOP’s sinister efforts to bypass the will of the populace.

But here’s the thing: The moment I started barking, I lost the argument and gobbled half the spotlight. Unless you know me, or know the depths of Rodriguez’s bullshit, you’d likely behold and wonder, “Who are those two weirdos, and why are they behaving like that?”

It was an important reminder that arguments are not won with volume, but with reason. There were plenty of points to be made, and I let them all exit the room with the cowardly Rodriguez.

I believe, strongly, we have the better ideas, the greater compassion, the proper approach to improving America.

But those platforms cannot be delivered via screams.

They need to be presented via righteousness.

PS: Chris Kluwe gets it …