The World Turned Upside Down

By tradition, that is the name of the song the British band played when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. It seems to me equally appropriate to the recent spate of conservative offenders' demands for apologies from victims for acts they committed. There's Virginia Thomas's demand of Anita Hill's apology, which to my relief Ms. Hill rejected. Then there's the head-stomping Rand Paul thug Tim Profitt's demand of an apology from his victim Lauren Valle of MoveOn. Here is a video of the incident; Ms. Valle was bodily forced to the street, her head forced onto the curb, where Mr. Profitt placed his foot atop her head and stomped.



Now Profitt (yes, Profitt, the attacker) is demanding an apology:

...

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Profitt said. "I would like for her to apologize to me to be honest with you."

"She's a professional at what she does," Profitt added, "and I think when all the facts come out, I think people will see that she was the one that initiated the whole thing."

...

No one else, as far as I can tell, has stated that Ms. Valle had anything to do with initiating the violence. The video makes it clear that the thugs were not merely removing Ms. Valle from the vicinity of the debate; they were assaulting her. (Look quickly... the YouTube version of the video has already been removed for violating terms of service, and you know where that came from.)



So this is who Mr. Paul's followers are. And this is the trend in Republican and Tea Party politics these days: the victim owes them an apology. Instead of the world, it's the truth that is upside down in the increasingly violent world of American conservatism. How soon will the thugs begin actually shooting those guns the Tea Partiers brought to campaign events in 2008? What will happen then?

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UPDATE: Ms. Valle suffered a concussion. Mr. Profitt has been served with a criminal summons.