Democracy Hero : William R. Keating Keating

Tuesday’s Democracy hero is

William R.Keating, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts District 9, Cape Cod and the Islands.

 the chairman, Representative Keith  Self of Texas, called upon Representative Sarah McBride, freshman Democrat of Delaware, to introduce her and intentionally misgendered her calling her MISTER  McBride. Representative McBride is the first openly transgender person in Congress.  She started to answer, addressing him as Madame Self, at which point Representative Keating asked the chairman to repeat the introduction . Of course, Self repeated the original misgendering. Incensed by this smugness and disrespect, Bill Keating exclaimed, Mr. Chairman, Have you no decency sir?”

 Representative Keating said , “You will not continue this meeting without me unless you address the duly elected representative the right way, “and Self disbanded the meeting.

A link to this disgraceful behavior by the Texas Representative is below.

To her credit, the next day, Representative McBride  said she was not about to engage in the culture wars that consumed the republicans, who would be better off paying attention to the important issues that affected their constituents.

Bill Keating’s cry, “Have you no sense of decency?” took  me immediately cback to the McCarthy vs. the army hearings of 1954.  During a period called the Red Scare, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin, had been subpoenaing scores of Americans in all walks of life to appear before his House UnAmerican Activities Committee in an attempt to find Communists, who were purported to have infiltrated the government  and the army.  In these hearings, people were bullied, asked to testify against friends and colleagues , and  to name names of members of the Communist party. These were witch-hunts, and many people lost their livelihoods as a result of black listing.

In a televised hearing a lawyer for the army, Joseph Welch, used that same phrase when confronting Senator McCarthy.

“ Have you no sense of decency?”

That period of intense fear  and persecution came to an end. They always do. McCarthy died of alcoholism at age 47, three years after this hearing.

Be well. Have courage.

❤️Joyce