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Distasteful attacks go too far

I do not like Draymond Green. I know I’ve said it before. I will say it again. I do not like Draymond Green.

One of the power forwards of the Golden State Warriors (pretty much all of whom I loathe, BTW), Green irks the ever-living daylights out of me with his arrogance, his condescending manner and his general garbage mouth.

For those of you who may not know, he is a master of trash talk who is infamous throughout the NBA for riling up his opponents through verbal attacks … and physical ones, too.

I don’t like Draymond Green because, to me, he’s a little too dirty for NBA play — those low blows are absolutely outlandish and do not exude good sportsmanship. My beloved Cleveland Cavaliers are some of his favorite targets, yo. Not cool, Draymond.

Also, I do not like Draymond Green because the dude is very efficient on the court.

Hmpf.

And even with all this animosity I bear for him, if somebody held up a faux bloody, severed head of Draymond Green in a photo shoot for a cheap laugh, I would be appalled. It would make me sick. I would defend that rotten old Draymond Green to the core. And here’s why.

First of all, he is a human being. No one deserves that kind of psychological warfare launched at them unless they are an evil dictator murdering innocent people.

Secondly, the imagery of a bloody beheading, even a fake one, is so disturbing that it does not deserve to see the light of day — or to be published on any type of platform or medium, period. Just because you have the legal right to do something harmful and hateful doesn’t mean you should.

Third, despite whatever the asinine, moronic intent is behind the disgraceful stunt of holding up an effigy of someone’s beaten, bloody and decapitated head, it is a move beyond disgusting and in the worst possible taste, one that actually emboldens our enemies.

That’s what I said.

It tells the sick-minded people who want to kill Americans (and all other people who disagree with their particular way of life) that the U.S. doesn’t take their threat seriously.

It lets the monsters trying to force their twisted logic onto the world that here in America, we don’t much care about victims of such brutality — and that we disrespect those brave men and women sacrificing their lives to keep us safe from such evil.

Yep, an inexcusable, unforgivable action like that sends a message to all who would destroy America that we are a country so greatly embroiled in our own turmoil that we are just ripe for the picking … especially if there are sleepers among us lying in wait for the ideal opportunity to explode in violence at random times in vague places.

Oh wait, there are.

So while I generally like to keep it light in this space, I cannot sit by silently in the wake of “comedienne” Kathy Griffin’s repulsive photo shoot last week. You know, the one in which she stoically held up a mask of President Trump’s bloody, beaten face after it had apparently been hacked away from his body.

The one which TMZ was all too happy to splash all over the airwaves. Revolting.

But then, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. After all, Stephen Colbert’s recent vulgarity against the leader of the free world on his late night CBS show was not only not denounced as it should have been, but was actually held up as a good thing.

Americans spewing such hateful rhetoric about our own leader in so vile and public a manner is something that is being viewed by the general public as a positive. What in the? Where’s the outrage?

Here’s a question for all of you who hate the president with such solid disdain: What would have happened to a comic who didn’t like President Obama during his presidency? What if one of them called him such despicable names, or held up a fake decapitation of HIS head?

The public outcry would have been epic.

But not in 2017.

Look, I don’t care if you didn’t vote for him. I don’t care if you dislike him. It’s not like he’s my favorite person on the planet, either. But ding dang it, the election of 2016 is over. Donald Trump won. He is our president. Get over it. No one says you have to love the guy.

And if you can’t find it in your heart to support him merely out of respect for the office of the Presidency of the United States, fine. But then just shut up and get out of the way for the next three years because your hate isn’t hurting him nearly as much as it is hurting the United States of America. Seriously. Stop.

And as for you, Kathy Griffin, you make Draymond Green look like Mr. Rogers. Shame on you.

Kimerer is a Tribune Chronicle columnist who is fed up with the horrendous hate being heaped on the current administration. Period. Contact her via www.patriciakimerer.com

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