Opinion: Flamboyant cruelty is the current Republican ethos

Pat Brothwell
·4 min read
Pat Brothwell says most politicians are self-absorbed, but few are as blatant about it as Madison Cawthorn.
Pat Brothwell says most politicians are self-absorbed, but few are as blatant about it as Madison Cawthorn.

In the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning, you’ve undoubtedly seen the headline about a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who had to travel to Indiana to obtain a legal abortion. Madison Cawthorn did.

On July 14, Cawthorn introduced a bill to “prohibit the use of Federal funds for travel expenses of any individual traveling across State lines for purposes of having an abortion, and for other purposes.” It’s obviously just a publicity grab, as, per reporting by the Citizen-Times. In a statement announcing the bill, Cawthorn did not address the already existing federal rule, the Hyde Amendment, that has prevented the use of federal funds for abortions for three decades, or say why additional restrictions were needed.

You might be thinking, Pat, why are you giving attention and space to a lame duck congressperson who thrives on attention? It’s a good question, but I have an answer. I was, and hope more of you will be, disgusted and appalled by this attention-grab. Can you imagine the startling lack of empathy it takes to publicize the trauma of a 10-year-old rape victim for your political gain?

Cawthorn’s actions brought to mind a tweet I saw from television writer Rai Sanni on June 30 that reads, “The only way to describe this series of Supreme Court decisions is flamboyant cruelty.” On first reading, I thought maybe I’d replace “flamboyant” with “abject” or “flagrant,” but Sanni is an Emmy-nominated writer for a reason. Merriam-Webster defines flamboyant as “marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior.”

I’m giving Cawthorn my attention and space because this callous display of cruelty, used for nothing more than to generate attention — an elaborate display if you will — is, much like much of Cawthorn’s more boorish behavior, emblematic of the ethos of the current Republican Party. Cawthorn’s been turned into the party’s scapegoat because of his youth and indiscretionary behavior, but make no mistake, he’s no different than his fellow right-wing politicians who prioritize non-contextual, headline-grabbing, king-building antics over anything substantive. They all use flamboyant cruelty to further their political careers, pander to their bases, and inflict pain and suffering onto others (which, of course, they wrap in the guise of Christianity, or worse … family values).

How can we forget the recent flamboyant cruelty of our own North Carolina state Republican senators, Phil Berger, Deanna Ballard, and Michael Lee, who decided to hold a press conference to introduce their “Parental Bill of Rights” (NC’s version of Florida’s hotly contested, and flamboyantly cruel “Don’t Say Gay” bill) just hours after two teachers and 19 children were murdered in Uvalde, Texas? This is flamboyant because it was a display, a publicity stunt they knew Gov. Cooper would veto. It was cruel because of the timing. Wouldn’t you assume people who wear their pro-life stance on their sleeves would give the nation a collective minute to catch their breaths and process a massacre? On paper, sure, but individuals who care about people, who aren’t cruel, would never propose that bill in the first place.

LGBTQ+ students already face uphill battles. According to the Trevor Project, 45% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide this past year. If you care about people, that should rattle you. A study from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found that LGBTQ+ youth have a 120% higher risk of homelessness than their straight counterparts, with family rejection being the most frequently cited reason. The proposed Parental Bill of Rights targets this already vulnerable minority — according to 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, only 10.4% of North Carolina teens identify as LGBTQ+. Imagine the cruelty it takes to potentially increase the suicidality and homelessness of children?

At this risk of citing a pop-culture reference that’s a little too on the nose, it all calls to mind a line from the 1999 film Cruel Intentions, when the movie’s antagonist, Kathryn Merteuil, says to her stepbrother, “You’re just a toy Sebastian; a toy I like to play with.” That’s exactly what that 10-year-old rape victim and North Carolina’s LGBTQ+ youth are to Cawthorn, Berger, Ballard, and Lee: toys whose lives don’t matter as much as virtue signaling to potential voters.

Meriam-Webster defines cruel as “disposed to inflict pain and suffer.” I’d ask anyone reading to interrogate your own penchant for cruelty. I’d ask you to examine the current Republican agenda and tell me how it isn’t flamboyantly cruel. I challenge you to explain how at its base, it isn’t about anything but inflicting pain and suffering.

Pat Brothwell is a former high school teacher, but current writer and marketing professional living and working in Asheville. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Flamboyant cruelty is the current Republican ethos