3 Reasons Why Shouting “Shame” is Not Shameful
It’s part of being a good activist.
Today I was talking to my girls about shouting “shame” at ceasefire actions and other protests. “You like it, don’t you?” they asked.
Well . . . do I?
Most recently, I’ve engaged in shaming the IDF for shooting at, bombing, and cutting off medical supplies for civilians in Gaza; and the U.S. Senate or specifically Chuck Schumer specifically for spearheading the voting for billions of dollars in funding for the IDF to continue doing the same.
Right now, we are engaged in a massive effort to protect Rafah as the last refuge from the IDF, and that includes tearing Biden and the U.S. Government away from the grip of AIPAC.
I’ve never had to be so specific, though.
I’ve protested for and against everything from racism gun violence to climate change, women’s rights, and Donald Trump. And Donald Trump. There’s so much shame to go around.
The one truth I can reveal right now is that there is a certain thrill to shaming your adversary. Not that it is fun. We are not in it to enjoy ourselves.
But we do want to succeed in the ultimate goal around which shaming is a part.
Let’s break down three cases in the efficacy of shaming.
Honestly, for some of these people who are exemplars, all I had to do was type in their names, and my computer shouted “Shame, Shame, Shame” right back at me.
But I will elaborate. For the sake of illustration.
I’ve protested for and against everything from racism gun violence to climate change, women’s rights, and Donald Trump. And Donald Trump. There’s so much shame to go around.
The one truth I can reveal right now is that there is a certain thrill to shaming your adversary. Not that it is fun. We are not in it to enjoy ourselves.
But we do want to succeed in the ultimate goal around which shaming is a part.
Let’s break down three cases in the efficacy of shaming.
Honestly, for some of these people who are exemplars, all I had to do was type in their names, and my computer shouted “Shame, Shame, Shame” right back at me.
But I will elaborate. For the sake of illustration.
Case 1: The price of a meal is 10,000 immigrant children.
“Shame!” shouted the protesters.
“End family separation!”
“Abolish ICE!”
It was June 20, 2018, and the Trump administration was in the habit of separating children who entered the country illegally from their parents at the MEXICAN border and putting them in cages where they slept under foil blankets with overhead lighting that was kept on 24/7.
Help reunite 10,000 children with their families, or eat a taco?
Shame!
Case 2: Don’t mess with justice — or with these two Justins and their friend Gloria.
On March 27, 2023, three students and three adults were shot and killed by “a heavily armed” former student at the Covenant School in Nashville.
Well, wait.
It gets worse.
And more . . . shameful.
“Shame!” shouted the protesters.
“End family separation!”
“Abolish ICE!”
It was June 20, 2018, and the Trump administration was in the habit of separating children who entered the country illegally from their parents at the MEXICAN border and putting them in cages where they slept under foil blankets with overhead lighting that was kept on 24/7.
Help reunite 10,000 children with their families, or eat a taco?
Shame!
Case 2: Don’t mess with justice — or with these two Justins and their friend Gloria.
On March 27, 2023, three students and three adults were shot and killed by “a heavily armed” former student at the Covenant School in Nashville.
Well, wait.
It gets worse.
And more . . . shameful.
These are exactly the types of circumstances that organizations such as Sandy Hook Promise and Everytown for Gun Safety have been working for years to prevent.
But the force is powerful in places like Tennessee where close ties in the legislature to the NRA have kept concealed weapons laws and handgun restrictions at bay.
The below is a case in point. Click to see the truth. Read on to meet our heroes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chuck & I are heartbroken to hear about the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville.<br> <br>My office is in contact with federal, state, & local officials, & we stand ready to assist.<br> <br>Thank you to the first responders working on site. Please join us in prayer for those affected.</p>— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1640393989516931072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On April 6, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson attempted to be the voices of their constituents, to speak out against gun violence, and to argue for stricter regulations. Their efforts met with a move to expel them all from the House.
Jones and Pearson, who are both Black, were expelled. The vote for Johnson, who is white, did not receive enough votes to expel her.
It is shameful that in these “houses” of representatives, places where we place our faith in the system, that trust is being stolen from us. Justin Jones writes and speaks like an angel in expressing this most horrible of truths.
We called for you to ban assault weapons, and you responded with an assault on abolishing democracy.
The announcement of the Justins’ ousting(s) was met with shouts of “Shame!” by the angry audience of families who had come seeking justice.
Students confronted state police, waging a protest of their own and staging a “die-in.”
We did not know that Columbine would be the first of so many horrific incidents of school-based gun violence.
But the numbers are staggering, and it is shameful that when people such as Jones and Pearson attempt to help move the needle of prevention, they are hampered by those with something to gain by maintaining the status quo.
Shame!
Since the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, more than 338,000 students in the U.S. have experienced gun violence at school.4
There were more school shootings in 2022–46 — than in any year since Columbine. This mirrored America’s broader rise in gun violence as it emerged from the pandemic.4 However, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security research shows that if we “know the signs” of gun violence, we can prevent it and reverse the trend.5
In 2022, 34 students and adults died while more than 43,000 children were exposed to gunfire at school. 4
Case 3: “These were not made in the basement with love.” Huh?
Just as we cannot believe that politicians would fund the mass murder of children in Gaza, that they would separate children from their parents and make them live in cages for months on end, and that they would refuse to protect children from gun violence when they should be learning, I found this next thing hard to accept.