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The country is increasingly polarized. Violent attacks skyrocket. Political discourse has been completely shattered. Dirty tricks have replaced debates of ideas to discredit the opponent. Arguments have been eliminated. Now everything is about annulling the opponent, not by reason, but by force. This must come to an end.
Democrat Vicente Gonzalez is the latest example of cowardice and lack of ethics. Faced with the appearance of Mayra Flores — a Republican, and the first woman born in Mexico to reach the U.S. Congress — the Texas congressman decided to try to destroy her using all kinds of attacks: misogynist, sexist, racist, and xenophobic. The first thing he did was to basically allege that Mayra Flores wasn’t American, because unlike him, who was born in the United States, she arrived through an immigration process and ended up naturalizing.
However, Gonzalez’s first attack, far from helping him, is being used against the congressman. His statements were immediately repudiated for their xenophobia and for attacking his party’s own immigration policies. This should have been a clear signal for Gonzalez, but apparently, he saw it as an indication that he should go further instead.
What came next caused so much indignation in the Latino community that even the liberal media has been forced to denounce it. Vicente Gonzalez hired a blogger with the purpose of trying to smear Mayra Flores, and he used foul language and insults worthy of criminals. The defamer, hired by the Democratic congressman, repeatedly called Mayra Flores “Miss Frijoles” in reference to her Mexican origins. His blog also contains other sexist and racist messages, such as “cotton-pickin’ liar.”
As if that were not enough, after being discovered that he had paid the blogger to disseminate such attacks, Congressman Gonzalez tried to shield himself by claiming that he had no editorial control over the publications, and assured that the payments were only for advertising on his platform.
Nevertheless, the aforementioned blog doesn’t allow the payment of advertising, and so far there is no positive message in favor of Gonzalez. What did come were many low attacks against the figure of Mayra Flores.
Just last night I was watching the documentary Best of Enemies, about the TV debates between the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. and the liberal Gore Vidal, two men who clearly hated each other and could not have more different ideas about society. Yet, despite this, for several nights, they sat down on a television set to discuss their ideas hastily and provide arguments as to why their policies for society and the world were better.
In the United States, we have fatally deviated from the healthy debate and have gone down the path of intolerance. If we continue on this path, it will be that — and not external enemies — that will bring about the destruction of the country.
For the good of the United States, people like Vicente Gonzalez should not have a seat in Congress. If he has any honor left, the first thing he should do is resign and never return to politics, reflect on all that he did wrong, ask for forgiveness, and stop being a terrible example for society.
Being Latina and conservative is not a sin. Being Latina and liberal is not a sin either: what is terribly wrong is not respecting the decisions of others and trying to destroy with mafia tricks those who think differently from us.
Vicente Gonzalez must resign!
Emmanuel Rincón is a lawyer, writer, novelist and essayist. He has won several international literary awards. He is Editor-at-large at El American // Emmanuel Rincón es abogado, escritor, novelista y ensayista. Ganador de diversos premios literarios internacionales. Es editor-at-large en El American