We Can't Stop Here

I recently gave a talk at a big state school in western Pennsylvania. It was only supposed to be a three-hour drive there from DC, but I missed my exit on the turnpike and ended up going a bit farther into the hills than I intended. Along the road were billboards attacking Hillary Clinton in truly disturbing ways that don't bear repeating, and I saw not one but several Clinton scarecrows (effigies?) impaled with stakes and pitchforks. I did not stop to take pictures.

This is one of the main reasons all the infighting on Tumblr bothers me so much; it feels like people are bickering over who needs to do the dishes while the house burns down around them.

By the way, if you're wondering what it feels like to see a female public figure symbolically threatened right in front of your eyes while lost with no cell phone signal, it isn't pleasant. I kept it together until I got to my hotel, and then I had a full-on panic attack. I had to have someone at the front desk call the person who was supposed to meet me and explain that I was indisposed, no joke. I mean, I understand that I'm a delicate flower and more sensitive to such things than most, and I understand that Clinton is not a beautiful shining star like Obama, but the undiluted hate that's been directed against her during this election season is genuinely frightening to me.