Not Too Long Didn't Read

Michigan Senator Mallory McMorrow gave a speech on April 19, 2022 in response to Senator Lana Theis lies about her. I will include a transcript of the speech below, as posted by Senator McMorrow herself on Twitter.

Original video and transcript can be seen in Senator McMorrow’s post here:
https://x.com/MalloryMcMorrow/status/1516457662103187456

Theis was not actually running against McMorrow, but chose to publish defamatory lies about her. I was designed to attack a member of another party who expressed different values simply to stir up fear and hatred among Theis base voters. It takes dirty politics to a new level.

This is a non-partisan issue. It is a matter of how do we move forward. Winning is not an option. We have to win together or nobody wins. The alternatives are never ending escalations, and that way leads to chaos and maybe even death. Nobody sane wants that future for ourselves or our children.

Such attacks are not just on the person, but also on any ideas that just happen to be contrary to the attackers viewpoint. They are senseless, by any definition.

If you are a conservative or a progressive, then you are likely appalled. The new reality is party politics is off the rails. We needs leaders from all viewpoints to step forward who will work together, as our founding fathers did, through arguments and debates, to find a path forward that moves us ahead of this very unproductive way of governance at every level of government in our country.

Look up your local grassroots meetings, and go to them. Go with an open mind and an open heart so you can hear from not only people you might agree with, but also people with ideas different from your own.

Learn from them, and let them learn from you, so we all together can develop a new way forward. It will not be perfect, but it will be perfectly imperfect.

The old way is the new way. We learn to work together. There is no other way.

===== Transcript of Mallory McMorrow speech follows

Senator Lana Theis accused me by name of grooming and sexualizing children in an attempt to marginalize me for standing up against her marginalizing the LGBTQ community…in a fundraising email, for herself.

Hate wins when people like me stand by and let it happen. I won’t.

I sat on it for a while wondering why me?

Then I realized…

I’m the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme. Because you can’t claim that you’re targeting marginalized kids in the name of “parental rights” if another parent is standing up and saying no.

So you dehumanize and marginalize ME. You say I’m one of THEM. You say she’s a groomer, she supports pedophilia, she wants children to believe they were responsible for slavery and to feel bad about themselves because they’re white.

Here’s a little background on who I really am.

Growing up my family was active in our church. I sang in choir. My mom taught CCD. One day, our priest called a meeting with my mom and told her that she was not living up to the church’s expectations, b/c she was divorced, and because he didn’t see her w us at mass every Sunday.

Where was my mom on Sunday?

She was at a soup kitchen. With me.

My mom taught me at a young age that Christianity and faith was about being a part of a community, about recognizing our privilege and blessings and doing what we could to be of service to others – especially people who were marginalized, targeted, who had less…often unfairly.

I learned that SERVICE was far more important than performative nonsense like being seen in the same pew every Sunday or writing “Christian” in your Twitter bio and using it as a shield to target and marginalize already-marginalized people.

I also stand on the shoulders of people like Father Ted Hesburgh, the longtime president of the University of Notre Dame who was active in the civil rights movement, who recognized his power and privilege as a white man, a faith leader, and the head of an influential and well-respected institution – and who saw Black people in this country being targeted and discriminated against and beaten, and reached out and locked arms with Dr. Martin Luther King when he was alive, when it was unpopular and risky, and marching with them to say, “We got you.” To offer protection and service and allyship, to try to right wrongs and fix the injustice in the world.

So who am I? I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom who knows that the very notion that learning about slavery or redlining or systemic racism means that children are being taught to feel bad or hate themselves because they are white is absolute nonsense.

No child alive today is responsible for slavery. No one is this room is responsible for slavery.

But each and every single one of us bears responsibility for writing the next chapter of history. We decides what happens next, and how WE respond to history and the world around us.

We are not responsible for the past. We also cannot change the past. We can’t pretend that it didn’t happen, or deny people their very right to exist.

I want my daughter to know that she is loved, supported, and seen for whoever she becomes. I want her to be curious, empathetic, and kind.

I want every child to feel seen, heard, and supported, not marginalized and targeted if they are not straight, white, and Christian.

People who are different are not the reason our roads are in bad shape, or healthcare costs are too high, or teachers are leaving the profession.

We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they’re not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact peoples lives.

I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen.

And I want to be very clear right now:

Call me whatever you want. I know who I am. I know what faith and service mean, and what it calls for in this moment.

We will not let hate win.

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