“Whitmer is not the only Democratic swing-state governor who has implemented strict lockdown measures during the pandemic. But she is the only one of those governors who is a woman, and it is no coincidence that she has also been the target of the most violent reactionary right-wing extremism. The serious threats to Whitmer’s physical safety are an indication of the growing danger today’s political and cultural climate poses for women.
The protests in May were in reaction to the pandemic control measures Whitmer introduced to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, and were notable both for the extreme show of force and the violent, misogynistic language many of the protestors used. Though many governors across the country imposed similarly severe restrictions during the first major wave of coronavirus infections, and though armed protests sprung up in several states, the Michigan protests were perhaps the most disturbing.
Hundreds of protestors, some of them armed, stormed the Michigan state capitol building in Lansing, brandishing racist paraphernalia including Confederate flags, and making explicit calls for violence against Whitmer. In one of the most reprehensible examples, a Republican state House candidate hung an unclothed brown-haired doll — Whitmer in effigy — by a noose. Female Michigan lawmakers wore bulletproof vests to work and reported feeling afraid for their lives. Meanwhile on Facebook, people in private groups posted calls for Whitmer to be lynched, beaten, or beheaded, referring to her as an evil witch or wicked queen. She’s been likened to a menopausal teacher, an overbearing mother, and a “tyrant b*tch.” One post called for “watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants.”
Listen to me: when you hear this language, it IS a red flag, no matter WHO it is about. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
