From the PA Weekly reportage...
"It began when Palo Alto resident Rebecca Parker Mankey attempted to shame an elderly white man wearing a red Make America Great Again hat as he sat in the coffeehouse..."

" Mankey said she yelled at him and addressed Starbucks customers and employees to join her in her effort. She said she left the store but soon returned and continued to yell at him...She followed him out of the store to the parking lot, where she continued to berate and swear at him."

"She called the man "Nazi scum...I want him to have nowhere to hide," she wrote a practice called "doxing," or posting personal contact information to encourage threats and harassment and threatened to post pictures of him on social media, which she then did..."

> "the 74-year-old Palo Alto man in the MAGA hat, who is Jewish, told the Palo Alto Weekly that he is not afraid of the woman. Rather, he said, her actions are an example of the lack of discourse in the country over differing viewpoints."


Clearly evident who was in the wrong here as this incident amounts to civil harassment & elder abuse.

The woman (Mankey) should have kept her thoughts to herself rather than trying to incite a public spectacle...following the man to his car, calling him 'Nazi scum' & threatening to expose him on social media are obsessive & extreme measures.

Psychological counseling may be warranted as she could have easily been arrested for disturbing the peace.

Mankey's quoted supporters in the PA Weekly article should not be encouraging or supporting this kind of anti-social behavior.

Ironic how some Trump haters are just as questionable as Trump supporters in regards to their perspectives & actions.

[Portion removed.]

How can anyone justify the terrible actions of this woman? I looked up this incident on social media and people are heralding her as some sort of hero.

The irony is that she called this man "Nazi scum" -- a 74-year-old Jewish man who may have had family escape concentration camps 73 years ago. This entire public-shaming debacle is like something out of 1930's-era Nazi Germany.

She should be arrested for harassing a law abiding Citizen. Also her membership on boards in Palo Alto should be revoked for this kind of behavior. I’m surprised Starbucks did not kick her out of their cafe.

The actions by Ms. Mankey, and more importantly the support she has received, are despicable and representative of a much larger problem. We must stop demonizing people merely because we have political differences. As my rabbi said “Love your neighbor as yourself....especially if you disagree with their politics”.

[Post removed.]

Looks like she's on the working group for the North Ventura planning committee. She needs to be removed from that group.

[Portion removed.]

Steven Lee of the Palo Alto Human Relations Committee said, "The MAGA hat at its best represents a distorted and inaccurate view of America, its history, and its place in the world" That's just not true. The hat does not represent anything other than support for America and/or Trump. In America we're entitled to our opinions, last I checked, without getting abused during our morning coffee. Some of my family members voted for Trump, yet we still manage to have civil discussions.

What Mankey did today only gathers more support for the people she does not agree with. She disagrees with Trump because of his hatred and then turns around and spews hatred at someone she doesn't even know. Even after being attacked, that man has much more class and reason than Mankey can ever hope to have.

@Palo Alto Res I’m curious. Did you have the same reaction to those who wore Obama shirts, hats, who had/have bumper stickers? Are you saying a Trump supporter shouldn’t be allowed in the exclusive Ritz Carlton Club? Quite frankly I’m not understanding where your objection lies.

Actually I do, very much so. Because you do not like or agree with Trump politics you do not want to see or hear anything about it. I did not agree with most of Obama policies. But I didn’t have a problem with his supporters wearing Obama items, they agreed with his policies and they were proud of him and supported him. Why are Trumps supports not allowed the same consideration? MAGA means nothing more than that. Make America Great Again. It has nothing to do with race, it has nothing to do with socio-economic issues (although I would argue that your post reeks of exclusivity).

This is shameful. I frightens me that anyone in their right mind would have even one tiny little bit of support or empathy for this crazy person at Starbucks.

Edited to add one thing I would agree with @PaloAltoRes on....I don’t think one needs to be barraged with political discourse when away on vacation or anywhere for that matter. I think it’s ok for anyone to bring it up but equally ok for one to say “I prefer not to discuss politics” and then the other should let it drop. But just wearing a sweatshirt somewhere should not be considered “in ones face”

This man was sitting in a coffee shop minding his own business.
Are you greenlighting the abuse of people with Bernie bumper stickers or T-shirts? Just because you don't agree does not mean that supporters are evangelising.

You're surprised that in 2016 people were wearing hats and shirts support the Republican candidate at a Christian camp and at a Ritz Carlton??? Really? Or surprised that leading into the 2020 campaign season you saw a Trump 2020 shirt at a ski resort??

That's not shoving politics down your throat anymore than wearing a sports Jersey for your local team is shoving sports down your throat.

If you don't want to engage with these people then walk away.

But none of this has anything to do with what this woman did to this guy. Let's stay away from the "oh but what about..."

[Post removed.]

Knowing Parker well, Parker must have been having a super bad day to exercise such disastrous judgment. She's a neighbor and a colleague here in the Ventura Neighborhood Association. Parker is a big thinker whose progressive ideas and inclusiveness have impressed me. I have never witnessed her, even under stress, insult anyone or be cruel.

As a previous commenter noted, many liberally minded people will tolerate, while squirming inwardly, the presence of an overt Trump supporter in their midst. When a usually tolerant liberal steps out of line and calls someone out in an obnoxious way like Parker did, MAGA-nation goes berserk. Hers was a very poor choice but what is really chilling here is the extremist backlash that Parker is subjected too. She exercises her free speech - albeit in a not constructive way - and then gets the four horses of the right wing apocalypse threatening her very life. She loses her job and her family is harassed.

Would it be possible for Parker and Maga-man who said in the article, that "he bemoaned the loss of civil discourse over politics and says no one has approached him to have a reasonable debate," to get together and hash this out. Maybe they could engage in civil discourse with the desired outcome being that each person seekito understand the point of view of the other person and not engage in trying to change any minds. A listening party. No screaming allowed.

@Becky, you are directly supporting her behavior. That is absolutely abhorrent. It wasn’t a “very poor choice”, it was extreme and unacceptable a harassment. I would say the exact same (and have in the past) if someone were to do the same to any other person. I could give two sh!ts what the man was wearing, her behavior was 100% inexcusable. And so is your post.

Becky,
Not sure this can be classified as "having a super bad day".

Read her Facebook posts. Her goal is to "publicly shame him in town and try to get him fired and kicked out of every club he is in. I am going to go to his house march up and down carrying a sign that says he hates black people. I am going to organize protests where he works to make him feel as unsafe as he made every brown person he met today." Doesn't sound like she's capable of civil discourse.

@Monroe - Just because a person supports someone does not mean that they agree with everything that person stands for or the way they go about doing their business.

Take your/hers/theirs/everyone's politics out of the discussion. This is not how civilized people treat each other they disagree with. People seem to want to turn it into an Us vs. Them. We can't continue to blame Trump, or Obama or whoever for why things are the way they are. We need to take personal responsibility for how we act, react and how we treat people whether we agree with them or not.

I consider myself basically aligned with Parker's politics but totally reject and condemn her actions in berating the MAGA hat wearer. Simply inappropriate. Sitting down and simply discussing his politics (if he were willing) would be OK; berating in public, NOT ok.

I think that this is a display of someone who lacked empathy -- even if it was momentarily. I suppose that it can be easy to sacrifice empathy when we fall prey to Godwin's law or Reductio ad Hitlerum fallacies (happily playing the "Nazi" or "Hitler" card when you disagree with someone).

I hate to say it, but I sometimes feel this way on the PaloAltoOnline comment forum. There have been times where I felt antagonized in an almost fanatical way by people who might otherwise be pleasant people.

At times, it has felt quite threatening. Over the years on the Palo Alto Online, I've been mocked, ridiculed and vilified. I've been called racially-offensive terms (the Hispanic equivalent of being called an "Uncle Tom" or "Mammy"). I've seen many of their comments deleted and, occasionally, their accounts banned.

Most of the time, I've tried to answer softly. I try to react to those individuals as if they were a family member -- a father, mother, aunt or uncle or sibling.

A couple of years ago, the Palo Alto Weekly published an article about a teenage girl who had the idea of inviting people of different opinions and faiths to her home for dinner with her family. This teenager stood up on a corner with a sign that read, "Have dinner with a Muslim family." Her goal was to dispel myths about Muslims that some people might have.

I've always felt that this is a noble exercise. In the Bay Area, conservatives are a political minority. It takes a great deal of courage to even share your voice. It is an exercise in empathy. If people got to know one another face-to-face, I think that incidents like what happened at the California Avenue Starbucks could be avoided.

@Becky Sanders, why should this man have a debate with Ms. Manley? All he wanted was a cup of coffee. Is he not allowed to wear the hat of his choice while doing so? I’m a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan and I loathe the Dodgers just because they are the Dodgers but I have yet to go up to one of their LA hat-wearing fans and vilify them.

People saying that Ms. Mankey‘s behavior was inappropriate are wrong. It was abhorrent. It was mean, nasty, vile behavior. She threatened the man with all the things that seem to be happening to her now and her friends and supporters are saying *she* is the victim. What the heck? I am shocked regarding the support this woman has received, that no one came to this man’s defense, that no one told Ms. Manley to knock it off and get out of the restaurant.

I am in no way a Trump supporter, did not vote for him, would never vote for him, yet believe the Starbucks man has every right to wear whatever he wants. And I *don’t* believe a MAGA hat stands for hate. If you automatically assume everyone who voted for Trump or wears a MAGA hat are people who hate, then that is your prerogative.

Nazi scum?? Once again, the party who always touts their tolerance has shown that they have very little tolerance for anyone who doesn’t believe or vote the way they do.

That Ms. Mankey and her vast number of supporters aren’t mortified by her behavior is one of the saddest parts of all. The shame of it.

The uncivil behavior ascribed to Parker in the article is absolutely unacceptable and un-American. Even if Parker is unable to learn from the incident, I hope our children and the rest of us can do so. It is wrong to scream at, insult, humiliate, intimidate, slander, make unfounded assumptions about and otherwise harrass someone who is doing no harm to you. In our country, thankfully, we are free to speak our minds, express our political and religious views, and wear what we want. Anybody that suggests otherwise is attacking core values of our society and is themselves guilty of facist logic. If you think someone’s political beliefs are wrong and you would like to tell them so, it is incumbent upon you to try to convince that person in civil discourse in the marketplace of ideas, not to simply shout them down and overwhelm them with force and fear for their safety and livelihood. We all need to learn to tolerate disagreement and respond to contrary opinions with reason and patience rather than irrational anger. Rather than creating “safe spaces” where we surround ourselves in homogenous echo chambers, perhaps, as Bryan Stevenson said about poor people and ex-cons, we should take time to get proximate with each other and understand that at the end of the day, we share a common humanity that transcends superficial differences. Only then can we begin to build a truly just society.

It is interesting to think about what might have happened if the roles had been reversed. If what appeared to be a "white" person verbally assaulted a non-white person in the same circumstances. How tolerant would the other customers and onlookers outside have been in that circumstance?

I don't know how any of the so-called 'friends' of this woman can come to the defense of her truly appalling behavior. It wasn't just a moment of making a snarky comment that was instantly regretted. It was a prolonged verbal and written attack over a period of time, with the express intent of causing harm to a man and his family who were complete strangers to her. If the 'crime' of being a Trump supporter is enough to cause her to want to harm someone, than it is likely she will feel the same way about any other MAGA person she comes across in the future...to actually wish them bodily harm. It is very frightening behavior. And there is absolutely no justification for anyone in any kind of leadership role behaving this way.
Those of you who defend her apparently really don't know her inner thoughts that well.

Unbelievable...and in Palo Alto of all places! Where folks are supposedly known for their civility & respect of diversity.

Just goes to show that one side of the coin is sometimes no better than the other.

Conservative reactionaries have been around for a long time & now we have outspoken Liberal reactionaries following the same path but with polar ideologies.

This woman Mankey was way out of line as the elder gentleman was simply wearing a MAGA cap, getting some coffee & in no way poised for a debate or verbal altercation.

I've seen this at Giants-Dodger games as well...someone buying a beer & battle lines drawn over a particular ball cap a fan happens to be wearing.

As I've told my children, getting into altercations over team colors is not fandom but a sign of emotional immaturity.

The same can be said of those getting bent out of shape over another person wearing a red MAGA cap.

Hopefully Ms. Mankey will learn to control her political & emotional outbursts in the near future. Very unbecoming & utterly pointless.

As for Gryphon Stringed Instruments, it's unfortunate that they had to be dragged into this sorry incident but perhaps some people felt that Ms. Mankey's irrational outburst & expressed political leanings were reflective of their store culture.

Had this unfortunate event taken place at Philz instead of Starbucks, chances are a PAPD officer on coffee break would have intervened before things got further out of hand.

> How can anyone justify the terrible actions of this woman? I looked up this incident on social media and people are heralding her as some sort of hero.

> The actions by Ms. Mankey, and more importantly the support she has received, are despicable and representative of a much larger problem.

> Read her Facebook posts. Her goal is to "publicly shame him in town and try to get him fired and kicked out of every club he is in. I am going to go to his house march up and down carrying a sign that says he hates black people. I am going to organize protests where he works to make him feel as unsafe as he made every brown person he met today." Doesn't sound like she's capable of civil discourse.

Some people need to have a serious look at themselves in the mirror...just saying.

Hey I'm just saying I know Parker and am just as shocked as anyone else. I decry her behavior and knowing her as I do I have to wonder what possessed her to behave in such a way. I hope that's okay for me to wonder that. Guess I should just keep my thoughts to myself, or else I'll get bullied and misunderstood. Well that's okay, it wouldn't be the first time.

I'm not condoning her behavior, so don't worry, people, I'm not trying to gloss over the reality of what she did. Don't excoriate me for owning my friendship with her. I know Parker is capable of growing and evolving away from this low point.

> It is interesting to think about what might have happened if the roles had been reversed. If what appeared to be a "white" person verbally assaulted a non-white person in the same circumstances. How tolerant would the other customers and onlookers outside have been in that circumstance?

What ifs don't count...only real actions perceived by others.

Make-believe scenarios is not even worth considering & perhaps best left to screenwriters.

> And I hope the man in the hat will consider accepting her apology when she offers it.

What apology...and after all of the vitriol previously expressed on social media?

A restraining order might be more appropriate.

@MVresident2003

I guess the level of fierce anger towards anyone who is a non-Trump supporter is also a testament to how divisive our current president is.

Can people wear whatever they wish, including Trump propaganda at a vacation resort? Absolutely. You betcha it's part of our human right to live in this country. We can paint it upon our faces and backs if one wishes.

Should we have politics shoved in our faces whilst on vacation (ski or beach or Christian camp)? That is debatable. It's our right to freedom of speech to say and support anyone in politics, anywhere we are.... however, it's also our right to ignore the blatantly political shirts and hats being worn by MAGA wearers and pretend to ignore and quietly walk away. If you read my post, that is what I did each time.

Did the young Hispanic man and his wife shovel their politics down our throats in that Four Seasons Complimentary suite that 3 families were sharing? Absolutely. Did the 2 other families (ours being one of them) agree with his politics? Nope. Did we engage in discourse when he raved on about how great Trump was? Nope. We quietly changed the subject to topics of vacation. Sadly... he continued to revert the conversation back of how he was part of the Trump campaign, and talked about various Trump paraphernalia.

HEre is the thing. You make a lot of assumptions about me, including the fact that I lack empathy. Don't presume too much. I never said I condone what happened at Starbucks. But MY point is that one only has to look to our leadership in the White house.... and see the most powerful man in the USA... TRUMP..... condone white hatred and racism. Not only condone, but use terminology that are whistle blowing to the racists throughout this country.

The leadership in in this country.... has struck a chord of hatred and anger and fear....and one only has to look the type of commentary of anger (even your assumptions about me) to realize to whom Trump calls out to and beckons and to whom his words RESONATE DEEPLY with.

I'm all for fiscal conservatism ... but sadly... I don't condone racism. I don't condone hatred. I don't condone the many things Trump advocates and condones. I also don't condone what happened at Starbucks.... but lets not pretend Trumpers shove their politics down peoples throats. They are not innocent either.

By the way... I have yet to see any Democratic political statements in any resort I have vacationed in. By all means.. .if you see them.. you are more than welcome to quietly walk away and ignore them (especially if they are shoved down your throat).

Sorry Becky, calling BS. You specifically said “she exercises her free speech” and that everyone here has “extremist backlash” is most definitely a denial that she did anything wrong. By excusing her absolutely, 100% non-negotiable abhorrent behavior you are as much part of this problem as she.

This is NOT ACCEPTABLE and as most her fortunately are saying, there should be no place in our society for it.

[Post removed.]

> There is something about Trump supporters that feel they should make their support of Trump in one's face.

> the norm is.... people who vote for non-Trump look away, pretend it doesn't exist and do not mention it.

There's an exception to every rule & this disturbing account is a prime example.

Besides, why get bent over someone wearing a MAGA cap? It's just a 2016 campaign slogan & a meaningless one at that.

As Mario Cuomo once said, "America was never great and won't be until we address & correct all of our nation's problems"...or something along those lines.

I concur.

@TLM

I don't think people are coming to Mankey's defense of her behavior. Harassment should not be tolerated. I don't know why the elderly gentleman didn't call the police.

I have been a patron of Gryphon strings and it's a lovely guitar store. I have also recall meeting Mankey and her showing the guitar she herself had bought for herself. She made my children feel welcome and she was engaging and lovely to interact with.

Not condoning what happened at Starbucks. BUT.. can people make mistakes? You betcha. I mean.. if people can forgive a candidate who is running for POTUS for denigrating women as saying it's simply "locker room talk".. such that misogynistic words and behavior can be forgiven.. I think one can forgive Mankey?

Let him who doesn't live in a glass house... throw the first stone. Shall we?

Let him who has voted for an ethical, moral, good man as President... throw the first stone.

Lets not hold Mankey to a higher standard than what one holds the POTUS (President of the United States).

@PaloAltoRes, I’m calling BS on your comments as well, however I’m not going to take the time to break it down line item by line item, everyone reading can see what was said in your initial post and my subsequent response.

I’m not going to defend Trump, this article isn’t about him. It’s about a raving fanatical political activist who went way out of line. Call her out for it. Denounce it and make clear to all his isn’t acceptable. For ANYONE.

> The leadership in in this country.... has struck a chord of hatred and anger and fear....

While it's generally impolite to ask someone's age, I guess you are too young to have remembered the Nixon years.

> It’s about a raving fanatical political activist who went way out of line.

That pretty much sums it up.

[Portion removed.] I’ll admit that I too sometimes open my pie hole too far, say the wrong thing or seem to lose my foundation of empathy. But the description here, and I think a poster nailed it, is the lack of empathy, even for your assumed enemy.
I think social media causes this.
Even here.
Read the satire about the fictional company developing an algorithm to foster hostility. Or we think it’s satire.

[Post removed.]

Donald Trump has touched a lot of people the wrong way, both figuratively & literally.

Curious how the ever 'affectionate' Joe Biden is going to be defending his past behavior in the event he decides to run for POTUS 2020.

Even Nancy Pelosi has advised him to 'cool it' & to distance himself from the womenfolk he encounters at various gatherings.

> Let him who doesn't live in a glass house... throw the first stone. Shall we?

We all live in glass houses.

And stones will always be thrown...depending on one's party affiliation & the candidates they are targeting.

It's called American politics.

@ Steven Lee - I believe that you're wrong about the MAGA hat.

The hat is just a red hat with a campaign slogan. It represents what millions of Americans feel about this country. It's the Trump supporters' version of the Obama "change you can believe in" campaign paraphernalia.

The hysteria (and that is what it is) about it being the modern equivalent of a KKK robe is ridiculous. Yet, people like this woman actually believe this radical and inaccurate narrative.

I think this is a teaching moment and we all need to take a breathe and realize no matter our differences - we’re all people that matter. I believe we should form bonds with people of opposite opinions versus push them away. Even though I would not wear that hat, if we can learn from each other, we just might find our values are the same. Let’s not hate, when respecting each other is so much easier. I welcome a coffee with the MAGA hat man, we all need our voices heard on both sides. As a black man I never assume anyone’s point of view until I know what type of heart they have for a fellow person and what’s their history. Patrick Boone, 2018 City Council Candidate.

This incident offers an excellent opportunity to look at our community critically. We are fractured economically, politically, and socially. There are many things causing great stress. What I marvel at is how quickly we blame whoever resides in the White House for what is wrong in our society. This habit did not start w/the current administration. WE are society. WE are responsible for our own shortcomings and failings. WE are the voters; no one elects themselves. So if WE don't like something, WE need to work on changing ourselves.

Patrick Boone: please run again.

A sad time in our town...my town! I have a hunch there are many others with the same hate boiling up within them but haven't expressed it in the clearly abusive way she did. And not only in my town but across the whole nation and the spectrum of media outlets and their political coverage.

I grew up in the 40's and early 50's (on a small family farm in Montana, just to set the stage for my following comments)...when none of this crazy stuff was going on. We had civil discourse...we had civics and government classes in high school, and national political conventions attracted my attention, and I listened intently to the floor debates...not these crazy modern day ones on TV, and listened to eloquent speakers. I was in awe and firmly entrenched in the belief that our government and the system of getting officials elected was perfect. But, I was young and naive!

Cable news?? Fuggedaboutit! It ain't news at all, well, maybe with a few exceptions...Bret Baier being one of them. After his afternoon show it goes downhill from there on FOX. FOX and CNN are so politically driven and there is really no news there...just lots of opinions from extreme ends of the spectrum. They invite guests from the other side, whom I assume must be paid a tidy sum to suffer the abuse they know they will get. The hosts berate them, interrupt them, mock them, laugh in their faces, and then thank them for coming on their show. That makes me sick to my stomach. But, I know I must be crazy, because I still feel a need to watch them just for the fun of it. I click on one channel initially and then hop back and forth to enjoy the sport of it, for a couple hours, from both sides. That's only on nights when there is nothing that interests me on the sports channels. Thank god some of those sports channels come to my aid most nights.

Our early experience with the women's oriented/lobbyist group, AAUW, went smoothly once my wife, Garnet, became a member. She got involved, and I happily tagged along, and joined many sections available in the local chapter at that time. Bridge club, wine tasting club, supper club, and she joined a Great Decisions class even when she was having dementia problems towards the end of her life. We loved most of it...met a lot of new and very interesting friends in our community. I'm sure the original founders didn't create it for only political reasons, and based on a hate for any and all Republicans, but it has morphed, at the local level, into a totally anti-Republican group, opposing anything that smirks of an idea proposed by a Republican. My wife and I attended many social functions where we heard nothing but hate speech about Reagan and other Republicans. It bothered me to some degree, but my beautiful wife let it slide by like water off a duck's back. Her great relationship and love of her friend, Marie Wolbach, didn't slow her down a bit. They were friends to the end of her life.


I have a good friend, he will remain nameless, who goes out every Friday morning with a bunch of my fellow retirees for coffee. He proudly wears his MGA cap. The meeting place is in the Los Gatos/Saratoga area, apparently a safer place to wear that cap than PA, because, as far as I know, he's never had any incident or altercation like the one reported.

I don't own an MGA cap and I didn't vote for Trump, but I am a registered Republican. That alone causes disdain from many of my friends in town. Discussions on issues go no further when they know I'm a registered Republican. The history of that is long and family oriented and the fact I was born and raised in Montana during the Great Depression.

In my mind I'm a fiscal conservative but a liberal on social issues. That is a gut wrenching position to be in, maybe an oxymoron. I struggle with it but always seem to work through it from one election cycle to the next. I cross the aisle during election season...and have done so many times before.

I'd be shocked if this man wasn't wearing his [portion removed] hat to trigger exactly the reaction he received. Many people believe that tTump actually lost the 2016 election, he certainly lost the popular vote, the only vote that should count, and that he won* due to help from the Russians. Wearing this hat, although legal, is more or less spitting in the face of those who believe, justifiably in my opinion, that Trump didn't win legitimately.

For Trump supporters to label her behavior as uncivilized in the face of Trump and his supporters' behavior and rhetoric is ludicrous and hypocritical. [Portion removed.]

This is what happens when college students are allowed to have "safe spaces" on campus because they need protection from contrary views. The First Amendment is under attack. Wearing a MAGA hat is indeed protected by our right to free speech, as the gentleman said.

If you read the comments quoted from Ms Packer's political group, they seem to agree with the essence of what she said at Starbucks. She made a "mistake' not following proper decorum because she apparently got up on the wrong side of bed and saw a person wearing a MAGA hat. She was having a "very bad day," that's all.

The last person who was attacked publicly for wearing a MAGA hat was that poor kid from a Catholic school attending a Pro Life a rally in Washington DC. He was wrongly vilified and humiliated online and on cable news. Oh yes, and the hat-wearing guy who was beaten up on the UC Berkeley campus recently. MAGA hats have unfairly become symbols of hatred and racism -- even imaginary ones, like the ones allegedly worn by Jussie Smollett's "attackers" in Chicago.

I think this woman has been infected by immersion in biased media reports and she should consider broadening her sources of information, as well as watching her manners.

To Becky Sanders and other posters who have said they know this woman well, it is clearly evident that you don't.

To Becky Sanders...do you honestly think an Obama style beer summit would accomplish anything ? Especially with a person who has been harboring so much pent up hate ? Rather than referring to the attack victim as "Maga-man," you could have referred to him as the victim of this horrible display of intolerant behavior. The hat doesn't define the man, but the actions of Parker Mankey have defined her forever in the minds of decent people. "I am going to publicly shame him in town and try to get him fired and kicked out of every club he is in. I am going to go to his house march up and down carrying a sign that says he hates black people. I am going to organize protests where he works to make him feel as unsafe as he made every brown person he met today."

She has accomplished for herself with regard to public shaming that she intended to do to him. And she deserves every last bit of it. I guess she really was having a bad day.

As an earlier poster said, "Once again, the party who always touts their tolerance has shown that they have very little tolerance for anyone who doesn’t believe or vote the way they do."

Ms. Parker Mankey blew it!

Politics aside, if I were this man, I would make the Palo Alto Police Department aware of this incident and Mrs. Mankey's threats.

@ Steven Lee......

"Let me be clear. The MAGA hat at its best represents a distorted and inaccurate view of America, its history, and it place in the world, and, at its worst, is a symbol of hate and everything that is wrong with America today."

Where do you come up with this stuff? Can you back up any of your parroted talking points with fact? [Portion removed.]

[Post removed.]

[Portion removed due to deletion of referenced comment.]

An individual was simply minding his own business & trying to buy some coffee. He wore a red cap symbolizing the mantra of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Big deal.

This is akin to someone verbally abusing an individual at a record store (remember those?) because some customer was buying a Fleetwood Mac album that had the song, 'Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow' & the verbal abuser didn't vote for Bill Clinton & happened to despise the Democratic Party. Even Newt Gingrich wouldn't have pulled such an immature stunt.

Until you have stared down tanks & seen your comrades fallen by the wayside (Tiannamen Square) perhaps best not to go calling America fascist until you have experienced the true meaning of the word.

[Portion removed.]

Until then, what this Mankey woman did was no better than what some ardent & ignorant Trump supporters do to harass others with whom they beg to differ.

H. Lee/a survivor of the 1989 massacre & a grateful American citizen who supported Rand Paul in 2016.

Mauricio

"Many people believe that tTump actually lost the 2016 election, he certainly lost the popular vote, the only vote that should count, and that he won* due to help from the Russians. Wearing this hat, although legal, is more or less spitting in the face of those who believe . . . "


>Many people believe that tTump actually lost the 2016 election

Well, he did not.


>he certainly lost the popular vote, the only vote that should count

Nope. We live in a republic, and the electoral college is one of the few remaining vestiges of each state's individual sovereignty. People in smaller states don't want the larger states being able to control the federal government in its entirety, in effect excluding them from having any political agency.

I'd like to see these same people calling to abolish the electoral college after Texas flips blue. It's people who don't understand the reason it exists and who are upset because their candidate lost.


>and that he won* due to help from the Russians

People spread around their opinions and memes over the Internet, and the right hit harder than the left. It must have been Russian bots, though.


>Wearing this hat, although legal, is more or less spitting in the face of those who believe

That is exactly the point of free speech. It's not to share things that make people happy and opinions everyone agrees with. Those things need no protection.
It's precisely to be able to express things people do not like. That is the only purpose it serves.

Liberals preach tolerance of people with different ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation etc. but when it comes to tolerance of different political views I've found they do not practice what they preach.

@ Steven Lee.....

"We resist policies. We resist actions. We resist hate. We resist intolerance. But we do not resist people. We must resist sinking down to their level. We must hold out our hand and help pull them out of the muck."

How do you answer the conservative who says the same things, sincerely means them and acts in the same way? The only difference is we do it without punching people in the face, destroying property, spitting in the faces of police officers and violently disrupting the free speech of individuals on college campuses.

The muck is deep and liberals need a lot of helping hands and pulling to get themselves out of their self imposed hypocrisy. Self reflection would be a great first step.

Steven Lee

>"The most impactful step we can take to ensure an inclusive America . . . "

You lost me at "impactful." I understand people use the word "impact" because they have difficulty remembering when to use "effect" or "affect," but this one is easy: Just use "effective."


> . . . resist policies and actions of the current administration that are exclusionary, dangerous, and contrary to our country’s founding values.

You can't have national sovereignty without being exclusionary. I could go on, but I think you've misinterpreted the "founding values" of this country. Isn't that the reason you believe America was never a great country? Isn't it because of our founding principles? Doesn't it have something to do with our "problematic" past?

May I ask, why do you write like that? It's smug and off-putting. Your prose is a cross between an insincere political speech and a sermon: It's preachy and self-aggrandizing. You don't have to praise yourself specifically when you make yourself the voice of the collective.

Also, how much cringe can you fit into one "statement?" You managed to name-drop Michelle Obama, Gandhi, and MLK. You even used a dated political slogan as the statement's theme. It was all just too much. Next time, try to write like a human being.

@Tortfeasor:

Which MAGA policy aligns with our founding principles? Please explain how any of the President's (for your benefit only, I prefer a reference to Dolt 45) current immigration ideas match the Declaration, the Constitution, or even the Statue of Liberty. Our last effort at comprehensive reform passed the Senate 68-13, but the then Speaker would not put it up for passage in the house because (Oh No..) the first black President would have gotten the credit.

Until Republicans rise up to correct these egregious overeaches, the rest of us are likely to stay pretty mad. [Portion removed.]

What Will They Do Next

"We resist policies. We resist actions. We resist hate. We resist intolerance. . . . "

Resisting any information that conflicts with your belief system and ideology is called being open-minded. Demanding that others not think or say things that conflict with your belief system and ideology is called being liberal.

The lack of self-awareness on the "progressive left" is nothing short of astounding.

@Becky Sanders.....you wrote.

"As a previous commenter noted, many liberally minded people will tolerate, while squirming inwardly, the presence of an overt Trump supporter in their midst."

Really? This is Palo Alto. This is the Bay Area. If anyone tolerates while squirming inwardly, it's the conservative in the presence of an in your face progressive liberal in their midst. We are constantly shamed, abased and berated for supporting conservative candidates and having different political viewpoints. And almost always hold back comments in open discussion with our mostly liberal neighbors and friends knowing what would come if we expressed our views openly and exposed ourselves.

The slightest hint that you're a conservative in Palo Alto is often met with stupefied eye rolling and disbelief. Relationships with longtime friends have been strained, some even ended because of the ridicule we have received either covertly or overtly. We now have a rule when gathering with friends. No discussion of politics. Period. It has saved our relationships with many people whose company we really enjoy.

What a terrible encounter to have taken place. [Portion removed.]

I’m so sad to read that people from around the world who have never shopped at Gryphon have damaged its Yelp rating and made so many angry calls and emails. For almost 50 years Gryphon has provided excellent music classes, fine instrument sales and repairs to our town. Countless local families have had their lives enriched by the honest, kimd folks working at Gryphon. They had nothing to do with this incident and it is not fair that they lose online business from angry Yelp reviews by non-customers. Shouldn’t Yelp delete reviews from people who have never shopped at the company they’re reviewing? Maybe if those of us who have shopped at Gryphon could post Yelp reviews, that could help this wonderful local employer and business.

[Post removed.]

Old Steve:

"Which MAGA policy aligns with our founding principles? Please explain how any of the President's (for your benefit only, I prefer a reference to Dolt 45) current immigration ideas match the Declaration, the Constitution, or even the Statue of Liberty."


I never claimed any of Trump's policies, whatever they might be, align with or adhere to the principles and values of classical liberalism (if you want founding values, there you go). As far as immigration is concerned the Declaration isn't really law, the Statue of Liberty has nothing to do with law, and the Constitution merely grants Congress the power to regulate immigration and naturalization.

Things like DACA, DAPA, etc, which were brought about by means of presidential memorandum or executive order, circumvented the Constitution and Congress and created substantive law regulating immigration and naturalization. They were unconstitutional. Trump has issued a series of executive orders surrounding border security and enforcement of current immigration law. The border security measures are substantive, but arguably within his scope of power (granted one acknowledges the Constitutionality of executive orders). The orders surrounding enforcement create procedural law, which acts to enforce the substantive law created by Congress. This is also within his scope of power.

A strong border is necessary to maintain national sovereignty. National sovereignty is essential to ensure the rights and liberties of a nation's citizens.
I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't maintain a strong border and carefully vet potential immigrants. Nothing about that is out of line with the founding values of this country. I don't think Trump is doing enough in terms of immigration.

Tortfeasor,

We can agree not enough is being done. E-verify violations should come with jail time for employers (like the President). Asylum rights are part of current law. We can argue over Executive Orders, but if Boehner had put comprehensive reform to a vote, DACA would not have been written. My reference to the founding values just meant that nobody regulated who came here then, if you made it you were good. Since about the 1890's immigration law has been perverted again and again to exclude "dangerous groups". No argument with excluding known criminals, but a big argument with kidnapping innocent children and not being able to re-unite them with their parents, here, or in their home countries. Closing the border hurts everybody. Reprogramming Military funds in an "emergency" is a dangerous precedent and sends the wrong message to those who serve.