Gov. Abbott, did you misplace your dictionary? I don’t think you know what the word “callous” means, so let me help you. According to Merriam Webster it means “feeling or showing no sympathy for others: hard-hearted, a callous indifference to suffering.”
When you used this word to describe President Biden and his administration’s policies, you were completely out of line. “Callous indifference” more aptly describes you and your Texas Republican party.
Hard-hearted Republican officials ignored warnings about the unstable infrastructure of the Texas electric grid, failed to rush help to those who were suffering, and then blamed consumers who were stuck with exorbitant electric bills.
Unsympathetic Republican policies reinforce cycles of poverty, restrict access to healthcare, and weaken our public schools.
Texas Republicans have shown no sympathy for our neighbors to the south: migrants desperate to find work and safety for their families.
And then just this week, it was you who decided to lift coronavirus protections, demonstrating a gross indifference to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Texans.
And you have the gall to describe President Biden as “callous?”
No sir. Your faux outrage is a textbook demonstration of the principle of psychological projection—“the attribution of one’s own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people or to objects, especiallythe externalization of blame, guilt, or responsibility as a defense against anxiety.”
Your tweet is a failed attempt at distraction—“something that directs one’s attention away from something else.” Texans can see how Republicans keep making bad bets and are holding a losing hand; doubling down—“becoming more tenacious, zealous, or resolute in a position” – is a bald, foolish, and callous play.
You must IMMEDIATELY stop this divisive rhetoric. You must work with President Biden and this administration to create collaborative policies that will benefit all Texans.
Now is the time for mature, courageous leadership. Step up, Mr. Abbott; stop doubling down.
Sincerely, Reverend Charlotte Vaughan Coyle
Ditto that! We have no time to cast about looking for villains that do not exist when we, ourselves, are responsible by always catering to those who actually benefit economically while others suffer. The duopoly only benefits those being paid off by the corporations who would control us all.