THE TEXAS TALIBAN

(I manage the Highland Lakes Democratic Women's Facebook page and am the proud president of our 110-member organization.)

Yesterday, Bryan Walker, a Marble Falls City Council member, confronted me on our FB page. He stated, “I have attempted to remain indifferent in watching your post. Plain and simple, we have reached a point I cannot tolerate. Comparing Republicans to the Taliban is a different level of hatred that I will not tolerate. I hope you will consider changing the attacks on individuals that have different views than you. I am obviously nonpartisan as a Councilmember, but I am highly disappointed in your recent posts.” I responded, “Thanks for your input. Thank God this is a free country, and we can freely express our opinions. I’m highly disappointed and cannot tolerate City Council members who claim to be “nonpartisan” yet post pictures of themselves at a Republican Party meeting cozying up to a Republican Congressman. In response to your objection about the Texas Taliban, if you were a 14-year-old girl who had been raped and couldn’t get an abortion, you would understand why those of us that believe women should determine what we do with our bodies are calling this the Texas Taliban.” (What's even worse is that the Texas law deputizes private citizens to sue anyone who performs an abortion or “aids and abets” a procedure. Plaintiffs who have no connection to the patient or the clinic may sue and recover legal fees, as well as $10,000 if they win. How in the hell do you think that will end?) Bryan purposely came on our page to get triggered and express his intolerance. He “cannot tolerate?” Who does he think he is? Give me a break. I later suggested that if he didn’t like what was posted on our page, then don’t read it! One must wonder why he has nothing better to do than try to intimidate me. Those who know me know that he’s barking up the wrong tree.

This isn’t the first time someone from the far-right has confronted me. A group of us were threatened at a recent rally in Marble Falls. When I was the Llano County Democratic Party Facebook page administrator, a man from the Collin County Republican Party told me he knew where I lived and threatened to shoot me because I was a Democrat. On his FB page, he had pictures of assault rifles. The local police circled my house every four hours for two weeks after I reported him.

I’m aware that far-right websites call for the death of progressives and liberals. Unfortunately, Texas has passed a law allowing people to possess guns without a permit. We already have open carry. This will not end well. We’re sitting on a powder keg in Texas.

If I didn’t have a daughter and grandchildren living an hour away, I would put my house up for sale today and move to a state that reflected sanity and compassion toward women, minorities, children, and the elderly. I would never choose to live in a state where people freely roam around with automatic weapons. These same people will be intimidating voters at the polls, even more so than in the last election because the new voting law allows poll watchers to move freely within the polling places.

I live in a state that has passed a law limiting how and where people vote. This is to ensure that the same party stays in power. We are quickly moving to a situation where the leaders, while expressing the freedom not to be vaccinated or wear masks, pass laws that take away the freedom of choice and make it difficult for minorities to vote.

This is a dark time in our state, regardless of one’s political affiliation or leanings. Since I have chosen to stay here because of my grandchildren and daughter, I will actively do my part to return this state to sanity.