Creatives: These Are Struggle Sessions. DON'T SUBMIT.

Over the past week or so, I have seen far too many decent people in the arts apologize for their eminently reasonable opinions, and I'm sick of it.

Hugh Jackman, for example, didn't do anything wrong when he posted that picture of a cop hugging a protester. For eff's sake, isn't that what we want? Don't we want police officers to connect with the communities they're supposed to serve? Don't we want these cops to see the fundamental humanity of the people under their jurisdiction? There's nothing in such a photo that suggests a lack of concern when it comes to police brutality. On the contrary, I'd say that sort of interaction is desperately needed to prevent law enforcement officials - who often get exposed to the worst mankind has to offer - from checking out and consequently treating arrestees like animals.

Comics writer/artist Sean Gordon Murphy also didn't do anything wrong when he tweeted:

I want equality.

I want more good cops. And I want bad cops to be held accountable when they break the law.

I want people to be allowed to protest peacefully.

And I want the looting to end. The solution to these problems isn't MORE CRIME.

— Sean Gordon Murphy (@Sean_G_Murphy) June 2, 2020

It's crystal-clear to any normal person that Murphy considers Floyd's death emblematic of a problem that requires resolution. It's also crystal-clear that he supports those who are peacefully protesting for greater police accountability. And yes, like any humane liberal, he condemns violence and looting. This is not a racist opinion. This is, in fact, the opinion of the majority of the American public. And in my view, not only is it a valid opinion, it's also right. Even many of the legitimate demonstrators recognize this, as we've seen in several viral clips in which sincere activists are seen pleading for calm and/or collaring criminal agitators. Hell, even Floyd's family has begged for the violence to stop.

Trashing urban neighborhoods does not make #BlackLivesMatter; a black Chicagoan I follow on social media now has to go far out of his way to get food and medicine because idiots in our media and artistic classes - who are apparently so feeble-minded that they can't hold two concerns in their heads simultaneously - have cheered this rioting on. Hmm. Apparently, his life doesn't matter at all. And same goes for any black person employed at any of the shops that have been destroyed. Or any black person who owns a small business in these areas. Maybe one reason why so many feel that black lives have been degraded in this country is our aspiring revolutionaries' complete lack of concern for preserving the very things that will lead to black people's economic empowerment. But I don't know: maybe I'm just a privileged white girl who doesn't know what I'm talking about (even though I live and teach in a majority-minority community).

Unfortunately, being right didn't protect Murphy from being hounded by thuggish leftists who purposefully misconstrued his benign intentions and accused him, essentially, of being blind to the injustice of Floyd's murder. But no. No, he isn't. It's right there in his tweet. He wants bad cops to be punished. Alas, he didn't bleat the approved, critical-race-theory-inspired words, so he got beat over the head until he was forced to "clarify" what didn't need any effing clarification.

I was done on Saturday, and I'm still done. The left has graduated to literal struggle sessions. They are intent on forcing us all, through shame and abuse, to bow to an ideology that is demonstrably toxic and divisive instead of allowing us to pursue, of our own free will, a common-humanity politics that will actually lead to a more just society. If you are a creative, don't bend. Don't apologize to these people -- ever. Because they will never be satisfied. As soon as you show your belly, they will continue to harass you for every tiny imperfection they can perceive. And you don't deserve that. Hardly anyone does.