California state Sen. Scott Wiener, one of the most progressive lawmakers in America, got run out of San Francisco's Trans March by protesters who decided he wasn't progressive enough. That's like getting kicked out of a vegan restaurant for not being sufficiently anti-dairy.
As Trending Politics reported, Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat currently running for Congress, was confronted by a group of protesters at Dolores Park on Friday over his stance on Gaza. Video shows the group following him through the park, shouting him down. One protester yelled: "You've been terrible on Gaza. You do not belong here anymore, Scott."
Wiener, who is Jewish, has supported transgender rights for years and has attended the Trans March every year since 2004. He has also supported Israel's right to exist while criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. At a congressional debate earlier this year, he refused to call the war in Gaza a "genocide," though he later reversed that position. Apparently, reversing your position is only acceptable if you do it on the protesters' exact timeline.
Wiener said the confrontation went beyond political protest into harassment and physical intimidation. He wrote on social media that protesters surrounded him, made physical contact, and referenced his "tainted bloodline" and "Israeli handlers." He noted that one of the individuals involved had previously stalked him at an airport. He said he left the park because he feared for his safety and the safety of his staff.
"I have no objection whatsoever to anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me. All of that is core to democracy," Wiener wrote. "But when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line."
One protester posted video with the caption: "Scott Wiener showed up to the trans march and for the first time we kicked his ass out. It's sad because while he's written some good legislation for queers, hes ultimately a genocidal-supporting center right shill."
Calling Scott Wiener "center right" is genuinely one of the most unhinged political assessments of the decade. The man has spent his entire career as a flagship progressive in the most liberal city in America, and he's getting called a right-wing shill because he didn't use one specific word fast enough. If Scott Wiener is center right, then the political spectrum has about three people on the left and everyone else is basically Reagan.
Wiener received support from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and California Senate Democrats, who credited his "steadfast" support for LGBTQ+ communities. "In California," their statement read, "we believe everyone deserves dignity and respect, regardless of political differences."
The whole episode is a perfect snapshot of San Francisco politics, where a guy can champion progressive causes for two decades, show up to a march he's attended for over 20 years, and get physically chased out because the revolution has lapped him. He came as an ally. He left as a cautionary tale about what happens when the purity tests have no passing grade.
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