Hank Johnson Healthcare Townhall Meeting Was Great!

As far as I could tell from outside, that is. I didn't actually get into the townhall. I went with a contingent of other people, but although we were an hour early, there was no way we were getting in. The line was already around the block. There must have been thousands of people.

We stood outside with signs: large, simple, direct, polite signs. We got some good attention, and maybe some media coverage.

Supporters of healthcare reform outnumbered opponents by a lot, maybe 5 to 1. There were a couple whacko screamers. Someone yelled "YOU'RE NAZIS" at us. Another man yelled "you want to send all our money to Kenya!" However, there were so many supporters that the really rude people never achieved critical mass, and the atmosphere outside remained calm. I saw a ton of people I knew, including our old therapist!

There was heavy security, and apparently the rules for the townhall were very strict and carefully explained at the beginning. People who yelled or were disruptive would be escorted out. I can't wait to read a summary to see how it turned out.

In related news, there's been a lot of local coverage on how Rep. David Scott, of the neighboring 13th District, supposedly "lost his temper" at a non-healthcare townhall when he was asked a healthcare question. I saw a video clip in question, and I don't believe he loses his temper. And I'm not saying this because I like David Scott, because I can't stand him. I think his political career is full of corruption, and he's nowhere near the caliber of, say, John Lewis. But in this case Scott is right. The media coverage surrounding the video clip was ridiculous and racist. Whatever the man's faults, he's a slick politician... he wouldn't freak out in front of a camera. If he was white, the headlines would have said "strong words" at the most, not "loses his temper".

Here's what he has to say in his defense:

"The first question that comes out of his mouth, 'Why did you vote for this?'" Scott said. "Wait a minute -- I didn't vote for anything. We haven't had it to vote on."

What you didn't see in our original report was the three minutes Scott spent answering the doctor's question before he raised his voice.

Watson asked Scott, "In hindsight, seeing those clips, did you lose your temper?"

"No, I did not lose my temper. I was very firm and I talked very firm -- and if you looked at that, my words were there. I didn't bite my tongue about it. I was very, very disturbed with him," Scott said.

But Scott is even more disturbed about mail he has received in the days since the story aired.

Scott held up a sheet of paper to Watson that had a picture of President Obama on it, his face made to look like the joker in Batman, a swastika on his forehead. Then he read what it said.

"They address it to n----- David Scott, 'You were, you are, and you shall forever be, a n-----'," Scott said, reading from the letter. "I got this in the mail today. Somewhere underneath this, bubbling up, is the ugly viscissitudes [sic, because 11alive.com hasn't discovered spellchecking] of racism. We should be proud we have an African American president and celebrating him willing to take on the difficult issue of healthcare, an issue that reflects 19 percent of our economy. Here we are in Congress trying to grapple with an almost impossible task -- almost two improbables together, bring the cost of healthcare down while expanding the coverage of it. That is a difficult assignment and it should not be relegated to these mobs of people who will come and hijack a meeting, and you expect me not to stand up to that and not to show that we're not intimidated?"

Scott is hosting a health fair and healthcare forum at which he will do questions and answers on the topic of healthcare reform.

It will be held on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm at Mundy's Mill High School in Jonesboro.

I'll be there!

Thank goodness Hank Johnson will never be accused of losing his temper despite incontrovertible blackness. Maybe it's all the "Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō"s he recites... he projects an almost supernatural (though slightly gawky) aura of calmness.