An Open Letter To Kathy Griffin

Dear Kathy Griffin,

I love you. Truly I do. Your special brand of saying what's on your mind, with a side of crass jokes is what has made you one of the most successful female comics in the business. Your Cher stories are quoted on my Facebook ad nauseam. Your take on the Kardashians always makes me smile and secretly envy that you've met them. Heck, you even made me sort of like Anderson Cooper with your New Years Eve specials. But this week, you went too far and I think that you know it.

Let's be real about things for a second, can we? In November, when Donald J Trump won the election, everyone was in shock. The man who made fun of a disabled reporter, was going to be the leader of the free world. This was the stuff of dystopian novels. And the Electoral College, well they did not do their job. None the less, this was the hand we were dealt and we had to figure out a new way to play the game at hand.

The Resistance Movement popped up and really started to move forward with making sure that we were all protected. Everyday citizens were engaged in the political process for the first time in my life, and it was an amazing experience. More than any President in my lifetime, Trump was faced with a resistance unlike any other. Yes, he has his supporters and they are very vocal and will attack anyone who looks at their hero wrong. I removed a former high school friend because she was posting hateful things about transgender people. But those of us on the Left, always put love before hate.

Then you decided to stumble into the foray with a picture of you holding onto a replica of Trump's dismembered head. In what world did you think that this was a good idea? Paula Dean uttered the "N" word and lost her career. One of those Duck Dynasty guys made homophobic remarks and nearly got their show cancelled. Yes, I know it eventually ended and the ratings dropped by half after that. That's all the more reason why your decision to do this is confounding. Were you not listening when Michelle Obama raised the roof at the DNC conference with "When they go low, we go high?" You should have been paying attention, instead of trying to get Kris Jenner to adopt you.

There's a part of me that believes that you did this as a career move. You are way too media savvy to not know the kind of reaction that you would get from posting that picture. Let's leave Trump supporters out of this, and focus on the man himself. You know that his skin is so thin that you can see the blood flowing through him. Did you really believe for one second that he or his family was going to let this go? It's the first time in his administration that he gets to play the victim and actually be THE VICTIM! How can you do that to the cause? We know you don't like him, neither do we. However, showing images of him decapitated, with you holding his head like it's your trophy is disturbing. Like it or not he is POTUS.

Now you've lost the CNN gig with Anderson Cooper, the endorsement deals, and some venues won't book you or are cancelling your bookings. You can blame the Trump family all you want, but the truth is that you set this in motion. Your career will suffer. No matter how unpopular a POTUS is, Americans will not tolerate someone intimidating that he or she should be assassinated. Maybe you underestimated the gravity of the situation, since this is the Trump era and people seem to be getting away with things that they normally wouldn't. I'd like to point out that when Bill O'Reilly can be fired for sexually harassing women at Fox News, then certainly there are still consequences for the actions that we take.

In your press conference, you called Trump "a bully." Really? This was a surprise to you, he has fired people because they don't submit to his will. You holding a replica of his head like that was of course going to draw his ire. You moaned about losing your career. I get it, everyone needs to make a living. However why wasn't this a thought before you posted those pictures. I'm sorry there has to be a line that people know not to cross. There is no way that you didn't know what you were doing.

Right now, it might seem like there is no end to the torture and controversy. Trust me there is. Give Trump the weekend, and he will do something to goof up and generate more controversy that takes the heat off of you. Sure, he'll bring this situation up again and again and again, just like he does Hillary's emails. Eventually people will tire of it and things will die down. Maybe when you get your second chance, you will be a little more careful about the images that you put out there.

And please going forward, remember this: Love trumps Hate. Always. No matter who the person is.

Your Fan,

Edward Anderson