[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H5755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                CIVILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, once again, I am proud to rise 
and stand in the well of the House of Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of those who have called for civility. I 
compliment them for calling for civility. I think civility is 
appropriate at all times, Mr. Speaker.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I do have to ask: Where were you when the President 
of the United States of America stood before law enforcement officers 
and said: ``You don't have to be so nice when you have a person within 
your care, custody, and control?''--paraphrasing him, of course. Where 
were you?
  Where was your compassion for the many people who have been victims 
of brutality at the hands of the constabulary?
  Where is your compassion for all of the people who understand that 
that was a message, whether intended or not, to the constabulary, to 
the police, that you can abuse people who are in your care, custody, 
and control? Where were you? Why didn't you speak out?
  Where was your sense of outrage as it relates to the President of the 
United States of America encouraging persons to assault people who were 
within the care, custody, and control of the police?
  Encouraging people to do something unconstitutional, it would have 
been and is still unconstitutional to assault people who are in your 
care, custody, and control if you are a peace officer. So where were 
you?
  Where were you when the President said there were some nice people 
among those at Charlottesville, among those who happened to be in the 
KKK, the neo-Nazis, those who were espousing harm to people?
  As you know, a woman lost her life in Charlottesville. Where were 
you? Why didn't you come out strongly against the President of the 
United States of America? Where were you?
  And then, my dear brothers and sisters, my friends across the aisle, 
why is it that you can find reason to condemn others and propose a 
resolution, but you propose not one single resolution for the 
President, who has consistently and persistently created levels of 
incivility that have emanated to the extent that some people may have 
been harmed already? Where were you?
  Why is it such that you can be outraged now, but you couldn't be 
outraged then? Where are you now as he is putting his bigotry into 
policy? Where are you?

  Why won't you stand up to this President? Are you aiding and 
abetting? Are you a part of the President's support system to implement 
the bigotry that he is putting into policy?
  It is being done when the President met with those persons at the 
White House to talk about immigration and then called certain countries 
in Africa s---hole countries.
  Now, ironically, he wants to do away with the diversity visas, which 
happen to impact people who may be in Africa. Where were you? Why won't 
you stand up? Why would you want to implement this level of bigotry 
into policy?
  I commend you and I am proud of you for wanting civility. I stand for 
civility. But I also know this. Those who make peaceful protests 
impossible make other forms of protest inevitable.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President and to direct their 
remarks to the Chair.

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