An example of dangerous demagoguery

What do social media and bathrooms have in common?

While the list of puns is seemingly endless, the connection has become quite literal.

In an appalling video posted online, protestors confronted Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema as she took a break from teaching at Arizona State University. The fact that they opposed the senator’s reluctance to vote for President Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending bill is fine. What they did, however, and how they did it, was outrageous. They followed Ms. Sinema into a bathroom — yes, a bathroom — while filming the encounter for all the world to see on social media. For the next several minutes, they bombarded her — while she was in the stall — with a one-sided diatribe while threatening to vote her out of office if she didn’t comply with their demands.

One might think that such a stunt would destroy the protestors’ credibility. Ultimately, for Middle America watching such disrespectful behavior, it does. But what does it say that the video has already garnered five million views? Sure, out of curiosity, some tuned in just to witness a new level of disrespect. But many loved every minute of it, and are now emboldened to “up the ante” with the next elected official who doesn’t do what they’re told.

Make no mistake. The bathroom incident is far from isolated, as extremist protestors have eschewed traditional forms of communication, such as visiting a senator’s office. Instead, they now prioritize confronting — and harassing — decision-makers in public and private areas (bathrooms, airplanes, restaurants) that have traditionally been off-limits. Even more dangerous, protesters are coordinating demonstrations at leaders’ homes via social media.

For example, activists put out a call to protest Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last month, but not on the steps of the court. Instead, they marched to his house where his wife and children also reside. Those actions should always be out-of-bounds, both legally and morally. If someone has a beef, it should never — repeat, never — cross the line into a leader’s personal domain.

Just last week, numerous kayakers paddled alongside Sen. Joe Manchin’s boat moored in Washington — on which he lives — to demand that the rich be taxed and that the senator support Mr. Biden’s spending plan. President Biden’s reaction to the Sinema-bathroom situation was either an ill-advised off-the-cuff remark, or a deliberate shot across Ms. Sinema’s bow, since she, along with Mr. Manchin, is responsible for stalling the president’s agenda. His take, from a press conference: “I don’t think they’re appropriate tactics, but it happens to everybody. The only people it doesn’t happen to are people who have Secret Service standing around them. So it’s part of the process.”

Refusing to be bullied, Sen.

Sinema issued a blistering, 100 percent on-target response. In part, she stated: “(That) behavior was not legitimate protest. It is unacceptable for activist organizations to instruct their members to jeopardize themselves by engaging in unlawful activities such as gaining entry to closed university buildings, disrupting learning environments, and filming students in a restroom.”

The $64,000 question is whether protestors would be engaging in stalking tactics if social media didn’t exist. In other words, are they doing it simply because social media is available, and can skyrocket them — if only in their own minds — to superstardom?

If protesters really cared about their causes, they would go about it the right way: discussing issues with professionalism, exercising civility and proper decorum, organizing at the grassroots level, raising awareness in their communities, and coordinating a handwritten correspondence campaign — since 100 letters are worth 1,000 boilerplate emails. And above all: never, ever threaten an elected official, physically or politically, since nothing makes a politician dig in more.

Social media isn’t to blame for wayward behavior, since people are responsible for their own choices. But since it’s here to stay, the logical conclusion is that nefarious actions, broadcast over ever-increasing social media platforms, will continue to become society’s new norm as civil discourse and mutual respect are flushed away.

And there’s nothing social about that.