Thank you for calling this out and for so clearly setting your boundaries! We need NEVER resort to body-shaming, on either side of the aisle.

Brene Brown actually spoke about this several years ago, when folks from the left were slut-shaming Melania Trump (Brene also condemned memes of Obama-as-Joker and Trump-as-Hitler.)

I was going to say we could have a strong visual with a simple turtle, but I actually don't even like the "turtle" metaphor by itself! When we hear people referred to as animals or aliens, we should immediately wonder ~ is this an attempt to reduce someone’s humanity so we can get away with something?

I'm not talking about hurt feelings or being forced to listen to dissenting opinion; I'm talking about dehumanizing language and behavior.

This is a line in the sand & a super important distinction to note given the right's tendency to call out the left for our supposed "snowflake-ness."

Dehumanizing always starts with language. Bottom line: we are by nature wired to protect members of our species. In conflict we often resort to painting people on “the other side” as morally inferior, dangerous, subhuman. The conflict starts being framed as good versus evil.

Quoting Brene here: "We must never tolerate dehumanization—the primary instrument of violence that has been used in every genocide recorded throughout history. Humiliation and dehumanizing are not accountability or social justice tools, they’re emotional off-loading at best, emotional self-indulgence at worst. And if our faith asks us to find the face of God in everyone we meet, that should include the politicians, media, and strangers on Twitter with whom we most violently disagree. When we desecrate their divinity, we desecrate our own, and we betray our humanity."

Bravo for reminding all of us of this at this incredibly crucial time in history.