I Have Honest To God Situational* Empathy For Marjorie Taylor Greene

And it is freaking me out.

Source: CNN

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But MTG is evil… right?

Here’s what’s creeping me out: there’s honest-to-God situational* empathy bubbling up for Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG), and I don’t quite know what to do with it.

*Situational empathy isn’t emotional empathy; it’s about recognizing a situation, not feeling like we’re friends or that she deserves sympathy.

MTG is resigning in early January, just after her congressional pension kicks in, and the pundits say she’s doing it because Trump and GOP leadership blocked her from running for higher office and she’s throwing a fit. Her “independence” looks a lot more like rebranding than remorse.

I read the leaders/pundits and cheer them on: “You tell her, AOC!” “Way to go, Alyssa Milano!” and I’ve told friends how much I appreciate how folks like Mike Nellis cut through the spin and bring MTG’s drama down to earth. But as I’m nodding along, there’s this pit in my stomach that will not go away. I keep telling my conscience to hush, and it just crosses its arms and says, “You need to sit with this and figure out why you feel bad for her.”

But I don’t want to feel anything toward MTG…

It finally clicked: it’s not actually feeling bad for MTG, it’s my body remembering when similar accusations landed on me. When we announced we were closing Exodus, criticism came hard from both the religious world and the LGBTQ+ community, and the echo of “he’s lying,” “he’s rebranding,” “he’ll never change,” sounds familiar. Underneath it all, though, we really did shut down Exodus without an ulterior scheme, and I came out again as a gay man, owning my past and trying to be honest with the people who choose to be in my life now.

So when I see people saying MTG is just cashing out, rebranding, and will keep doing harm from a new platform, those words light up old scars. My conscience isn’t telling me she’s secretly a good person; it’s nudging me to remember what it felt like to be written off as irredeemable—and to hold that memory alongside my very real, very strong critiques of what she’s done.

In Conclusion…

Maybe that’s what my conscience is up to here—not trying to excuse MTG or soften the very real harm she’s done, but nudging me to remember my own story so I don’t forget other people are more than the worst thing they’ve said or done. I can still call out her cruelty, mock the grift, and fight everything she stands for, while also refusing to become the kind of person who delights in anyone being forever unforgivable. If anything, this weird situational empathy reminds me that accountability and dehumanization are not the same thing. And as someone who has survived being written off myself, I’d rather stay on the side that believes people can change—even when I seriously doubt she ever will.

I hope I am wrong.

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More about Randy…