Last month, after White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant, Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, called upon Americans to “push back” against those working in the current administration. “They’re not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they’re not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop at a department store, the people are going to turn on them, they’re going to protest, they’re going to absolutely harass them,” she said. These incidents are microcosms of a larger trend in American — especially political — discourse.