Are you kidding me?

Make it make sense

I have spent the last few days gobsmacked by the ongoing admonition against “political violence” on Social Media by members of all political parties in a variety of positions (and pop culture figures), all in response to the attempted assassination of L’orangina (aka, the radically unqualified narcissistic sociopath who wants to be dictator-in-chief). 

Let me get this straight: Some young adult from the Republican Party who loved guns decided to try and assassinate a candidate who incited a riot which led to the deaths of Capital Police Force members (among others), supported the possible hanging of his VP, has promoted the gun lobby at every turn, made jokes when the previous Speaker of the House’s husband was brutally beaten, installed Supreme Court Justices who are clearly on the take, and has never said one compassionate word towards the victims of gun violence (including the family of the man who was killed by the shooter)—a daily occurence in this here United States. That act by that white boy is called “political violence”. But, our over-militarized police forces unleashing all manner of physical violence on college students exercising their right to protest at the behest of political leaders who are actively supporting genocide in Palestine is not political violence?

So, “political violence” is when someone tries to take out a candidate, but it’s NOT all the other horrors that are ACTUALLY politically motivated violence? Is that right? Am I losing my mind (again)? Make it make sense.

I kept thinking about The Reverend Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, and theologian–and frankly, one of the very few Christian theologians that I actually enjoyed reading while in seminary–who was vehemently anti-Nazi, so much so that he was part of a group who plotted to kill Hitler. Clearly (and sadly), they failed, and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and then hung in 1945.

If you’ve been paying attention even a little bit, you know that L’orangina is hell-bent on ending Democracy in this country—and to be fair, we are a pretty crappy democracy already. He and his Christian Right cronies and thugs are taking pages right out of the Nazi playbook. So, pardon me if I land closer to Bonhoeffer than Biden on this one. Had Hitler never come to power (or say, Idi Amin, Papa Doc, Pinochet, Netanyahu…pick your war criminal) imagine all the lives that would have been spared. Imagine all the suffering that would not have taken root. Go ahead, do your own Trolley Problem on this one.

So, while our President, other elected officials, and would-be electeds (even one of our “progressive” presidential candidates) are trying to “play nice” or “take the high road”, I remain incredulous and disgusted by the blatant hypocrisy. I’m not surprised though, because political violence is the foundation of this nation.