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Thursday, June 04, 2020

America burns while Caligula brandishes (upside-down) Bible



Being at a (relative) loss for words over the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the tone-deaf, totally inappropriate, and even fascistic responses from #NotMyPresident Donald John Trump and his administration, I thought I'd let late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel do the talking. The embedded video (here's the direct link) is from Kimmel's June 2, 2020 show.

Trump's Bible photo-op stunt -- which philosophy and religion professor Alan Levinovitz
likened to idolatry -- has drawn fire from religious leaders across the board, and even earned Trump a rare rebuke from Pat Robertson, one of his most faithful evangelical sycophants. I hope this comes back to bite Caligula in his fat orange butt again and again as we draw closer to the US presidential election.

Meanwhile, I am proud to see the response from Houston, the former hometown of both Mr. Floyd and myself. I wish I could join the protesters and mourners, but I was and am there in spirit. Probably the most lasting contribution I'll make will be to add yet another verse to my ever-growing national anthem, O Trumpistan. It hardly seems adequate.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of George Floyd, and to the family and friends of the all-too-many innocent people
who have been murdered by "law" enforcement thugs simply or primarily because of the color of their skin.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post! I can only say "Amen!" One thing that is heartening is that the organizers of protests are now learning to implement the strategy of nonviolent resistance, and that they are succeeding at excluding violent infiltrators from their movement activities. If we maintain nonviolent discipline in our protests, there's no way Orange Hair can defeat us.

    Most of the mainstream American evangelical church reminds me of a field full of cow pies, but I am pleasantly surprised by Pat Robertson's rebuke of Prez. Chump.

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  2. Thanks for your comment, TH. I am seeing reason for hope too. I've been disappointed so many times before, but something's gotta give. And I'm hoping that some of the developments we're seeing are signs that we have a real chance not only to vote Orange Hair out, but to make real progress towards social justice. It's frustrating because it always seems like it's two steps forward, three steps back... but maybe, maybe, this time will be different.

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