Will Tears Be Legislated? When The Inevitable Day Arrives...#Authoritarianism #McCarthyism

                  I am going to begin with some full disclosure-type housekeeping for this entry.

1) I confess that I am a redemption junkie; I like to see everyone in need if a second chance provided with opportunity to repent of wrongs said or done and the possibility to right such wrongs to the best of their ability, and that they embrace the such opportunities and possibilities, as this is something I want for myself. I want us all to be of strong conscience and open-hearted enough to accept divine conviction when we have done wrong, accompanied with the emotional and mental fortitude to repent quickly, while also having the discernment to reject false accusations and words of condemnation from people lacking self-awareness or who are engaging in projection.

2) I am not a fan of Charlie Kirk. I hate the untrue things he has said, and his unwavering-- and I would add, un-Christlike position-- regarding unchecked Second Amendment Rights. He has done damage to the truth about the experiences of marginalized populations in this country, encouraging bigotry while rejecting empathy and the seeking understanding of peoples outside of his insulated community. Many of his direct quotes of this nature have been shared on social media, in their proper context, so I feel it’s unnecessary to share them here.

3) I also am not a fan of gun violence. I hate the damage it does to bodies, families, our sense of safety, etc., including his. Videos of his demised have been widely shared on social media, so I will also not be sharing that here. I will not celebrate his death. I also will not honor it. On October 14^th, the US Senate proposed Day of Remembrance of Kirk, his name will be far from my lips. I will hold that day in REMEMBRANCE of the CHILDREN MURDERED BY GUN VIOLENCE IN SCHOOL, who spent zero days of their short lives spewing harmful propaganda; whose only crimes were to go to school to learn.

                  That said, in exercise of compassion and empathy, I can understand why some people openly celebrated at Charlie Kirk’s passing. His words unified white Christian Nationalists around bigotry against non-white people and LGBTQ communities—especially trans people, and he deported, as well as encouraged, a dismissive and arrogant attitude toward our nation’s tragic violence climate in which little children being massacred in their schools for the sake of the convenience of getting hands on a gun. I personally did not celebrate, but I am not over here grieving either, except maybe for his family, as I too abhor the things I am aware of that he’d said.

                  Oh, but my goodness!—how angrily people responded toward those who would not openly elevate this man to hero status, to martyrdom. What backlash and violent words! Those who openly quoted him were doxed and/or fired from their jobs. Many received death threats and were targets of displaced blame for Kirk’s demise.

I ask the reader to recall the knee-jerk blame and shame response of our federal government to Charlie Kirk’s murder. The White House ascribed the source of violence in the US to left-leaning political groups and “antifa terrorists”, who they’d assumed were responsible for this act of violence in Utah and rushed to create that narrative (when, as we have since learned, remains not only unproven, but doubtful). The administration is using this event to target media that does not support right wing positions or promote its propaganda. It is also reportedly compiling lists that hearken back to McCarthyism.  Please understand that this White House response is just a test-drive—a blue-print if you will—for mapping out the expectations regarding the optics for our citizenry’s future response to the inevitable; the day when our current, declining-in-health POTUS’s body—100% likely through natural/lifestyle causes—is sent to lie in state inside the US Capitol Rotunda.

                  It is worthy to note this president has used his office to dehumanize and demonize his political rivals and those who just plain do not agree with him, calling them “vermin”, “radical leftist lunatics”, “the enemy from within” –the likes of which no president has done before (he’d love that I’d put it that way, yes?). He ballooned our national debt to give tax breaks to the wealthy, implemented the DOGE which hired an utterly incompetent staff that proceeded to end departments and fire staff who are essential to our national security. He recklessly implemented tariffs which cause great harm to farmers, US small businesses, and the economy at large. He has deported and exiled immigrants, asylum seekers, and legal US residents, even citizens. He is responsible for otherwise preventable deaths globally by ending USAID, which also damaged any positive influence we had as a country with many other nations. He has removed legislation that protects our environment. These actions have alienated at least half the country, been an embarrassment globally, and given the protests across the nation (and world!) over the last several months as well as declining poll numbers, I am sure the POTUS is aware of his unpopularity and the fact that when he departs, the drawn crowd of sincere mourners may be even more sparce than that of his first inauguration (unless his Bitcoin can cover a HUGE cast of actors for $47 a head -plus free chicken nuggets and fries?). Will those who find themselves dancing in the street on that day be put on “a list”? Will the National Guard and ICE occupy our streets, demanding tears? Will there be a narrative spun, or a pre-recorded post-mortem speech to be aired to gin up his MAGA supporters compelling them to bust into their arsenals and start randomly shooting people?

                  I don’t think the fallout will be that unhinged, because we must understand that the wounding of the Trump administration goes far beyond our borders. I mean, sure, the right-wing Administration can try to clamp down on US citizens, but the rest of the world? The reader understands that any celebration will be global, --yes? -- and there is no executive order, no US military threat, no ginned-up MAGA mob, that is going to be able to stop it, right?

                  Personally, openly celebrating a death, especially of the unrepentant, just does not sit well in my spirit. But honestly, for this discussed inevitability, I don’t know. So much evil has been done. I cannot promise that I will not celebrate in honor of the women and girls he’s raped, the rape and CSA culture he represented and associated with, the people who were duped by his fake Covid “cures” and lost their lives, the lives lost due to the withdrawal of USAID, the people threatened with lawsuits because they did not agree with him, those with whom he’d done business that he’d never paid, those abused and detained without due process, the women in the press corps who he’d openly disrespected, shamed, and name-called, the weaponization of federal laws against transgender people, the rolling back of legislation protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Rosie O’Donnell for just existing, etc.,etc., etc. Then I can let him, his voice, the image of his hateful orange visage, his memory—even that of his sins—go away forever, because the fight for justice still goes on. Forward, we go.