Surreality
Good Monday morning....
I'm really not sure what to even say about the events of the past few days.
We now know that the FBI and multiple law enforcement agencies apprehended a suspect in the rash of pipe bombs mailed to former President Obama, former Secretary of State Clinton, former Vice President Biden, current members of Congress and others who have all been critical of President Trump. We also know that this suspect has a history of criminal behavior and that he has been a vocal supporter of the President. And we also know that the President was somewhat dismissive of the validity of the suspect's apparent action, referring to the media's reporting as "'Bomb' stuff" and indicating that his own brand of negativity and divisiveness was in no way related to this individual's apparent offenses.
Less widely reported was something that happened in my home state of Kentucky. Last Wednesday a man attempted to gain access to a predominately African-American church in the Louisville suburb of Jeffersontown, was rebuffed and then went to a nearby Kroger grocery store and allegedly killed two African-Americans before fleeing and being detained by local police. He was overheard telling a white customer just after the apparent shootings that "whites don't kill whites."
And Saturday's heartbreaking news of a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that claimed the lives of 11 people and wounded numerous others capped off this week of truly depressing and demoralizing events. The shooter in that incident allegedly told law enforcement officials after his capture that he "just wanted to kill Jews."
And while the White House cannot reverse incidents like this, we're all accustomed to expressions of sorrow and sympathy for the victims and often statements of regret or even outrage at such events.
At least we used to be.
Instead, our current President goes on with his plans, gives speeches at youth agriculture conferences and political rallies, reading half-heartedly from a teleprompter words that he neither composed nor believes, complains that he's having a "bad hair day" from speaking to the press from outside of his Presidential aircraft and later issues a tweet criticizing the manager of one of the baseball teams involved in the World Series.
We also have a scenario in which at least right-wing political commentator felt it appropriate to comment that the equivalency for the pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democratic figures is that certain Republican politicians have been approached in public and verbally reprimanded for their political positions.
I'm a big believer in the power of a well-stated opinion, but even I don't see even an ounce of equivalency here.
Another such commentator persisted in stating that the bomb mailings were all a hoax and were perpetrated by Democrats to distract the public just before the midterm elections. Presumably the media and FBI and numerous law enforcement agencies were also all in on the hoax.
In response to the horrific events in Pittsburgh, it's worth noting that multiple Muslim organizations organized a fundraising effort for the families of the shooting victims and have thus far raised in excess of $80,000. And there are countless instances of people risking their own safety to help during and directly after the shootings.
And perhaps the most fitting response to all of this violence and hate was the chant that began at a Saturday night vigil in Pittsburgh, started by a group of young people. The chant was a single word:
Vote.
I'm really not sure what to even say about the events of the past few days.
We now know that the FBI and multiple law enforcement agencies apprehended a suspect in the rash of pipe bombs mailed to former President Obama, former Secretary of State Clinton, former Vice President Biden, current members of Congress and others who have all been critical of President Trump. We also know that this suspect has a history of criminal behavior and that he has been a vocal supporter of the President. And we also know that the President was somewhat dismissive of the validity of the suspect's apparent action, referring to the media's reporting as "'Bomb' stuff" and indicating that his own brand of negativity and divisiveness was in no way related to this individual's apparent offenses.
Less widely reported was something that happened in my home state of Kentucky. Last Wednesday a man attempted to gain access to a predominately African-American church in the Louisville suburb of Jeffersontown, was rebuffed and then went to a nearby Kroger grocery store and allegedly killed two African-Americans before fleeing and being detained by local police. He was overheard telling a white customer just after the apparent shootings that "whites don't kill whites."
And Saturday's heartbreaking news of a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that claimed the lives of 11 people and wounded numerous others capped off this week of truly depressing and demoralizing events. The shooter in that incident allegedly told law enforcement officials after his capture that he "just wanted to kill Jews."
And while the White House cannot reverse incidents like this, we're all accustomed to expressions of sorrow and sympathy for the victims and often statements of regret or even outrage at such events.
At least we used to be.
Instead, our current President goes on with his plans, gives speeches at youth agriculture conferences and political rallies, reading half-heartedly from a teleprompter words that he neither composed nor believes, complains that he's having a "bad hair day" from speaking to the press from outside of his Presidential aircraft and later issues a tweet criticizing the manager of one of the baseball teams involved in the World Series.
We also have a scenario in which at least right-wing political commentator felt it appropriate to comment that the equivalency for the pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democratic figures is that certain Republican politicians have been approached in public and verbally reprimanded for their political positions.
I'm a big believer in the power of a well-stated opinion, but even I don't see even an ounce of equivalency here.
Another such commentator persisted in stating that the bomb mailings were all a hoax and were perpetrated by Democrats to distract the public just before the midterm elections. Presumably the media and FBI and numerous law enforcement agencies were also all in on the hoax.
In response to the horrific events in Pittsburgh, it's worth noting that multiple Muslim organizations organized a fundraising effort for the families of the shooting victims and have thus far raised in excess of $80,000. And there are countless instances of people risking their own safety to help during and directly after the shootings.
And perhaps the most fitting response to all of this violence and hate was the chant that began at a Saturday night vigil in Pittsburgh, started by a group of young people. The chant was a single word:
Vote.
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