A Whole Lotta WTF Surrounds the Trump Rally Shooting
Trying to make sense of it all is quite a challenge
I was putting the finishing touches on a post about how, on Monday, President Biden was going to visit the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, TX (where I live) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964. And how it offered a perfect occasion for Biden to consider both the humanity and, yes, patriotism of Johnson’s 1968 decision to not seek a second full term as president.
Then shots were fired on Saturday at a tRump rally in Pennsylvania and, yet again, the 2024 presidential race equation flipped around like a fish out of water. Whoever coined the apocryphal Chinese curse line of “may you live in interesting times” was onto something. Indeed.
Although I did speculate here a while back on how the nation would likely be better off if tRump were to die – and given his age, hideously unhealthy diet, corpulence and rageaholic tendencies it continues to baffle me that he hasn’t yet stroked out – the most dominant of my mixed emotions is thankfulness that he was not killed.
This is not an expression of empathy for tRump – feeling that for someone who shows no signs of empathy in his soul is a bridge too far for even my rather kind heart – but rather because his murder would make him a martyr. But even this attempted assassination in which a bullet reportedly grazed his ear has evoked a certain martyrdom.
In the wake of this incident, I have many, myriad thoughts and emotions:
• Today’s Violent Political Rhetoric: Some media voices on the right wing immediately blamed the shooting on almost non-existent Democratic and Leftist calls for violence. Blowhard Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson even tweeted that “Trump-deranged Left wing LUNATICS parade around MSNBC and other “outlets” demonizing Trump and calling him Hitler are DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for this violent attack….” Georgia Rep. Mike Collins even posted that “Joe Biden sent the orders,” Huh??
An unbiased analysis of violent talk from either side of the political spectrum would undoubtedly find the preponderance of it coming from right wing and MAGA cult. Damning the left in this case is the worst sort of deflection by the worst offenders. Especially when…
• The Shooter Is a Registered Republican: Early reports on Thomas Matthew Crooks say he was, as per usual, “a loner.” Though within almost minutes after the shots were fired this incident was characterized as political, it strikes me as the act of a disturbed and desperate soul craving posthumous fame as much as anything else.
• It’s the Goddamned Guns, Stupid: Crooks used an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle, weapon of choice of mass shooters, of course. How much longer will our nation be plagued by a specious interpretation of the Second Amendment? Isn’t the fact that guns are the leading cause of death for children in America enough to motivate meaningful change? Naw…. Let’s stick with thoughts and prayers.
• God Saved tRump? That’s what he says. A godless man speculating on the Almighty. My brain hurts and my spirt sobs.
• A Massive Secret Service & Law Enforcement Failure: How did security protocols fail to see the danger from the rooftop that served as Crooks’ sniper’s perch. Reports say people nearby spotted the shooter before he fired. Once he fired he was quickly “neutralized.” The math on all this is rather hinky.
• Dare I Say False Flag? Just because I live in same city as Alex Jones doesn’t mean kooky conspiracy thinking permeates the local air like our year-round allergens. But damned if this shooting couldn’t easily fit the script. The near-miss headshot. A right-wing commentator already declaring how it seals the November election for Trump. Set your stopwatch for how soon the photo above of a bloodied tRump giving his raised fist salute starts getting hawked on a t-shirt to the rabble of MAGA rubes.
I’m gonna stop reading and thinking about this and try to visualize a better world. Fasten your seatbelt. Keep chanting your most soothing mantra. (Serenity now!) The coming months promise a helluva rough ride.
Well said, Rob. Gutsy writing.
I loved the fact that he used the Black Power raised fist from the late 60’s as his salute. White supremacy co-opting the African American message yet again. Next he’ll be down on one knee, SHAMELESS!!!!!!!