If Protesting Racism is "Un-American" What is Not Supporting 911 First Responders?

(Official House  of Representatives photo)

Rand Paul spent his day (July 17th) blocking an attempt by House Democrats to pass an extension of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. He cited concerns over the Trump administration's massive deficits as reason to stifle the bipartisan bill which had already passed the Senate.

This is the same Rand Paul who voted for a trillion dollar tax cut and hasn't said a mumbling word about the 100+ million dollars spent on golfing and personal family trips by the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Funding for first responders is where his "fiscally conservative" principles showed up.

This brings me to my larger point: Never Forget is, and has always been, an empty signifier. It's like saying America was founded on Christian values while ignoring all of the hatred, bigotry, violence and death wedded to her.

The fact that Jon Stewart has been a bigger advocate for 911 first responders than a majority of our elected officials is an indictment on those myths some of our fellow citizens believe about the purity of our nation.

If Americans stopped listening to what politicians said and actually looked at their voting records, half the country wouldn't believe the Republican party is the party of God or the rightful heirs to the American empire.

Here's a question for folks sensitive to any critique of America: is opposition to funding healthcare for 911 first responders more disrespectful than protesting racism?

When we protest racism, police brutality and discrimination in our country all we are saying is enough is enough. We will no longer tolerate second class citizenship in a country that is as much ours as it is yours. What is Rand Paul saying when he doesn't support New York City Police Officers and Firefighters?

Five Questions For People "Offended" By Protest Movements

There are people committed to avoiding honest discussions about any topic that challenges their worldview. This fact intersects the Venn Diagram of "socially unacceptable" conversations. 

Some of this reluctance is steeped in a sincere desire to avoid controversy, but some of this is more malevolent. There are people committed to hijacking any conversation that makes them feel uncomfortable. 

Too often people understand their defense of an untenable status quo as patriotism, while simultaneously condemning people who are actually fighting for equality. This is the exact same pushback abolitionist faced. I have five sincere questions for people caught in this paradox.

Are you willfully confusing protest movements against police brutality and discrimination with being anti military?

What is it about the legacy of racism in America that makes you uncomfortable?

What does your refusal and/or inability to get outside of yourself and view this country through the eyes of someone who hasn't had the traditional "American experience" say about you?

What are you actively doing to change the ways race and racism affect your fellow Americans?

Do you really believe that if marginalized communities stopped telling their stories  about discrimination and bigotry racism would disappear?

God Of What?

https://thoughtwrestler.tumblr.com/post/186070257631/was-any-of-this-sanctioned-by-god

Falwell Jr., Sexual Deviance and Why Christians Should Worry About Their Own Bedrooms

Photo courtesy of CSNBC

"In 2013, the Falwells completed the deal for the Miami Hostel, which rents beds for as little as $15 a night, bunking 12 people to a room. The hostel became known as one of South Beach’s best budget party hostels and is sometimes listed as gay-friendly."

Frances Robles

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't care that Jerry Falwell Jr. has invested money in properties that make money from sex and alcohol. I normally wouldn't care that his wife, allegedly, enjoys younger men and exhibitionism. I normally wouldn't care that Michael Cohen, allegedly, purchased those photos to keep them from leaking.

If Jerry kept practicing law and stayed out of everyone's life with his sophomoric ideology and faux religious convictions none of this would be an issue, but Jerry, like many pseudo-saints before him, lives two different lives. He is the heir to a Moral Majority that excels in castigating others for publicly engaging in behaviors they enjoy privately.

I think Falwell Jr. is a blowhard and a hypocrite. As much as I'm enjoying watching another "real Christian" deal with the consequences of their duplicity, part of me hopes the sexually explicit pictures of his wife are never published. There are enough people willfully sharing their naked bodies without seeing his wife and the "pool boy". I don't care what kind of threesomes or foursomes they were having. They deserve the respect they have often refused to give other people.

“There’s a bunch of photographs, personal photographs, that somehow the guy ended up getting — whether it was off of Jerry’s phone or somehow maybe it got AirDropped or whatever the hell the whole thing was,” 

Michael Cohen 

There are two kinds in this world: them that do and them that do. I'm more comfortable around confessed sinners than holier than thou deviants. The worst theologies are those rooted in denying the flesh. It's been my experience that behind every "Fire and Brimstone" spiritual leader is a closet full of fetishes and secrets capable of destroying the "perfect" image they portray.

It would be refreshing if Falwell's sexual scandal led to more Christians worrying about their own sexual proclivities than those of other people. Tell the truth: how many of y'all think any of these beacons of morality could survive a quick browser history check?