Food for thought……….
We’re all still reeling from the machete Hanukkah attack in Monsey, NY, and the shooting attack at White Settlement, TX. Fortunately, most of us will never understand why it’s a problem for Americans to worship as they choose. Politicians will argue about who is to blame and “hate groups” for at least one slow news cycle in a selfish attempt to grab press or fundraise. Yet once again, the family reports the perp in New York had a long history of mental illness, was not raised to hate particular groups/skin colors/religions nor was he a member of any hate group……. he was just mentally ill and had been hospitalized before for such cause on several occasions.
Most of us can think of a particular person in our lives for whom we have disdain, but we don’t attack them with machetes or shoot them. We are mentally sound and can reason that violence is not the answer. It’s the mental illness which pushes people over the edge. If we want to solve a problem like the criminally insane, we need to properly identify the problem, the cause of the problem, and possible solutions for safety of the population writ large, but that’s not what is happening today.
Recognizing the problem and associated costs of unchecked mental illness would make sense, be cost effective, safer for society. Why would our elected leaders ever do something so easy and fiscally prudent?
Deflection of the problem of mental illness for personal or political gain only helps politicians. It’s truly detestable to use the death of constituents to further political power. When you watch the news today, see it for what it is, avoiding one problem while furthering the narrative of another “alleged problem”.
The media is worse and far more corrosive to regular Americans. Mental illness is not what the pundits want to talk about, right? It’s not the preferred public pitch. The narrative is a “rise in hate groups”, which justifies paranoia of one color/religion/sexual persuasion of America to fear other groups….. as in…. “those white people should fear machete-wielding black men”, and/or all guns, and whatever happens, it’s the fault of the white person. Funny, I recall Mr. Larry (who happens to be black) and I (the white female) both wielding machetes, cutting down a privet hedge, when we took a break for a cold beer. Would the media prefer Mr. Larry and I not work together, not know each other, not worship together, eat at the same table together, listen to the same music, laugh/dance/sing together…….. or vote similarly? Seems like it……
The media push for a “rise in anti-Semitism” is an easy narrative given what has happened in New York over the last few weeks, but are we leaping to a convenient conclusion about disparate incidents? Punctuated by the drama and severity of the attack in Monsey? Is it possible the media doesn’t care about the real cause of Monsey, other than for how the attack helps the media’s narrative? After all, a rise in white nationalism (even though the perp is black) is a great way to blame President Trump and all those uneducated white Americans who voted for him. Could it be the media jumped on the story in Monsey, as opposed to the story in White Settlement, as a golden opportunity in a further attempt to divide Americans…… because it is good for business?
And then, something strange happened. From out of left field, I saw a kernel of hope in the midst of the melee of media distraction…….
In the never ending quest to find common ground with the left, we might have a sign from above. Follow me for a second, it might work…… maybe….. It’s a stretch, I concede, but it might be an opening.
Last summer, Pete Buteigeg pitched the idea that the Chinese prison camps are horrible, and “the Trump Admin stays silent”. Back in July of 2019, Pete called for sanctions against China. No kidding. What kind of sanctions, Pete? Given the entangled economies of the USA and China, what kind of fallout could we expect for immediate sanctions if we follow your idea, Pete? Gee whiz, we remember the NY and DC press with dire warnings of economic collapse when President Trump announced a few tariffs on China. Outright sanctions would cause a meltdown on Wall Street, but it might be okay……. cuz Pete is a Dem, right?
BUT Pete said this in July of 2019…… watch what happened.
Strangely, just yesterday, Judd Apatow retweeted the Butteieg tweet (from July) about the Uighurs and added this separate tweet……
So, we have a prominent Jewish guy, in Hollywood, calling for us to pay attention, shun China, for their treatment of the Uighurs…… and why aren’t we talking about it more?
Apatow is right!
This is good.
Remember, we all said, “Never Again” after the Holocaust.
Why does China get a pass? As long as the media is deflecting from mental illness, why not USE THE DEFLECTION of the media? In this way, ALL Americans have a common enemy in China’s CCP……. instead of fighting with each other.
China’s problems with fentanyl, IP theft, truly horrific environmental policy, currency manipulation, military buildup, treatment of Hong Kongers, and double dealing in the third world only adds further fuel to the fire.
When the media deflects from the real cause of mental illness for homegrown attacks, the discussion is dead for the moment, saved for another day. Yet, we need to be able to leapfrog the media, and use their momentum to accomplish another goal.
Is it possible the left is coming around to be AGAINST China?
We all know how strongly Hollywood is influenced by China….. interesting to speculate where the ramifications of such an action could lead.
Let’s keep in mind, Judd Apatow is a Hollywood type (he did The Hangover movies) with millions of followers on his Twit feed.
He’s a hard leftist who can be offensive and irrational at times. Okay fine, we can all be irrational at times. Let’s not pick that fight right now.
For instance, Apatow thinks that because Mick Mulvaney stepped out of the Oval Office when Giuliani was there, to preserve President’s confidence with personal lawyer, that means the President and Giuliani were conducting illegal Ukraine policy.
SMH.
Can we presume the left thinks the President is not allowed to defend himself in a public forum, not allowed to appeal an illegitimate subpoena for clearly granted Exec Privilege, and NOW not allowed to have an attorney either?
Anyway….
Nonetheless, Apatow’s salvo against the CCP is a glimpse, a crack in the wall so to speak. If Apatow is an average Hollywood leftist, and he cares about this issue, then others may as well. It’s a chance for some modicum of unity.
This MIGHT be a place where we can all agree, on the Uighurs, to unite against China and further erode the CCP public image. Good heavens, the NYTimes claims the CCP has “separated over a half million children from their parents”. It might be a chance to use the press to accomplish a worthwhile goal, to OUT the Chinese Communist Party policy.
It might work.
The goal of those who seek to harm America is to control the greater levers of power in the USA. They use division of Americans by class/color/sex/politics, which makes it easier. Well, if that’s their goal, can we use this issue to bring us together and turn this missive back toward our collective enemy?
After all……..
When we said, “Never Again”, did we mean it?
Or, is it okay for China to keep a million people in prison camps merely because we like cheap Nike t-shirts?
Or, is it okay to imprison a million people for their faith just because they are Muslims? As opposed to Jews and Christians?
No, it’s never okay to keep a million people in prison just because of their faith. What does “Freedom of Religion” really mean to us in 2019?
Our forefathers risked their lives for the idea.
How strange…….. and natural…… would it be for Jews and Christians, left and right, to unite as Americans in defense of Muslims against an oppressive Communist regime?
Imagine the irony, and the shocked faces, when we turned the table on our common enemy.
