#353 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday May 17)
Good morning,
ELEVEN DEAD—THIS IS GETTING OLD
Another week and more mass killings. And, as is the case in many other such killings, guns were used, the attack is racially motivated, the perpetrator had a history of hate speech on-line (both that he wrote and that he consumed), and he was powered by a conspiracy theory. The attacker was a single gunner, similar to others who have been racially targeting people at places like the Black churches, synagogues, and places where immigrants gather. This killer’s conspiracy theory wasn’t the “immigrants are murderers coming over the border” or “the pedophile ring is out to get us” or “they stole the election and we’re taking our country back.” This murderer’s driver was the “replacement theory” propounded by many on the right.
The replacement theory suggests that there is a group (recently cited as the Jews, who, for those following on FoxNews, are manipulated by George Soros and other shadowy figures) that wants to replace God-fearing native-born people with less-savory people (you know, people of color, immigrants, east coast liberals). The far-right, which is tolerated by the more moderate right for reasons that escape me, continues a narrative that the Democrats are trying to import workers in order to deny jobs to white men and that the Democrats want to increase their electoral majority through illegal immigration Representative Scott Perry articulated this publicly as, “we’re replacing national-born American—native born Americans, to permanently transform the landscape of this nation.”
Liz Cheney, who reluctantly was endorsed by the America Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC)—more about that later in a future Musing—noted that replacement theory, propounded by many of the party’s leaders “enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse.”
Ms. Cheney speaks the truth. We are bearing witness to the behaviors it encourages, directly and indirectly.
Curiously, it was the Nazis who were the true perpetrators of “replacement theory,” when they marched Jews, gay people, Roma, and others, in order to reduce unemployment and redistribute jobs and vacated apartments to “true” Germans.
A POWERFUL RESPONSE
Here is a powerful response to the murders, from the Stephen Wise Temple clergy:
“Ruth Whitfield (88) went to the Tops Market in Buffalo, N.Y. to purchase her meals for the coming week. Aaron Salter (55), a retired police officer, worked as a security guard at the same store. Celestine Chaney (65) went to the market with her sister to buy strawberries for her family’s favorite strawberry shortcake.
These are three of the 11 victims murdered on Saturday as they went about their daily lives, engaging in activities that should have no more risk than sitting in one’s living room. However, the actions of a hate-filled racist snuffed out their lives, and—once again—our country is devastated by an act of senseless violence.
Let us call this what it is: an act of racism and terror. A gunman—inspired apparently by the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that is virulently racist and antisemitic—traveled from his mostly white, rural community and chose a predominantly Black neighborhood to indiscriminately slaughter his fellow Americans solely because of the color of their skin.
As Jews, we see in this horrific crime a replay of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in PIttsburgh only four years ago, which itself was a replay of the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., seven years ago.
Our response to this as a Jewish community and as Americans must be, first and foremost, profound compassion for the victims; and second, an even deeper resolve to root out and challenge those who promulgate such ideologies. At the same time, we must redouble our efforts to combat the proliferation of assault weapons and continue to campaign for sensible gun legislation.
May we never give up on our pursuit of justice. May the memories of the fallen be a blessing to their loved ones and may they rest in peace.”
ENOUGH WITH THE “THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS”
It’s time for meaningful, intelligent gun control that protects citizens’ rights to bear arms, but limits their ubiquity, lethalness, number, public carry, and distribution.
AND ONE MILLION DEAD FROM COVID
Let’s not forget this weekend’s other statistic regarding deaths…we hit a million deaths from COVID. It was not a mirage. It is still with us. Before vaccines became widely available, mortality was higher and hospital stays were more severe. And just because things seem under control is not an argument that we should have acted differently.
When people say COVID wasn’t severe, here is some historical perspective from Mark Ferrell:
“Polio was far less deadly than COVID-19. The worst year, only about 3,000 Americans died (not 800,000) and there were only 58,000 diagnosed cases. 75% of people who got polio didn't show any symptoms at all. Others had mild flu-like symptoms. And a very small percentage of those were paralyzed.
Yet, 1.8 million children served as test subjects for the Salk vaccine in 1954. The Salk vaccine was only 80-90% effective — less effective than the COVID-19 vaccines. The Sabin vaccine actually gave some people polio, because it was a "live vaccine." But both were mandated to eradicate polio in the U.S. Both vaccines were required…
The vaccines for polio, typhoid, cholera, whooping cough, and many others have all but eradicated these diseases in the U.S.
The reason we haven't dealt with something as severe as COVID-19 in many years, and for most of us, never in our lifetimes is because there was a time when disease was approached medically as a public health issue.
SARS-CoV-2 is listed among the top 12 most deadly viruses in history. The others are: Marburg virus, Ebola, Rabies, HIV, Smallpox (now eradicated), Hantavirus, Influenza, Dengue, Rotavirus, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV.
Which ones spark the most controversy? Which ones have created so much fervor? Really only one. Every one of these deadly viruses are taken seriously by governments, science, and the medical communities worldwide. But only one is controversial. Just one. Why?”
Have a great day,
Glenn
PS: I’m going in for back surgery this morning. I am told I will be cranky for a while after that (well, crankier…!). But fear not—the Musings have been pre-written for the coming week. If I’m up to it, I might add something here or there but you will have the Musings in your inbox without interruption!
From the archives: From the archives: