HASHTAG.

BREAKING: We need to # stayhome! and # staysafe! so we can # burnitdown! and # defundthepolice!

It’s time to raise our voices so…”shut the f#ck up!”

Huh?

Finger wagging slacktivism is easy at a convenient social distance. A nihilistic Munchausen by digital Proxy. The “Content of character” principle is easily discarded when tossed through broken windows. Public officials in Governor’s Mansions, Mayor’s Offices, and City Councils are playing Dr. Kevorkian with Civil Society. The loudest voices promoting this Anarchy will wet their pants when it arrives at their door. Mobs don’t discriminate. Everybody loses.

The ultimate beneficiaries of this moment will be gun manufacturers and licensed therapists as they help a slew of new clients process the fact that pictures and video of them cultishly kissing the feet of strangers will circulate on the internet forever. Receiving a call for leadership, the architects of cancel culture are signaling “fair catch” and kneeling to cancel themselves. This theater is so cringe that even the target audience is throwing a flag. Self pity is always bad box office. It’s painfully obvious that standing up would’ve been the better option all around.

No Man or Country in history is innocent and ideological purity tests are a fool’s errand. In a framework that celebrates Sovereignty of The Individual the tribalism of Identity Politics is a cancer to the body.

A couple of clarion voices for me in all of this have been Barack Obama’s piece here on Medium. https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067

And former Tuscon Police Officer Brandon Tatum’s youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVIhRvkT8kg

Help your neighbor. There are lots of funding campaigns up for businesses destroyed in the rioting. Here’s just one…. https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-valentine-deli-corp

Stephen.