The world suffered another devastating mass murder this week when 50 worshipping Muslims were killed and another 50 were wounded during the holy services being held at two separate Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand a few days ago. The purported killer, a White Supremacist, released a manifesto on the internet in which he cited our current president as one of the leaders who had inspired him to commit his murderous act.
Appallingly, the appropriately named Orange Monster in the Oval Office refused to condemn or to criticize White Supremacy or to even acknowledge the rising tide of violence within the far-right and violently extremist White Nationalist movement occurring both here in America and worldwide. Nor would he call out the rising number of violent and murderous attacks committed by White Nationalists both here and abroad. Instead, he sought to minimize and whitewash the problem. Apparently, he is concerned about only one type of terrorism—that caused by radical Islamic extremists. Domestic terrorist acts, when caused by White Nationalists and by far-right extremists, seem not to concern him in the least. Why should we be surprised?
The Orange Monster, holding the biggest bully pulpit in the entire world has, from the very beginning of his candidacy and throughout all of the days of his disgusting presidency, chosen to be the Hatemonger in Chief, seeking to bring power to himself by encouraging and cultivating the vile hatred of far-right extremists everywhere. His hatred and utter contempt for all those who do not share his vision of “divide and conquer” has made him the ideal poster child for far-right and violent White Nationalists throughout the world. In that sense, the OM has become the leader for all those White Nationalists who practice and seek to perpetuate a white hatred against the colored masses throughout the killing field that our world is quickly becoming.
In this sense, the Orange Monster moved from the “Birther in Chief” prior to his candidacy, while displaying for the whole world his ignorance and contempt for anyone of color, even when they happen to be the duly-elected President of the United States, to become the “Terrorist in Chief” representing and speaking for all of the White Nationalists and White Supremacists throughout the world. Along the way, he has admitted as much publicly to his slavishly devoted white rally crowds, declaring that there are “good people on both sides” of a Nazi rally held in Charlottesville, VA, and that he was and is “a Nationalist!”
Clearly the hatred and violent attacks committed by far-right White Nationalists have spread dramatically and rapidly throughout the world as a result of the Orange Monster’s rise to power, no doubt the way that Putin and his Russian Oligarchs had hoped and dreamed it would. We should not be at all surprised. That’s what happens when you elect a demagogue who spends all of his time and energy spreading hate from the highest tower in the entire world. Through the Orange Monster’s violent and hate-filled rhetoric particularly when he encourages hate for all immigrants of color, while constantly betraying them as the “other,” as the “enemy,” and as “invaders,” he has managed to export and spread the gun-happy and gun-crazed violence of America to foreign shores and throughout the killing field.
In my critically acclaimed new memoir, SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON’S LIFE (which officially goes on sale to the general public on April 27, 2019, but which is also available for pre-order at my author’s website at KerryAshton.com, and also at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book retail sites online), I talk about all of the intolerance that I encountered as a gay man in the Mormon world. In essence, I wrote my memoir as a plea for tolerance and for understanding, and as a call for healing. In this sense, it became a manifesto for peace, for love, for tolerance, all of which the whole world could use a lot more of these days.
Indeed, most organized religions and their different and unique belief systems seem to have perpetuated more hatred than love, more violence than peace, more killing than living, more misunderstanding than tolerance. More than any other organization, most religions throughout out world have asked and even required the people of the earth to divide and separate from the other.
Mormons hate Gays and vice-versa. Though if you talk to any active Mormon, they will spout the church-sponsored dogma: “We love the sinner, but hate the sin,” which means the same thing as “We hate Gays.” The Catholics hate the Protestants and vice-versa. The Muslim extremists love to kill non-believers. And just as problematic now, if not more so, the White Christian far-right extremists love to kill Muslims. The so-called Pro-Lifers hate abortion and giving women the right to their own individual health care choices related to their own bodies. They love a fetus and the unborn, but they are hardly pro-life. Indeed, once a child is born, they don’t want to spend a cent or any time at all helping the child’s parents raise the kid. Many a so-called Pro-Lifer has chosen to kill and maim to protect the unborn. That’s some Pro-Life agenda!
There was and is great harm in the Wild West mentality still prevalent in our gun-loving, gun-toting machismo American culture. If you want to get a handle on your problem, just buy a gun and blow away everyone who disagrees with you. That is, after all, how Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and almost every other American male icon that has come along during the last 100 years, dealt with their problems. But if all of us become Dirty Harry’s, killing all those who cause us problems, there soon will be no one left on the Killing Field that our planet is fast becoming. Going with violence, intolerance and bigotry—as the Orange Monster would have us all do—will only beget more violence, intolerance and bigotry. Hate creates more hate.
The sane answer, instead, is to choose a path of love, tolerance, forgiveness, openness, for all people of any faith or lack thereof, for those of any and all color, sexual identity or class distinction. In particular, that goes for all immigrants of any color or persuasion or creed.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day in which we celebrate the Irish. On this day, it might behoove us to remember that when Irish Immigrants first came to America, they were berated, hated, chided for being “the other,” “criminals,” and so much worse. Then, over time, the Irish integrated into the melting pot that is America. If anything, immigration has done much good for our country and made us stronger both as a nation and as a people. Welcoming new immigrants, instead of treating them like the “criminals,” and the “invaders” that the Orange Monster talks about, can only make us stronger and better both as the United States of America and as the united people who make up the American flock from throughout our world.
Choosing love, tolerance and forgiveness will beget more love, tolerance and forgiveness. If we choose leaders who are compassionate, civil and caring, as opposed to those who would seek to divide us to bring more power to themselves, we can save our world. If we are to save our earth from becoming an international killing field, we have no other choice.
Appallingly, the appropriately named Orange Monster in the Oval Office refused to condemn or to criticize White Supremacy or to even acknowledge the rising tide of violence within the far-right and violently extremist White Nationalist movement occurring both here in America and worldwide. Nor would he call out the rising number of violent and murderous attacks committed by White Nationalists both here and abroad. Instead, he sought to minimize and whitewash the problem. Apparently, he is concerned about only one type of terrorism—that caused by radical Islamic extremists. Domestic terrorist acts, when caused by White Nationalists and by far-right extremists, seem not to concern him in the least. Why should we be surprised?
The Orange Monster, holding the biggest bully pulpit in the entire world has, from the very beginning of his candidacy and throughout all of the days of his disgusting presidency, chosen to be the Hatemonger in Chief, seeking to bring power to himself by encouraging and cultivating the vile hatred of far-right extremists everywhere. His hatred and utter contempt for all those who do not share his vision of “divide and conquer” has made him the ideal poster child for far-right and violent White Nationalists throughout the world. In that sense, the OM has become the leader for all those White Nationalists who practice and seek to perpetuate a white hatred against the colored masses throughout the killing field that our world is quickly becoming.
In this sense, the Orange Monster moved from the “Birther in Chief” prior to his candidacy, while displaying for the whole world his ignorance and contempt for anyone of color, even when they happen to be the duly-elected President of the United States, to become the “Terrorist in Chief” representing and speaking for all of the White Nationalists and White Supremacists throughout the world. Along the way, he has admitted as much publicly to his slavishly devoted white rally crowds, declaring that there are “good people on both sides” of a Nazi rally held in Charlottesville, VA, and that he was and is “a Nationalist!”
Clearly the hatred and violent attacks committed by far-right White Nationalists have spread dramatically and rapidly throughout the world as a result of the Orange Monster’s rise to power, no doubt the way that Putin and his Russian Oligarchs had hoped and dreamed it would. We should not be at all surprised. That’s what happens when you elect a demagogue who spends all of his time and energy spreading hate from the highest tower in the entire world. Through the Orange Monster’s violent and hate-filled rhetoric particularly when he encourages hate for all immigrants of color, while constantly betraying them as the “other,” as the “enemy,” and as “invaders,” he has managed to export and spread the gun-happy and gun-crazed violence of America to foreign shores and throughout the killing field.
In my critically acclaimed new memoir, SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON’S LIFE (which officially goes on sale to the general public on April 27, 2019, but which is also available for pre-order at my author’s website at KerryAshton.com, and also at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book retail sites online), I talk about all of the intolerance that I encountered as a gay man in the Mormon world. In essence, I wrote my memoir as a plea for tolerance and for understanding, and as a call for healing. In this sense, it became a manifesto for peace, for love, for tolerance, all of which the whole world could use a lot more of these days.
Indeed, most organized religions and their different and unique belief systems seem to have perpetuated more hatred than love, more violence than peace, more killing than living, more misunderstanding than tolerance. More than any other organization, most religions throughout out world have asked and even required the people of the earth to divide and separate from the other.
Mormons hate Gays and vice-versa. Though if you talk to any active Mormon, they will spout the church-sponsored dogma: “We love the sinner, but hate the sin,” which means the same thing as “We hate Gays.” The Catholics hate the Protestants and vice-versa. The Muslim extremists love to kill non-believers. And just as problematic now, if not more so, the White Christian far-right extremists love to kill Muslims. The so-called Pro-Lifers hate abortion and giving women the right to their own individual health care choices related to their own bodies. They love a fetus and the unborn, but they are hardly pro-life. Indeed, once a child is born, they don’t want to spend a cent or any time at all helping the child’s parents raise the kid. Many a so-called Pro-Lifer has chosen to kill and maim to protect the unborn. That’s some Pro-Life agenda!
There was and is great harm in the Wild West mentality still prevalent in our gun-loving, gun-toting machismo American culture. If you want to get a handle on your problem, just buy a gun and blow away everyone who disagrees with you. That is, after all, how Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and almost every other American male icon that has come along during the last 100 years, dealt with their problems. But if all of us become Dirty Harry’s, killing all those who cause us problems, there soon will be no one left on the Killing Field that our planet is fast becoming. Going with violence, intolerance and bigotry—as the Orange Monster would have us all do—will only beget more violence, intolerance and bigotry. Hate creates more hate.
The sane answer, instead, is to choose a path of love, tolerance, forgiveness, openness, for all people of any faith or lack thereof, for those of any and all color, sexual identity or class distinction. In particular, that goes for all immigrants of any color or persuasion or creed.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day in which we celebrate the Irish. On this day, it might behoove us to remember that when Irish Immigrants first came to America, they were berated, hated, chided for being “the other,” “criminals,” and so much worse. Then, over time, the Irish integrated into the melting pot that is America. If anything, immigration has done much good for our country and made us stronger both as a nation and as a people. Welcoming new immigrants, instead of treating them like the “criminals,” and the “invaders” that the Orange Monster talks about, can only make us stronger and better both as the United States of America and as the united people who make up the American flock from throughout our world.
Choosing love, tolerance and forgiveness will beget more love, tolerance and forgiveness. If we choose leaders who are compassionate, civil and caring, as opposed to those who would seek to divide us to bring more power to themselves, we can save our world. If we are to save our earth from becoming an international killing field, we have no other choice.
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