The Cruelty is the Point
Occasionally you come upon a story that asks you to take the bait. You read a teaser and you know you should let it go, but something inside tells you to scratch that itch. The parents from the Uvalde shooting were in Washington trying to get something done on gun control. They were handing out pins. When it came to handing one to Lauren Boebert you could probably have predicted how well that would go.
There are any number of reasons why this story shouldn’t be told. The first and best reason is that this is exactly what she wants. She wants to be the center of attention. She wants a majority of the country to think she is a despicable person. It’s what trolls do. The second reason is that we know she would never vote for gun control anyway, so it really doesn’t impact our day to day lives any. It is just an excuse to become more aggrivated and upset. I wanted to throw out these two caveats before giving her exactly what she wants.
The parents of Maite Rodriguez made lapel pins of their daughter’s shoe for lawmakers to wear to honor her memory and urge them to act on her behalf and provided pamphlets asking lawmakers to act. As the story went, that was the only way they could identify her in the aftermath. Let’s be fair here. This is an obvious manipulation. Wearing the pin means you support common sense gun legislation. If you don’t and you still wear the pin then you are just being a liar to score cheap political points. What she should have done is graciously accept the pin, simply not wear it, and then discard it in her office or home.
Boebert can be clearly seen in video throwing the pin away within eyeshot of the families that were there. What she should do is be respectful of them. It’s a basic lesson we were all taught growing up. All of us have received gifts that were just hideous. We had the presence of mind and manners to say thank you and wait until we got home to discard the item.
It’s at this point where we have to move to idle speculation. Maybe Boebert wasn’t taught that growing up. We know she dropped out of school because she became a teenage mom. We know the hot water her husband and her got into earlier in life. We know her son impregnated a girl that she would only say “is older than 14.” Given all this, it is fair to ask what manners she was taught. When we consider her academic record it is also fair to say that she could have been taught but she just didn’t learn.
On the other hand, this may not be a question of manners. It may be a question of performance art. Socrates called himself a “gadfly” in Plato’s Republic and in other assorted works that described his life and work. Gadfly seems to highbrow for Boebert. We could instead call her an ass. In that world, whoever can say or do the most outlandish thing wins. Congratulations Lauren, you’ve won that label for today.
There’s low class, and there’s no class, and Bimboebert has negative class.
1More like just run of the mill Colorado White Trash.
2Some Republicans make dumb & dumber look good, when compared with cruel & crueler.
With Boebert’s academic record, she probably learned most of her skill set torturing younger, smaller students on the playground, rather than in the classroom where she clearly couldn’t compete.
3This is the perfect chance for Democratic politicians to take a stand: pin the daughter’s shoes lapel pins on their jackets and dresses. Biden should do so. Everyone with the smallest amount of morality should do so.
Where can I get one of those pins?
4I believe calling her an ass shows disrespect to a useful and sometimes noble animal. Instead, perhaps one should use the term for what is found under an ass’s tail.
Charles
5She’s exactly what HRC was talking about when she used the “deplorables” label for some repugnanticans. She’s really scum of the earth deplorable. That’s really a 10 (make that 11) level deplorable.
6Same could be said about MTG.
It is easy to be cruel when you are clueless, stupid and graceless. In Lauren’s case it is also avarice, the modern GOP and a cavernous empty place where her heart should be that allows her to dismiss her humanity.
7Well, she couldn’t very well where that lapel pin–if she did, she would have to remove the Republican-provided AR-15 lapel pin.
I was gob-smacked when I first saw this story that tacked on the information about the AR-15 lapel pins provided to the members of the Republican party. Talk about tasteless and no-class behavior.
Then again, maybe I should thank them for self identifying as “Sold my vote and soul to the NRA.”
8She did what any disrespectful, angry, hateful, fearful, dangerous, religious extremist, terrorist white supremacist would do, act like an ass.
9Star, it’s worse than you think. There’s a bill to make the AR-15 “America’s Gun.” Boebert is a co-sponsor along with serial liar George Santos.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/02/26/lauren-boebert-george-santos-co-sponsor-bill-to-make-ar-15-the-national-gun/?sh=84cddf524661
10What would the level beyond tone deaf be called exactly?
11It’s as if Boebert was raised by fire ants.
12Trashy is as trashy does.
13Nick, IMHO you’re missing the point you made with the title. The cruelty IS the point.
No cluelessness here.
And the tone heard by our non-deaf ears was exactly the one she meant for us, and everybody else to hear.
She’s simply showing the world that anybody who’s “the other” isn’t worthy of common decency.
Is in fact worthy of whatever malignity she and her kind feel like tossing our way.
Just kinda offhandedly.
“Just ’cause.
‘Cause that’s what’s done.”
It was clarion clear.
14It’s not just that the cruelty is the point.
It’s that the cruelty should be expected.
Let rephrase that.
15Their point is that the cruelty should be expected.
Yeah, that became increasingly clear when she and Santos introduced the bill to make the AR-15 America’s Gun. I can’t even describe how completely stupid that is. Ignoring the obvious cruelty, why exactly do we need a national gun?
16Nick Carraway @16 You have to think like a bigot, a National AR-15 America’s Gun would be a fitting symbol for White Christian Republican American Supremacy. You know …. Freedumb!
17So I was gossiping about an acquaintance with a couple of friends a few days ago. I mentioned that the acquaintance was/is a MAGAt, and the friends responded with “What makes her think that MAGAting is the way to be, considering her rather unfortunate circumstances?” Well, there’s really no sensible reason except that she is enamored of the cruelty, chaos, and unpleasantness of the MAGAtry!
18So, as I was walking away from my desk after making the above comment, I had to question myself, axing, “So, how does that explain the neighbors who appear to have no visible cruelty, chaos, or unpleasantness in their lives?” In fact, they seem to be very content, kind and thoughtful, and moderate in all things, as far as I can tell. Yet they too are apparently committed MAGAts. Though the last time I was in their house, earlier this week to make a repair, the otherwise previously prominent trump sticker wasn’t prominent anymore.? Of course I don’t know where it is. Maybe they finally reliazed that I found it objectionable and moved it to a less public location.
19Nick, your last question stuck in my head. And later I remembered hearing about some country that had the AK-47 on their national flag. So I googled flags with AK-47 rifle.
20Funny thing, one of the first hits was from a Russian news site listing the countries that have the Kalashnikov on their flag. And how they all liberated themselves from an oppressive regime.
Probably just a coinkidink.
We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public. Boebert did neither.
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