15 Comments
User's avatar
Waldo Littlefield's avatar

The widow pleaded for forgiveness and love. Trump preached hate. Is America the land of hate now? Look to the White House and you will see the source of America’s rage.

Expand full comment
Bevann's avatar

What I find so hard to process is that so many people cannot see or reason that the hate rhetoric from the White House is false. Why can’t they see the manipulation?

Expand full comment
Waldo Littlefield's avatar

Mark Twain was right, “it is easier to fool people than convince them they have been fools.”

Expand full comment
Patricia Davis's avatar

Not bit hard enough yet…that’s why..those circus/service dogs will bite again..more and more are their names…and the eulogy (whatever) …just as suspect/predicted/or predicated …leopards and their spots ya know..good cop/bad cop they know how to rile the roost..oh boy🙄

Expand full comment
XBarbarian's avatar

Max Blumenthal pointing to a "strategy of tension".. this circus strengthens his argument. wild days my friends. stay calm, create peace, choose love. Namaste

Expand full comment
Vicki Greene's avatar

Call me cynical but I feel Erica was playing to the audience. A counterpoint to what the rest said and believes. If what she says were Kirk's brand of Christianity, why did he say many of the things he did? Christianity as white nationalism. How much money did this whole extravaganza raise? The jury is out, and I will wait to see how Erica does in the future.

Expand full comment
Bevann's avatar

Mary, I appreciate you’re continuing to move the rocks so the ugly is out in the open for all to see. Thanks for continuing to shine the light!

Expand full comment
Kasey Coff's avatar

I knew, sooner or later, someone would declare Charlie Kirk a martyr. Of course it was Trump.

Expand full comment
Vi Mooberry's avatar

I am grateful for your words this morning, Mary. I saw what you saw and what so many are refusing to see out of fear. I was angry, sad, and emboldened to do everything I can as a citizen to deflect this monster administration from our streets and our homes. It was political show at its best with the cabinet quoting bible verses and damnation that looked and sounded as false as the intent with which they read them. False prophets addicted to lies , power, and money. They came selling their snake oil. Most of us didn't buy it!

Expand full comment
Rene R. Rinaldi's avatar

A great column…thank you for writing it and for including the observations of Ta-Nahisi Coates.

Expand full comment
John Schwarzkopf's avatar

Here's an article about an extremely right wing White Christian Nationalist church in my home state of WA. Dominic Bonny has been reporting on them for years and their leader is using Kirk to up the crazy and hate to 11. And having one church isn't bad enough, they are planting another church in GA where I live now.

https://open.substack.com/pub/dominickb/p/kirk-was-the-first-martyr-on-american?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1wbr1r

Expand full comment
Jay Wilson's avatar

If Jesus had been at State Farm Stadium He would have praised the widow's plea for mercy.

In that moment, the New Testament faithful nodded quietly at the Erika’s trembling forgiveness... the true message of Jesus. Then Old Testament Trump stepped up and basically said:

"Nice try Erika but I'll take it from here"...and the Crowd Roared.

Expand full comment
Julie Bannerman's avatar

A sobering read. Trump, Miller and their MAGA faithful are making a martyr of a billionaire-funded college campus provocateur with a white supremacist, patriarchal ideology presented as “Christian” values - and using one young white man’s violent act to urge “war” against all MAGA opponents. We’ve seen versions of this script before, with different “enemies within”.

The trick now is pushing back against these incitements without giving the regime the pretext they’re yearning for to excuse more oppression. Coming up: October 18: No Kings.

Expand full comment
Carol Pladsen-Bloom's avatar

For the first time, I had to scan some of Mary's words. Too bloody painful to hear. I ignored everything about it yesterday. It was much worse than I thought. My oh my, are we in a mess.

Expand full comment
Deborah Kelly Tarbell's avatar

Please tell me how a civil war could be conducted? Are we going to have seal team six walking through our streets shooting out our windows? I live in an area that is half and half in terms of republicans and democrats,I’m 72 years old should I get myself a gun to protect myself? I really don’t know if I could kill one of my neighbors

Expand full comment