I love great comedy and comedians almost as much as I love great music and musicians. Growing up on a steady diet of (mostly) black comedians who would say literally anything to make people laugh, it's never mattered whether they were "dirty" or not. Sometimes it made it funnier, mostly on the holy shit, did he really just say that? sense.
In recent years, "clean" comedians such as Jim Gaffigan and Pete Holmes, both of whom are also to some degree persons of faith, have attracted notice, proving that funny is funny, no matter whether you're raunchy or not. Gaffigan especially, happily married with five kids, so Catholic he's actually performed for the pope, makes his family the centerpiece of his humor, somehow bringing it above the usual realm of "dad jokes".
So when Gaffigan lost his shit on Twitter last Thursday, having seen and heard enough lies and bullshit from this gang of shameless criminals, it was noteworthy. Unfortunately, so far it's mostly been noted either for the man-bites-dog nature of a guy who famously never swears being pushed into telling everyone to go fuck themselves, or for the usual shut-up-and-sing sentiments that get lobbed at (liberal) performers and athletes who upset their (conservative) fans by speaking their mind.
But what's really noteworthy about Gaffigan's tirade is the fact that it's an excellent example of someone taking their faith seriously, and not just as a cheap, convenient political posture. Atheists and believers alike have become desensitized to the public hypocrisies and greed of the most vocal professional god-botherers. It's a tacky public grift and we all know it, and we've just become used to it.
Which makes it all the more startling when someone demonstrates an actual understanding and appreciation of the teachings of Christ, empowering them as -- get this -- Christians. Even as a stone atheist, I can appreciate the fact that the central operational tenet of Christianity is empathy, a necessary element in any group endeavor, whether it's governance or business or love or compassion.
And it in fact underscores the primary reason why I have been an atheist since [checks notes] about seventh or eighth grade -- not because the stories of the bible can't be proven as empirically true or even possible in many cases, and not because god lets "bad things happen to good people" or whatever.
It's mostly because a critical mass of people who profess to believe refuse to walk the talk. They just talk and talk about it, and lecture everyone else about it, but they don't live it at all. Faith without works is dead, and people who just use their professed belief as an excuse to push other people around are not the sort of people I would want to share even fake ontological turf with.
And Trump's endless lies and violations of the nation's laws, as well as several biblical commandments on any given day, have simply brought these people's shameless hypocrisies to an impasse. They can no longer be taken seriously -- as Americans, as Christians, or even as decent people.
This fantastic Twitter thread by "Design Mom" Gabrielle Blair really drives that point home. She calls out the Trumpkins among her Instagram followers in no uncertain terms, the people who want her to shut up and talk about paint and floor tiles and home design shit.
And Blair, who is a practicing Mormon, is having none of it. She understands that the gap is irreconcilable, that she cannot continue to call herself a Christian and ignore the support of violent monsters as a simple agree-to-disagree moment. It is a clear matter of conscience, and silence is assent. And so she makes it clear to these people coming to her for design tips and mom group chats that she doesn't want to make content for people who endorse white supremacy, period.
As the self-deputizing brownshirts out there are now upping the counter-protest violence at the BLM protests, it is now more important than ever to point out to the street protesters -- you are wasting your time, and risking your health and life for nothing. Either arm yourselves -- Oregon, for example, is an open-carry state -- so you can at least defend when a truck full of douchebags rolls up with (if you're lucky) bear mace and paintball guns, or just stay home. It's been going on since May, and nothing has changed, nothing will change until the election clarifies it one way or the other.
Well, it might change one thing -- polls are showing a slight but perceptible nudge among squirrelly suburban swing-state whites toward the [rolls eyes] "law and order" vote. Just like '68. Feel better about all that "good trouble"? Yeah. Might want to start thinking real carefully about outcomes -- the lack of outcomes so far, besides an increase in violence, and what near-future outcomes are more likely. None of them are good.
In the meantime, shunning works, not just boycotting Fox News sponsors or what-have-you, but making it clear to the people in your life who value you that this is a dealbreaker for you, that you may still be their friend or relative, but they no longer have your respect, which at the very least means that political discussions are a no-go, since by definition they cannot be trusted to be honest interlocutors.
It's that simple. They have made themselves clear, time and again, with a consistency that becomes more unconscionable by the day. They are being understood for what they are, and the heinous acts they support, and they can't stand it.
And it really seems that, in a country where a majority of the citizens still at least profess some religious belief, it makes a difference to them when people of faith, such as Jim Gaffigan and Gabrielle Blair, are able to step up and articulate an argument directly derived from a faith that stems accurately from the messages of the New Testament, rather than the co-opted screeds of interchangeable face-lifted tax-dodgers. They understand correctly that there is no way to honor the actual tenets of their faith, and especially that central principle of empathy, and abide the daily cardinal sins of these people.
Ultimately, this is no longer an argument about politics. Hell, I disagree on political things with Democrats and liberals all the time, not just with conservatives and Republicans. This is an argument about ethics and morals and values as real, tangible things worth keeping, not just buzzwords to be cynically launched on some Sunday follies show hosted by whatever credulous dupe gets paid to do that shit.
Either you're okay with a thieving, lying, rapist pervert and his criminal family killing this country, or you're not. Either you're fine with 300k dead by the end of the year from a preventable pandemic, and the lies and economic destruction that have come with it, or you think it's a problem. Either you're good with people taking the law into their own hands and murdering unarmed protesters, or you recognize that as a dangerous step in the direction of brownshirts and death squads.
I think we'd all like to go back to living real lives and not spending every fucking day worrying about whatever new hellish atrocity is being visited on us by these monstrous people. But like with all those unnecessary COVID deaths, it is what it is, and every decision you make in the course of a day -- where you spend your money, who you choose to interact with and how -- counts in the aggregate.
We didn't ask for any of this, but after five years of bullshit from the Go Fuck Yourself cult, all we can say to them in response is, you have made yourselves understood, and this is what that looks like. That doesn't change as long as you continue to align yourself with these things and these people.
In recent years, "clean" comedians such as Jim Gaffigan and Pete Holmes, both of whom are also to some degree persons of faith, have attracted notice, proving that funny is funny, no matter whether you're raunchy or not. Gaffigan especially, happily married with five kids, so Catholic he's actually performed for the pope, makes his family the centerpiece of his humor, somehow bringing it above the usual realm of "dad jokes".
So when Gaffigan lost his shit on Twitter last Thursday, having seen and heard enough lies and bullshit from this gang of shameless criminals, it was noteworthy. Unfortunately, so far it's mostly been noted either for the man-bites-dog nature of a guy who famously never swears being pushed into telling everyone to go fuck themselves, or for the usual shut-up-and-sing sentiments that get lobbed at (liberal) performers and athletes who upset their (conservative) fans by speaking their mind.
But what's really noteworthy about Gaffigan's tirade is the fact that it's an excellent example of someone taking their faith seriously, and not just as a cheap, convenient political posture. Atheists and believers alike have become desensitized to the public hypocrisies and greed of the most vocal professional god-botherers. It's a tacky public grift and we all know it, and we've just become used to it.
Which makes it all the more startling when someone demonstrates an actual understanding and appreciation of the teachings of Christ, empowering them as -- get this -- Christians. Even as a stone atheist, I can appreciate the fact that the central operational tenet of Christianity is empathy, a necessary element in any group endeavor, whether it's governance or business or love or compassion.
And it in fact underscores the primary reason why I have been an atheist since [checks notes] about seventh or eighth grade -- not because the stories of the bible can't be proven as empirically true or even possible in many cases, and not because god lets "bad things happen to good people" or whatever.
It's mostly because a critical mass of people who profess to believe refuse to walk the talk. They just talk and talk about it, and lecture everyone else about it, but they don't live it at all. Faith without works is dead, and people who just use their professed belief as an excuse to push other people around are not the sort of people I would want to share even fake ontological turf with.
And Trump's endless lies and violations of the nation's laws, as well as several biblical commandments on any given day, have simply brought these people's shameless hypocrisies to an impasse. They can no longer be taken seriously -- as Americans, as Christians, or even as decent people.
This fantastic Twitter thread by "Design Mom" Gabrielle Blair really drives that point home. She calls out the Trumpkins among her Instagram followers in no uncertain terms, the people who want her to shut up and talk about paint and floor tiles and home design shit.
And Blair, who is a practicing Mormon, is having none of it. She understands that the gap is irreconcilable, that she cannot continue to call herself a Christian and ignore the support of violent monsters as a simple agree-to-disagree moment. It is a clear matter of conscience, and silence is assent. And so she makes it clear to these people coming to her for design tips and mom group chats that she doesn't want to make content for people who endorse white supremacy, period.
As the self-deputizing brownshirts out there are now upping the counter-protest violence at the BLM protests, it is now more important than ever to point out to the street protesters -- you are wasting your time, and risking your health and life for nothing. Either arm yourselves -- Oregon, for example, is an open-carry state -- so you can at least defend when a truck full of douchebags rolls up with (if you're lucky) bear mace and paintball guns, or just stay home. It's been going on since May, and nothing has changed, nothing will change until the election clarifies it one way or the other.
Well, it might change one thing -- polls are showing a slight but perceptible nudge among squirrelly suburban swing-state whites toward the [rolls eyes] "law and order" vote. Just like '68. Feel better about all that "good trouble"? Yeah. Might want to start thinking real carefully about outcomes -- the lack of outcomes so far, besides an increase in violence, and what near-future outcomes are more likely. None of them are good.
In the meantime, shunning works, not just boycotting Fox News sponsors or what-have-you, but making it clear to the people in your life who value you that this is a dealbreaker for you, that you may still be their friend or relative, but they no longer have your respect, which at the very least means that political discussions are a no-go, since by definition they cannot be trusted to be honest interlocutors.
It's that simple. They have made themselves clear, time and again, with a consistency that becomes more unconscionable by the day. They are being understood for what they are, and the heinous acts they support, and they can't stand it.
And it really seems that, in a country where a majority of the citizens still at least profess some religious belief, it makes a difference to them when people of faith, such as Jim Gaffigan and Gabrielle Blair, are able to step up and articulate an argument directly derived from a faith that stems accurately from the messages of the New Testament, rather than the co-opted screeds of interchangeable face-lifted tax-dodgers. They understand correctly that there is no way to honor the actual tenets of their faith, and especially that central principle of empathy, and abide the daily cardinal sins of these people.
Ultimately, this is no longer an argument about politics. Hell, I disagree on political things with Democrats and liberals all the time, not just with conservatives and Republicans. This is an argument about ethics and morals and values as real, tangible things worth keeping, not just buzzwords to be cynically launched on some Sunday follies show hosted by whatever credulous dupe gets paid to do that shit.
Either you're okay with a thieving, lying, rapist pervert and his criminal family killing this country, or you're not. Either you're fine with 300k dead by the end of the year from a preventable pandemic, and the lies and economic destruction that have come with it, or you think it's a problem. Either you're good with people taking the law into their own hands and murdering unarmed protesters, or you recognize that as a dangerous step in the direction of brownshirts and death squads.
I think we'd all like to go back to living real lives and not spending every fucking day worrying about whatever new hellish atrocity is being visited on us by these monstrous people. But like with all those unnecessary COVID deaths, it is what it is, and every decision you make in the course of a day -- where you spend your money, who you choose to interact with and how -- counts in the aggregate.
We didn't ask for any of this, but after five years of bullshit from the Go Fuck Yourself cult, all we can say to them in response is, you have made yourselves understood, and this is what that looks like. That doesn't change as long as you continue to align yourself with these things and these people.
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