Things I Think…
Andrew Duggar of The Bulwark wrote:
“So the administration is taking a new tack: emphasizing quality over quantity. The White House is spotlighting the leering cruelty with which they carry out the deportations that are happening. Deporting former designees of temporary protected status back to countries where they face prosecution: check. Deporting migrants to countries they’ve never even visited: check. Holding detainees at Guantanamo Bay: check.
And yesterday, releasing the single most viscerally disturbing piece of deportation propaganda to date: A short video, posted to the official White House X account, titled “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.”
ASMR videos, which became popular on YouTube in the 2010s, use specific audio cues to stimulate feelings of relaxation and euphoria in the viewer. The White House video perversely mimics the style: lovingly lingering on the revving engine of an airplane waiting to take off; the jingling of chains as they are laid out in rows on the ground, then used to shackle deportees’ arms behind their backs; the shuffling of chained feet up into the plane. No faces are ever seen. The idea is not just that viewers should approve of the footage. It invites them to take sensual pleasure from it.”
I saw the video Duggar mentioned and the incredibly disturbing comments that it gathered.
Some of the most vitriolic were by people who advertised themselves as Christians.
Cruelty or joy at other people’s troubles don’t jump out at me as Jesus informed ethics…
I don’t get it, but if I’m honest, I really never have.
Since my very early childhood, Christians and the church have been dangerous spiritually and emotionally.
Thank God I met Jesus independently of both…actually in spite of both.
It was two of those encounters that shaped my understanding of who Jesus is…and that understanding comports very well with what I read in the Gospels.
The church has tried to convince me otherwise my entire life.
The Jesus I’ve met is kind, but not weak…loving, but clear headed about those He loves.
He is usually found with the poor and the sick and the ones on the margins…the ones who won’t sell whatever a soul is to fit in.
The church, I believe, is the people of God gathered.
The kingdom they live in has no geographic or racial or ethnic boundaries.
It is held together by love…for each other and the King.
Such gatherings are rare in reality.
When Saul is converted to Christ, he hears a voice from heaven…”Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
The implication is that whatever is done to His people is done to Jesus.
I wonder if those ICE agents knew that they may be shackling the King of Kings and those cheering them on were cheering the deportation of the Savior?
I doubt that they would care…they want a different kind of king…
Well done, Michael.
Apparently from what I’ve read, cruelty is
the point with this regime.
Seems like a terrible way to live, to me.
I can remember when presidents and administrations utilized power on behalf of others.
Lord have mercy.
If I didn’t know better, I would guess that Mr T keeps his horns under his MAGA cap, and his tail carefully tucked inside his pants.
At some point our country will be held accountable for this, I hope. The news cycle seems to move so fast that it’s hard to keep up with all the outrages. It could also mean that other countries with whom we have unsettled relationships may find it very easy to mistreat Americans that are either taken hostage or held as prisoners of war.
“ I wonder if those ICE agents knew that they may be shackling the King of Kings and those cheering them on were cheering the deportation of the Savior?”
I wonder if they would even care.
“I wonder if those ICE agents knew that they may be shackling the King of Kings and those cheering them on were cheering the deportation of the Savior?”
Jesus…that’s powerful Michael. Brought a tear this morning. God help.
Again, this all happened to the German people in 1933.
Since November I have experienced profound grief over what is taking place in our country. Today I realized there is another emotion which I had not identified… shame. Shame for what is taking place in this country… my country. I always thought that we were better than this, but apparently that is not the case…
Duane,
You and me both.
Last night there was a massive hockey game between the United States and Canada to win a tournament championship.
I rooted for the Canadians…
Michael, that is something. Because for the first time in my life, I was rooting against the Americans in a sporting event in the very same game.
Yes, so much of what is going on right now is just so shameful, and Canada has been a recipient of some of the completely unnecessary crap. Nothing at all against the guys playing in the game, but I found myself rooting for the Canadians over the Americans.
KevinH,
I’ve been a rabid hockey fan since I was a kid and I have been proud to see the growth of the sport in the U.S.
However, the abuse our good neighbors have taken from the current president had me cheering for Canada…they needed a boost to their national pride.
First and probably last time I’ll cheer for Connor MacDavid… 🙂
I know what you mean. I had to cheer for Sidney Crosby. 😉
Special permission to curse and possibly take the lords name in vain?
Dang it. Wrong thread 😆😆😆
Don’t worry, Josh, Sidney Crosby makes me feel the same way. 🙂
I have not seen any videos or pay much attention to the news so I guess I am hiding under the proverbial rock. I have strong feelings about most “illegal immigrants” as I was taken in by, via their children, a few different families after I ran away from home in late 1980’s. They bestowed kindness on me as they fed me and gave me shelter. In the neighborhood where I lived there were hundreds just like them prone to hospitality and caring for those less fortunate than them. Many if not most worked two or three jobs to support their families in the US and abroad. There are no doubt bad people with bad intentions who should be excluded from participating in the American Republican but even those are objects of redemption. I am reminded of the passage where the writer states, “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Shawn,
I have had experiences with the undocumented since the 70s. I can count one negative experience in all those years, and negative experiences can happen with any group. They work hard, mind their own business , and want the best for their kids. They make huge sacrifices because they are unable to return to their home countries because it is too hard to return to family here. Major legal immigration reform could solve much of the problem. The current brutality will not.