Unheralded

TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — The Gaslighting Of America

By now, video of the confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial has been examined more closely than the Zapruder Film, and the gaslighting of America is complete. You really didn’t see what you saw. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., in his ongoing inspirational battle against the First Amendment, encouraged lawsuits against the media for misinterpeting the video. “Those kids did nothing wrong,” he said on Fox News. “Zero.”

Zero. It’s a good thing those kids are Catholic; now they can become saints.

What was baffling was the apology from the Diocese of Covington (Kentucky) and the school. This is an institution that’s still trying to figure out if pedophilia is a problem in the priesthood, and yet it instantly concluded that “this behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that what the diocese found objectionable were the tomahawk chops, the mocking Indian chants and dances and the smirk on Nicholas Sandmann’s face as he stared down Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist, who claimed he was trying to diffuse a standoff between some Black Hebrew Israelites and what would be characterized as “a mob” if they were liberals.

Curiously, several days later, the diocese apologized for apologizing. The bishop explained that it was “bullied” into making the first apology. And the diocese knows bullying when it sees it. For instance, when the Covington boys were filmed harrassing passing girls, that was so totally not bullying.

Let me help you see that you didn’t really see what you thought you saw. This should be getting easier. You’ve had two years of gaslighting practice going back to the inauguration, where many folks thought there was low attendance. In reality, 17 bazillion people showed up.

Even if you did see what you thought you saw, disrespecting Phillips is justified because it turns out that his military service wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. He was never deployed to Vietnam, and according to the Washington Times, he went AWOL three times. To be fair, I think it had something to do with bone spurs. And don’t forget about the black guys yelling unkind things at these innocents. It’s a well-known fact that if you are disrespected by one minority, it’s all right to disrespect the next minority you see. It’s one of those pay it forward deals.

Anyway, that wasn’t a disrespectful smirk. Even though you’ve been interpreting facial expressions since your mother first smiled down at you in the crib, clearly you got this one wrong. To buttress this theory, I would encourage every teenage boy in America to give the old man that look the next time you’re in trouble. Purely as a social experiment.

What was even more unfair to these boys was the conclusion by some that MAGA hats are a symbol of bigotry and misogyny. Personally, when I see someone wearing a MAGA hat I think, “There goes an enlightened being.” Then I try to sell them white sheets and Tiki torches at a significant markup.

North Dakota conservatives bemoaned the injustice perpetrated against these poor lads through the unfair use of actual footage that made them look like boorish twits. People actually criticized them! Who treats children this way? By golly, when the Parkland shooting survivors were in North Dakota advocating for gun reform, no one staged protests, mocked their politics and sexuality or called them punks or crisis actors. Not one conservative said a discouraging word.

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

© Tony Bender, 2019




4 thoughts on “TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — The Gaslighting Of America”

  • BETH BRADLEY January 30, 2019 at 11:40 am

    Thank you, Tony, for not letting this story die without saying what needs to be said. I am sickened every time I see a MAGA hat. I always appreciate your sense of humor as it makes the news a little easier to digest.

    Reply
  • Larry February 1, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    I spent a fair amount of time searching about this school. Most of the official school websites had been taken down so it was difficult to find real info. As near as I could find Covington Christian school had 560 students. This included 1 black girl, two black boys and 557 white kids. Therefore it was NOT an all white school. All the teachers were white as well as all other employees. Even the janitors and lunch room staff were all white. Maybe this might have had something to do with the kids behavior in Washington. It was run by the catholic church. They should be ashamed. It was also apparently (I could not find actual figures) a very expensive school to attend. Unfortunately it is very common In much of this country, especially the south, for private and religious schools to be racially segregated and the public schools mostly black. The days of racial segregation in education are not over.

    Reply
  • Nunya February 20, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    You clearly watched the whole video and you’d never take a photo out of context and create your own narrative about it. You’re far to enlightened and educated human for that…..Oh wait…..

    Reply
  • Nunya February 20, 2019 at 9:18 pm

    Please, so Jussie Smollett next! Those mean MAGA Nigerians and those oppressive Chicago cops are all to get him!

    Reply

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