ethics, politicians, politics, safety

I honestly don’t know how Republicans sleep at night…

Now that I’ve had some time to settle back into daily life, I’d like to address the latest school shooting. This time, there were six victims at The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. I read that the school is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). I was raised mainstream Presbyterian (PCUSA), but I have some relatives who are PCA. They are more conservative, like Southern Baptists, while mainstream Presbyterians are more akin to Methodists.

It was the morning of March 27, 2023 when 28 year old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who evidently identified as a trans man, shot open a locked door and stormed the hallways. She killed three nine year olds and three adults, including the school’s head, Dr. Katherine Koonce. I don’t know much about Audrey Hale, other than the fact that at one time, Hale was a student at The Covenant School. A lengthy manifesto was left behind, where Hale mentioned “having to go to that school”. I don’t know anything about Hale’s actual experiences at The Covenant School, but I do know that PCA believers insist that homosexuality is a sin that will send believers to Hell. I can only assume that maybe Hale was feeling condemned by church officials, whether or not that thought was ever expressed to anyone out loud.

Recently, Audrey Hale was under the care of a mental health professional, was using male pronouns and going by the name Aiden, and made a living as an artist and cat sitter. Just before the tragic events of Monday morning, Hale contacted a friend on Instagram and warned her that she would soon be reading about Hale in the news. The friend tried to report Hale’s comments to the police. Inexplicably, the police did nothing.

Those who once knew Audrey Hale describe the shooter as “shy”, “quiet”, “sweet”, and “good”. But something happened, because for some reason, Hale turned into a murderous monster. As politicians in Tennessee ban drag shows, and parents in Florida compare great works of art to pornography, and many people insist that women should not have the right to bodily autonomy, more innocent people are losing their lives over the ridiculous gun laws in the United States.

I don’t understand how Republican politicians can declare abortions “murder” and then yammer endlessly about how “precious” life is, as they refuse to do anything about the terrible gun violence problem in the United States. They talk and talk about the need for a smaller government and more liberties, but their policies seem to grant more liberties for criminals and crazies than regular folks.

This morning, Bill shared a video with me, showing a shouting match between Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman. Bowman was yelling about how three innocent nine year olds had been murdered, and Massie was insisting that we should have guns here to “protect us”. Yeah… but where the fuck are the good people with guns when someone like Audrey Hale goes off the rails? And why should everybody be expected to stay “safe” by carrying weapons?

I’ve mentioned before, I used to vote Republican as a matter of course. I didn’t know any better. Conservatism is what I grew up with in my small, southern Virginia hometown. Getting out of that environment is what opened my eyes to the truth… Some people are true “ammosexuals”. It’s like they get a sexual charge of owning firearms. I don’t know about Audrey Hale, who apparently legally owned seven guns… Who the hell needs that many weapons? If a gun is needed for personal protection or hunting, why not just own one? But one gun can still be deadly… especially to growing children.

I recently got into an argument with a stranger on Facebook, who insisted to me that anyone who isn’t pro-life should also be in favor of gun rights. The person claimed that guns don’t kill as many people as abortion does. I found that comment absurd on many levels. Developing embryos and fetuses have no concept of life or death. They aren’t conscious of impending doom. They don’t know the fear of being in what should be a safe place, and suddenly hearing gunshots.

I certainly don’t cheer for abortions. I think they should be avoided whenever possible. But to compare an abortion of a very early pregnancy to a nine year old child being shot in school is absolutely ridiculous. I might be more onboard with the pro-life movement if the politicians promoting it were more serious about protecting already born children from being shot in school. How many more already born children have to die before Republicans will admit that something must be done?

I have never been pregnant, and I don’t have children of my own. However, my husband’s daughter has been sharing her children with us. She recently shared a video showing her two oldest children playing. They were so full of life and energy, and she was very patiently supervising them. She’s a wonderful mom who loves her kids, and has suffered several miscarriages. I can’t imagine how absolutely devastated and horrified she’d be if she lost her children to gun violence.

I think about my sister, who needed medical help to get pregnant– not IVF, but something less intense. Her son, an only child, was very much wanted. Luckily, he managed to survive growing up going to American schools and is now in college. I imagine how awful it must be for parents– especially those who worked very hard to become parents– when something like this happens. Why aren’t the Republicans thinking about those people– who fought for and wanted their children so badly, and now risk losing them to gun violence? Why is their focus on forcing people to have babies they don’t want or can’t take care of, instead of protecting the already born babies who were very much wanted by their parents?

The whole thing is absolutely crazy! And while I don’t know what specifically caused Audrey Hale to go nuts on Monday, I think I can understand why so many people seem to be losing their shit. Things have been on a downward spiral for some time… and the past three years have been especially bad. Clearly, Hale had some terrible mental health issues, and I am always an advocate for helping the mentally ill. But as long as we allow anyone and everyone to carry firearms, this horror is going to continue. It seems to me that a lot of people are operating on a thin strand of sanity. It’s time we disarmed more people and did more to help them regain their grips on reality.

Rep. Thomas Massie seems to think the answer is arming teachers… how sad that is. Teachers shouldn’t be expected to use lethal force to defend their students and themselves. Instead, we should all expect to be able to go places and do things without taking our lives in our hands… especially on school campuses. I hope our very divided politicians can soon come to a consensus on this issue and do something to stop the carnage. But, as I am fond of saying sometimes, “people in Hell want ice water…”

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religion, scams

Pastor Greg Locke demands his followers unmask, or he’ll throw them out of his church!

I highly recommend listening to this mood music… It sums things up nicely.

A couple of days ago, one of my Facebook friends shared with me a sad story about Pastor Greg Locke. The link she sent was from Newsweek, but I have a subscription to the Washington Post, and there’s an article about this incident in that publication. So I’m going to base today’s fresh content on that piece.

So who is Pastor Greg Locke?

As I discovered in my 2018 post on this guy— Greg Locke is a self-described pastor from Tennessee. He runs the Global Vision Bible Church (GVBC). Over the years, he’s said and done some controversial things that have put him in the news. When I wrote about him in 2018, he was in the news because he had referred to Stormy Daniels as a “hooker” as he praised the orange turd, Donald Trump, as the president. Locke had tweeted his disdain for Daniels and was soon thoroughly shaded and schooled by a Catholic priest.

After reading about that incident in 2018, I did more digging about Locke and read about his sad situation with his ex wife, Melissa, at whom he had cursed and fat shamed. Locke didn’t sound very “Christ-like” to me, and that was pretty much what I expressed in that old post. Then I promptly forgot about him and went on with my life.

Now, Locke is back on the radar, because he recently told his “flock” in his Nashville area church that if they “start showing up [with] all these masks and all this nonsense, I will ask [them] to leave…” Locke, who is 45 years old, has repeatedly and falsely claimed that COVID-19 is a hoax. It seems that Locke’s followers are inclined to agree with him. His declaration on Sunday of his intent to ban mask wearers at his church was met with cheers and applause. Below is a video of the live streamed service that happened on July 25, 2021.

At 1 hour and 10 minutes, he launches into an anti-liberal rant. He sounds like a complete lunatic. At 1 hour and 13 minutes, he starts going off about COVID and talking about asking people to leave if they come masked.

Well… as I have written many times in this blog, I am a big believer in personal rights and liberties. And if Greg Locke thinks that COVID-19 is a hoax, nothing I can say or do will change his mind. But I do think he ought to take a good look at fellow pastor, Rick Wiles, who called COVID-19 a hoax. Wiles eventually caught the “hoax COVID-19 virus” and got very sick. He was ill enough to be hospitalized, and his followers were implored to “pray for him” as he got treatment for that “hoax COVID virus” that he refused to be vaccinated against, because vaccines are apparently a plot to kill people.

And he might want to read up on Stephen Harmon, a member of the Hillsong megachurch in California. Mr. Harmon was 34 years old and thought he knew better. In June, he tweeted to his 7000 Twitter followers “Got 99 problems but a vax ain’t one…” Next thing you know, Harmon was being treated for the virus in an L.A. area hospital. Sure enough, that “hoax virus” killed Mr. Harmon in what should have been the prime of his life. In his last days, Harmon was begging for prayers. Posting pictures from his hospital bed, Harmon pleaded “Please pray y’all, they really want to intubate me and put me on a ventilator.” His last tweet was posted last Wednesday, as he had decided to go on the ventilator. He wrote, “Don’t know when I’ll wake up, please pray.”

Even as he lay in his bed, gasping for breath, Harmon still said he wouldn’t be vaccinated. He said his religious faith would protect him. That turned out to be untrue.

In March 2020, Pastor Landon Spradlin went to New Orleans to preach during Mardi Gras. He said he wasn’t worried about the coronavirus. He said the concern about it was “hysteria”. Sadly, Spradlin was wrong about COVID-19, and he died a month after his Mardi Gras trip. Spradlin was described as a “great man” who was musically gifted. I can almost excuse him for his premature exit, as he got sick very early in the pandemic. But these other guys– well, they’ve had a year to see just how “fake” the COVID virus is. Where did those 650,000 dead Americans go? Roswell, New Mexico?

I really do think people should think and act for themselves. I am hesitant to agree with measures to force people to do the right thing, even though I realize some people won’t do what they should unless they are compelled. I do think it’s sad, though, that charismatic people– men– are spreading lies and conspiracy theories about this deadly virus. I hate masks. I really do. I don’t think masks are going to save people from COVID. BUT– I do think that vaccinations are essential. I base that belief on a basic knowledge of science and trust in people who have spent their whole lives studying medicine.

I don’t listen to loudmouthed idiots like “Pastor” Greg Locke, who allegedly hit, spit on, fat shamed, and drove into a women’s shelter his ex wife, Melissa, while he dated her former best friend. This is not a Christ-like or “godly” man. This is a man who is hooked on power and money. Recent history has shown me that I’m right to trust scientists and physicians over so-called “holy men” like Greg Locke, who screams like a banshee, paces back and forth, denies science, and praises people like Donald Trump. According to the Washington Post,

Locke’s evangelical church in Mount Juliet, Tenn., about 20 miles east of downtown Nashville, has grown during the pandemic, CNN reported. The pastor’s controversial commentary on covid and the 2020 presidential election has attracted far-right churchgoers.

During a sermon last month, Locke called President Biden a fraud and “a sex trafficking, demon-possessed mongrel,” a reference to QAnon, an extremist ideology based on false claims.

He has also falsely claimed the pandemic is “fake,” the death count is “manipulated,” and the vaccine is a “dangerous scam.”

And the pastor has preached misinformation about the vaccine, including falsely claiming it’s made of “aborted fetal tissue.”

I remember when Locke was in the news having just split from his ex wife, Melissa. He claimed that she was lying about what happened, and that he was the innocent party. I watched the tearful video he posted, which was later taken down, in which he cried about her so-called lies about his character. Maybe I would have given him the benefit of the doubt if I didn’t see so many instances that point to his lack of wisdom and poor character. I was raised to believe that Christianity is about love for other people and peace, not screeching about politics and denying science.

I think Greg Locke is a fool, and I feel sorry for his followers, some of whom will foolishly continue to follow his nonsense, get sick, and perhaps pay with their lives. I know some people have no pity for followers of bullshit, but I think people who purport to be leaders should be held responsible for leading people astray. And Greg Locke, is leading a flock, much to their detriment. Hopefully, a few of them will wise up and find another church.

COVID-19 is not a joke; it’s not a hoax; and unless you’re ready to meet your maker, you’d better have some common sense about this. It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. If Locke doesn’t watch his step, he’s going to wind up in a hospital bed or a coffin. Or maybe it will just be his hapless and clueless followers who’ll suffer as Locke continues to peddle snake oil to the uneducated and ill informed. It reminds me of a scene from Little House on the Prairie.

These kinds of charlatans are still around…

Pastor Locke is worse than this so-called faith healer, isn’t he?

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