Namely, of course, the shit show that is going on, in general, all over, but mostly here, in this, supposedly, free country.
Then last night, after I posted, news broke of Jimmy Kimmel essentially getting indefinitely cancelled due to supposed comments he made in the wake of this Charlie Kirk business.
Here be the line, folks.
So, especially for "future-me" who may look back on this post years from now and wonder what all the kerfluckle is about here, let me fill this in a bit:
Despite the world in general going, as they say, to Hell in a Handbasket, what with the genocide in Gaza, Putin's outright game of RISK takeover attempt of Ukraine costing many rolls of the dice as it would in any real RISK boardgame since it would "break the continent" (if you know how to play the game), but here in real life it's REAL LIVES, and a slew of other atrocities across the globe since we humans STILL can't "just get along," in the good ol' U.S. of A., we're pretty much undergoing a proto-fascist sea change.
Trump's sway over his MAGA cultists, which, unfortunately, number not in some obscure little group in the hidden cabins up in the hills, but they comprise millions of Americans, all across the country, your neighbors, your family, your friends even, hasn't caved so horribly due to the Epstein Files shit. They care. Oh yes, they care. But they love him more. And I think they think "others," those ever-present and mysterious "others," are the ones keeping the files from being released -- not him.
And who are these "others?" Well, all proto-fascists need their "others," don't they?
More and more, it looks like, believe it or not, it may be, get this --
THE TRANS PEOPLE!
That's right, folks! Move over Islamic Terrorists, you're yesterday's Villain of the Day. Now the Transmen and Transwomen, who want to snatch your little innocent children away and cut them up to make them into something unholy. These Godless faggots, these worthless scum who, according to many people (some who have been recently quoted, hint, hint), should be stoned to death as prescribed for in -- you know it -- the Bible.
Despite the case being still under investigation, thus normally outside the realm of comment, the Director of the FBI just said that the alleged shooter of Kirk was romantically involved with his roommate, a known transitioning male to female individual. You see -- the Prez was right after all -- it's a Radical-Leftist Plot.
RUN KIDDIES! GUN-TOTIN' TRANNYS!
So this brings us all to now where a slew of people all over have been "silenced," effectively, by being fired, mainly, for expressing their first amendment rights.
Now, don't get me wrong. I do think that getting on a public platform, even if you think it's to a limited or select audience, is inappropriate if you're going to "celebrate" or even express acceptance of the murder of another person, period. And some people have really taken it to a morbid and sick level what with some of the posts and even merch, like obscene t-shirts and shit -- c'mon people -- BE HUMAN! But, that being said, I also have to respect some for standing up to the sneaky tactics used during this controversy to prop up their own twisted agenda...
Example: The recent Office Depot firings. So some devotees of Charlie Kirk in Wisconsin wanted to have posters printed out for a candlelight vigil they were holding to honor his legacy, or whatever. The poster original had a photo of Kirk posing with his arm held up defiantly in a fist (similar to Trump after he got shot last summer). They then picked, of all places, to go to an Office Depot which was managed and staffed primarily by what appeared clearly to be either LGBT, trans or, in the very least, liberal-minded staff. You know this was not a coincidence. The staff decided the posters would be considered propaganda and declined to have them printed. They were filmed by the Kirk people and the clip went viral nationwide. The backlash from the MAGAs was virulent. Office Depot felt pressured to fire them. Tell me this wasn't a set up. Or, should I say -- PROVE ME WRONG.
On Monday night's broadcast of his show, Jimmy Kimmel did his monologue and even though he had already addressed the killing of Kirk in a tweet as reprehensible and expressed his condolences to his family and hoped for a future of eliminating gun violence for all, he mentioned that Trump was talking to the press on the White House lawn about the tragedy and was asked by a reporter about his feelings regarding Kirk's assassination. Kimmel showed the clip of Trump briefly expressing his remorse for him but then quickly segueing to the topic of his plans on building the new ballroom near where they were standing. Jimmy joked that Trump was clearly "in the fourth stage of grief: construction" implying he was more concerned with his own vanity projects than the death of his friend. It wasn't a joke about the killing, it was about Trump. Later, on the Benny Johnson podcast, the Chairman of the FCC stated that something had to be done regarding Kimmel, implying that the FCC was going to seek to take action against ABC. At the same time, Sinclair and Nexstar, two large media corporations that own many TV stations, both looking to soon cull favor with the Trump admin in order to secure FCC approval for new acquisitions, pulled Kimmel's show from their stations. ABC was pressured to do what it did -- or it could have fought it -- but maybe ABC knows the fight would be moot.
Is this a line in the sand? I think so. I think it's the beginning of something...
What that something is, only time will tell.