Not Funny
September 27, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Staring in the face of the danger of nuclear holocaust brought on by Trump’s reckless threats and equally reckless actions,* Gail Collins of the New York Times wishes that somehow Mike Pence could take the reins of power.
The only response to this is NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Look, this is a regime. Trump is leading this, but it IS a whole cabal of reactionaries who believe that America needs to deal with its contradictions through a hyper-aggressive and bellicose foreign policy and the extreme suppression of civil and legal rights within the country. It’s not just that Pence won’t eat lunch alone with any woman besides his wife, some kind of standard-issue boring politician with quirks; this is a highly-focused religious fanatic who believes in end-times and the rapture and dreams of America as a “Republic of Gilead,”** who persecuted and jailed a woman in the state he governed, claiming her miscarriage was really a self-induced abortion. He is just as vicious as Trump if not more so.
Political humor can be sharp and biting, revealing the rot behind the mask in a way nothing else can—but it can also be a road to normalizing, to learning to live with the horror, as it is with Collins in this instance. We don’t need narcotics. Only the determined massive action of millions, clearly demanding that the whole regime go, and refusing to get out of the streets until it does, has any chance. And if you are truly worried about the prospect of an all-too-real nuclear Armageddon, as you should be, then be part of that.
* Among the most recent U.S. threats and actions: in a September 19 speech at the UN, Trump threatened that he would “totally destroy” North Korea; the U.S. further tightened up economic sanctions on North Korea, which will have devastating effects on the people; the U.S. flew B-1B nuclear-capable bombers and F-15C fighters over waters well north of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. [back]
** In the current TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, the Republic of Gilead is a Christian fascist society in which biblical law and patriarchal values—as updated and interpreted by the new rulers—are increasingly imposed. [back]
Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:
Volunteers Needed... for revcom.us and Revolution
If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.