Thoughtless and Without A Prayer

"The definition of evil is the absence of empathy."

—Leon Golsensohn, defendants' psychiatrist at the Nuremberg trials

***

Nearly a hundred and sixty years ago, on the eastern plains of Colorado, a settlement of peaceful people from the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were attacked at dawn by a contingent of 700 US Army soldiers.

A member of that force, Captain Silas Soule, refused to engage in the slaughter that followed, instead choosing to stand down and record what he saw.

In letters to his family, Soule said,

"I was present at a Massacre of three hundred Indians, mostly women and children. It was a horrable scene and I would not let my Company fire. They were friendly and some of our soldiers were in their Camp at the time trading. It looked too hard for me to see little Children on their knees begging for their lives, have their brains beat out like dogs. It was a Regament of 100 days men who accomplished the noble deed. Some of the Indians fought when they saw no chance of escape and killed twelve and wounded forty of our men." — Dec. 18, 1864

"I spent New Year’s day on the battle ground counting dead Indians. There were not as many killed as was reported. There was not more than one hundred and thirty killed, but most of them were women and children and all of them scalped. I hope the authorities at Washington will investigate the killing of those Indians. I think they will be apt to hoist some of our high officials. I would not fire on the Indians with my Co. and the Col. said he would have me cashiered, but he is out of the service before me and I think I stand better than he does in regard to his great Indian fight." — Jan. 8, 1865

Over time, the historical record of the dead in what came to be known as the Sand Creek Massacre was revised upward to 230.

History also shows that the massacre ignited warfare between the US government and native tribes resisting the seizure of their lands. The genocide that ensued, often on the premise that Native Americans were not civilized or even fully human, lasted 25 years, ending with another slaughter by the US Army at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

***

In the months leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, seeking to generate support from a passionately regressive base of voters, Republican politicians and their promoters in the media demonized the LGBTQIA2S+ community. 

If you wonder in good faith about that acronym, it stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender / gender expansive, queer and/or questioning, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit.

If you wonder in good faith what *that* means, good for you. You may be on your way toward understanding—they're just people who are different than you. People who want to be accepted for who they are, or in lieu of that, not be killed for simply existing.

Unfortunately, that ask is too much for many on the right, who see "different" as an opportunity—to fabricate a threat that can be attacked via legislation, discrimination, and violence.

From the Washington Post:

"Right-wing politicians and preachers have openly called for killing LGBTQ people. On a conservative talk show, Mark Burns, a Donald Trump-allied congressional candidate from South Carolina, called 'LGBT, transgender grooming' a national security threat and proposed using treason laws as the basis for 'executing' parents and teachers who advocate for LGBTQ rights. In Texas, a pastor railed against Pride month and said LGBTQ people 'should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head.'”

"Extremism researchers have long warned of an escalating risk as hard-right Republicans and militant groups portray LGBTQ people as “groomers” targeting children, along with other baseless smears. Now, provocateurs are acting on those messages with rising hate and violence targeting LGBTQ communities."

***

Last weekend, another young, white male with an AR-15 walked into Club Q, a Colorado Springs bar whose patrons are predominantly LGBTQ. When the shooting stopped, 5 people were dead and 25 were wounded—many still in critical condition.

***

The link between massacres in America crosses generations. It began long before Sand Creek and continued implacably up to this very moment. And while the targets of that violence have varied by race, religion, gender, economic status, et al—what doesn't change is how often the crimes are committed by, or on behalf of white, male, self-proclaimed Christians.

Less than 48 hours after the Club Q shooting, in the last 2022 race for the US Senate, the Republican candidate from Georgia was still inciting hatred against the LGBTQ community. Herschel Walker:

• Suggested trans kids wouldn't go to heaven because "Jesus wouldn't recognize them"
• Stood with a GOP legislator who called gay people "filth" and later said straight people were superior to gay people
• Appeared in an ad with a former collegiate swimmer who falsely complained she had to compete against a "biological male"

Even after being embarrassed in the recent elections, the GOP continues to double down on this brand of malice, which time and again has been shown to incite violence in our gun-drunk society. 

"Thoughts and prayers" they type after every killing, unaware or uncaring that those words are now a punchline that reminds us who they are—the party of guns and providing fresh targets to fire them at.

In their America no sanctuary is holy, no shelter is safe, and no atrocity is too inhumane. There is no common ground, nor compromise, with that.