Why the Witch Hunt in the Kim Davis Debacle?

Photo credit: Ty Wright/Getty Images

Kim Davis

Yes, I can see you’re already warming those fingertips up to backlash at me if I say something in her defense.

I’m not going to.

But a Few Hard Questions

I am going to ask a few hard questions though. I’ve read so many articles about this woman, and none of them have answered why we’re smearing a woman’s name in every little corner of the internet and newshole.

Did she do something wrong? Yes. A couple of things if we’re being honest. The first and most obvious being that Kim Davis did not step down from her position as soon as gay marriage was legalized. The second thing she did wrong, and this is where it ends folks, is she continued pulling a paycheck despite not being willing to do her job. That’s the reason the judge threw her in jail for contempt of court. That is it. The end. Game over.

Is She Really More Selfish Than Any of Us?

Her thoughts and beliefs she has displayed in public are not illegal to hold. Bigoted? Sure. Dangerous? From her, I doubt it. Yet we have turned her into a public figure while leading a veritable inquisition against her…and her “kind.” My kind. The God-fearing kind. So, hard question number one: Why are we burning a woman at the stake for being selfish? More important to myself and others like me (others who tend to be far more quiet than I), why are all God-fearing men and women being targeted along with yet another Christian who managed to hit the stupid wall?

Do You Care About Peace, Or Being “Right(eous)?

Hard question number two follows closely with number one: The LGBT community has been asking for peace and equality within the sanctity of law. Equality needed to happen, but it seems that since the LGBT won marriage equality, many of you (not all) are doing little more than inciting Christians to fight with you. I’ve warned about this type of behavior before. Inciting a fight does nothing but…well…incite a fight. What happened to the message of peace and equality, and do you still even care? Do you want Christians on your side? I’m not feeling very safe on this side of the line. How long, I wonder, before you turn the mob mentality against me?

Kim Davis VS Social Justice

So this is necessary?

Kim Davis is going to lose her battle of religion vs law. She lost the battle against social justice warriors the minute she refused to sign a marriage certificate. Please take a moment to realize what this witch hunt has been about: a piece of paper. I’m not saying it’s not important to uphold the law. I’m not saying Kim Davis was in the right. But, in the aftermath, the social justice warriors have once again proven they can be just as wrong.

The street goes both ways. You can’t bully people after telling them they can’t bully you. You can’t burn crosses in people’s backyards when you’ve told them it’s wrong. You can’t tell a group of people exactly how to think when you’ve demanded to be free to think for yourself.

Let's allow the law to handle Mrs. Davis. I promise you, they will take care of the problem one way or another.

James Neal writes fantasy, both novel-length (Of Blood and Blade) and shorter stories (Paints the Invisible Eye). He’s also on social media, so are tires, but we digress. Click to join us on:

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Westoboro Baptist Church...Tries...to Protest in Camdenton, MO

Westboro Baptist Church decided to protest the LGBT community in my hometown today, March 27, 2015. Knowing this in advance, me and a friend tried to set up a protest of their protest…and I wasn't expecting too much of a turnout. I was delightfully surprised.

With four members of the WBC protesting, they were outnumbered by more than 5-1. Nobody caused a fight, though a few “choice” words were thrown at the WBC. The leader of the group, whose name escapes me, was a woman who danced joyfully to the tune of her own hateful spite; but Camdenton locals held their signs up against her and her small crew, all but blighting them from sight of the roads. When they tried to chant, bikers revved up their motorcycles to drown out the sound. It was epic. It was…fun.

The WBC had told local police they would protest from 2:40 pm until 3:10 pm, they ended up leaving nearly fifteen minutes early. The cause is, to my knowledge, unknown, but they packed up their signs and boom-box and headed, supposedly, to Jefferson City. So long, WBC.

*PICTURES*

"WBC You Have FAILED This City," was both my idea, and the sign I held. The poster itself was made by the awesome Rory Williams, a transgender ftm.

The "Team Douchebag" Dilemma

I just read Chris Kluwe’s antagonistic attack on the group of people behind the hashtag, #Gamergate. You know what? I give up.

I don’t support any group anymore.

I don’t support the Christians because only those who are fanatical and dangerous get any screen time. I won’t support the atheists because, let’s face it, all you do is get antagonistic towards Christians and Catholics, but somehow you’re okay with Buddhism. I won’t support the LGBT community past my own personal friends anymore, because you use the exact same scare tactics that “normal” people use to make us afraid of you. I don’t support the current US government because, let’s face it folks, they don’t like anybody anymore. Maybe terrorists. That might be pushing a little, I don’t know anymore.

Bad Plan James, Bad Plan

Yep, and don’t think I’m unaware. But I need you to hear exactly what I’m saying. Until groups stop using the same tactics that men in power used against blacks, then women, then LGBT, I’m not listening to you anymore. Each of you seems to have a great message to improve the quality of the human condition…until you fall into the very trappings of intimidation and name-calling used to keep you down.

Yes, I’m white. Yes, I’m a male. Yes, there is a stereotype, perpetuated by YOUR GROUPS, saying I’m obviously a small-dicked, small-minded, overly-educated swine rolling in a mountain of money…but I can’t use the electrochemical signals in my nervous system for anything more than looking up keywords for porn. Fuck you. Seriously…fuck you.

You know what though? It’s not even your fault. It’s human nature. “I’m being done wrong, so I’mma do wrong back until the system changes.” Except…how has that worked out for us thus far? Groups fight groups that fight groups that are fighting groups.  Always has been, and it seems to be working out for us so far. Is it?

The Constant Fighting Needs to Stop

You know the current system isn’t working. You have to, when you’re in bed thinking about how to survive tomorrow, you know the system isn’t built for you. When you get on the computer and troll whatever douchebag is spouting off against your group, you’ve gotta know doing that won’t help anybody. Everything we do right now only lights the Chicago fire ever brighter, and friends, Chicago turned to white ashes ages ago. That’s what fighting fire with anonymous fire does…it creates a bigger fire which us pyros love to watch and it makes us feel better for a minute…but it doesn’t solve anything. Fighting doesn’t calm the spirit, name-calling literally does nothing but bring out the fight in everybody else. Am I getting through to you yet? No?

We’re ALL Douchebags Right Now

Chris Kluwe is a douchebag. I’m a douchebag, and you’re one, too. We are Team Douchebag, and never has there been a prouder group in the history of the planet. I can say this so I will say it, damn the consequences. As long as we can paint our enemies as evil, vilify them to the point that a few hundred to a few hundred thousand other douchebags agree with me, saying this is okay. Cause I’ve got numbers behind me. That is tribalism at its absolute worst. America and yes, the rest of the world, is ripe with douche-baggery, and it’s so common as to be accepted as part of societal norms. Our news uses it, every internet forum uses it, and we use it when we discuss matters among our friends and neighbors. We count on tribalism to keep us safe.

It’s working. You are certainly safe in most cases. But, like everything else humans seem to touch, we take it too far. We make threats to each other. Cause another tribe harm because otherwise, they might harm us. Or, worse yet, they can’t do anything about it. Our game is about fucking other tribes so hard they can’t even retaliate. Survival of the fittest, right?

Humiliation. Laws. Logic. Science. Death. Bodily harm. Threats. These are the tools that modern tribes use against each other in the grand chess game currently unfolding around us. Black pieces vs white pieces vs purple pieces vs rainbow colored pieces vs red white and blue pieces vs every damned color piece under the planet. Only one tribe can be right. Right? Tribes equal labels, people. And, as we have already discovered, labels are lacking in details.

What if we only had one label for each other? I’ve decided we’re all douchebags, but that isn’t even quite fitting, is it? Is it? What if we were all just people? What if every law was written for people? Not for/against women, blacks, whites, Asians, LGBT, Senators, Republicans, Catholics, Christians, Conservatives, Liberals, Donkeys, Elephants, military, law enforcement, criminals, the mentally ill, atheists, gamers, or any other label under the sun? Without labels, would the world work better? Worse?

Unfortunately, I don’t have that answer. What I do know, is the current system isn’t working. And so do you. So does Chris Kluwe. So do the members of #Gamergate. None of us should be so entitled to think we can vilify an umbrella name, a tribe…when there are individual people in that tribe who simply don’t fit under one label, who aren’t in just one situation.

Yet, Team Douchebag acts like the most entitled, small-minded prick on the planet. No, not acting…living the worst possible stereotype in the history of the planet. We can do better, people.

American Dirt: the Schoolyard Fight Effect

You’re all acting like 12 year olds. No, not you. You either. Individually, it seems that all of us realize that something is wrong with the American public. Yet, as pigs to the slaughter, we run each other over not realizing everyone is heading for the axe.

The God believers, the atheist-scientists, the LGBT community, and the US government are all herding each other towards imminent destruction. Why? So that one group can, finally, prove that they were right all along? For superiority? To sing and dance in the street (cause generally you can do that anyway, I’ve done it)?

There is a lot of flap going around that the US government is using the stereotypes, fears, and economic failure to keep the current generations upset and less concerned with what the government may be doing behind closed doors. If that’s the case, then there is little surprise as to why these other three groups are fighting. If it isn’t the case, well, the US government isn’t helping things resolve, either.

Living in this modern world, as an adult and parent, feels a bit like this: I have to be the epitome of adult-ness, i.e. pay taxes, work, follow the law, follow every new politically correct term presented so I don’t offend anybody, raise kids, ‘fess up to my mistakes, and generally go to extreme lengths to make everyone else happy. 

In the meantime, I’m pandering to assholes like you who are still adults but, because you’re a serious member of one of these four groups, get to act like a fucking 12 year old kid.

I realize that you are passionate about your beliefs. That’s fine, I’m passionate about mine too. I also understand that, to some effect, some beliefs are rather ridiculous when thinking about them from a logical standpoint. That’s also fine, to a point. It’s long been held that new ideas push a civilization forward. It helps us mold the world, make it better, make it…livable.

But pure, unfettered resistance to the old guard doesn’t produce a better world, it makes it volatile. So does sardonically holding onto old beliefs without room for new ideas.

Let me put it to you this way:

Two kids are playing kickball on the playground. Bobby believes in God, Gus is an atheist.

Suddenly, Gus tells Bobby he’s an idiot for believing in an “Invisible Man.”

How is Bobby going to react? Peacefully? Would you? Not if you have any pride in yourself, or in your beliefs. Let’s turn it around:

Bobby tells Gus that, no matter what kind of proof he has to the contrary, the world is only 6,000 years old.

How is Gus going to react? How would YOU react? If Gus has at least two scientific conclusions stating otherwise, he’s probably going to call Bobby an idiot for believing in the “Invisible Man.”

And the schoolyard fight begins.

Both boys being backed by several people holding the same beliefs as they do, opposite those whom hold separate beliefs. How long can the argument stay grounded when the ripples of like-minded people extends beyond the playground, beyond the school, beyond the city, state, and country? How long before fists start flying and flaying words are used to cut the other person, not to prove anything other than one is better at insulting than the other?

That’s where we are at, you 12 year old bastards. Cat-fighting like pre-teenage girls instead of the adults you purport to be. You’re not even trying to make the world better anymore. You just want to be right. How much energy have you wasted arguing with someone over matters of the past when you could PUT THAT SHIT ASIDE and work together to make today, and tomorrow, better for everyone?

Calling names, beating someone down with words, is not going to fix the problem, only exacerbate the situation. Stop acting like you know it all, and go prove it. Fix something…I don’t care if you’re an atheist-scientist fixing the global warming problem, a priest settling a person’s soul so they don’t feel ousted and in need of drugs or killing or violence, if you’re in the government creating a system of healthcare that is built around curing people instead of money, or an LGBT member with an idea that will show married gay/lesbian couples won’t destroy American morality (what’s left of it, am I right?). Stop telling me you’re the better person. Go out there, do something with your life that isn’t gutting the opposite sides, and prove your worth not to me, but to all humanity.