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Fed up, a Christian blogger hits back at the so-called complaints of Trump supporters.
Christian blogger John Pavlovitz, who describes himself as “an 18-year ministry veteran trying to figure out how to love people well and to live-out the red letters of Jesus,” doesn’t hold back when it comes to taking on controversial subjects on his self-titled blog which carries the following tag line: “Stuff That Needs To Be Said.”
Last year, he took on the complaints of “offended Christians.” Writing that he finds them wearisome, he published a detailed list of things that make him “tired,” “really tired,” to include the following examples taken from his larger list:
- I’m tired of you being more outraged by red coffee cups and department store restrooms than by poverty and racism and gun violence and our crumbling school system.
- I’m tired of reminding you that the number of times Jesus spoke about gender identity and sexual orientation in the Gospels—is zero.
- I’m tired of Scientific ignorance being treated as if it’s a Christian virtue.
- I’m tired of so many people believing that “Christian” and “bigot” are synonymous.
Earlier this year, he took on white Trump supporters criticizing Pres. Barack Obama. Written in the form of an open letter, Pavlovitz included a list of perfect responses to their sentiment that they finally weren’t “embarrassed by America and our president.” Below are a couple of examples:
- Were you embarrassed by his lone and enduring twenty-five year marriage to a strong woman he’s never ceased to publicly praise, respect, or cherish?
- Were you embarrassed by his eloquence, his quick wit, his easy humor, his seeming comfort meeting with both world leaders and street cleaners; by his bright smile or his sense of empathy or his steadiness—perhaps by his lack of personal scandals or verbal gaffes or impulsive tirades?
He went on to inform those angry white Trump supporters that “you weren’t ’embarrassed’ by Barack Obama.”
- You were threatened by him.
- You were offended by him.
- You were challenged by him.
- You were enraged by him.
Earlier this week, Pavlovitz took to his blog to defend his ongoing criticism of Trump supporters, explaining that he is not shaming them, that they are doing that all by themselves.
His article, titled “I’m Not Shaming Trump Supporters—Trump Supporters Are,” began with a declaration that he has tried everything to reach Trump supporters:
I tried that over and over and over during the past twelve months; to reach these people on a human level, to understand them, to build a bridge to them, to reach out and let them know that they were welcome to create something redemptive in response to this jagged ugliness— even if they helped create it.
Continuing, he returns to using a list to explain that his efforts failed:
- They still proudly wear their MAGA hats.
- They still loudly sing his praises.
- They still contend he is an actual Christian.
- They still applaud his nonsensical, vile, petulant ramblings as simply, “telling it like it is.”
- They still pretend he is normal or qualified or admirable.
- They still lap up and get drunk on the Fox News Kool-Aid.
Pavlovitz writes that the brazen racist behavior of Trump supporters occurs:
because they have been specifically emboldened by a President who has shown that this behavior reflects whatever is left of his heart, that he will not speak out against it, that he in fact applauds it through Cabinet appointments and policy decisions and incendiary Tweets—and because people who support him will find a way to make it appear justified or normal or Constitutional.
Continuing, he writes that he is “through coddling indecency under the guise of ceremonial unity,” that he is “over giving sickness a wide berth in the name of some surface level decorum,” that he is “done protecting the supposed feelings of people who have shown time and time again, they lack even the most microscopic levels of empathy for those most violated and assailed in this country right now.”
He writes that he is not shaming Trump supporters,
- Forcing an adult human being to be responsible for their sickening alliances isn’t shaming them.
- Placing specific examples of the cancerous violence they’ve helped release since November isn’t shaming them.
- Demanding accountability for their toxic political affiliations isn’t shaming them.
Continuing, he writes that: “This is establishing ownership. It’s the clear proclamation, that in the face of the most corrupt, incompetent, reckless, dangerous person to occupy the White House:”
- Their silence is shameful.
- Their enabling is shameful.
- Their rationalizing is shameful.
- Their normalizing is shameful.
- Their chest-thumping is shameful.
“Bringing these things up is not shameful—and I’m not going to feel the slightest guilt about it,” he explains.
He concluded his article, writing:
These are adults and they should have seen enough already. If suggesting that protesters during the campaign be roughed up didn’t do it, if the “grab them by the pussy” video didn’t do it, if appointing Steve Bannon as right-hand man didn’t do it, if Muslim bans and Mexican walls and ICE raids and Charlottesville didn’t do it, if the beating of two human beings having dinner didn’t do it — I’m not sure we can expect change anymore.
We may have to settle for open condemnation, so that those most in danger know that not everyone is okay with any of this. I’m profoundly, deeply, and unashamedly not okay with any of it. I’m also through apologizing for suggesting that humanity show up and actually be human.
To stand by and watch it all and to do nothing? That would be truly shameful.
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