Over on the Book of Face, David Mills notes a moment when the scalding lava of MAGA hatred spurted out with a fury that should disgust every decent person in the world:
One of the emails I get led me to an article on American Greatness of astonishing moral ugliness. (Never mind the horribly over-written prose, of the sort that makes you suspect the writer is actually twelve.) Here’s an example. Alexander Zubatov is writing about homeless people in New York City, apparently alcoholic or mentally ill.
[[[ I know the unyielding ukase of my educated pedigree and those who share it is that empathy and compassion are the only sanctioned responses to this sorry spectacle. But that would require me to rationalize my way out of a feeling and override all my sound, sane animal instincts.
Those instincts are of pre-cognitive repulsion and disgust, and I refuse to let them go. I refuse to humanize those who cannot be bothered to lift a finger to humanize themselves. The mentally ill need our care. The rest need the whip. In the long run, all of us—they most of all—will be thankful for it. ]]]
When he writes this, he has just described the first homeless person he meets on his walk as “a teetering, drooling zombie barely maintaining the accustomed vertical orientation of humanity—its head, neck, and back doubling over further and further, heavy eyelids drooping down time and again on the remaining vestiges of any consciousness to which it only weakly clings.” You will have noticed that “its.”
The article is titled “We Are Living in the Ruins of Our Civilization,” but ironically, Zubatov is himself a perfect example of the ruins of our civilization. A much better, a much purer, example than the poor homeless people he dehumanizes.
As a practical test, try to think of any of the great heroes and exemplars of our civilization who could have written this. Not St. Francis. Not Shakespeare. Not George Washington. Not Jane Austen. Not St. Damien of Molokai or St. Maximilian Kolbe. Not anyone who represents our civilization at its best. Not anyone who expresses, even in an attenuated, secularized way, the deep belief in human dignity. A belief that no one is ever an “it.”
Because one of the marks of our civilization is overcoming what Zubatov calls our “animal instincts” and our “pre-cognitive repulsion and disgust” and treating as human, as human as you and me, those he calls the “sorry spectacle.” Our civilization begins in the belief that being human means rising above our animal instincts, esp. in seeing everyone as a creature made in the image of God, of seeing behind the appearances to the reality. That Zubatov writes as he does shows that he is the one who is uncivilized.
A major MAGA website published this repellent, hateful piece. Is this their idea of “American Greatness”?
The last sentence is the main point. Of course, there are inhumanly cruel and selfish people in the world. The question is, should they be left alone like the wretchedly evil people they are to spew their contempt for the least of these on some dark screen in their mom’s basement? Or should they be platformed by conservative organs of propaganda in order to plant the virus of inhuman cruelty and contempt for human life in as many minds and hearts as possible. American Greatness emphatically endorses the latter.
And don’t lie to me about “Needing to hear all viewpoints”. Nobody needs to hear advocacy of deep evil.
Rather, if we are Christians, we should bear in mind that since at least one homeless person is going to come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, we ought to be careful about the way we treat the rest of them.
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37 Responses
The man speak like a true Übermensch. A few elements essential to his own being may prove to be his downfall among those of pure Arian blood and skullshape though.
i cannot for the life of me see how anyone could possibly reconcile the sentiments he expressed with the New Testament.
Utah a few years back launched “Housing First” which got the homeless housing BEFORE any other preconditions were met, and it turned out to be far more effective than demanding they solve their addictions and other pathologies before they have housing. Why? Because—surprise surprise—turns out their homelessness causes their pathologies, not the other way ‘round. I mean, *you* try living on the streets. Just thinking about it hypothetically I can easily see how it’d drive me insane if that conditioned persisted long enough. The inevitable sleep deprivation alone would be torture.
I’m afraid that for some of those on the right, the lost civilisation the pine for, is not a Christian but a Greco-Roman pagan one. In what Paul calls ”folly to the Greek”, they are the Greeks.
Ironically for someone who owns doubt considers himself pro-life, he writes about the homeless like Peter Sanger writes about babies with Down’s Syndrome.
“The mentally ill need our care. The rest need the whip. In the long run, all of us—they most of all—will be thankful for it.”
Well, hey! Fascists gotta fasch, ya know?
He’s a right wing commentator and a lawyer. He represents the hyper conservative mindset. He assumes he will be the one holding the whip. What else is new?
But wait! He’s also a poet!
russians are red.
Violence are blue.
I hate you.
And you. And you.
Russian poet and lawyer, dreaming away about how he stands, decked out by the Black and Silver department of Hugo Boss, in the middle of village 20 miles south of Smolenks. Dwelling among the ruins of our civilisation, he wonders whether the whip or the bullet would be the more merciful approach when dealing with these mixed-race people with sunken eyes, huddling in their shtetls.
Nothing to see here folks. Just a concerned an conservative citizen.
@arteveide
How am I going to earn a living and not end up on the receiving end of Zubatov’s Critical People Theory if you go around helping yourself to my sarcasm? Huh?
As a friend of mine commented once…
The Russians will always want a czar.
@ Ben
Not only will I help myself to your sarcasm, I will also point out that you haven’t spelled my name correctly yet :p
@artevelde
I’s and l’s is indistinguishable. Blame it on my eyes, but don’t consign me to ‘el.
@Ben,
I identify very much with Latin culture sometimes despairing over my own, but Lemmee tell you …crossing over to Germany after two months in Paris almost made me kiss the ground. Even the freeway signs looked familiar. I love order. Around that time there were about 400 serious injuries per year from Parisians skidding on dog poop left on the sidewalk.
@ Taco,
Hahaha. I know exactly what you mean and feel the same. Of course I do, living on that -sometimes almost invisible – border between the Germanic and the Romance.
I once told a Viennese couple that Vienna was so very clean. I meant disgustingly clean, to the point that it became disturbing and could only breed a gazillion Freudian perversions behind closed curtains, but I didn’t say that.
They told me ”NO, Vienna is dirty. You should visit Salzburg”
I never went to Salzburg.
@arteveLde
Lucerne would acre the living ‘ell out of you then. At least, 40 years ago, it would have. I postulated invisible armies of zwergen as the only possible explanation. They even scare the Germans.
Since David Mills mentioned Father Damien, I started googling a bit. Apparently my countryman is the only non-American who has a statue in the capitol.
Artevelde,
I was once scrolling through some channels and happened upon a documentary on the life of Fr. Damien. I was enthralled. The voice of the narrator kept nagging at me. He was both reverent and passionate. It finally dawned on me that it was none other than Robin Williams.
I love a good paradox. –Like Belgium 🙂
Father Damien’s time on Molokai more or less coincides with the time during which atrocities were committed by Leopold II’s personal regime in Congo. Belgium was also really really close to becoming the first country to recognize the Confederacy.
We’re not entirely clean when it comes to how we treat our black brothers and sisters.
@Artevelde,
Sorry, I wasn’t talking about crimes against humanity, I was teasing you because my son, the know-it-all history buff (I have three like that) was telling me about the origins of Belgium.
Also, my mother has a fully French grandmother (very devout) AND a trace of Congolese, (though she hasn’t accepted that little bombshell from her DNA report).
Oh those naughty French. Always causing a scandal.
@ taco
Now I’m curious; what did your son tell you about the history of belgium that sounded … paradoxical? It’s probably true 🙂
@taco
MArk Twain:
It was Un American! It was Un British!
It was FRENCH!
@Artevelde
According to the know-it-all (now don’t shoot the messenger, because this sounds very insulting to me) He says Europeans say: “Do you want to hear a joke?” When their victim says “yes” they say “Belgium”.
I asked “why?” His answer was something along the lines of, “Belgium is a made up country” and something about the different ethnicities not being terribly compatible. Like cabin mates who had no say in the matter when they were sent to camp.
It’s pretty funny coming from a kid that has about 10 different ethnicities in him. Last night when I insisted that he has a bunch of Scotch blood he said, “I’m nothing! Once you have that many things it ceases to make you anything!”
Brrrrrr, sounds a little awful. Twentysomethings are so dramatic.
@ taco
Don’t worry. The average Belgian is more likely to be hurt by someone pouring a Trappist ale in a non-specific glass than he is likely to be hurt by a joke that contains more than a grain of truth.
Your son sounds like a promising young man. A good amount of historical tidbits will serve him well, and is an asset in the company of the like-minded.
(no reply button to your last comment Artevelde)
Thank goodness you aren’t insulted! And thank you for the gracious reply about my fourth born. He’s an interesting kid –like Jacob wrestling with an angel.
When my husband goes out of town he and I binge watch travel shows from around the globe on You Tube. He curates everything he thinks I would want to watch because he’s seen them all (some of them multiple times). I think he will end up living in Europe. Life is too bland here for his tastes.
I haven’t seen much of Europe at all. Even my children have visited more. My parents were able to travel pretty extensively, and have art, furniture and trinkets (from places like Salzburg). My father collected beer steins from cities everywhere. I think they’re mostly stolen from cafes. The rogue.
Alas, children interrupted my travel plans. My second was supposed to be born in Paris where we had a family business, but the business turned out to be more than I could take, and the tiny european washing machine was a deal breaker.
jj
@ arteveLde
Father Damien was a very good man, a hero in Hawai’i. The protestants did not do much good in Hawai’i at all. When Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop used her vast wealth to fund the Kamehameha Schools, she specified that teachers there should “forever be of the protestant faith.” That was a slap in the face to Father Damien, especially since the protestant preacher men could not have been bothered less by the hell endured by native Hawaiians and the chinese laborers due to the introduced disease of leprosy.
They did nothing. He gave his life.
That provision of her trust was challenged in Hawai’i, and upheld by the Hawaii Supreme Court. That should never have happened. It was understandable, because that will was made under a different set of laws during the monarchy. But it is what happens when one religion is given preference over another.
“The protestants did not do much good in Hawai’i at all. ”
Ben, I’m told the joke about the Missionaries was “They came to do good. And they sure did right well.”
Their descendants prospered mightily. And the local folks are still frequently impoverished, lost lands, all that –familiar story.
Another vAriation…
In the beginnning, the missionaries had the bible and the Hawaiians had the Land. In the end, the missionaries had the land and the Hawaiians had the bible.
That joke was old in Hawaii when I first heard it 50 years ago.
An addendum: and their children and grandchildren did right well indeed. It’s not something you want to get me started on. At least in 1993 or thereabouts, Bill Clinton apologized for the theft of the islands by the US. Pretty much a hollow apology, because there was no talk about giving it back. There is really no one to give it to, in any case. There is one Kawananakoa who is the rightful heir left, but she is 97, I think now. There are a few other Kawananakoa left besides her, but I’m not sure what their relationship to Abigail is.
More of the evil fruit of Luther’s revolt against God’s Church. Christians before the Reformation would never have countenanced giving one religion preference over another.
I’m afraid the Jews, the Cathars, the Hussites, the pagans, and the gnostics in all of the various incarnations would have disagreed.
Say what?? Surely the opposite is true – or is your tongue firmly in your cheek?
Sarcasm, Ben, I’m channelling a 2005-era Catholic blog comboxer…
@tom
I was poe’d!!!!
I’m glad to hear that. With this story about zubatov, one can never be sure if someone is pulling your leg or amputating it, sometimes, a little rhetorical device known as “/s” comes in handy. 😬🤪😉
@Artevelde
Yeah.
“The strong do what they can, the weak endure what they must.”
A pretty good summary of the sentiment expressed in that article.
I feel like some Republicans have become the villains from the cartoons of my childhood. The types whose only personality trait is delighting in how self consciously evil they are. This experience of a homeless man could easily have been uttered by a pretentious man named Silas Sleaze in a show like Captain Planet. That it was a real opinion expressed by a real person is what makes it so disturbing.
@ lucky
I’ll disagree with you slightly. Two things:
1. What makes it disturbing is not so much that it’s a real opinion by a real person, but that he would probably describe himself as a good person, maybe even a kind and generous and concerned person. And dare I say it, hopefully without calling down Mark’s wrath, a good Christian?
And
2. He is writing for people who will hear what he has to say and agree with him…and he knows it.
I thought, surely, Mark, or David Mills, is exaggerating. I’ll look at the whole article.
Good, grief! Not only the article – of which the quoted bit is by no means the most horrifying – but the other articles on that site are … breath-taking, to say the least.
jj
Reminds me of the time we went to San Francisco with the BIL, a proud Dittohead. He looked down on the homeless filling the streets there, while I felt terrible because I had very little money and couldn’t help them all. In those days I was still Republican, but had trouble associating the right-wing with the Christianity I had read about in my Bible.
“a teetering, drooling zombie barely maintaining the accustomed vertical orientation of humanity—its head, neck, and back doubling over further and further, heavy eyelids drooping down time and again on the remaining vestiges of any consciousness to which it only weakly clings.”
Stroke? Parkinson’s?
A person who has these, with no social support, can not hold down a job, and is destined for homelessness without any social support. This charitable thought is expunged from Zubatov’s mind, replaced only with contempt.
Libertarianism predisposes selfishness. Selfishness predisposes suspicion. Suspicion predisposes isolation. Isolation predisposes madness.
So it is that libertarianism, especially when taken to an extreme and not balanced by logic OR empathy, predisposes madness.
This is an ideology that presupposes every human being you meet is some “thing” to make a profit on.
The irony for society then, is that libertarianism actually predisposes tyranny – the lack of freedom, as the more ambitious madmen seek more and more profit on the backs of others.
‘… “It started a couple months into the pandemic with the whole anti-lockdown protests,” Bill said. “His feelings were so strong it turned into facts for him. So if he didn’t like having to wear masks it wouldn’t matter what doctors or scientists said. Anything that contradicted his feelings was wrong. So he turned to the internet to find like-minded people which led him to QAnon.” …’
https://www.vice.com/en/article/epnq84/im-a-parkland-shooting-survivor-qanon-convinced-my-dad-it-was-all-a-hoax