Sickos and Cranks #1 - Scum of Society
Stochastic anti-LGBT violence in this country is a coordinated effort by the worst elements of the right-wing media
(The cover image for this post is what was generated when I put the keyword “screaming Republican” into an AI art generator lol)
It started out as a seemingly benign Twitter account that would post cringe-inducing liberals on TikTok doing things that otherwise ordinary people would find weird. After all, who doesn’t love laughing at the Democrats when they do something like the Kente cloth Kaepernick kneel? Most people further right and left than the mainstream liberal hivemind agree that the performative Democrats are usually weird and off-putting. This cannot be denied even by the biggest DNC shill.
However, this meme account has grown into a literal terrorist organization. LibsOfTikTok, run by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent, has ballooned into an outspoken anti-LGBT —mainly the T— outlet that promotes stories such as the debunked school culture war stories referenced in my last piece on the School Satanic Panic. The strategy of this account, along with other cranks banging these culture war drums is to direct stochastic terror against their enemies, plain and simple. This weekend, they accomplished their goal; a gay bar in the conservative town of Colorado Springs was shot up by a psychotic anti-LGBT foe. Words cannot express the sorrow and horror created by this kind of violence, not just against a protected class of vulnerable minorities, but against basically the only enclave of pro-LGBT sentiment in the community. I have no words other than that I hope justice (which frequently is not done in this country to those who commit heinous acts like this) will be carried out in a swift manner.
I do not support the death penalty. But I believe you could make an argument for the summary execution of Chaiya Raichik, Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and all of their disgusting, hateful ilk. The shooter himself was apprehended by patrons of the bar, one of whom was separated from his family for more than an hour by the police in the aftermath of the attack. Another W for the police! I believe that this person, who allegedly had previously perpetrated a bomb threat (???) should have received some type of psychiatric treatment in an intensive setting. I believe that this person’s motives for committing that original act should have been thoroughly evaluated in order to figure out exactly the cause of his mental illness. I believe that this person should not have been allowed to consume media in the same manner that most Americans do, in order to try and reduce the chance of brainwashing from our caustic and cancerous social and traditional media apparatuses that can reshape someone’s personality wholly. Above all, I believe that this person should not have been allowed to possess or purchase — or frankly, be in the vicinity of — firearms.
The causes are multiple, just like most American problems, but the inciting factor of this specific act of violence is the mire of muck, cynically and dishonestly raked by the most vitriolic vomiters of anti-LGBT rhetoric in the country. These vile, barely-human cretins are responsible for the destruction of lives, peace, and security that their radicalized guerrillas commit. However, much like the shooters in Buffalo, El Paso, Church of Life Synagogue, Isla Vista, Christchurch, NZ, and countless more, this hateful ideology and rhetoric that emerges from the far-right, on both traditional and social media, is clearly spurring people to violence.
On Sickos & Cranks, usually I examine a specific piece of media and do my best to refute the points within based on my (correct) Marxist understanding of the world, using dialectical and historical materialism, and a small dose of wit, to demystify the fabrications spun by dishonest actors. In this case, there is no real piece of media to examine. I was thinking about looking at “What is a Woman,” Matt Walsh’s quest to learn what a woman is due to the fact that he’s not allowed within 150 feet of any, but it is an older piece of media, and would most likely result in the destruction of whatever screen I watch it on. Therefore, I will leave this entry here, as my first, but not true first, post in what I hope to make a regular series in the future.
I also want to express my sympathy to those who are reeling from this tragedy. Stories like this are not something I can or want to formulate funny or lighthearted commentary on. However, I think it’s an incredibly important thing to talk about. These right-wing demons must be defeated, at all costs.
They’ve made it clear it’s us or them. We should take them at their word, and act accordingly.
-H