Justin Smollett was a victim before he wasn’t a victim. Photo by Sister Circle Live, courtesy of Wikipedia.
After reading about the alleged assault on Jussie Smollett, I wondered how long men have been so hateful?
Then came the answer: Since the Fall of Man.
Still, talking Adam and Eve will grab no one’s attention.
We could “progressively” rewrite another early Bible story:
“Cain, wearing his red cap and a telltale smirk on his face, said to his brother Abel, ‘let us go out in the field.’ Abel, always innocent and thinking they would be heading to the latest, trendiest demonstration, agreed. But Cain attacked Abel and killed him, spouting slurs and declaring that ‘this is MAGA Country.’ “
Even the most atheist of progressives would buy that story.
As for Smollett, the alleged assault appears to be the never-happened assault. Reports continued to come in that Smollett, a singer/actor who is African-American and gay, staged the “assault” to appear he was attacked by racist, homophobic Donald Trump supporters who completed their assault by shouting “This is MAGA Country.”
And Thursday morning, Chicago police arrested Smollett for the alleged hoax.
Initially, reporting the alleged assault seemed a legitimate thing for a news organization to do – although the word “alleged” seemed to not make it into some accounts.
(Even when that bastion of journalism, Entertainment Tonight, referred to it as a “possible homophobic and racially-charged attack,” U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) criticized the use of the word “possible,” tweeting “It’s no one’s job to water down or sugarcoat the rise of hate crimes.”)
There is no such thing as “racially charged.”
This attack was not “possibly” homophobic. It was a racist and homophobic attack.
If you don’t like what is happening to our country, then work to change it. It is no one’s job to water down or sugar-coat the rise of hate crimes. https://t.co/QAi0IYtSeR
Ocasio-Cortez was far from the only one with an uninformed opinion. News reports were smothered by a pile of propaganda – from politicians, media, and, of course, entertainers. This was not only an alleged crime, it was an indictment of the hatefulness of America – especially those who may be supporters of Trump.
Bernie Sanders tweeted: “The racist and homophobic attack on Jessie Smollett is a horrific instance of the surging hostility toward minorities around the country.”
The racist and homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett is a horrific instance of the surging hostility toward minorities around the country. We must come together to eradicate all forms of bigotry and violence. https://t.co/2accVEJrCG
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan – the one who said of our president the day she was sworn into office “we’re gonna impeach impeach the m—–f—–“) tweeted her take: “When one of the most famous black and gay men in America is not safe, the message is clearer than it has ever been: The dangerous lies spewing from the right wing is killing and hurting our people.”
"When one of the most famous black and gay men in America is not safe, the message is clearer than it has ever been." The dangerous lies spewing from the right wing is killing & hurting our people.
CNN’s Brooke Baldwin closed out a report on the alleged assault with “This is America in 2019.”
Actress Ellen Page receives top marks for her hyperbole. With Stephen Colbert acting as the nodding bobblehead, Page said people should “connect the dots” between the attack on Smollett and both Donald Trump and Mike Pence: “If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them, you go through the trouble, you spend your career trying to cause suffering, what do you think is going to happen?”
This Smollett narrative had everything these people want – one, a victim to demonstrate that so much is wrong with America; and, two, another way to blame Trump.
Those subjects are media gold.
Remember when those white, MAGA-hat-wearing Catholic school kids were so disrespectful and threatening to that vulnerable Native American elder last month?
Oh wait, that story turned out false – although media and damning politicians/entertainers were slow to change the narrative. (Now the Washington Post is the first of many to be sued by the family of one of the Covington Catholic students).
I wrote about that Covington case, pointing out that it was another way for the media to distract from the real event that day – the annual March for Life.
The Smollett case is also a distraction. Smollett’s alleged assault took place in Chicago, where 561 homicides occurred last year – and only 17 percent of those cases are likely to be solved. But while murders are taking place at an alarming rate, the Chicago police had to divert substantial manpower to what appears to be a hoax – because playing to the narrative is more important than dealing with the truth.
In his excellent Chicago Tribune column, John Kass writes:
“I’m told that two dozen detectives were assigned to the Smollett case … There were some 18 people killed in Chicago after Smollett began telling his story in late January, that story in which he cast himself as the hero, about having to fight off pro-Trump racists.”
Those other murders won’t receive two dozen detectives on their cases – even one involving a 1-year-old boy shot in the head – because, Kass states, “He’s not a star to be used by politicians in pursuit of power.”
There will be more murders today in Chicago and across our land. There is evil among us – an evil that existed long before the last presidential election.
You fight evil with truth and love, not trendy narratives.
Kevin Thomas is a writer and teacher, living with his wife and children in Standish, Maine.
Justin Smollett was a victim before he wasn’t a victim. Photo by Sister Circle Live, courtesy of Wikipedia. 
