Everyday Erinyes #50

It's another week when I have many items which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them. But, as it is so close to the election, I think I will confine myself to a few (representative, if not comprehensive) concerning supporters of Donald J. Trump. Not Trump himself. Because whatever happens, we will still have these supporters walking among us, and we will need all the help we can get dealing with them. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

This last Sunday evening, October 30, in Menomonie, WI, a young man named Hussain Saeed Alnahdi went out, presumably to do some socializing before classes resumed on Monday.  Around 2:00 a.m., witnesses said they saw a man attack him in front of Topper's Pizza.  Evidently they described the attacker as "a white male about six feet tall," since that is the description of the man for whom the police are looking.  The attacker fled, leaving Alnahdi unconscious and bleeding.  After police arrived, he briefly regained consciousness, and was transported to Mayo Clinic Health System in Menomonie, then transferred by helicopter to Mayo Clinic Eau Claire.

The next day he died.

He had been enrolled in a program to study business administration at the University of Wisconsin Stout.  "Hussain selected UW Stout because Menomonie WI is a very safe place with a strong English program and classes to help him as a business major.  He was quickly becoming fluent in English and had many friends both among the Saudi students and Americans from around the country."

Since the killer has not yet been apprehended, you may say I can't really tie this to Trump.  I beg to differ.  I can and I do.

We need to wake up to the risk of a Trump presidency or even a close election that empowers his supporters to carry out the violence that is threatened toward immigrants and Muslims.  A family in Saudi Arabia has lost their beloved child and a community of learners has been shattered by this cruel act.  This may not turn out to be a hate crime, but that our thoughts immediately go this direction for a reason.  We can’t be this kind of nation.

A little earlier, Saturday the 29th to be precise, in Allen Park, MI, a Donald Trump supporter in Michigan pointed a gun at six kids he suspected of destroying a yard sign favoring the Republican presidential candidate.

It appears – the story is a little hazy – but it appears Michael Robert Kubek called police, or got his mother to call police, to report his sign had been damaged by "teenagers" who then ran off.  When the officer arrived he was not at his home, but at a corner up the block, holding a gun on six children aged 12 to 14 who were sitting in the grass.  Yelling.  Cursing, actually.

If he expected the officer to arrest the juveniles, he was disappointed. 

The officer asked Kubek if he witnessed any of the juveniles that were sitting on the grass destroy the sign. According to police, Kubek responded that he did not. He also responded to the officer that he does not have security cameras that could offer proof as to who may have destroyed his lawn sign.

The officer told Kubek to go back to his house so he could talk to the kids about what happened.

One of the children was celebrating a birthday. They told an officer they were heading to a nearby park to “hang out.” The youngsters said when they got to the corner of Pennsylvania and Sterling, Kubek ran up to them and started cursing, calling them vulgar names.

The juveniles told police Kubek accused them of damaging his sign, then he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at them. He then told them to sit down on the grass.

The kids said they tried to tell Kubek they did not damage his sign, but it only resulted with Kubek telling them to shut up and continue cursing at them. They said Kubek held them at gunpoint while his mother called police. According to police, Kubek’s mother lives on the same block.

The officer said he talked with each kid individually and they all confirmed that Kubek pointed a gun at them. Each of them also gave written statements of their account of the incident.

Kubek told the officer he was upset because a week earlier his house was egged and his political signs damaged.

On the night of the incident, Kubek said he heard a group of kids outside his house. When he looked outside, his sign was on the ground and the kids were running away.

The officer asked him again if he could identify any of the kids as the one who damaged his sign, but Kubek repeated that he could not.

Kubek was arrested for felonious assault. His Concealed Pistol License was confiscated.  He was arraigned Tuesday and harged with six counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of felony firearm.  He was (alas) allowed to post bond.

Moving along, in Raleigh, NC, there is a community minister named John Pavlovitz, who may need you to put on your Eumenides hats and protect him from actual harm.  Because he has just told the truth about all those "Christian" men and their attitude toward women (Please Note:  Any resemblance between Christian Right men and actual Christian men is highly unlikely, but should it occur, purely coincidental.)

In a recent blog, Pavlovitz bluntly tells Christian women/all women that they don’t matter to these right-wing religious zealots who build up and defended Trump and the misogyny he brings to the table. Pavlovitz says Trump feels it’s okay to physically force himself on women and that seems to be natural and acceptable to “Men on the Christian Right” who believe “God is a dude and the woman brought sin.”

Pavlovitz says in their twisted patriarchal world, the men on the Christian Right think all men act like Trump, all men talk this way, all men think this way, but adds, “No, we don’t—but they do.”

And that the real reason they are acting as they do may be worse than you thought:

The real reason they’re doing it, is because to them you aren’t worth defending; not your intelligence or your gifts or your worth. As a result, your consent isn’t really a concern either; you may have noticed that. It’s why, in their minds sexual misconduct almost never occurs, and when it does, it’s because you were dressed too provocatively or sending mixed signals, or because their motives were misinterpreted.They don’t believe you have the right to say or no or to be offended. If anything, they believe you should be flattered. This is the hubris of men who think God made you as an accessory.”

The fact that men of intelligence and principle also exist doesn't, unfortunately mean, that the other kind – the kind Pavlovitz describes, won't also be around, and that for a long, long time.  Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, you may have noticed I didn't make any suggestions here about who should handle what, or how.  Because it is going to be a work in progress.  I trust you three to apportion it out and follow it up.  Thank you, all three, for being who you are.

The Furies and I will be back.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4019481