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I Was Way Too Soft On The Texas Bishops: Even The Nazi’s Had Lists

I Was Way Too Soft On The Texas Bishops: Even The Nazi’s Had Lists

Last updated on: June 21, 2018 at 1:49 pm by Christy Thomas

I Was Way Too Soft On The Texas Bishops: Even The Nazi’s Had Lists 2018-06-21T13:49:37-05:00 Christy Thomas

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So in retrospect, I want to say this: I was not nearly hard enough on those Texas Bishops yesterday. Frankly, even the Nazi’s kept better records than it looks like our border guards have done. At least they had lists.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the press release came out with the letter the Texas Bishops of The United Methodist Church wrote about the situation with the desperate immigrants on the southern border of the US. In that letter, they began by “commending” President Trump for his response.

To put it mildly, I was furious. To commend a man whose unnecessary actions has brought so much harm to so many makes no sense. I titled my post, “Texas Bishops Suck Up To Trump.”

The Texas Bishops commend Trump for snatching children

Children snatched by Trump may wait forever to be reunited with parents.

I’ve gotten some interesting feedback from some, including those who think these Bishops could not possibly have compromised their witness. Instead, they were “pastoral” by their statement.

So in retrospect, I want to say this: I was not nearly hard enough on those Texas Bishops yesterday.

By their “pastoral commendation” they have become participants in one of the most evil acts any President of the US has ever inflicted on this nation.

Let me reframe Trump’s actions as a parable.

A man, let’s call him “Donnie,” decides he wants to become a United Methodist clergyperson. He goes through the process outlined by the Board of Ordained Ministry, skipping as many steps as possible, doing sloppy work in other areas, and managed to pay people to hide bits of his unsavory sexual past for which he has never shown repentance.

The majority of the BOOM voted against him, but a glitch in the process resulted in his ordination, thus making it a requirement that his Bishop find a clergy appointment for him.

Donnie, very sure of his own abilities, expects the best appointment in the conference–the most prestigious church, the highest salary, the most generous perks. When he discovers he will have to work his way up within the system, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

With his henchmen around him, he kidnaps the Bishop’s wife and underage daughter. He and his henchmen then break into the Conference office, tie up his administrative assistant, and slams open the door to the Bishop’s private office. He then starts showing a live video feed of his wife and underage daughter, held at gunpoint.

He tells the Bishop, “Either appoint me to the best church, the one with the country club membership for the pastor so I can play golf every weekend, or I will make sure your wife and young daughter are repeatedly gang-raped. Once I finish with them, I will start on the children of your District Superintendents.”

“Don’t worry: you’ll see them again someday. They won’t be too badly damaged. Nothing a little therapy can’t fix.”

The Bishop, aghast, calls his DS’s to the office to confer with them. In the meantime, Donnie’s henchmen, themselves clergy seeking better appointments and planning to ride Donnie’s coattails, begin to get a little uncomfortable with the situation. They began to talk, over and over to Donnie, about the nature of his decision and that it might not turn out well for him, or for them, his loyal supporters.

Finally, Donnie relents and says, “OK, I may have pushed that a little too far. I’m not going to do this after all. But don’t forget, I have all your home addresses and know where your kids go to school. I can always start this again later if I don’t get what I want.”

The Bishop and the DS’s immediately offer their commendations to Donnie and promise him to consider favorably his demand for such an appointment.

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

Really? More than likely, they’d call the police and insist, “lock him, and his supporters, up.”

This is exactly what the real “Donnie” has done to the US. “Either give me what I want, the fourth-century technology of a border wall that will cost about 20 BILLION dollars (much of which will go into the pockets of various construction companies he probably secretly owns), or I will make sure these children, carelessly incarcerated in overstuffed baby jails, staffed by outside contractors overstuffing their corporate pockets, never see their parents again.”

It’s called taking hostages. We do not reward or “commend” people who take hostages and then give them up. We “lock them up.”

What Trump has already done gets worse. There is growing evidence that the removal of the children from their parents was inadequately documented. Many of those trying to cross the border are totally illiterate. Primarily dirt farmers, they flee horrific circumstances in their home countries.

They don’t know how to spell their children’s names, nor could they read them if they did. Those given an 800 number often reach no one. Or were given the wrong number. Or, should someone answer, they have no information. Many of these children have been flown far from Texas. Some of the parents have already been deported and have no way to find their children again.

The grisly reality: To date, there is not one single plan to reunite the more than 2000 children that Trump has already snatched from their parent’s arms and it is likely many will never be reunited.

Frankly, even the Nazi’s kept better records than it looks like our border guards have done. At least they had lists.

We do not “commend” people for those actions. This is pure evil, and the evil started at the top. Trump wants credit for the economy and his tax plan that fills the pockets of the rich? Then he gets credit for an evil that rivals anything the world has seen to date.

If the Texas Bishops want to commend that evil, then perhaps it is time they look for other work. This is just sickening.

Photo credit: Geraint Rowland Photography on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC

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June 20, 2018

Texas Bishops Suck Up to Donald Trump

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June 27, 2018 Trump And Jesus: What Reading The Wall Street Journal Has Taught Me

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