The rally in Tulsa is going ahead. The hate in the air will be thick. Very thick. Vitriol and violent rhetoric will be spewed, as will the accompanying spittle coming from the mouths of the attendees. People won’t be socially distanced and they won’t be wearing masks. They will travel from around the state and around the country to take part in this ritual of racial ignorance, this monument to mendacity for morons. The pent-up ire of trump cannot be satisfied with mere tweets, no matter how vile. No, a rally is what is needed. A rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma originally scheduled for 19 June is what he feels the ailing US needs right now. In the midst of a once again rising tide of Covid-19 infections, an economy in tatters, and racial unrest unseen at this level since the 1960s, a president will hold a rally that is sure to exacerbate all three issues by virtue of exacerbating the first and the last. Oklahoma plays no strategic role in the electoral math. It’s in no danger of turning from a deep red into something more violet or purple. So, what’s it all about?
The optics and the potential for mayhem are what are really at play here. The chance for there to be unrest and violence and disorder while the president is inside explaining in all too familiar language how he alone can supress the crowds. How he can ‘dominate’ the unruly protesters. And if there are pictures of fires or battles with police or damage to property, the ‘I told you so’ propaganda will begin in earnest. And this is what trump and his minions want. They want his words to reflect what people see on their tv screens. Never mind the digital imaging chicanery and disingenuous editing and storytelling. Anything more than peaceful protest will be grotesquely twisted to show a mob. And if that doesn’t pan out for them, I am under no illusion that there will be people within these crowds that are there to do more than peacefully protest. Be it provocateurs or genuine people on our side that want a confrontation.
I say let these people have their rally and pay them no heed. I say let these magats and sycophants enter their temple to intolerance with a gigantic police presence but not a protester in sight. I know that may be unrealistic and protesters will be there but I can just imagine what a big FU that would be to trump and to the rw media camped out waiting for the fight. Don’t let the story of the rally be the protests. The story of the rally will ultimately be the spread of Covid into the communities from where these people come from. Not the hateful words and lies that an increasing cross section of the voting public are coming to view as just that. We can have our protests in peace elsewhere. And if you must attend the rally site, I implore you to not engage with the police and counter protesters. Don’t shout. Wear masks and make a show of being socially distanced. Show the assembled media what a crowd of people should look like these days. Let that be the story. The juxtaposition between what is happening outside and what is happening inside. Have your recording devices handy and be safe. But maybe, just maybe, consider not going at all. Because as that age old philosophical question posits,
If an irresponsible trump hate fest is held in a deep red state and the media interest isn’t there to bear witness, does it make a sound?