{"id":124403,"date":"2021-12-06T17:29:24","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T15:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thefreethinker\/?p=124403"},"modified":"2021-12-06T17:29:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T15:29:24","slug":"santa-please-bring-ammo-says-lawmaker-who-opposes-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thefreethinker\/2021\/12\/santa-please-bring-ammo-says-lawmaker-who-opposes-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Santa, please bring ammo’ says lawmaker who opposes violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

LAST\u00a0 year John Kerry, currently serving as the first US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, quipped on Twitter that Kentucky lawmaker Thomas Massie had \u201ctested positive for stupidity.<\/a>\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday, Massie proved Kerry right by posting a grossly insensitive Christmas photo on on social media showing his feeble-minded family all bearing arms and grinning like loons.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

British broadcaster Piers Morgan was among many who was appalled by the picture, as were many others<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image via Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a 2018 interview<\/a>, Massie revealed he was a United Methodist, \u201cworking with my colleagues to help prevent violence and war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Dean Obeidallah, in an op-ed for CNN<\/em><\/a>, said:<\/p>\n

At another time, using guns and ammunition to mark the birth of Jesus Christ\u2013 known as the \u201cPrince of Peace\u201d who preached a message of love \u2013 likely would\u2019ve rankled at least some Christians and gun control advocates. But given that this photo was shared just days after a horrific shooting at Michigan\u2019s Oxford High School<\/a>, in which a 15-year-old is accused of killing four fellow students, it should be insulting to all Americans who value life and decency.<\/em><\/p>\n

Massie\u2019s comment to \u201cplease bring ammo\u201d is all the more disturbing given that the accused Oxford gunman was reportedly searching for ammunition on his phone the day before the shooting, which raised alarm for school officials. I find it difficult to believe that Massie \u2013 an MIT graduate who has served in Congress since 2012 \u2013 was not aware of that fact. At best, Massie\u2019s Christmas card was spectacularly ill-timed, but there seems to be more to it than that.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"
The gormless Massie. Image via YouTube.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Any doubts that Massie released this photo for a reason other than to provoke were answered by Massie himself in the way he responded to those praising as well as slamming his so-called Christmas card. For example, Massie retweeted the comments of conservative podcaster Todd Starnes, who called it the \u201cBest Christmas photo ever!,\u201d while also sharing Anthony Scaramucci\u2019s scathing response (\u201cIf you are running against this a-shole please contact me I will give you dough\u201d).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Obeidallah added:<\/p>\n

Massie\u2019s self-indulgent photo of his family brandishing a range of weapons stands in painful contrast to the grief of the families who are mourning the loss of their loved ones killed in last week\u2019s shooting. <\/em><\/p>\n

Massie should apologize, not only to the families of those killed in last week\u2019s school shooting and others, but also to those who are still recovering from their wounds, such as the 14-year-old girl whose injury from the gunfire meant she was initially placed on a ventilator following surgery. But it\u2019s unlikely Massie will. Compassion and caring appear to be seen as weaknesses in today\u2019s GOP, while intolerance is too often given a pass.<\/em><\/p>\n

Massie will joyfully celebrate this holiday season with his family as he basks in the glory of trolling people with his guns and ammo \u201cChristmas card,\u201d while the families of those who were killed in the Michigan school shooting will bury their children. It\u2019s clear that this lack of humanity is no longer simply a symptom of a Republican party led by former President Donald Trump, who was known for his own inflammatory rhetoric. Instead of that callousness ending with Trump\u2019s 2020 defeat, it\u2019s becoming a staple of today\u2019s GOP.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2022 Please report any typos\/errors to barry@freethinker.co.uk<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019d like to buy me a cup of coffee \u2013 and boy, do I get through a LOT<\/em> of coffee keeping this site active \u2013 please click the link below.<\/h3>\n

\"I'dI\u2019d love a cup of coffee<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAST\u00a0 year John Kerry, currently serving as the first US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, quipped on Twitter that Kentucky lawmaker Thomas Massie had \u201ctested positive for stupidity.\u201d On Saturday, Massie proved Kerry right by posting a grossly insensitive Christmas photo on on social media showing his feeble-minded family all bearing arms and grinning like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3705,"featured_media":124416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[42,9996,10002,9999],"class_list":["post-124403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-idiocy","tag-john-kerry","tag-piers-morgan","tag-thomas-massie"],"yoast_head":"\n'Santa, please bring ammo' says lawmaker who opposes violence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LAST\u00a0 year John Kerry, currently serving as the first US 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