Carpe Diem: 2015.12.04 “Thoughts and Prayers”

It’s that time again, now almost a daily occurrence, for those “Thoughts and Prayers” to be offered upward on behalf of the victims of the killer cop, or killed cop, or the victim of the mass killing of the day, or even the daily ninety deaths from firearms in the “good ole US of A”. The TV images are almost cliché now: the Police Chief (decked out with the stars of a four-star general and even campaign ribbons) giving his best national audience performance taking and fending questions from a press that, as it does, is having an orgasm of wall-to-wall coverage doing stand-ups beside loops of calamity footage.

And lurking behind, awaiting their moment, are the pastors and pols, ready with their opening sentiment: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families and the first responders, etc. etc., blah, blah, blah . . .”. On social media the ”tweets” of 140-character prayers flutter through cyberspace to the deceased and their deities. Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers.

The hypocrisy of much of this smarmy pietism is palpable. It is mostly performance in its utterances, vigils and temporary shrines, all ex post facto, all ignoring or masking the religious bigotry, political scapegoating of immigrants, bending over to the gun lobby, militarization of the police, and governmental lassitude that afflicts the most violence-saturated and religious developed society on the planet. What an insult to the memory of the fallen!

Want to pray for these victims? Okay, try this one: “Oh Lord, please send me a sign or message that explains just why your divine plan almost always seems to result in the slaughter of the innocent and leaves a bunch of lazy hypocrites behind to do nothing but offer their thoughts band prayers. Oh, and while you’re at it, you wouldn’t happen to know this week’s winning Lotto numbers, wouldja?”