Day 71

Reportedly, Jesus once said, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).

It was an alarming day yesterday.  Our so-called "president," the Bunker Bitch Donald Trump, started the day on a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin.  No transcripts have been made available and no one knows what was said or what they discussed.  But later that day, Trump had a conference call with governors and the full audio of that call did came out. He called the governors "weak" for the way they've been trying to manage the recent protests and associated rioting and looting, and repeatedly said they needed to "dominate" the streets of America.  He said that General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was "in charge," but didn't say of what.  He said he was going to "strongly activate" Attorney General Bill Barr, whatever that means, and then Defense Secretary Mark Esper referred to America's streets, full of American citizens, as a "battlespace" that needed to be "dominated," so that they can get back to "the right normal."  

Next, Trump gave a short address from the Rose Garden, wherein he told America that he was going to "dominate the streets," and he said that "If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents," he will "deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them." 

Then, to apparently show what he meant, he went over to St. John's Episcopal Church, across the street from the White Hose, for a photo op.  The only problem was, a peaceful and lawful protest was  going on there at the time.  Gini Gerbasi, a rector at St. John's, described on Facebook what happened next.

Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John's, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow clergy and laypeople - and clergy from some other denominations too. We were passing out water and snacks, and helping the patio area at St. John's, Lafayette Square to be a place of respite and peace. All was well - with a few little tense moments - until about 6:15 or so. By then, I had connected with the Black Lives Matter medic team, which was headed by an EMT. Those people were AMAZING. They had been on the patio all day, and thankfully had not had to use much of the eyewash they had made. 

Around 6:15 or 6:30, the police started really pushing protestors off of H Street (the street between the church and Lafayette Park, and ultimately, the White House). They started using tear gas and folks were running at us for eyewashes or water or wet paper towels. At this point, Julia, one of our seminarians for next year (who is a trauma nurse) and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police - in full riot gear - drove people toward us. Julia and her classmates left and I stayed with the BLM folks trying to help people. Suddenly, around 6:30, there was more tear gas, more concussion grenades, and I think I saw someone hit by a rubber bullet - he was grasping his stomach and there was a mark on his shirt. The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio. We had to try to pick up what we could. The BLM medic folks were obviously well practiced. They picked up boxes and ran. I was so stunned I only got a few water bottles and my spray bottle of eyewash. We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually - with SO MANY concussion grenades - back to K street. 

By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John's, Lafayette Square. I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN'S - a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day - SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!

I am deeply shaken. I did not see any protestors throw anything until the tear gas and concussion grenades started, and then it was mostly water bottles. I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. The patio of St. John's, Lafayette Square had been HOLY GROUND today. A place of respite and laughter and water and granola bars and fruit snacks. But that man turned it into a BATTLE GROUND first, and a cheap political stunt second. I am DEEPLY OFFENDED on behalf of every protestor, every Christian, the people of St. John's, Lafayette Square, every decent person there, and the BLM medics who stayed with just a single box of supplies and a backpack, even when I got too scared and had to leave. I am ok. But I am now a force to be reckoned with.

Afterwards, the Right Reverend Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, said in a seething call with CNN, that she was “outraged” by Trump’s use of St. John’s as a prop. “I can’t believe what my eyes are seeing tonight,” she said. “What on earth did we just witness?” Driving away a peaceful crowd with tear gas and weapons in order to stage a photo op was an “abuse of sacred symbols,” she said. “The President just used a Bible . . . and one of the churches of my diocese without permission as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything our churches stand for.”

So, it appears, based on his cryptic remarks about General Milley being "in charge" of something and of the AG being "strongly activated," and as demonstrated by his brutally turning federal forces against law-abiding U.S. citizens for his own little vanity photo op, that "dominating" the "battlespace" of American streets means martial law.  

It appears our so-called "president" just declared war on us American citizens.  

So with 105,000 Americans, and counting, already dead from coronavirus, 41 million unemployed, and a week now of the most wide-spread and violent protests since the 1960s, we at WDW are officially sick of so much "winning."  The Bunker Bitch has to go.  

Vote 2020 - Dump Moscow Mitch and the Bunker Bitch!