In Texas, Reeves County GOP chairperson LaDonna Olivier manages to put her foot in her mouth and just about get it down to her gullet.
LaDonna Olivier, GOP chairperson from Reeves County, shared a post on Monday saying “people are trying to turn George [Floyd] into a saint” but he was a “brutal criminal.” [Texas Tribune]
How many ways can this be wrong?
- The police are the police. They are not judges, jury, or executioner.
- The police almost certain were not aware of George Floyd’s criminal record, if any. Suggesting that it was OK to commit homicide extra-judicially in this context is utter nonsense. Given their likely lack of knowledge, even this exceptionally weak justification breaks down.
- The entire weakness of Olivier’s argument suggests a bigoted position. This isn’t a thoughtful argument; instead, it uses some emotional trigger words, namely “saint” and “brutal criminal” in close juxtaposition. For those readers who don’t understand, or take seriously, such arguments, please purchase and read The Persuaders.
- And, finally, this isn’t a serious assessment of a situation in which protests are taking place in cities and towns large and small. In a WaPo article on the same subject, they quote her, although I don’t know the source of the interview:
“I said he was no angel,” Olivier said in an interview. “My concern is all the rioting and people not knowing what’s going on, making something so huge out of it. There are more important issues of people dying or being killed. Nobody cries about the abortions. The police were wrong, but from what I’ve seen on his medical records he was high on drugs.”
The reference to abortion is another use of an emotional keyword, a reminder that, Hey, the Democrats are evil baby-killers! if I may paraphrase the lost soul Erick Erickson. Olivier is speaking as GOP attack dog first, not as an American citizen faced with one of the most important and chronic issues which threaten the prosperity of the United States. Abortion is nothing more than a squirrel, an attempt to avoid having to address an issue at all. And, while there have indeed been reports of Floyd being high on something – fentanyl was one mentioned, although I’m a little surprised toxin screens came back so fast – all the videos I’ve seen of the arrest have shown a cooperative Floyd, not a combative man.
Only four. I’m a little disappointed in myself. Other thoughts?
