Sitting in church wondering who is . . .
Silence reigns in most churches because people avoid political exchanges, but I know there are Trumpers present. It’s uncomfortable plus dicey.
Two nights before the DC January 6th insurrection, I received a weird message on Facebook Messenger from a most unlikely Trump lover, a devout mother and active churchgoer.
She was excited that she and her family were going to DC to support Donald Trump. All I could manage to reply after a long time (thinking how stupid—I’m shocked) was “Drive safely.”
Then it got weirder. I forgot all about her big trip until after the awful, unbelievable, terrifying January 6th insurrection. It did run through my mind that she was probably with the safer part of the ellipse cheerleaders.
Actually, I had written her and her family out of my future contacts. After all, I could go to a different church service and never interact cross her path again.
But I received message 2 on Facebook. It was a corker and left me totally disgusted and sad. She said she had heard through her Republican grapevine that antifa and BLM would cause violence, but Trump was going to put martial law in place.
So, they stayed home and watched it all unfold on television. That was it. No commentary to the contrary and not a peep since then.
Back to yesterday. As I tried to focus on what was going on in church, the thought of this one lady’s messages 2 years ago occupied my thoughts as I wondered how many silent people sitting near me were Trumpians posing as Christians. I don’t think you can be both.
It’s one thing to be hearing right-wing talk in a grocery line of strangers, but it’s really disturbing, unsettling, and faith-shaking to sit with well-groomed silent people on Sunday who may still think Trump is “anointed by God” to be re-elected. It’s appalling, and totally un-Christian. When will the right-wingers reveal themselves openly instead of being silent?
Thought provoking, Diane. Many, many of us have had this same experience, even within families. A try at rational discussion usually ends with deep division. Where, when did these relatives and friends make these transitions? It isn’t new, history is full of the same.