Shock & Awful: The Absurdity Is the Point

Voltaire tried to warn us about QAnon, Donald Trump — and The Village People.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, are those who can make you commit atrocities.”

— Voltaire, 1765, France, 23 years before the French Revolution

On the eve of his inauguration, to a partially filled auditorium in DC, the President-elect, who ran a massive campaign to scapegoat LGBTQ+ people to win the election, did his signature jerk dance to “YMCA” — a song about homeless gay men turning tricks to survive — with one surviving member of The Village People, five impersonators, and a recorded music track.

There is no question about the meaning of this song, or the identity of the original members, but in the alternate reality of MAGA, none of it matters. The disconnect, the break from reality, is the point.

Young man, there's no need to feel down, I said
Young man, pick yourself off the ground, I said
Young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy
Young man, there's a place you can go, I said
Young man, when you're short on your dough you can
Stay there and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time

—“YMCA” by the Village People

The Village People will also play at Trump’s inaugural celebration Monday with other musical “legends” like Billy Ray Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, and Jason Aldean, who wrote a song called “Try That In a Small Town” which is effectively a neo-Confederate hymn to whites-only Sundown Towns — none of which would have never have let the “young man” in “YMCA,” or the band, come within city limits.

A month after Trump’s parade of horribles rings in the New Reich, Mike Flynn will host his “Celebration of American Exceptionalism” at Mar-a-lago with at least 4 accused rapists, and a washed up UFC fighter — for a minimum of $5,000 per ticket. FBI nominee Kash Patel is listed first on the “Host Committee.”

As further evidence of our slide into national absurdity, in the last few days, Roseanne Barr, an antisemitic, racist QAnon promoter, who calls herself “Mike Flynn’s girlfriend” has a number one song on iTunes with QAnon “I AM” rapper Tom MacDonald called “Daddy’s Home.” Sample lyrics:

“We won. You mad. So sad. Boohoo.”

“Screw Eminem, I’m Roseanne.”

“Why’d they try and turn Becky into Dan? (that’s a man!)“

Note Roseanne Barr was the first celebrity QAnon promoter and wrote a letter to Putin in 2012. She also recently hosted J5 pipe bomber Ivan Raiklin on her show.

As far as “Q” himself, he has dropped all pretense and is taking on his role as leader of QAnon openly. Flynn went out of his way to do a five-year “delta” of a Q drop (1/19/20-25). This is what he’s always wanted — to be able to be open about what he accomplished, the controlled demolition of the US government through psyops.

At Trump’s pre-inauguration rally, half-trillionaire and insufferable dummy Elon Musk attempted to say something about “making big changes… so America can be strong for a century, for centuries, for forever.”

I must repeat, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Musk’s genius have been greatly exaggerated. Elon Musk is not a smart man, just a pretty good con-artist and a raging messianic psychopath.

At the same rally, racist demagogue Stephen Miller, who will be Trump’s policy director in the White House, did a remarkable impression of his muse, Hitler Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels — while saying nothing.

All Nazi style, and no substance.

Now as absurd as all these performances are, you can draw two conclusions.

First, you are not the crazy one, dear reader. These people are. These are untalented, unintelligent, irredeemable idiots with no new ideas and no moral compass. As you suffer through the opening act of this kakistocracy, remember that. It’s not you, it’s them.

Second, this is not a sustainable model for civilization. This is the intentional dismantling of sanity, to distract us from the dismantling of the rule of law and democracy. These absurdities exist to cover up for atrocities, both past and planned. This cannot last forever, it’s just about how many people have to suffer and for how long.

Voltaire’s quote was written a decade before the Declaration of Independence, and two decades before the French Revolution. We should heed his words.

Sharpen the guillotines. Vive la Révolution. And long live the United States of America.

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