Popular culture to play sadly with current events

 

Falsely witty message for public view parked near Veterans Home

BLACK LIVES MATTER dates back about 7 years before 5/2020, but the brutal murder of Breonne Taylor 3/2020 from a "no-knock" police break in to a private residence, followed in May by George Floyd's strangulation by Minneapolis uniformed police in May, amplified the national (and international) call for police accountability to all citizens harmed, but disproportionately for police accountability to citizens with African-American appearance. This photo is taken about 18 months after Taylor's murder. 

On the back of this truck the smart-alecky mix of sarcasm, moral superiority, and denial of any problem is painful to read: "All lives splatter" [rhyming with Black Lives Matter]. The image of an SUV striking a group of people (two adult and two children) makes the point non-verbally. There is no human visible at the driver's wheel. Then comes the disrespect: Nobody Cares ABOUT YOUR PROTEST [in all caps]. KEEP YOUR ASS OUT OF THE ROAD [also all caps, but smaller pitch size]. 

Some readers would giggle nervously, mingling dread and disbelief. A few would find this form of degrading others (and by implication raising one's own self) as being as funny and unproblematic as physical humor. Still others might mirror the hate in the message by churning up similar feelings not in agreement with the indecent verbal offender, but feelings of hate directed at the person driving this truck, or the one who decorated it in this way. The general public, though, hopefully does hold onto some self-respect and respect for others. The general public would recognize this silent rip in the social fabric as something bad; a kind of emotional and cognitive cancer. It makes the offender an embarrassment to civilized society. Here in the parking lot for the military veterans whose service was in defense of "equal protection under the law," and "one person, one vote," among other national laws and traditions, this sort of verbal disease is particularly distressing. It is something like an auto-immune response that harms one's own body. "Free speech" abusers like this one harm the body that makes their existence possible. Thankfully, publicly visible offenses to respectful interactions like this one are rare things. On social media they may appear like bright and noisy fireworks that flame out momentarily, but then again, that arena seems to work best on outrage, transgression, and breaking boundaries or disregarding all boundaries of behavior.