Backlash.
The Ta-Nehisi Coats 'CBS News This Morning' Interview....
I’m not really up on all things Ta-Nehisi Coats — that is to say I know his name and that he’s trying, awfully hard, to be the next James Baldwin. And, maybe, that’s okay!? I think that the World could use a few more James Baldwin like characters in it, but there is such a thing as overkill. I dunno who’s behind the Ta-Nehisi PUSH, but make it worth the while while we sort it all out huh. please?!
When young Mr. Coats isn’t busy prolifically writing he’s stirring the pot or a part of conversational pot stirring at the most opportune of times these days!
That’s why when word came down this week that he and a reporter from CBS News' 'This Morning' had a civilly discoursal go over his latest book, "The Message" and the latest from the War in the Middle East I wanted to weigh-in because I find the arguments particularly fascinating and very, very telling.
Coats is a man of few words, rather he chooses and uses his words very wisely and considerately because, like me, he knows that all words have meaning, they have power behind them. Words are BOTH a blessing and a cursing, as we all well know, but with Coats the words especially matter because he has a reputational standard to uphold. He has carved out a lane, a niche in life, and he doesn’t want to necessarily or even unnecessarily waste or blow the too few opportunities in life that a person has to really make a long and lasting impact.
And in his latest approach he went and did something, apparently, that has offended many an Evangelical Christian and whole cloth Supporter of the Nation State of Israel and its on going war with Hamas and Hezbollah.
In the Message he wrote from the perspective of the purely innocent bystander, a constant casualty in War’s Human History, The People of Palestine. The folks, besides the innocent Israelis, that are caught up in this on going WAR between the Israeli Defense Forces and the albeit ragtag Hamas and Hezbollah Armies.
These are the folks, for whatever reason, still find themselves behind Enemy Lines and looking for the exits. Exits, it appears, that are nowhere to be found no matter how long and hard that they look for them.
Hamas and Hezbollah Leadership tells them, “to stay put, don’t try and leave the impacted areas in the conflict, Israel won’t kill you!” — that’s a LIE! People, as we all know, DIE and/or wind up hurt or killed in WAR. These animals don’t care! None of them. They shoot first and ask but a very few questions later.
You can’t expect to survive or make it out alive in a situation like that. Israel, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah ALL KNOW THAT, and yet they tell people, leave, don’t leave, stay here, go there, put this on, take that off, don’t whine, don’t complain. Just participate or else!
That’s another thing! Or Else.
I’ve written to you guys enough over this period of time of the horrors of war and the real-world consequences, responsibilities and the first-best duties that goes along with that territory. The WAR DRIVERS are the ones who have recourse. The innocent bystander, the Casualty of WAR, have no recourse. Have no voice much less say so in how this process all plays out. And, it would seem, the Powers that Be like it that way! Isn’t that sad?
Apparently, Ta-Nehisi Coats is concerned about that too! As we all should be.
Because we give voice to WAR and the like all the time, but we don’t give voice to the Casualties of WAR. Not always. But what about September the 11th?! What about September 11? Etc. Etc. True enough, but that’s but once a year. There’s crap going on in the World all the time. Wars. Rumors of Wars. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. But no one likes to give that voice. We find voice can best be given or used regarding War and Conflicts in General. There’s a kind of romanticism in it. There’s no romanticism in the Casualties of WAR. Casualties don’t really sell books, magazines or newspapers now do they? No! Of course not. WARS and the People who fight them do.
But give us bloodthirsty hellhounds a good book on the Good Guys getting Justice and the Bad Guys getting their comeuppance in the end and we’ll sit there and read through that all day long, share it to our social media pages and forget, quickly thereafter, all about it until the next opportune moment to do it all over again comes along. Like its an afternoon bus and you’re dog tired. Oh thank God! My ride is finally here. Lets go! Etc. Etc. So on and so forth. Fair?
I’m looking forward to checking out Ta-Nehisi Coats latest book and sharing the good words accordingly!
DEO VINDICE ET SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!