USA Officially Conducting Ideological Purges

When some of us warned that Donald Trump would send the military into cities, work quickly to erase civil rights, and all of the other horrifying things he has done and is doing, we were called alarmists. Yet another product of Trump’s menagerie of horrors has come true — the USA is officially conducting ideological purges. Where we once welcomed people from other nations with (mostly) open arms regardless of their viewpoints, the Trump Administration has decided the First Amendment doesn’t apply to people who aren’t from here — at least where dead white supremacists are concerned.

The State Department has decided that some people haven’t praised their weird Jesus figure, white nationalist podcaster Charlie Kirk, enough. Kirk, who felt “stoning gay people” is “God’s perfect law” and that Black pilots were automatically of suspect skill solely because of the color of their skin, became a hero to the American Right after he was murdered at an event at a school directly after dismissing gun violence. Since his extremely ironic death, rabid conservatives have worked overtime to get people fired from their jobs for not mourning him enough or — even worse — condemning his hatefulness. Now, the right-wing cancel culture has spread to the State Department, which is kicking people out of the country for not being sufficiently sad about a deceased racist and homophobe.

United States Punishing Insincere Mourners

In 2012, an ABC News article titled “North Korea Reportedly Punishing Insincere Mourners” detailed the country handing out harsh sentences for those who failed to properly mourn the death of Kim Jong Il in the eyes of the government. “Patients who remained in hospitals and people who drank and made merry even after hearing news of their leader’s death were all singled out for punishment,” the article notes. We’re not there yet, but the Trump Administration is making great strides — so it may be coming soon, based on the newest f*ckery from the State Department.

On Tuesday, the Stasi Department of State announced that the United States is now conducting ideological purges of foreigners — something that, if history can be viewed as a guide, often precedes ideological purges of citizens. We saw variations of this in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Maoist China, Iran, and even to a lesser degree in Trump’s first term with his Muslim bans. Now, the Trump administration is kicking off a marathon round of expelling foreigners who don’t conform to the ideology of the regime.

“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” a tweet (because this is how the government conveys information now) reads. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.” The account then lists social media posts from “offenders,” ensuring to note their nationality for Trump’s rabid, xenophobic base.

One person whose only crime was pointing out (correctly) that Kirk was a racist, misogynist, and xenophobe. “Visa revoked,” the official State Department account announced.

Another person correctly pointed out that Kirk “won’t be remembered as a hero” and was “used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash.” Again, “Visa revoked.”

Another person said that Kirk “died being a racist” which is objectively true. Nonetheless, “Visa revoked.” Another correctly pointed out that Nazis marched in honor of Kirk. “Visa revoked.”

“.@POTUS and @SecRubio will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws,” the State Department says. “Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed.”

Can what these people said be viewed as distasteful? Sure, if one chooses to believe that white supremacists who have specifically denounced the concept of empathy are worthy of empathy. But this isn’t about decency. It’s about laws, specifically ours. The First Amendment grants everyone free speech. Not just citizens, but people. The Constitution doesn’t carve out an exception for when racists’ feelings get hurt by people insufficiently mourning their new messiah.

In fact, one of the most important aspects of America is that you don’t have to like what someone says — as long as they aren’t “shouting fire in a crowded movie theatre,” they have the right to say it, free of government interference. While conservatives love chronically misunderstanding that part, the First Amendment applies here more than it ever did “Becky got fired for saying the n-word to a customer at the Piggly Wiggly.”

The United States Government has officially begun determining which beliefs are acceptable. They have decided which thoughts can be expressed. And if you think this will stop with foreigners who say things the regime doesn’t like, then you haven’t been paying attention to the Trump Administration.