Minnesota state representative, Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in the early hours of Saturday morning by a devout gun-toting, card-carrying MAGA Christian. This photo is from a site called Helping Paws on Facebook and is said to be the Hortman’s dog, also shot to death. Pictures of the Hortmans are not available without permission but they were a beautiful couple, valuable members of the human race. And as all dog people will tell you, they would want to be remembered by a photo of their beloved pooch anyway.

I have spent the past two days in a deeper state of shock than is normal for even these bizarre and troubling times. On Saturday, the juxtaposition of people wanting a better world for all others and people intent on murdering their selected ‘others’ was as stark as it gets. I was at a gathering of a few thousand people in a bright and sunny Albuquerque park who liked each other, loathed trump and his minions, and cared about something besides personal wealth. I was reading the news of a man (Netanyahu) in Israel and a man (who cares what his name is…) in Minnesota, killers true, armed with their gods and their guns, slaughtering away…their particular cults’ Kool-aid dripping down their chins.  

For me, these two killers serve as personifications of a type with which the world has always been overrun. They’re fanatical god-botherers and fervent gun-lovers, the most dangerous of humans. Their gods appear on a spectrum, ranging from fire and brimstone-wrathful to going about saving lambs and butterflies (the former always wins). Their guns represent power and anger-relief and a never-ending pleasure in death dealing. The president of this country and his co-partners in crime, Netanyahu and Putin, along with their sycophants have learned to play to the neediness of the not-too-bright cult followers without even being clever—just their usual brute narcissistic selves. And it just goes on…and on…forever.

Okay, so of course that’s a huge simplification of a few recent events…but it’s not wrong is it? I’ll swear to god (whatever god humans are worshipping as the apocalypse wraps), across the last sunset, the words or symbols for gods and guns will appear…followed by “We Won.”

On the bright side: A couple of hours leaning against a tree in a West Side park with the cream of the human crop was so fine. Not so many places in the US to feel absolutely safe these days, to know we’re among friends, ‘normies,’ a bunch of intelligent, decent, wonderful-enough human beings.

Just a few pics. I’m not quite over the dark sick feeling of the past days…and on one hand, should it be ‘gotten over’? and on the other hand, yes, we need to live our lives as productively, joyfully, fully as is possible. And never give in to them. The bad guys.