Monday night, before going to bed, I read that the Republican National Committee was reconsidering its endorsement of alleged serial pedophile Roy Moore. And by “was reconsidering its endorsement of,” I mean, “LOLOLOLOLOLOL YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT THOSE CRAVEN, DIAPER-SNIFFING JACKWADS WEREN’T GOING TO ENDORSE HIM???”
None of this, for anyone with even a passing knowledge of white people and the type of white people who make up the GOP, should be a surprise, especially after Moore received an endorsement from Immortan Cheeto. It also shouldn’t be a surprise that a black church—the Guiding Light Church in Birmingham, Ala.—opened its door for this thoroughly disgusting person and allowed him to infect the congregation with his presence. But it’s still shocking.
Charlene Cannon tried not to be offended, angry even. She was, after all, at church. It was Sunday morning and the retired Birmingham police officer was settled in her pew at the Guiding Light Church in Birmingham’s Woodlawn neighborhood, eager to embrace God’s calling to love and forgive and hear the Word as preached by Bishop Jim Lowe, Jr.
It was not unusual for politicians, regardless of party, to be sitting amongst the predominantly African-American congregation, particularly of late—during a political season that seems to have encompassed the entirety of 2017.
“Bishop welcomes anybody, and I appreciate that,” Cannon told me later Sunday afternoon. “I’ve never been offended [by] anyone. But ...”
Suddenly, standing at the front of the church, mike in hand, was Roy Moore.
The Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate had been introduced by Lowe and offered the opportunity to address the church.
Moore, standing awkwardly next to Lowe, said he couldn’t “talk about politics,” adding, though, that he would “appreciate your support.” He then read a Christmas-themed poem he said he wrote himself.
So, not only did they invite this dude, but they let him read a motherfucking poem??? A motherfucking self-written poem??? They let this nigga do spoken word???
Of course, white supremacy manifests in many different forms. And you will find agents and residue of it embedded everywhere from the mythical black cookout to the black church, with the latter existing under the guise of Christianity. And I say this as a Christian who is eternally disappointed at other black Christians for welcoming scum like this—a man who wouldn’t spit on us if we were on fire (unless, of course, we were a group of “hot” 15-year-olds)—into our sanctuaries and safe spaces. To Guiding Light’s credit, many members of the congregation were offended and disgusted by Moore’s presence, and they took to social media to express this anger.
Aware of how many people in his congregation felt, Bishop Lowe explained his rationale for inviting him, telling AL.com:
We have a standing invitation to all people, and that includes politicians. If they’re a sitting politician, I will give them opportunity to speak. If they’re a candidate, I’ll give them a few seconds to let people know who they are and what they’re running for.
Roy Moore asked to come worship with us, but not campaign, so I gave him a few moments to speak.
Yikes.
I wouldn’t dare suggest that spineless black people are the reason men like Roy Moore are able to get elected. There are far, far, far greater forces at play here than (some) black people’s willingness to turn the other cheek toward someone who wishes to bite it off.
But dammit, y’all. Can we at least have a “no-white-supremacist-endorsed pedophiles” policy? Maybe just a sign saying, “If you hate black people and love teen girls, we can’t rock with you, dog” or something? Is that too much to ask?
DISCUSSION
I would be looking for another church if my church did this. There is no way I would stand for this, I am a Christian and I am all about love and forgiveness but the Lord is still working on me and an accused child molester. My hand is doing that thing that my mom’s used to do when she wanted to snatch us up but we’re in public so she’d pinch us rather than give us the beating we deserved for acting up in public. I would have straight up and down said hell no and walked out.