Think for Yourself [View all]

"Learn to see, listen, and think for yourself.” – Malcolm X

I've read with interest and respect what a number of people are convinced happened at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday night. Many are certain it was 100% real, while many others think it was a staged event. Both sides include people that I respect, and I can appreciate points they raise.

At this point, I do not have an opinion one way or the other. I do not need to have one, despite my interest in what actually took place. By this late date, we all know that gun violence is a problem, and that there are people who shoot people, both in public and private settings. That the suspect is one of these human gadflies, which can be viewed as evidence the event was real, makes sense. Yet, at the same time, there is a history of others – including some who are not very nice -- using gadflies who are unaware they are being used.

Most everyone can agree that the events appeared a tad surreal. At least to me. That hints that the whole thing was real, in my book, based upon the numerous assassinations and attempted assassinations in my lifetime. Very few these days are choreographed as well as those in the 1960s. Probably just the Charlie Kirk one might not be by an insane amateur like that Squeaky Fromme, who now resides in Utica, N.Y. There are times it's better to hire a professional.

Not everything reported in the media turns out to be true. Like, I heard the gunman was dead. Since a lot of shots were fired, that would make sense to one with as pure and thus gullible a mind as my own. Hence, when the words “he is dead” were uttered by a CNN reliable source, I took it seriously. I hope this explains why on someone's post here, I said he was killed by Officer Jack Ruby. That was unpure speculation on my part, the type I might include on my resume for a CNN job application.

For that matter, it wasn't true when I said that Eric Trump was on a grassy knoll near the event. Or that the FBI found Jared's phone number and five sequential hundred dollars from a Mexican bank in the gadfly's hotel room. Looking back, I grapple with why I think of such things, much less say them. In my defense, however, I should note that neither has been proven to be lies in a courtroom. Release the gadfly files!

It did strike me as odd that at the press conference shortly after the events, everyone on stage was grinning like a Cheshire cat. The president spouted words from his mouth that darned near sounded rehearsed. And the maga response in the hours between then and now sound almost coordinated. Having been a student of math in high school, I can understand why those who are convinced it was fake would say it doesn't add up. But we must keep in mind that the video of said event and the Gadfly Manifesto were released in record time.
I've said all this to show that I don't know if it was real or a set-up. I'm curious how the gadfly was taken down, since he did not appear to bullet riddled, getting emergency medical attention, in the photo of him laying on the floor. I'd like to know how many shots were actually fired, by whom, and what they hit. But that's just me, sitting here listening to Elvis sing “Suspicious Minds.”

So I'm not going to engage in speculation on that event. I might, however, insist it was as fake as a twenty dollar bill to confuse and frustrate republicans. I know my rights. And the lyrics to “Strawberry Fields Forever.” But I do know one thing for certain, and that is no matter what transpired, the president is using it to communicate his “I am the Chosen One” message to his brain-dead followers. And that this is part of his campaign to excite them in the months before the mid-terms, and convince them that God is on their side.