A right to life … and food

There is a United Methodist Building in Washington, DC, squeezed between the Supreme Court and the Senate Office Buildings. I’m not sure how they got that plum location. There is a “church sign” on the corner facing both the court and the Capitol. Currently on that sign is:

“I was a stranger, and you tear gassed me.”
… Wait a second

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons posted a picture on Twitter. You can find the original passage in the book of Matthew in the Bible, somewhere in chapter 25.

I looked at his Twitter feed and at the top is another sign:

A caravan of 5000 migrants confronted Jesus. He fed them. Matthew 14:13-21.

The replies to that tweet were indignant of the church (and Guthrie) of misusing Scripture. Of course, he had lots to say about conservatives misusing Scripture.



Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky (and chair of the 2nd Amendment Caucus) tweeted:

How long until someone runs on the platform of #FoodStampsForAll? If healthcare is a right, is food as well?

This is just one in a long list of Republicans spouting off that if people want to eat they had better work for it. Melissa McEwan of Shakesville has been keeping that list. In a previous episode in the series she reminds us that people die without food. So the GOP is saying people don’t have a right to life – in direct contradiction to to the Declaration of Independence and to what the GOP says about the unborn.

The replies to Massie’s tweet pointed out the hypocrisy:

Molly Rod: Now tell us all about your personal relationship with your lord and savior Jesus Christ, Tom. Can't wait to hear about that.

FrivYeti: Well, we've found the modern "Let them eat cake", I guess.

Frostinglickr: Being pro-starvation is a hot take.

SunShineIce: I would argue that plentiful food, by its very nature, would be a necessary component of "health care".

TCCICV: Not to mention a vital component to the “life” part of “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness

MrOzAtheist: Your economy deliberately manufactures poor people. You have a huge disparity between CEO earnings and lower level worker earnings. There are so many “yes, we need this job done, but you have to be poor doing it jobs”. Then you say, if you’re sick, and poor...bad luck. You suck.

Pat Caldwell: Wasn't the $1.9T handout (TaxScam) to the 1% and large corporations supposed to trickle down so everyone had food and healthcare? What happened?

Richard Dickson: Running on the "Hurry up and die already" platform, I see.

Joe in Memphis: Food and healthcare are not rights, but guns are. Gotcha.

Cvfan: How dare a necessity to stay alive be a right!

Dylan McKenna: Interesting question, Congressman. Under which circumstances is it not morally objectionable to let another person starve to death? Looking forward to your reply.

Filibuster Keaton: When I was a child, we relied on food stamps to eat. Now as an adult, I have a college degree in political science and I’m going to make sure you are replaced. Aren’t you so PISSED I was fed?

McEwan reminds us the above tweet comes at a time when Russia is being very aggressive against Ukraine. And this round of aggression came at a time when Ukraine was remembering Holodomor a time when millions of Ukrainians were starved by Joseph Stalin.

That prompted a reply from RachelB

When Republicans think that people are not entitled to food, this is what I think of: Stalin attempting to starve his own people into compliance. This is the model of authority they admire. This is the company they want to keep.