One of the litmus tests by which a society can be judged is the way it treats its animals, for this is often a reflection of how it treats its citizens. In the case of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), her litmus paper has turned a deep and acidic red.
In her new book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, she proudly admits to killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer puppy named Cricket for being “rambunctious,” killing neighbors’ chickens, and for being a terrible hunter.
Rather than calling in a dog trainer or giving the puppy away, she decided to lead Cricket to a gravel pit where she shot her in the head. She also dragged one of her goats to the pit, where she also shot and killed it, justifying her actions by saying that the goat smelled, was mean, and liked to chase her kids.
Responding to criticism, Noem justified her choices on social media: “As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy,” she said on X. “But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”
This may resound reasonably well with her MAGA base and may not disqualify her from further consideration as Donald Trump’s running mate, but for the majority of residents in our country, her actions come across as cruel, mean, and nasty.
But that is the point – since the tripartite philosophical basis of the MAGA movement is cruelness, meanness, and nastiness:
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone who wants to have control over their own bodies in reproductive choices
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against organizations who seek federal funding for women’s healthcare clinics
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone advocating for a national healthcare system
- ·Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against plans for appropriate and quick responses to public health emergencies
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people needing governmental food or housing subsidies
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people advocating for a cleaner environment and for clean renewable energy sources
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone advocating for vaccines
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people advocating for paid parental leave, as well as national childcare and eldercare plans
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against advocates of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives in businesses and schools
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the teaching of so-called critical race theory
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the teaching of race, gender, sexuality, and the “hard” history of the United States in schools
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone wishing to read books listed as “controversial”
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people advocating for government funding of public and school libraries,
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people advancing national progressive movements such as #Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, #MarchforOurLives, and all firearms safety organizations
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against land claims by Indigenous First Nations Peoples
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against reparations for African Americans
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against bilingual education programs
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the idea of free public higher education and suspension of student debt
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against judges & justices nominated by Democrats
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against marriage equality
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against public accommodations for trans people
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against people requiring gender confirmation medical procedures for trans people
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against non-binary conceptualizations of gender
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against pronouns
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the notion of the separation of church & state
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who advocate for limits on religious exemptions to civil rights laws
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone attempting to place constraints on Christian nationalism and white supremacy
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against advocates of consumer protections
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against government infrastructure projects
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against labor unions & collective bargaining
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the idea of a guaranteed federal minimum living wage
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against workers’ rights
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone or any agency attempting to place regulations on unfettered capitalism
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who claim authority of the federal government over the states
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against NATO, the United Nations, the European Union, and other alliances
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against engaging in world affairs
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who criticize brutal authoritarian dictators
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against aid to Ukraine
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness by restricting promotions of military personnel even when it jeopardizes readiness of the U.S. armed forces
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who advocate for limits on fossil fuel emissions
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who want to place limits on gas and oil drilling, mining, and deforestation
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone proposing firearms regulations of any kind
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against Black & brown immigrants & those who want immigration reform
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the concept of a path to citizenship for Black & brown undocumented immigrants,
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who advocate for police reform and accountability
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against public safety net programs of any kind
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone proposing reductions in prescription drug prices
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against advocates of voting rights and curbing gerrymandering
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who have trust in the electorate to make informed decisions,
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who trust elections unless Republicans win
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against equitable & fair tax policies
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against proposals to narrow the massive income and wealth gaps
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against advocates supporting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against any and all government regulations on business and industry
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against any agency pushing for the prosecution of Capitol insurrectionists & any Republicans,
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the concept of accountability
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who acknowledge the systemic nature of the many forms of oppression
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those acknowledge the unearned benefits and privileges of dominant group members
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the notion of “woke”
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against anyone working to solve problems through governmental initiatives
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the notion of governing even when one or one’s party has the power to do so
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against those who push for restraints on the unrelenting march toward fascism in the United States
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against concepts like ethics, truth, facts, decency, compassion, and empathy,
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against the Constitution of the United States of America
- Cruelness, meanness, and nastiness against advocates of Democracy
So, yes, it is clear how Governor Kristi Noem’s brutal murder of her puppy and goat does, indeed, serve as a litmus test reflecting the philosophies, politics, and actions of the larger Republican Party, and especially the radical MAGA wing.
LGBTQ Pride Talk 