Tweet havoc!

So as much as I'm sick of Donald Trump being the axis around which everything seems to revolve lately, I really can't let this pass by without comment. Let what pass by? This:

Pictured: a thinly-veiled indictment of the current politcal-wait, I
say thinly-veiled but I think the phrase is, face-punchingly obvious?

"Carpe feles!"

-Julius-ok, one thing in common

Yeah. The Public Theatre in New York just did a production of Julius Caesar in which Caesar looks like Trump. You know, because subtle social commentary is alive and well in American Theater. Anyway, a lot of people were outraged, some because-spoiler alert-it doesn't end well for Trump/Caesar and others because holy shit the two have like nothing in common. I mean, Caesar was able to speak in complete sentences where as our sort-of President is famous for inarticulately thumbing out gibberish on twitter at all hours.

I suppose they can't all be 'the die is
cast' and 'et tu Brute?' huh Jules?

Anyway, on Friday a protestor, Laura Loomer, ran onstage during the assassination scene and shouted 'This is violence against Donald Trump!' She may have been paraphrasing Caesar's historical, but not super-memorable 'Why, this is violence!' quip he made shortly before getting stabbed to death by his closest pals, but that's assuming a lot of someone who despite these last five months and the campaign leading up to them, still literally leapt (what? It's a raised stage) to Trump's defense.

"I'm Ricahrd II. Know ye not that?"

#loosers #theatreisgay

So look, I'm not defending The Public Theatre's choice to plunk the former host of The Apprentice in the middle of an Elizabethan play based on first century B.C.'s most famous shanking. It could be great, it could be shit, I don't know, but whatever we may think of Trump, William Shakespeare lived and died 400 years before anyone ever tweeted, so laying 21st century America's political shitshow on top of the play is a stretch at best.

But whatever, Loomer and another protester who filmed her cameo appearance pulled a dick move here and one which they compounded by accusing everyone in the theatre of being exactly like Hitler's propaganda guy, Josef Goebels. You know, because political commentary that doesn't align with your worldview is, by definition, Nazi propaganda.

Pictured: either Don Knots was into Nazi cosplay or
Josef Goebbels was just a ridiculous looking man.

Above: Loomer exercising her 1st Amendment
Rights by trampling all over other people
exercising their 1st Amendment Rights.

Hey that's funny, because here we thought everyone on the right was a bunch of Nazis. Go figure. While I'm sure Loomer and her friend hilariously believe themselves to be American heroes, their spectacle does, accidentally (again, not going to give them a ton of credit), raise a question about freedom of speech. After all, the production is absolutely a political statement and would be even if they didn't go full-on bludgeon by putting The Donald on stage so why isn't it ok for Trump-fans to protest in the way that they did? It's a difficult, soul-searching question and one that doesn't have an easy answer.

"A fellow of infinite jest. So much

jest you wouldn't even believe." #sad

But I'm going to answer it. And easily. No, of course it's not ok to bust onto the stage in the middle of a performance and start calling everyone Nazis. I mean what are they, assholes? Regardless of opinions about The Public's production, it's still their artistic and political expression and if Loomer and pals don't like it, they are welcome to put on their own show in response. Maybe they could do a version of Hamlet where Trump is Claudius and he heroically usurps the throne and then whines about Hamelt's witch hunt. 

Look, I don't know if making Donald Trump into Julius Caesar is a thoughtful artistic choice or a move designed to cash-in on the still-fresh shock we all feel at the realization that anyone, literally anyone no matter how flagrantly unqualified can be the goddamn President of the United States, but it's The Public's call as well as the public's call (see what I did there?). It's not ok for Loomer or anyone else to barge in and ruin everyone's pleasant evening of unsubtle revenge fantasy. I mean if you want to crap all over what others do, write a blog.

"So...nobody's going to ask me what I think about all this? No? I see..."

-I don't know, some guy