Lieutenant Governor Tells Christians To Get Their Guns Ready
Mark Robinson, the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, recently appeared at the American Renewal Project, where he made it clear that he believes that the survival of the United States depends upon worship of the Christian god.
“We talked about how you need to stay, you need to make sure that the focus is god, because America needs god, and without god there will be no more United States of America. I’m sorry. You can get mad at that statement all you want to. You can twist it any kind of way you want to, but without the wisdom of Jesus Christ, without the knowledge of Jesus Christ, without the sharing of his word, without the freedom of his word, the United States of America as we know it will no longer exist.”
Keep in mind that Robinson wasn’t speaking as a Christian preacher. He was invited to attend this event in his role as the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. He’s talking about America’s dependence on the Christian god in that context.
Mark Robinson’s view of politics in the United States is centered around Christianity. He believes that Christianity defines the nation, and that non-Christians are a challenge to the authority of Christianity. He described his Christianity as under siege. He told the crowd at the American Renewal Project,
“You’ve got to be ready, because they’re going to come after you. The news media is going to come after you. The activists are going to come after you. That person who believes that a man can have a baby is going to come after you, and when they come after you, they’re not going to come after you just trying to get you to be quiet. They are literally going to try to destroy you. Not only are they going to try to take your voice from you, they’re going to try to take your church from you. They’re going to try to take your business from you. They’re going to try to take your family from you. They’re going to try to take your friends from you. They are literally going to try to destroy you, and you had best be ready. You’ve got to be ready, because they’re going to come after you.”
Is Mark Robinson right? Are non-Christians coming after Christian politicians? Are Christian politicians having their families taken away from them?
I challenge you to find an instance of this taking place. More and more extremist Christian Nationalist politicians are being blatant about the most cruel and violent fantasies of their religious lives, and not being held accountable. They’re keeping their Republican Party support, and in many cases, winning final re-election to their seats.
On January 6, 2021, Christian Nationalists stormed the halls of the United States Congress carrying handcuffs, pepper spray, knives and nooses. They called for the execution of America’s top elected leaders. There are no cases of equivalent violence against Christian political leaders by opponents of Christian Nationalists. It just hasn’t happened.
So, what is Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson talking about? When he warns about people who are going to “come after” Christian Nationalists, he’s just talking about Christian Nationalists being criticized. He’s saying that journalists will write articles about what Christian Nationalist politicians say and do. He’s talking about voters daring to disagree with the actions of Christian Nationalists. He’s saying that politicians will be confronted by the opinions of people who don’t approve of their Christian Nationalism. If Christian Nationalists don’t face anything other than other people’s ideas.
Christian Nationalists, on the other hand, are actually trying to make same-sex marriages illegal, using the power of government to destroy these families. They’re working to make Christianity the official government religion of the United States, to make American a Christian nation where other religions are not permitted. Christian Nationalists aren’t just pointing out other people’s words, they’re making death threats. They’ve stormed the US Capitol building, violently attacking Capitol Hill police officers in an actual attempt to overthrow the federal government of the United States of America.
Christian Nationalists, for their part, are merely dealing with criticism after they’re caught saying outrageous things. Their supposed persecution is nothing more than people daring to disagree with them. That’s what Mark Robinson means when he warns that the opponents of Christian Nationalism will “destroy you.”
It’s not a symmetrical interraction. Christian Nationalists have committed violent acts to overthrow American democracy, and are threatening more. They’re working to take away Americans’ freedoms. In response, they’re met with criticism.
Criticism is what Christian Nationalism should be met with. We shouldn’t respond to Christian Nationalist violence and oppression with violence and oppression of our own. We should be prepared, however, for paranoid reactions to our criticism.
Christian Nationalists are used to being able to say and do anything in the name of their religion with impunity. They’re used to living in a country where nobody ever criticizes what Christian leaders do. They’re used to using their Christianity as a justification for anything they want to do, and getting away with it. They have come to believe that Christian Normativity and Christian Privilege are their natural right.
Now that people are finally standing up and protesting against the excesses of Christian Nationalism, Christian leaders feel persecuted. Their Christian Privilege has been challenged, and they’re determined to get it back.
Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson made it clear the extremes that Christian Nationalists are willing to go to in order to deal with political criticism. He told the audience at the American Renewal Project that Christians should prepare to engage in violence to defend their power. Robinson said,
“You had best believe in the environment we live in right now, if you are going to stand for what god believes in, you had best saddle up, lock and load, and get ready, because they are coming after you.”
“Lock and load” is a phrase that became popular after it was used by a character played by John Wayne in the war movie The Sands of Iwo Jima. “Lock and load” is an instruction to grab a gun, fill it with ammunition, and be prepared to fire it upon command.
When Mark Robinson told Christian Nationalists to “lock and load”, he was instructing Christian Nationalists to get their guns ready to fire on their political opponents. This call for political violence came from the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, and the purpose of it was to defend Christian Nationalism from criticism.
We offer verbal criticism, and Christian Nationalist leaders view that at as justification for violent repression. Robinson was warning that our words will be met by their bullets.
You might argue that Mark Robinson’s language was merely metaphorical, but we have reason to fear otherwise. The history of Christian Nationalist governments, from the Christian Roman Empire to the Spanish Empire to the Puritan colonies in North America, is a history of brutal violence in the name of Christianity.