The LuLac Edition #4287, May 11th, 2020

MARTY AND THE MEMES SITUATION

State Representative Marty Flynn. (Photo: LuLac archives)

State Representative Marty Flynn did something we’ve all done in this horrible political climate. He fell victim to the passion he feels for his opinion and need to call out those who utilize memes to express their opinions. Everybody uses them on what one of my cousins refers to Facebook as “the devil’s playground”. We here at LuLac even use them on a Monday feature. A feature by the way we are in the process of re-thinking.
Memes have become not only a political weapon of strategists but of those on Facebook either too lazy to express their own opinion or too ignorant. Half the time people have no clue what it means or that it borders on hate speech and the very rule of law. If they agree with it, they post it. I’ve responded to them because I feel the need to call out the breathtaking stupidity of those who use a meme and evidently not think for themselves.
Memes have become the First grade remedial readers of political thought.
But let’s get back to Flynn. Flynn got in trouble because he responded to comments made by people who it seems to me blamed the Democrats for the reason why their Lackawanna County businesses could not re-open. I mean let’s not confuse people with the facts. The Lac has had 1,134 positive cases and 115 deaths because of the coronavirus. They, like The Lu are still in the red. I get the frustration if you are a business owner. You put your entire life into making it successful. Then a virus threatens to wipe out your income. But that same virus is also killing your customers, past, present and future. You can’t blame one party or its decision making process for that. Plus if the posters who actually thought about things that got Flynn upset should have realized was that just because you have a Democratic Governor doesn’t mean you blame a while party. Newsflash: the Republicans have had power in the State House for decades. Newsflash 2: The President who is a Republican has showed zero leadership and grasp of the severity of this problem. If you want to blame anyone, blame those guys.
Flynn responded to an attack on Democrats and most likely his own integrity by writing Keep talking about how bad we Democrats are and WE will STOP supporting YOUR businesses! You want to make it PERSONAL and we WILL! Judging from another post Flynn gave, it looks like he was told he could be bought five times over. A few things here:
1. Flynn is a great public servant with an incredible office constituent service unit in his office. People like him, hell I’m sure a few even love him. But to think that anyone who loves a pizza, has frequented a bar for decades or uses a favorite flower shop is going to stop, if any Democrat or resident of the 113th is going to follow Marty’s so called threat, their misguided and border on some sort of mental deficiency.
2. Flynn calls out the poster for making it personal. That’s what people who have no skills in debating do. They revert to third grade tactics. Should he have responded the way he did? No but we all get riled up in the face of blanket generalizations and attacks on the work we do. When someone says to me, “Now don’t take this personally……..it usually means it is”
3. Flynn issued an apology, He wrote: “Earlier tonight I posted on my personal page a reaction to three business owners that basically shared the same meme about how Democrats are “evil” to which I responded negatively, implying that we shouldn’t support (patronize) them. This was juvenile taking anyone’s political criticism, no matter how low, personal. Even though I was venting about three people and my result of offending more people is well deserved. I’m SORRY and I should have been more thoughtful.”
Flynn, even after apologizing is still getting attacked. Funny, in all the statements of racism, sexism, hate and thousands of lies, our President, who has inspired this culture NEVER SAID HE WAS SORRY. But Marty Flynn, as well as the majority of the rest of us guys is more man than Mr. Trump will ever hope to be.
 4. As for the people who say Flynn should go, I find it amusing that those same people cheered at “Lock Her Up” and thought that the marchers in Charlotte were very good people. Plus, how about this. Trump who started all this says "When they hit me, I hit them back harder". Okay for a draft dodger to say that and get cheered and Flynn, a former fighter is supposed to not "not vent" and be a good little boy taking this shit! Sorry, no dice there. You can’t have it both ways guys even though your lord and savior Donald Trump will have you believe that. It is both hysterical and hypocritical how the Trump-ites and self righteous ones among us get their itty bitty feelings hurt when it suits their argument. Then the outrage pours out like the sludge in the old Lackwanna River used to when I was a boy. 
The bottom line here is Flynn fell into the trap we all do. That is of course to respond to generalizations and breathtakingly inaccurate memes and posts that are devoid of facts and truth. I feel Flynn’ frustration every day when family, (yes family) friends, co-workers and even businesses I frequent start spouting off things that just aren’t so.
However in artfully, Marty Flynn was just being a truth teller. Maybe next time, Flynn, as well as this blog editor and our fellow Democrats should respond with the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s quote, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”