Michael Harriot Profile picture
Jul 11, 2024 20 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Whenever there's a national tragedy, a natural disaster or something that affects a lot of white people, right-wing zealots always cite one particular bible

2 Chronicles 7:14

To them, it is a warning from God. But throughout history, it's become a weapon of hate.

A thread Image
If you are an evangelical Christian, a Republican or attend a church where the drummer doesn't use a sweatrag, you've DEFINITELY heard this 2 Chronicles 7:14

They literally believe its a biblical directive for us to Make America Great Again

christianindex.org/stories/2-chro…
To be fair, I've never been to a church whose shouting music doesn't have a bassline. So how do I know?

Well, the Southern Baptist Convention kicked out the president of their political arm because he was critical of pastors who supported Trump.

That wasn't his worst offense. Image
During Trump's original presidential run, right before the GOP primaries, Russell Moore wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post>

In the article he exposed the myth that 2 Chronicles 7:14 had nothing to do with "taking America back"

The article's title?

washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-f…
If you recall, news outlets made a big deal when Mike Pence took the oath of office on Ronald Reagan's old Bible during the Trump inauguration.

Pence insisted on putting his hand on the same PAGE and the SAME scripture as Reagan did when he was inaugurated.

Guess which one: Image
It's so important that one scholar called it "The John 3:16 of American civil religion"

To be fair, it's just white evangelicals' version of a similar scripture in Galatians that Black people love:

"He that shall fucketh around shalt also find out."*

*Real Negus Translation Image
And this is not a new thing. It's been used throughout history.

Dr. Samuel Cartwright used 2 Chronicle 7:14 when he coined the phrase "Drapetomania" to describe the mental illness that made Black people want to be free. It explained why Black people were "eternal knee benders"
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It has been used to explain everything from pandemics was good to why God was a Confederate.
No, seriously:

In 1793, a yellow fever broke out in Philadelphia. Some blamed the pandemic on abolitionists & free Black people

In 1780, Pennsylvania passed a gradual emancipation act Image
Then in 1790, Philly became the US capitol.
Then in 1793, Black Haitians organized the largest slave revolt in the history of the world. Many of those French slave owners brought their slaves to Philly. Plus, the free African society, who joined with Quakers to build schools
When the pandemic broke out, white preachers blamed it on the heinous act of abolition.

One slave-owning Virginian refused to leave his slaves home when he moved to Philly to work for the government. He used 2 Chronicles 7:14 to explain why God visited his wrath on the city.
Some high-level government employee named George Washington

If you think that was bad, 2 Chronicles 7:14, is what happened toAbraham Lincoln and the evil Union army after the Civil War.

As soon as the Confederate Army surrendered on April 9, 1865, Confederate Jesus went OFF
A week later Abraham Lincoln was dead. Now, we know a white supremacist killed him. But to Southerners, it was 2 Chronicles payback.

To send Union prisoners of war home, Confederates loaded 1,800 POWs on a steamship on April 27.

It exploded.

sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/exhibits/…
The Sultana disaster is STILL the deadliest maritime disaster in US history, worse than the Titanic. It is one of the deadliest FIRES in history.

Today, we know it was caused by faulty boilers. But back then, it was proof that the Confederates were right.

2 Chronicles.
2 Chronicles is STILL used to open civil war reenactments and explain disasters and mass shootings. It is literally what they mean by "thoughts and prayers"
Segregationists used it.
The pro-life movement cites it ALL the time
So do anti-Trans and anti-LGBTQ groups.

And most of all, Conservative Evangelical Republicans use it to explain why a civil war is coming.


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My favorite use of 2 Chronicles is when a preacher who apparently never read a history book in his life explained by BLM is satanic
And of course, it explains why God cursed America with Joe Biden Image
It has been weaponized for centuries and will be weaponized more in the upcoming election.

And since it is a Bible verse and "America is a Christian nation," many people think there's nothing wrong with it.

But what if one state REALLY leaned in on 2 Chronicles 2:14?

How? Image
How could conservatives use a bible verse to swing an election?

Well, what if the entire election hinged on 1 swing state? And what if conservatives were in charge of that state? And what if they used local governments & a familiar Bible verse to create an army of MAGA voters?
Anyway, this Saturday, every county courthouse in the entire state of Georgia will be open to welcome Jesus-loving Christian citizens in to read the Bible

Why?

According to an article I came across in a local paper today...

2 Chronicles 7:14 explains it all Image

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More from @michaelharriot

Sep 4
I’m sure you think I’m gonna mention Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black fur trader who is known as the first non-indigenous resident of Chicago.

But du Sable was not enslaved when he moved to the mouth of the Chicago river in 1790.

So who TF was buying furs?
Well, remember all that was French territory. In 1719 French entrepreneur Philippe François Renault hopped in a boat in the South of France, stopped in Haiti to purchase 200-500 humans beings & headed to “Upper Louisiana”

By 1760, 900 ppl were enslaved in “Illinois Country” Image
Read 15 tweets
Aug 12
There's a long history of sending military officers into Black cities to stop "crime."

In fact, I'd argue that this is what caused the Democrat & GOP realignment

The story involves gangbangers, bowling, a stolen election & the civil rights era's bloodiest event

A thread:
First of all, when people say it's "unconstitutional" to use the military against civilians, they're not EXACTLY wrong.

It's ILLEGAL.

It began when violent gangbangers & anti-American thugs were causing problems in Democrat-run cities and whining about voter suppression Image
After the Civil War, the traitors who betrayed their country returned to the Democrat-controlled South with their asses thoroughly kicked.

Many patriotic Americans wanted to arrest them for treason, but the prisons were already full.

Don't blame them. It's their culture. Image
Read 52 tweets
Jul 30
Literally none of this is true.

By now, it has become apparent that this man is much dumber than people initially thought, but here is why this specific act of ignorance is so common.

A thread.
"Slavery was standard practice throughout earth..."

Let's start here.

While MOST societies (not all) had forms of involuntary subjugation, people who don't know things use their ignorance and privilege to flatten the idea of slavery.
I always found it funny that ppl who say "slavery existed in every society," also LOVE to differentiate between indentured servants and enslaved people.

Like this guy: Image
Read 21 tweets
Jan 10
Whitewashing the uncomfortable parts of the past doesn't just affect Black stories. For example, you can't fully appreciate how a peanut farmer from Plains, GA became a beloved president unless you know TRUE Black History.

The unwhitewashed history of Jimmy Carter:

A thread.
Jimmy Carter was a simple peanut farmer who grew up in Plains, GA when the deep South was defined by racism. His family taught him not to see color. Instead of asking for handouts, they focused on God, education and...

OK, none of that happened.
First of all, to understand where Jimmy Carter comes from, you have to go back a few generations. Because you probably already know a few of his cousins.

In fact, he might not even be the most famous person in his family. But I'll let you decide.
Read 24 tweets
Jan 9
There's a very interesting connection between Mark Zuckerberg's right-wing turn and the guy who might be the most powerful person in American media. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, so...

A thread.
First of all, let's be clear. Mark Zuckerberg's didn't just announce changes to Meta's content moderation policy. He didn't even announce that Meta's content policy will change.

He announced that his company is willing to help kill people.

How?
First of all, replacing fact-checking with community notes doesn't just mean misinformation and hate will spread, it means people will die because of it.

For instance , Facebook removed MILLIONS of posts containing COVID misinformation.

cbsnews.com/news/mark-zuck…
Read 33 tweets
Jan 4
If anyone knows anything about “wokeness” CRT, the national anthem and being a real American, it’s Brett Favre

A (short) thread
Brett Favre is a descendant of Simon Favre, a famous“interpreter” who could speak multiple native languages.

Simon entered the family business at a young age and owned dozens of slaves and 100s of acres

But that wasn’t the family business.

The Favres stole land Image
The scam worked like this:

The Favres would move near a native tribe, earn their trust and convince native Americans that giving up their land & assimilating was in their best interest.

In exchange, they could keep some of the stolen land

Simon was BORN FOR THIS Image
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Read 21 tweets

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