Lucas
REP. Jim Lucas took to social media a few days ago to ask a question about the Uvalde school shooting which shocked those still coming to grips with the massacre of innocent children in a rural Texas community.
The Republican from Seymour, who represents a portion of Bartholomew County — and a good part of Jackson County — suggested without evidence that maybe the horrific slaughter of elementary-age children last month in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, had been staged.
“Was the Uvalde school shooting allowed to happen?” Lucas asked on Facebook. He just wondered about the mass shooting of 19 children from ages 9 to 11 and two teachers.
Could it be, he mused, that “a false flag was allowed to happen to use that as an excuse to come after our gun rights.”
This “false flag” hogwash sounds an awful lot like conspiracy monger Alex Jones, who currently is being sued into likely pauperdom by the parents of 20 children and six other victims slain 10 years ago in the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones shamelessly called those murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School “crisis actors.”
It seems like Lucas has more empathy for smoking guns than for children or grieving parents.
We live in a social media environment where public figures like Lucas know exactly what they are doing, and the harm their words will cause, yet they do it anyway, with glee. They seem to relish the momentary spotlight it provides them, no matter how harsh the glare, no matter how hurtful or harmful. They seem to believe that by being provocative, they are “owning the libs,” or meeting some other feckless goal.
How does this serve constituents?
Lucas knows better, but he fails to act better. He has repeatedly demonstrated judgment that simply is beneath an elected state representative.
This is not the first time that Lucas’ social media posts have outraged people, even House leadership.
Two years ago, Lucas was widely criticized when he posted a meme widely condemned as racist. For that, he was scolded and relieved of a couple of committee assignments by House Speaker Todd Huston.
“I’m human, I made a mistake and I own it,” Lucas wrote in an apology of sorts. “My personality is an open book and I am outspoken, but I have learned an extremely valuable lesson.”
We’re not sure he really learned that lesson.
Less than a year later, Lucas was back at it again, that time accused of racist online speech after picking a fight in the comments section with a Black doctor from Houston.
We would hope that Lucas had something better to do as an elected representative, or that he had, in fact, learned something. Frankly, it’s sad. As the old adage goes, when someone shows you who he is, believe them. Lucas’ tiresome antics have become exhausting, yet he cannot seem to help himself. His constituents deserve better.
The best thing we can say about Lucas is that after this year, thanks to redistricting, his district won’t include much of Bartholomew County at all.