Whatever else you might say about COVID, it’s been a great revealer. This morning I heard Dennis Prager discussing the failure of many churches and synagogues to respond as the sources of refuge and consolation that they are supposed to be. He’s right. To segregate congregants by vaccine status, with some houses of worship requiring proof of vaccination — since you can’t trust anyone! — is disappointing, even shocking. The Daily Wire has a report on churches in this regard, but the same goes for plenty of synagogues.

And now this comes to my attention, which is far worse. From Breitbart: “Official in D.C. Mayor’s Office: It’s a ‘Necessary Evil’ to Allow ‘Darwinism to Kill off’ the ‘Foolish’ Unvaccinated.” The individual in question directs the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs. He is Elliot Tommingo — not Dommingo with a “D” (a video on his own official website in which in introduces himself misspells his name). Mr. Tommingo holds the opinion that D.C. residents too stupid not to get vaccinated should die, presumably including any veterans in the city whose interests it’s his job to serve.

Judge for Yourself

Am I misrepresenting his views, expressed on Facebook? I don’t think so.

Breitbart News on Thursday obtained screenshots from one of Tommingo’s conversations on a Facebook post. The commenter, Jonathan Lubecky, who on Twitter describes himself as a “Nonpartisan Political Consultant,” remarked that he “may go to anywhere that doesn’t have the stupid mandates DC has.”…

Tommingo … provided a harsh response, demeaning unvaccinated people by touting a series of fake narratives and essentially asserting that unvaccinated individuals are “foolish” and ultimately allowing Darwinism to take course. 

“I’ll join you in Cabo man. But I tell ya. If people stopped listening to celebrities, took the vaccine, didn’t eat horse dewormer and/or their own piss…we could lift those mandates soon,” he claimed.

“However, allowing Darwinism to kill off those too foolish to protect themselves is a necessary evil,” Tommingo added.

“That’s an interesting take given the vaccine stats in DC,” Lubecky responded. “But to be clear, you support 48% of black citizens of DC dying due to ‘Darwinism’ and ‘being too foolish’ ‘drinking piss’ and ‘eating horse dewormer.’”

According to the D.C. government website’s latest data, 43.4 percent of the city’s black population is considered “fully vaccinated,” meaning the majority are not and are, according to Tommingo, allowing “Darwinism” to chart their course — a “necessary evil,” also according to Tommingo.

That’s heartless. In a city whose demographic profile is 41.4 percent African-American, it also looks very much like an illustration of what historian Richard Weikart in his new book calls Darwinian Racism. Weikart traces the development of evolutionary thinking from Darwin to Hitler to modern-day white nationalism. Tommingo, in case you wondered, is a white guy from Iowa. He’s also a 14-year veteran of the Marines. What a shame.

A Rule of Thumb

It’s a rule of thumb that for anyone like Mr. Dommingo — excuse me, Mr. Tommingo — too clueless not to realize he shouldn’t write such a thing in a public forum where someone could take a screenshot of his comment, there are many, many more who might say much the same in a more veiled fashion or in private or who might be smart enough to keep the view to themselves.

Just so that readers don’t misunderstand, I’m not anti-vaccination. In fact, I’m still a bit fatigued today from getting a booster shot on Wednesday, something I had hesitated about doing. Getting vaccinated, or not, is a personal decision, to be respected as such. That should be obvious. Yet it’s hard not to recognize the will to punish, intimidate, and dehumanize the unvaccinated. Think of it: in Tommingo’s case, to take this public servant at his word, he actually wants to them to die. That’s what a “necessary evil” means.