Mormons just petitioned to boycott singing at Trump’s Inauguration
It is a simple statement of fact that President-elect Donald Trump won the white evangelical vote by 81 percent. Similarly, 86% of Mormons living in the United States are white. It is also a fact not all Mormons support Trump or want to be associated with him. Such is evidenced by a recent petition launched by a disgusted member of the Mormon church who is seeking to halt the Tabernacle Choir’s participation in Trump’s inauguration.
Randall Thacker is leading the Anti-Trump Mormon charge. He said his motivation in starting the petition began when his “heart sank” after learning about the choir’s commitment to perform for Trump. In a statement Thacker said:
My heart sank when I heard the news last Thursday. I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The thought of this choir and Mormonism being forever associated with a man who disparages minorities, brags about his sexual control of women, encourages intolerance and traffics in hate speech and bullying, was unacceptable. I immediately knew there were probably thousands of people who felt the same way, so I created the space on Change.org for like-minded Mormons and their friends to share their feelings.
At the moment of this writing the petition had received approximately 19,500 signatures. Thacker, who is a lifelong Mormon, says the far majority of signatures are from fellow Mormons. If the petition reaches its goal of 25,000 Thacker plans to personally present all of the signatures to the Mormon church’s leadership in hopes that they will heed the call of their members.
Some of the individuals who responded to the petition were not afraid to voice their unfiltered opinions about Trump:
Chehalis, WA
“As a woman and Mormon of color and who supports the general authority’s message of inclusivity and tolerance, I am now appalled by this decision.”Fayetteville, AR
“Donald Trump does not represent my values as a Mormon and I do not want that assumed by the participation of a cherished Mormon institution in his inauguration.”Meridian, ID
“President Elect Trump’s blatant bragging of his sexual assault of women, targeting of Muslims and others is a gross violation of my LDS ethics and morals. I am appalled that the church that I live and love is willing to perform at his inauguration.”
A member of the Tabernacle Choir spoke out about performing for Trump as well. Jan Chamberlin recently resigned from the choir after 5 years of participation over the prospect of performing for Trump. She wrote, in part, in a Facebook post, “I could never look myself in the mirror again with self-respect.” Chamberlin went on to say, “I could never “throw roses to Hitler.” And I certainly could never sing for him.”
This backlash against Trump is not the first of its kind by individuals of faith. Rev. Joshua Dubois of “Values Partnerships”, Dr. Raphael Warnock of “Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner of the “National African-American Clergy Network” founded “Called to Resist” which is a movement to stand against Trump.
Regardless of what an individual believes the United States welcomes and celebrates individuals of every belief. All individuals of conscience must stand together against Trump and his ghastly villainy to thwart him at every opportunity possible including his inauguration celebration.
