.

Sincerity of the Left

The sanctuary cities said:
“Undocumenteds may come here,
It’s merciless to keep them out,
We welcome them with open arms!”

“We’ll grant your wish,” DeSantis said,
“Take fifty more of them right here.”
“That’s inhumane!” the Libs all shout.
“A cruel stunt that only harms.”

.

.

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

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The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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42 Responses

  1. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Hypocrisy highlighted poetically and perfectly! Thank you for saying it as it is, Russel. You’re a rare voice of sincerity rising from a sorry sea of lies.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thanks Susan, I’m glad you liked it. And did you notice that my previous post had several poems with alliterative lines? When I first started writing several years ago, that wasn’t one of the elements I aimed for. But someone we both know turned me on to it. So – again – thanks!

      Reply
  2. Joseph S. Salemi

    The Left lives in well-protected gated communities, or in exclusive condominiums where a governing board of tenants carefully interviews and researches everyone who applies to live there.

    After giving those illegal aliens lots of smiles and kisses and bonbons, the well-heeled inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard bused them out of the area within 24 hours, with the help of the Massachusetts National Guard.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      But give credit where it’s due. They made sure those buses were air-conditioned.

      Reply
    • Russel Winick

      You’re quite welcome Cynthia. I truly appreciate your always having something nice to say.

      Reply
  4. Conor Kelly

    You want to know what this “illegal” thinks?
    I like your metres, but your content stinks.

    Your rhetoric is hate-filled and uptight,
    Self-satisfied and snidely smug. That’s right.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Isn’t “self-satisfied and snidely smug” redundant? Russel should be congratulated for pointing out the hypocrisy of those “self-satisfied and snidely smug” monsters who would be our masters.

      Avid poet Conor Kelly
      Fancies himself P. B. Shelley.
      Hopeless, Godless, you can tell he
      Sells the aims of Machiavelli.

      Reply
      • Russel Winick

        Yes, this was a poem about stunning hypocrisy. Thanks Mike.

      • Conor Kelly

        Many thanks, Mike, for comparing me to P. B. Shelley. He was always a favourite of mine, particularly “The Mask of Anarchy” with its famous lines:-

        I met Murder on the stump –
        He had a mask like Donald Trump …

        As for Machiavelli, what you call “his aims” are just a reflection of what he found in the politics of his day. I am very fond of his observation that “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” On that basis the Trumps are less venal, but also less competent, than the Borgias.

        Happy Canadian Thanksgiving (as you appear to approve of Canadian views on immigration.)

      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Looks like the leftist who writes for the Irish Marxist Review is back. He just couldn’t resist returning — that’s how popular the SCP is.

    • Russel Winick

      Actually, it’s totally wrong, and even seems to miss my point, but I’m glad you liked the meter, and I appreciate your taking the time to offer feedback.

      Reply
      • Conor Kelly

        The hypocrisy of the left, Russel, is mirrored, if not surpassed, by the hypocrisy of the right. How many of those who, like you, rail against “illegal immigrants” are prepared to employ, or endorse the employment, of undocumented immigrants in their businesses. The economies of many red states are boosted by this illegal, if overlooked, use of immigrants.

        And as to the subject of your second stanza – Mr DeSantis – why would you celebrate someone from Florida using the resources of Florida to send people from Texas to Massachusetts? What is it other than using vulnerable human beings for a political stunt. Here is my take:

        Of insects famed for feeding on their kind,
        Among the best known is the praying mantis.
        And when it comes to humans much maligned,
        Consider the actions of Ron DeSantis.

      • Russel Winick

        Conor:

        I’ll just agree to disagree. Thanks again for sharing your views.

      • Mike Bryant

        Conor, it’s funny that the Demoncratic Mayor of El Paso, Texas is sending more illegals to New York City than DeSantis is. And why, because the Mayor of New York knows that Ol’ Biden will happily send a billion dollars to him.
        In a fascist state, the Government and corporations work together, which means that you are proving the point that Russel is making.
        It is all a big game. The losers are the citizens. Soros and the WEF have put this scam together and all those who worship at the church of woke are all for it. Of course, the woke fellowship always backs the current thing 100%.
        Today, we have a few current things going on at once… wide open borders, out of control inflation and approaching food shortages.
        Vote Demoncrat for more of the same!

      • Mike Bryant

        Conor, I will also agree to disagree. Besides, since you are admittedly an “illegal” you have no stake in what happens here in the good old USA.

      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Is Conor Kelly an illegal immigrant into Ireland, or is he an illegal immigrant who has come here to the States? The first possibility seems implausible because of his name; the second leads me to wonder why he would come to America if he hates this country so much.

      • Mike Bryant

        I have a feeling he’s in Canada somewhere. If the Mounties find him they’ll toss him out. If he’s honourable he’ll turn himself in.

      • Mike Bryant

        You know… why does someone from Ireland or Canada or any other foreign country care one way or another about what we get up to here in the USA?
        I can only think of one reason. This hypothetical person must want the USA to be ruled by some world government. The one-worlders want gun control, destruction of the family, the politicization of the churches, the dumbing down of education, the takeover of the arts, theater, movies, the establishment of state fake news, the creation of state/corporate monopolies in medicine, pharmacology, space exploration, energy, science and weather, food production… and much, much more.

        But… the thing that really rankles is that these one-worlders can inspire pipsqueak keyboard warriors from every God-forsaken location that has internet access to try to tell you and me what we must do to meet their utopian fantasies…

        GIVE ME A BREAK !!!

      • Joshua C. Frank

        “the second leads me to wonder why he would come to America if he hates this country so much”

        That’s an easy one: to destroy it from within. What I want to know is, why does he come to this website if he hates everything we stand for so much? Does he think he can destroy it by insulting those of us who actually have something to contribute?

    • Joshua C. Frank

      Wait, all Russel did was point out that this is true of the left, using nothing as evidence that is not a matter of public record. How is that “hate filled and uptight, self satisfied and snidely smug?”

      If anyone is all those adjectives, it’s those who attack conservatives for nothing more than pointing out that the emperor has no clothes. Liberals are the most intolerant people imaginable.

      Reply
  5. Mike Bryant

    The Mayor of “Sanctuary” New York City, Eric Adams, has declared a state of emergency because the city has received less than one percent of the millions of illegals that Biden and Soros have dumped into the country. New York Metro has a population of over eighteen million souls, but Eric Adams is asking for a cool BILLION bucks from people like you and me to help him house and feed these migrants… why? Because New York City needs the cheap labor, that’s why.
    Oh, the humanity.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/10/07/new-york-city-wants-1-billion-exploit-biden-migrants/

    https://nypost.com/2022/10/07/state-of-emergency-adams-says-nyc-migrant-influx-to-cost-1b/

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      Our Mayor Adams is a complete idiot, despite his background as a police officer. He is also jackrabbit terrified of the left-wing scum who now control politics in this city, and is scared of saying or doing anything which might send them into a rage. They didn’t want him for Mayor, and are still set on dumping him.

      I can only say this to the governors of Florida and Texas. Keep those buses of illegal immigrant coming!!! The left is sweating bullets because of the impossible dilemma that you have placed them in. And the faster you bankrupt these goddamned “sanctuary cities,” the better.

      Reply
  6. Mike Bryant

    What Canada thinks about illegal immigration…

    https://choosecanada.com/about-canada/number-illegal-immigrants/

    Hint… it isn’t a good thing.

    From the Government article:

    “Illegal immigrants do more than break border laws. They unfairly enjoy the privileges of permanent residents and citizens. Because of this, they cost the Canadian government valuable money, time, and manpower.“

    “Canada recognizes the problems caused by illegal immigration. Because of this, the Canadian government has made it easier for citizens and residents to report illegal immigrants. The agency to contact for these cases is the Canadian Border Services Agency (CSBA).”

    We need to be more like Canada! LOL

    Reply
  7. Dan Ward

    Very nicely done! The hypocrisy of the Left never ceases to amaze. Small border towns are struggling to deal with a daily deluge of illegal traffic, to which a deaf ear has been turned, and now the whining from these so-called sanctuary cities is pathetic. Ironically, the Hispanic vote is trending conservative along the border, so the Left’s plan to shift voting demographics may backfire on them. Doesn’t make it right though.

    Reply
  10. Stephen Dickey

    This poem is a home run for me. I particularly appreciate how the rhyme structure collaborates to express the opposition. I think that is hard to do, at least for me anyway.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thanks Stephen. Evan offered some excellent suggestions with this poem.

      Reply
  11. Joshua C. Frank

    Well done Russel! Very good job of expressing the point so succinctly.

    Reply
  12. Ronald J. Lockley (Conor Kelly)

    Lovely poem, Russel, that strips the veneer off the left and the libs.
    Did Mr. DeSantis dispense “poetic justice”.

    Reply
  13. Conor Kelly

    Some concluding remarks.

    As my little squib of a poem has managed to sting so many into pained responses, I thought I’d come back to the fray for a final buzz.

    To Russel
    Thank you for being so respectful and for being happy to disagree. I apologise for calling you self-satisfied and smug. As Mike pointed out, these terms are repetitious and, thereby, at least one of them is redundant. However, when I use terms like hate-filled and uptight, I am referring not to your attitude to “the Left” and “the Libs” (I could care less) but to your attitude to immigrants. See my concluding sentence (borrowed from a Scottish lady) below.
    I admire your metrical and verbal skills and have enjoyed many of your poems, particularly those I have come across on the Asses of Parnassus site. However I don’t think it is possible to use terms like “the left” or “the libs” in a poem, however comic or satiric, and get away with it. I tried to respond to you by using the term “the right”, but I had to get rid of the definite article.

    To Joseph
    You want to know why I return to the SCP. I like classical poems in classical forms . And I like some of the poems I find on the site. But the pervasive political ranting that accompanies these poems in the comments section gives me a good belly laugh. No doubt you have me pinned down as a CLINO – classical lover in name only.
    Also: your knowledge of Irish left wing magazines is woeful. Everyone knows I write for the Irish Trotskyist Review which is an entirely different magazine to the Irish Marxist Review. It is as if I accused you of writing for the Italian Fascist Review.
    I don’t, as you allege, hate America (see my comments to Mike below). I love the way America embraces diversity, apart from you and your compagni on this site.

    To Mike
    Congratulations on your research and on tracking me down. But you need to go a little further. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Beach Boys, I get around. As well as Canada and Ireland, I also live in France, as I’m sure a deeper scan would reveal. And if you had access to the resources of the deep state you abhor, you would discover that I lived and worked in America (Michigan, to be precise) for a lengthy period. Whether that was legal or illegal, I am not prepared to say for fear of causing you apoplexy. If I paid my taxes to the US government – Joshua and Joseph please copy – I can be allowed to comment on what you call the good old USA.
    Like you I am very angry with Mr Soros since he stopped sending me those large sums of money and since he has gone back on his promise that I would be his Minister of Culture, Education and Propaganda in the World Government. I had to look up the WEF on Google, but I don’t see what Mr Soros or myself have to do with the Water Environment Federation.
    Give this pipsqueak keyboard warrior from a God-forsaken location a break.

    To Joshua
    You give me too much credit. I am incapable of destroying the USA from within. But thank you for the compliment.
    You ask, “why does he come to this website if he hates everything we stand for so much?” As I explained to Joseph, I like classical poetry. When it comes to the comments, I find the mutual back-slapping and brown nosing very amusing. It is like a circle-jerk of self-congratulation. Excuse me for throwing cold water on it.
    By the way, Joshua, who is the “we’ you mention. It certainly doesn’t include me, even though I join in the poems and the comments.

    On Immigration
    If you think DeSantis is clever for moving immigrants from one part of the USA to another, you should see what the British are doing. The former Home Secretary (under Johnson) and the present Home Secretary (under Truss) plan to move immigrants not to Scotland, like Massachussets a more welcoming area, but to an entirely different country in a different continent, Rwanda.
    The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has a different view: “My dream is that we live in a world where those fleeing violence and oppression are shown compassion and treated like human beings, not shown the door.”

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Conor,
      You have entered Russel’s living room, insulted him and now you are trolling.
      You are in violation of the SCP comment policy.
      Mr. Winnick has been very kind, considering your rudeness.
      You’ve had your say… that’s enough.
      Mike Bryant, Moderator

      Reply
      • Conor Kelly

        Mike,
        I said above I was buzzing for the last time. However as you, the site moderator, accuse me of violating the SCP comment policy and as I cannot reply to you privately (see 3 below) I am offering this response to your six point policy as outlined on your site.

        1. Keep comments on topic.
        I presume the topic is the poem. If you (yes, you) go on a regular rant about Soros, WEF, art, education etc. in response to a poem about hypocrisy and immigration, you are hardly staying on topic.
        Give me a break.

        2. Constructive commentary on poems is great. Personal attacks and condescension are not acceptable.
        Tell me all about personal attacks. A recent poem on this site launched a personal and professional attack, both in the poem and in the comments, on another poet and you joined in the attack. My one regret is that I didn’t defend him.
        If you look below you will see the comments of a regular brawler who throws insults – personal attacks and condescension – like punches in a bar fight. He can call the first minister of Scotland “a dumb bitch” and he can refer to fellow humans as “Third-World garbage” and you won’t accuse him of violating policy.
        Give me a break.

        3. Any questions or comments to staff should be addressed through a private email.
        Fine. But you don’t provide an email address on the policy page.
        Give me a break.

        4. Use your real name in comments. Refrain from using anagrams, pseudonyms, or sock puppets.
        When I read a poem that suggested the domestic terrorist, Ashli Babbit, should be buried in Arlington cemetery, I was convinced that the SCP was being subjected to an Ern Malley type hoax. However no less a luminary than Evan assured me that the poet was real and that he also used anagramatised pseudonyms in his poems and in his comments.
        Give me a break

        5. No trolling or “stirring the pot.”
        Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble. (Or should that be “troll and trouble.”) This is what I’m accused of doing. But it seems to be acceptable to stir the pot clockwise – in a rightward direction. Woe betide anyone who tries to stir the pot anti-clockwise – in a leftward direction.
        Give me a break.

        6. Be aware that comments are moderated and may be deleted.
        To be fair, Mike, much as you are antagonised by what `I post, you haven’t edited or deleted my posts (yet!). For that I am grateful.
        At least here you have given me a break.

      • Mike Bryant

        Conor, think of SCP as a large mansion owned by Evan. Each of the rooms belongs to the featured poet of the post. You were graciously invited into Evan’s mansion. You know who Evan is and you at least have an idea who the poets are. So you went into Mr. Winnick’s living room where he is surrounded by friends and admirers and you screwed the pooch.
        The comments policy is designed to keep people from insulting the poet. But that, apparently is what you were there to do. Evan has designed this site as a place for people to learn about formal poetry and as a place where people can showcase their poetry.
        I will also make sure people don’t insult you in your living room. However, when you barge into someone else’s living room and insult your host… all sorts of bad things that you don’t want to happen will happen… because we don’t abide troublemakers,
        My email address is on every single post under the “Note to poets.” I ain’t exactly hiding.
        When someone insults a poet in his own living room… people tend to get a mite upset.
        I hope you understand where you are now.

  14. Joseph S. Salemi

    Kelly seems to imagine that there is a major difference between a Marxist and a Trotskyite. They are both dictatorial types who lust to tell others how to think and what to do. And he can’t be a particularly good researcher on Google if he didn’t discover that the WEF is the World Economic Forum.

    As for that dumb bitch Nicola Sturgeon, I wonder if she has actually inquired of the Scottish people whether they want to be inundated with Third-World garbage.

    Reply
  15. The Society

    Dear Conor Kelly,

    Bruce Dale Wise uses pseudonyms, but we always make sure comments are labeled BDW or his post is labeled “by Bruce Dale Wise” at the top. The rules were laxer a few years ago, so perhaps there is some misunderstanding there. All we can really do is agree to disagree as Russel said. Maybe stay away from politics and enjoy the other poems at the SCP.

    Regards,
    Evan Mantyk

    Reply

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