Utah Gov. Spencer Cox triggered by French art during Olympic opening ceremony.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Miss: Doth Protest
Welcome to the 2024 Paris Olympics and a new round of misinformation and righteous indignation. And Utah "Christians'' and pundits are eating it up. The latest controversy is about a seeming parody of The Last Supper. "The parody of the biblical scene, performed against the backdrop of the River Seine, was intended to interpret Dionysus and raise awareness 'of the absurdity of violence between human beings,'" The Guardian reported, quoting organizers whose apology was anything but full-throated. "If people have taken any offense we are really sorry." Nonetheless, Gov. Spencer Cox thanked them on social media with prayerful hand emojis. And Sen. Mike Lee had none of it: "The opening ceremonies at the Olympics were about Dionysus in roughly the same way that a pineapple is about pizza." KUTV reported on the outrage, too. But really? It's France, where blasphemy is legal. And this is not the first Last Supper to be parodied. LDS folks might remember a 2003 parody on Battlestar Gallactica—that Mormons in Space TV series.
Miss: Bait and Switch
If Utahns were hopeful that Gov. Cox saw the error of his ways, think again. We waited a week or so after Cox opined that he had reconsidered and would vote for Donald Trump because the former guy was going to change his ways after an attempted assassination. Cox, of course, prayed about it. "Your life was spared," he wrote Trump. "Now, because of that miracle, you have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country." So much for miracles. Trump has since called Kamala Harris a bum and a lunatic and said Democrats are cheating. That's the least of it. When Cox posted this on X, we were hopeful: "An easy mistake (and one I have made)." Alas, it wasn't about his endorsement of Trump. The governor might want to look up the meaning of unity or even how to "Disagree Better."
Hit: Power to the People
The good news we heard a while ago—that citizens have a constitutional right to change their government by ballot initiative—appears to have sparked actions from various citizen groups unhappy with the supermajority Legislature. On July 26, Fox 13 reported on People 4 Utah's push for open primaries. "In Utah, if you're an independent voter, you are excluded from a decision in 81% of legislative races," People 4 Utah's Barbara Stallone told Fox 13. Primaries are party functions and the last time they were changed was the 2014 Count My Vote effort, which let candidates collect signatures to get on the ballot. Initiatives are not easy to pass, requiring petitions from 26 of the 29 state Senate districts and then passing in an election. And they will likely get harder. Still, others are brewing: a carbon tax initiative, a reproductive rights initiative, etc. Clean the Darn Air's Yoram Bauman is whipping up support for carbon tax with a rom-com called "Seize the Initiative."
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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