In Scott Pruitt’s home state of Oklahoma, the concept of “castle doctrine” – the idea that you can protect your domicile with deadly force without fear of prosecution – extends outside the home, in the form of a “stand your ground” law. Along with those of 26 other states, Oklahoma’s stand your ground law indicates that a person cannot be charged when committing homicide “if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.”
That said, Levi Fuller’s “Scott Pruitt Must Die” is neither a call to assassination nor to justifiable homicide. From the chorus:
Scott Pruitt must die, as must we all, and the world we’ll leave behind
Will barely be fit for human life and that’s his fault and yours and mine
So while Trump’s most cartoonishly corrupt former cabinet member has been enthusiastically bad for this country and the world, Levi reminds us that we must all confront our own complicity in environmental degradation. Similarly, Oklahomans and other Americans who own a firearm are much more likely to be injured or killed by that firearm (or to themselves use it in a crime) than they are to use it effectively in self-defense. There are no easy answers.
Levi Fuller & the Library will play this and other songs at the Ball of Wax 53 show on Friday, August 3rd. Be there!