Monday, April 8, 2019

Kirstjen Nielsen and Dante

What might Dante devise for Kirstjen Nielsen? I imagine an endless cage, one whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. I think this punishment possesses the Dantean element of contrapasso, whereby punishment fits the crime, often by means of a bitter, mordant wit. Here the offender wanders alone, never able to find an exit, never able to find asylum.

But there’s no need for Dante: I would suggest that Nielsen has made a cage of her own. She will always be known for abetting the cruel xenophobe who employed her. No exit from that cage.