NSFW THE TRUMPOCALYPSE

[KLS52]

Christy isn't the original author from what I can tell. Someone asked her if she wrote it and she replied that she did not. Possibly it was written by a Liz Arnet but I couldn't find any confirmation of that.

 

[PTree15]

This is the post on FB from Christy that was against the women's march:

"I am not a "disgrace to women" because I don't support the women's march. I do not feel I am a "second class citizen" because I am a woman. I do not feel my voice is "not heard" because I am a woman. I do not feel I am not provided opportunities in this life or in America because I am a woman. I do not feel that I "don't have control of my body or choices" because I am a woman. I do not feel like I am " not respected or undermined" because I am a woman.
I AM a woman.
I can make my own choices.
I can speak and be heard.
I can VOTE.
I can work if I want.
I control my body.
I can defend myself.
I can defend my family.
There is nothing stopping me to do anything in this world but MYSELF.
I do not blame my circumstances or problems on anything other than my own choices or even that sometimes in life, we don't always get what we want. I take responsibility for myself.
I am a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister, a friend. I am not held back in life but only by the walls I choose to not go over which is a personal choice.
Quit blaming.
Take responsibility.
If you want to speak, do so. But do not expect for me, a woman, to take you seriously wearing a pink va-jay-jay hat on your head and screaming profanities and bashing men.
If you have beliefs, and speak to me in a kind manner, I will listen. But do not expect for me to change my beliefs to suit yours. Respect goes both ways.
If you want to impress me, especially in regards to women, then speak on the real injustices and tragedies that affect women in foreign countries that do not that the opportunity or means to have their voices heard.
Saudi Arabia, women can't drive, no rights and must always be covered.
China and India, infantcide of baby girls.
Afghanistan, unequal education rights.
Democratic Republic of Congo, where rapes are brutal and women are left to die, or HIV infected and left to care for children alone.
Mali, where women can not escape the torture of genital mutilation.
Pakistan, in tribal areas where women are gang raped to pay for men's crime.
Guatemala, the impoverished female underclass of Guatemala faces domestic violence, rape and the second-highest rate of HIV/AIDS after sub-Saharan Africa. An epidemic of gruesome unsolved murders has left hundreds of women dead, some of their bodies left with hate messages.
And that's just a few examples.
So when women get together in AMERICA and whine they don't have equal rights and march in their clean clothes, after eating a hearty breakfast, and it's like a vacation away that they have paid for to get there...
This WOMAN does not support it.

-Liz Arnet.

#notmymarch"

That's wonderful that she is fortunate enough not to feel disenfranchised, but wow, talk about putting blinders on to the realities of millions of women in this country who are not as fortunate. I don't consider it "whining" to voice my support for all women who feel marginalized. It's called speaking up, voicing your opinion, offering support. She has a right not to support the march, but I have a right to defend my choice as well. I marched also because I want the Orange Menace to be put on notice that I will not be silent, that I will be watching. I will not let him trample over rights that I cherish and refuse to give up just because he is a misogynistic, racist fool.

 

[Mischief]

Yup. I didn't march for myself - I'm at an age where little/none of this will have an impact on me directly.

But I do care what happens to other people.

 

[Mischief]

There are quite a few businesses that are in for a rude awakening also. Company That Relies on NAFTA and Supports the GOP Suddenly Regretting Both Decisions

 

[Mischief]

This is what the reinstatement of the Mexico City rule means: Here's What the Mexico City Policy Means for Women

 

[Calliegirl]

And this is why those women didn't support the march...

 

[Calliegirl]

 

[KLS52]

The difference between Barack Obama and Donald Trump in two videos

 

[KLS52]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1566668930011636

 

[Spang]

An indigenous woman's take on the Women's March.

 

[FortyTwo]

Well, by that test, everyone who's "whining" that they've been left behind economically should STFU, since they still have it many times better than a poor person in sub-Saharan Africa.

ETA: That was in response to the Christy post.

Also, do these folks realize it's possible to care about more than one thing at once? I promise that those who are disgusted by anti-abortion rhetoric over here aren't just ignoring atrocities committed in other countries.

An indigenous woman's take on the Women's March.

I've seen a lot of discussion of this. Many people were very disappointed with the white feminist bend to the march. Intersectionality was thrown out the window - this is clear from the abundance of signs promoting genitalia-centered-womanhood and excluding trans women in the process.

I think this is more of a problem with mainstream feminism/activism than anything else. I hope that if nothing else this administration pushes more white feminists to understand intersectionality and reject the white- and cis-centered idea of womanhood that permeates the mainstream feminist movement.

 

[Spang]

Tim Heidecker (Tim & Eric) wrote a song about Richard "peaceful ethnic cleansing" Spencer.

You can’t wish anyone dead / even if their baseball cap is red / But if you see Richard Spencer / Why don’t you punch him in the head?

 

[Amy SF]

Holy ****. This guy is nucking futs.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/tru...oclamation-littered-with-religious-buzzwords/

 

[Moll Flanders]

Can you be a "pro-life feminist"? The Women's March on Washington offered some insights. - Vox

Interesting.

I have been reading the responses to DT's inauguration and I am so surprised by the polarised responses, some people seem devastated and some people seem ecstatic. It is such a cliché now to say that America is divided, but it seems so true.

I think this is more of a problem with mainstream feminism/activism than anything else. I hope that if nothing else this administration pushes more white feminists to understand intersectionality and reject the white- and cis-centered idea of womanhood that permeates the mainstream feminist movement.

Yes, I agree. I find some of the mainstream feminist movement elitist, so if I do as a white middle-class woman, then I can imagine other women must feel excluded from it.

 

[PTree15]

I think this is more of a problem with mainstream feminism/activism than anything else. I hope that if nothing else this administration pushes more white feminists to understand intersectionality and reject the white- and cis-centered idea of womanhood that permeates the mainstream feminist movement.

Indeed, I hope this happens as well.

 

[Moll Flanders]

There is also a huge economic factor that I think a lot of people overlooked. There are indeed regions of the country where jobs and communities have disappeared because of technological evolution such as automation. I've seen it in my own field. Newspapers, the print model anyway, are dying left and right because it's simply cheaper to produce news without the cost of newsprint, delivery, machinery to print, etc. These regions and industries haven't recovered economically and they haven't found a way to bounce back. The Orange Menace tapped into these disenfranchised groups. His slogan of make America great again spoke to them. I've been listening to interviews of people from these regions who voted for the OM, and they all cite jobs as the main reason. I can't understand how they think their coal jobs or manufacturing jobs will rebound. That horse is out of the barn. Those jobs aren't coming back for so many reasons. Globalization is a huge factor. Businesses will do whatever they can to keep costs down, even if that means putting tons of people out of work. If they can get their goods and services produced more cheaply, they will, regardless of where those jobs go. It's all about the Benjamins, sadly.

All of this also got worse after 9/11. I think since the 80s there has been a concerted effort to squelch debate of any kind. When I was a kid, thoughtful debate, thinking for yourself, questioning authority were all encouraged. It's now perceived as unpatriotic to engage in anything that criticizes the government. Nationalism is all the rage, and some of white America sees immigrants as taking their jobs away, taking away their livelihood, ruining their neighborhoods, taking their resources. They abhor programs that use tax dollars to help people because they feel like they are paying for laziness and scam artists just abusing the system. I have heard it from own family members. "Why should I have to pay for people who just want to suck the system dry?" It's depressing. They don't seem to want to hear about all of the people these programs have helped.

Sorry, I realised I asked you a question and didn't respond! I meant to this morning but I got sidetracked by what other people were saying on here. I agree with a lot of what you wrote and you were very informative as well.

I have read that a lot of American people felt like 9/11 was a huge turning point for the US. One thing I keep meaning to say is that I think what I didn't understand (clearly, I didn't understand a lot before the election result!) was that Americans really want to work. I think it must be the Protestant work ethic. Over in the UK quite a few people on lower incomes or with kids are receiving some type of government benefit (welfare) or tax credits and there isn't much shame or stigma in that. They get benefits even when they are in work. Over in the US it seems like people really want to work and don't like being on welfare. I can see why DT would appeal to that group of people. I wasn't really seeing his appeal at all, but I can see why his promises would attract some of the working-class. I think there is far more social mobility in the UK compared to the US too, as people have free healthcare, benefits, better working conditions etc...

ETA: I mean that in the UK, even though we have a very entrenched class system, there is a more level playing field and people have more equal opportunities even if they are from a poor background. Not that we are perfect at all! There is a lot more work we have to do to create a fairer society.

 

[Mischief]

No surprise here: Trump to give green light to Dakota Access, Keystone XL oil pipelines

 

[Mischief]

S One thing I keep meaning to say is that I think what I didn't understand (clearly, I didn't understand a lot before the election result!) was that Americans really want to work. I think it must be the Protestant work ethic.

It's not so much that they want to work, it's that they get really, really bent out of shape by others not working. (Except, of course, in the case of people born rich - that's great, and everyone's dream.)

There's a huge stigma associated with benefits for the poor, and none associated with benefits for the rich.

My neighbors in Illinois own farmland worth somewhere between 10 and 20 million dollars. They are outraged at "welfare fraud", yet receive a not insignificant amount of federal money annually from farm price supports, and they see no inconsistency whatsoever in that.

Other millionaire farm families do intricate estate planning so that when the older generation go into nursing homes, their assets have long since been disbursed to the younger generations, so that government funds pay their nursing home costs.

The stigma has nothing to do with working/not working. The stigma has to do with being poor, whether working poor or not.

That's why DT won every income group over $49,999, and Hillary Clinton won every group below.

 

[Mischief]

This is an interesting piece about a young man from Oklahoma, who perceives his community as being at "the bottom" rung of economic opportunity. He's a supporter of DT, and 70% of his county voted for DT.

Peter knows where he stands. He remembers multiple factories and small businesses "shutting down or laying off. Next thing you know, half of downtown" in the bigger city eight miles away "became vacant storefronts." Given that experience, he has concluded, "for those people who have no political voice and come from states that do not matter, the best thing they can do is try to send in a wrecking ball to disrupt the system."

When Peter finished with that last line, there was a slight gasp from someone in the class—then silence, then applause. They felt like they got it.

According to the 2010 census, the median household income in Peter's county is a little more than $45,000. By comparison, Detroit's is about $27,000 and Chicago's(with a higher cost of living) is just under $49,000. The poverty rate is 17.5 percent in the county and 7.6 percent in Peter's little town, compared with Chicago's 22.7 percent. The unemployment rate has hovered around 4 percent.

I asked my student why he voted for Trump. The answer was thoughtful, smart, and terrifying.

 

[Moll Flanders]

The point I'm making is that I didn't understand at all why DT would appeal to Americans and I'm just starting to understand why he had some appeal. It's only because it is very similar to what people say about the Labour Party and their voters in the UK. The Labour Party used to have a loyal working-class base of supporters, but the party has been seen to be too interested in minority causes, London-centric causes or causes that the average working-class person in the UK doesn't care about. It's probably what other people on here (Beancounter?) have said about identity politics in American politics. The Labour Party are getting hammered in the ratings now as I think they are around 15 points behind the Conservative party.