Me Too

Me too. 

Now what?  It’s appalling how many times I’ve seen that phrase in the last couple of days. What’s going to happen?  What’s going to change?  I have my suspicions, and they aren’t optimistic. 

We have a culture in which abuses and injustices are eagerly rationalized by the huddled masses, all while we are willing coconspirators in preserving the myth of an equitable nation. We  “the form of [liberty] without the power thereof,” to paraphrase a biblical concept. We are so desperate to hang on to the illusion of freedom, that we ostracize anyone who tries to reveal the smoke and mirrors. 

We are compelled to give up our freedom of speech to worship a flag. We conspire against and vilify anyone who dares to kneel and say, “me too .”

We scream in outrage that a white nurse is manhandled by the police, then accept lame excuses when we see it happen to black men, women, and children. Dead men can’t say, “me too.”  

We insist we honor our military, but with $600 billion dollars, we can’t find any money to rescue them—broken, jobless, and homeless—from our streets, as if they are expendable.  After we’re done using them up, who is hearing “me too” from them?

We, the immigrants, argue viciously about who else is welcome in these stolen lands without even thinking about consulting the native people.  Have they not been saying for hundreds of years, respect “me too?”

Are we not all saying the same thing?  Me too!  See me, too. Believe me, too. Value me, too. We must all work together to fully realize the America dream first envisioned by the signers of the Declaration of Independence. If we ever want to see a great America, and bring to fruition the ideals of freedom and justice for ALL, each one must work to give others the exact same liberties that we, ourselves, yearn for. We have to do it together. Make no mistake; we are in a war, and we have a powerful battle cry.

I see you. 
I believe you. 
I value you. 

Do you want clean water or poison?

It's really very simple.  Do you want clean water or not?

Unrestrained Capitalism = poisoned water (and unsafe working conditions, and child labor, and filthy air, and shall I go on?)

Democratic Socialism = regulations which help prevent companies from endangering their communities.

Any questions?  No?  So, is it ok if we use a little socialism to clean this mess up?  Maybe we could use a little socialism to get Flint some clean water, too, while we're at it?

#Socialismisnotadirtyword
#itsjustcommonsense

What to know about toxic Wolverine dump sites and drinking water

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/10/wolverines_toxic_legacy.html

From Now On

After all is said and done, I wish to thank every single one of the alt-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, terrorists of Charlottesville and your supporters. No, really. I thank you. You have laid bare for all the world the foul, rotting, rancid, tumorous, excrement-filled, racist underbelly of America with such efficiency it is completely unnecessary anymore to debate whether it exists. Thank you for showing us the violent true selves of the Nazis masquerading as teachers, employers, politicians, financiers, students, bankers--white men from many walks of life. Never again will any decent, reasonable person have to waste breath proving that there are willing, people eagerly carrying on with the oppressive work of the Jim Crow era. From now on, it is entirely clear that anyone willing to argue the matter is either blind and deaf, stupid, insane, or evil. 

Thank you for demonstrating so clearly.  Yes, in America, white men can protect themselves in riot gear, make an armed advance on citizens and police officers, beat and kill human beings, and walk away, alive and without consequences. Thank you for leaving no doubt whatsoever, that in this great country, where Native Americans are set upon with violence for protecting their own land, and black citizens are killed in the street because police officers are afraid of the shape of their noses, white men can get away anything their evil minds can imagine. From now on, it is entirely clear that anyone willing to argue the matter is either blind and deaf, stupid, insane, or evil. 

Thank you for exposing, with absolute clarity how 62,979,879 betrayed voters are now drowning in the very swamp they wanted to destroy. Kudos on showing us with certainty the values of the unhinged, bigoted, racist, xenophobic fascist currently installed in the White House and where his allegiances lie. Again. There's little room for doubt where priorities lie for any man who more quickly disavowed critics of your crimes than, you the criminals. From now on, it is entirely clear that anyone willing to argue the matter is either blind and deaf, stupid, insane, or evil. 

Photo:  Katina Parker
Durham, NC residents attempting to confess
for the crime of removing Confederate monuments

Thank you for being poster children for cowardly white privilege and fragility. With a million essays, I could never have proven the case as eloquently as you have done. Never would I have dreamed it would be so easy to make mainstream America realize the ridiculousness of glorifying those traitorous losers of history who were willing to destroy a country in exchange for the privilege of keeping other human beings in bondage. Congratulations. Truly.  You have now accomplished what I feared impossible so thoroughly, discussion is no longer even necessary.  From now on, it is entirely clear that anyone willing to argue the matter is either blind and deaf, stupid, insane, or evil. Are you catching on yet?  There’s really only one right side to be on here.  One.  Right.  Side.  And you are not on it. 

See, here's the thing. The "alt-left, that far "left" group of people you fear and hate so much? Surprise!  We are the center. The middle. The bullseye.  The very heart of America. Here is where all the decent, truly patriotic Americans live. We outnumber you, and now we are awake. Thanks to you. 

I'm With Elie

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. 

~Elie Wiesel

There's an awful lot of people taking to social media with the "Can't we all just get along" frame of mind.  No.  No we can not.  No, I can not just wait and see what he's going to do and give him a chance.  He had a campaign to show me what he was about, and I'm not impressed.  I can not just embrace the ridiculousness that is passing for an incoming presidential administration.  Stop asking me to.  Stop implying it's the noisy people creating the problems.  We are the ones making sure all y'all don't start thinking this crap is normal.  Personally, I think Elie Wiesel is a damn good example, so I'm just going to stick with him.      

Labels, Labels

I'm thinking about labels. Let's take "progressive" for instance. Why do people throw that term around like it's a bad thing? If you had cancer, wouldn't you prefer a progressive doctor? Don't you want the one who's up to date on research and treatment options? You wouldn't want the one who is stuck using outdated methods from back when America was "great," would you? If you have to have a surgery or a c-section, don't you want a progressive surgeon? One you uses anesthesia and sterilization techniques? Would you prefer an appendectomy where they open you up neck to genitals the way they did it in the good old days? Personally, I'd prefer something a little more with the times.


What if we think about education or banking communications? Should we go back to the days of one-room school houses, the great train robbery, and mail by Pony Express? Of course not. Progress is a good thing, right?

I mean, seriously. At the time the Constitution was framed, people had some great ideas to be sure. Then they went home and had the doc come over for a quick blood-letting for their headaches and bouts with pneumonia. We've learned a few things and advanced a little since that time. It seems quite foolish to me to pretend that's a bad thing.

Look. Science is real. It is the thing that brought us the abilities to buy a house on your iPhone, bomb a country from an armchair in Nebraska, make opinions about important topics based on a meme by Jenny McCarthy, and not die a slow, itchy, agonizing death from a simple vaginal yeast infection. So, no, your conspiracy theory about climate change does not equal science. Your Google search about Common Core does not make you an expert in Education, with all due respect to Mrs DeVos.
Not everything on a Facebook meme is real, and you hearing something on the Faux News Network is not equivalent to a factual understanding of history or the ability to find and understand legitimate sources for information. Not bothering to figure out what is reliable information does not mean you're dumb. It means you're lazy. If acknowledging that makes me a crazy "progressive," bring on the label.

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The Truth Shall Set You Free

Murica 11/8/2016:  Elects the most openly racist president in something like a hundred years.

Murica 11/9/2016:  “How dare you suggest we are racist!”

I know I said I was going to stay off social media for a while.  I’m trying.  I’m sure sometime soon I will be a bit more conciliatory in the interest of being the better person.  Yesterday, when I learned that so many of my “friends” and neighbors think my family is valueless, was not that day.  Today is not that day.  Tomorrow isn’t looking good either.  I don’t know how to make you feel better about that.  Electing any president has consequences.  Your choice has frightened and deeply hurt many, many people of America.  This is one of the consequences of electing Trump, and you need to acknowledge it, own it.  Sadly, I doubt it’s going to be the worst of the fallout.    

I’m not sure what reaction you expected from social justice-minded people when you voted for him, but it was probably unrealistic.  For future reference, if you associate yourself with a racist, sexist xenophobe, you are likely to lend the impression you are a racist, sexist xenophobe.  I deeply apologize if this surprises you.  Here’s a thought; take all that indignation, offense, and belittlement you may be feeling about being stereotyped and misunderstood.  Now, multiply it over two or three hundred years.  You then will still understand only a fraction of how it feels to be Native American, black, Hispanic, female, Muslim, LGBT+, mentally ill, or differently-abled in Murica.  Why do I say only a fraction?  You can choose to turn me off.  You’re probably not being denied dignity, the right to protect your own land, housing, a job, clean water, a crotch safe from grabby hands, the right to walk down your own damn street without being harassed, assaulted, or murdered by the people sworn to protect you; an adequate education, equal pay, health care, the right to vote, or anything else Murica has denied others.  You don’t have to wake up tomorrow and every day knowing your country thinks you don’t matter. 

With the entire depth of my being, I hope you will ponder how you arrived at a place where these behaviors are palatable, maybe even preferable to you… especially if you consider yourself a follower of Christ.  It is a deeply disturbing dichotomy to see people who say they love Jesus rationalize the degradation of the very people He died for.   I am not one of those vapid people that thinks you can say all kinds of malicious things, then excuse it with a misappropriated Bible quote and a smiley face emoji.  I may not even be a very good Christian, but I know the Bible and what it means; I know the One it leads me to.  I know what He had to say about all this.  After talking about loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, He taught us to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  As.  Much.  As.  We.  Love.  Ourselves.  How's that for some inconvenient truth to meditate on?  Then he told this story: 

      

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (NIV, Luke 10:25-37)

Trump and the unjust system he has gleefully promised to perpetuate are the robbers.  Are we going to be the stiff-necked, self-righteous Jewish leaders who think they only have to care for people exactly like themselves?  Or are we going to be like the despised, racially mixed Samaritan who understood the heart of God?  I’m done entertaining excuses by the Christian Right and those who are being misled by them.  If you want to be a right Christian, do what Christ says to do.  Take care of the people he loves, which in case you’ve missed it, includes ALL of us. 

#RedandYellowBlackandWhiteTheyArePreciousInHisSight  #nevertrump  #Murica  #notmypresident  #blacklivesmatter  #pussiesforsocialjustice