Today's GOP is executing a united, cohesive, strategic plan across Republican states and at the federal level, which will take away our rights, freedoms, and democracy. On our side, we have unaffiliated, disparate groups sounding the alarm, and when we ask what we can do, we're told to VOTE (and donate time and…
Today's GOP is executing a united, cohesive, strategic plan across Republican states and at the federal level, which will take away our rights, freedoms, and democracy. On our side, we have unaffiliated, disparate groups sounding the alarm, and when we ask what we can do, we're told to VOTE (and donate time and money).
While that is good advice and all of us should, it falls short because many of the semi-fascist election deniers on the ballot across the country are in safe district and will win. It's likely that the GOP will retake the majority in the House, and it's still not certain that the Democrats will hold the Senate. It is becoming more clear that many of our institutions (Secret Service, FBI, DOJ, DHS, and Military) are rife with those who support the semi-fascist side.
It feels to me that the pro-democracy side is always 5 steps behind the pro-fascist side. Someone, somewhere, should try bringing our side together with its own cohesive, national strategy before it is too late. It took a world war in the 1940's to defeat the fascists. There will be no war to save us from ourselves. We have to do it from within. How? When? Voting is damned important, but it is NOT ENOUGH. What else should we be doing?
Who is going to show some leadership and start answering that question?
Perhaps a grass-roots movement wanting the FCC to to reform policy/laws to differentiate news from entertainment from political commentary. Only allow news operators to use the word News; have disclaimers with show intro as to what it is - entertainment or commentary, fiction, etc.
I think one effective plan would be to start contesting elections at the hyper-local level as the GOP crazies have. Moms for Liberty are funded by grants from Koch organizations. A majority on a school board lets them ban books and decide curriculum. The Dems don’t seem to be fighting back. Funding does play a role. Every time you see GOP crazies protesting with three-colour, printed signs, you know this was funded by dark money and planned far enough ahead to get signs printed.
When TFG first ran there was a small movement to laugh, literally laugh, at the right-wing nuts. There is nothing they hate worse than being laughed at! Yet today I just can't do it. I would laugh with tears running down my face.
I think the power of laughing at them has gone away also. I think our laughter at them is now viewed as our disdain of them, and they feed off it, just as they feed off our anger.
That's why I think contempt needs to be the order of the day. "Can you believe these idiots think kids are using litter boxes in school?!?" Say it loud. If anyone pushes on it, demand they prove it. "Find me a school district that will state that that is their policy. It is a made up internet hoax and idiots are falling for it."
Couple of keys though, don't identify it as right wing idiocy, as then they'll retreat into their partisan shell. Also try not to include them in the idiocy if there's still an option not to. Attack the ideas as non-partisan stupid.
It doesn't matter. My good friend visits her family who live in OK and Alabama
She says they watch Fox News religiously. Their pastors in Church praise Trump and preach against Democrats, and they all go to church. There are still yard signs all over declaring forTrump. They have been brainwashed into believing his being President and their Christian faith are all tied together. She says it's frightening.
Funny thing is, I thought I was doing that. But I went for the whole furry thing in general, little did I know I'd be challenged on the subset of litter boxes
Well, if you are talking to someone even remotely reachable, the fact that the litter boxes are for active shooter emergencies instead of furry kids ought to get the point across that the furry thing is nonsense, even if they don't blink at things like forking litter boxes for active shooters (which I'm at the point now where I just deadpan suggest arming the students).
We've become complacent because we e had it so wonderfully easy for so long. It's hard to imagine this actually happening. I think we continually want to think the better of our countrymen, even though so many are showing us otherwise. And it's hard to fight this while playing within the rules of democracy. But to fight it with anti democratic methods is only to join it.
It does seem like an - I hope we're not too little too late - moment and it needs a strong leader and a willing public who can shine that light somehow through our horrendously messy media ecosystem. Unfortunately, Fox and it's I'll have been preparing for this for decades.
Here's what I worry about:
Today's GOP is executing a united, cohesive, strategic plan across Republican states and at the federal level, which will take away our rights, freedoms, and democracy. On our side, we have unaffiliated, disparate groups sounding the alarm, and when we ask what we can do, we're told to VOTE (and donate time and money).
While that is good advice and all of us should, it falls short because many of the semi-fascist election deniers on the ballot across the country are in safe district and will win. It's likely that the GOP will retake the majority in the House, and it's still not certain that the Democrats will hold the Senate. It is becoming more clear that many of our institutions (Secret Service, FBI, DOJ, DHS, and Military) are rife with those who support the semi-fascist side.
It feels to me that the pro-democracy side is always 5 steps behind the pro-fascist side. Someone, somewhere, should try bringing our side together with its own cohesive, national strategy before it is too late. It took a world war in the 1940's to defeat the fascists. There will be no war to save us from ourselves. We have to do it from within. How? When? Voting is damned important, but it is NOT ENOUGH. What else should we be doing?
Who is going to show some leadership and start answering that question?
Perhaps a grass-roots movement wanting the FCC to to reform policy/laws to differentiate news from entertainment from political commentary. Only allow news operators to use the word News; have disclaimers with show intro as to what it is - entertainment or commentary, fiction, etc.
That genie is not going back in the bottle. And also consider what happens if the other side has control of the labels...
Yeah, good luck with that. They should bring back the Fairness Doctrine. But they won't.
I think one effective plan would be to start contesting elections at the hyper-local level as the GOP crazies have. Moms for Liberty are funded by grants from Koch organizations. A majority on a school board lets them ban books and decide curriculum. The Dems don’t seem to be fighting back. Funding does play a role. Every time you see GOP crazies protesting with three-colour, printed signs, you know this was funded by dark money and planned far enough ahead to get signs printed.
When TFG first ran there was a small movement to laugh, literally laugh, at the right-wing nuts. There is nothing they hate worse than being laughed at! Yet today I just can't do it. I would laugh with tears running down my face.
I think the power of laughing at them has gone away also. I think our laughter at them is now viewed as our disdain of them, and they feed off it, just as they feed off our anger.
That's why I think contempt needs to be the order of the day. "Can you believe these idiots think kids are using litter boxes in school?!?" Say it loud. If anyone pushes on it, demand they prove it. "Find me a school district that will state that that is their policy. It is a made up internet hoax and idiots are falling for it."
Couple of keys though, don't identify it as right wing idiocy, as then they'll retreat into their partisan shell. Also try not to include them in the idiocy if there's still an option not to. Attack the ideas as non-partisan stupid.
It doesn't matter. My good friend visits her family who live in OK and Alabama
She says they watch Fox News religiously. Their pastors in Church praise Trump and preach against Democrats, and they all go to church. There are still yard signs all over declaring forTrump. They have been brainwashed into believing his being President and their Christian faith are all tied together. She says it's frightening.
Matters for the swayable and the long-term. Kids don't just realize their parents are racist or sexist or conspiracy nuts in a vacuum.
Funny thing is, I thought I was doing that. But I went for the whole furry thing in general, little did I know I'd be challenged on the subset of litter boxes
Well, if you are talking to someone even remotely reachable, the fact that the litter boxes are for active shooter emergencies instead of furry kids ought to get the point across that the furry thing is nonsense, even if they don't blink at things like forking litter boxes for active shooters (which I'm at the point now where I just deadpan suggest arming the students).
We've become complacent because we e had it so wonderfully easy for so long. It's hard to imagine this actually happening. I think we continually want to think the better of our countrymen, even though so many are showing us otherwise. And it's hard to fight this while playing within the rules of democracy. But to fight it with anti democratic methods is only to join it.
It does seem like an - I hope we're not too little too late - moment and it needs a strong leader and a willing public who can shine that light somehow through our horrendously messy media ecosystem. Unfortunately, Fox and it's I'll have been preparing for this for decades.
Fox's owners have probably planning this for years.