She was speaking to the comparison between white people and minorities in which generally white people enjoy advantages that most minorities do not. My concept at the time, and I realize it now, was narrower and involved privilege among white people and I certainly do not enjoy the same advantages as the wealthy do. In fact it is that lack of privilege that has forced a new minority of which I am probably a charter member or about to become one. But because of our conversation, I now understand the broader view of privilege, the concept that simply because I am white I enjoy a certain level of privilege within a diverse community of minorities.
It goes like this: The recent election was devastating in so
many ways but the next morning the sun rose, so there's that. And there's still
snow in the forecast. Big fat moon coming up in the sky if we can see it.
Cleared up some nagging chores throughout the day and it appeared the Earth was
still spinning. So what's to worry about? This isn't the first president I
didn't vote for.
Why is it that now we are supposed to unite and support our
elected president in an atmosphere of cooperation and patriotism after eight
years of our current president facing the worst obstruction of any in history.
The Republicans want us to come together to support the new
president. After eight years of Republicans doing just the opposite to one of
the finest presidents the country has ever had, that is not going to happen. A
racist, misogynistic egotistical uninformed bully has been elected president
largely from votes by people who will suffer more under this new
administration. And the dangers he presents to the country far outweigh any desire
to "just get along."
The idiocy of people voting against their own interests is
described no better than in the attached meme. Wave the confederate flag and
then tell people they lost the election and to get over it. Right.
On the same day that meme appeared this president-elect told
a 60 Minutes interviewer he was going to get rid of Roe v. Wade but not same-sex
marriage because that issue has been settled by the Supreme Court. That is the
level of ignorance we are going to face for the next four years.
And those same voters who bought the presidential
candidate's mantra of cleaning out Washington and taking back the country
managed to increase majorities in both houses of Congress, the very people who
caused what needs to be changed.
You have to laugh at those people who wanted to kick out the
beltway insiders to get a fresh start and then voted for most of the incumbents
in Congress, the very people who have caused the problems bothering people.
With the presidency and majorities in both the House and Senate and the philosophies
they espouse, the very core of our democracy is threatened and the people most
likely to suffer most are those who voted for them.
For example, a large voting block of elderly people
supposedly voted to maintain those majorities. Talk about voting against your
own interests, this new power structure has vowed to cut or eliminate Social
Security and Medicare, two programs that benefit the elderly and which many of
us might not survive without.
The president-elect says he objects to Social Security on
moral grounds. Moral grounds? I have been paying into Social Security since
1958. This was my retirement and I paid for it. As a matter of fact I am still
paying for it as even my Social Security payment is subject to taxes and the
FICA withholding, plus I pay a premium for Medicare as well. What is moral
about taking it away from all the people who have contributed over the years?
And in an era of skyrocketing drug prices and other health commodities, what is
moral about removing the Medicare safety net?
Cutting or removing those programs will create a whole new
minority, a whole new group of people without privilege – old white guys who depend on Social
Security and Medicare.
So, to my mind with this threat over our heads along with so
many others, I see no reason to shake hands, no honeymoon period, no "get
behind the new president to make things work." It is time to obstruct the
obstructionists at every opportunity. A true patriot is obligated to fight to
save the country, not shake hands and move on with the folks who would destroy
the fabric or our very foundations. I have no intention to be part of
"one-united-people." A man who consistently spouts divisive policies
is not a uniting factor and in fact is creating new minorities to crush all the
time.
Regarding Social Security and other stuff
Regarding Social Security and other stuff
I'm agreeing with everything you said in your last paragraph, and am not proposing any honeymoon period, but I think a lot of energy is being wasted in the streets when it could be used to prepare for the election of 2018. THAT is where the fighting can do some good. Unless somebody has Mr. Peabody's wayback machine to make the clock go back.
ReplyDeleteI have been using the Pandora's box analogy and thinking that I could hold onto the hope at the bottom. But that is naïve. History is full of people who believed that and found out the hard way that they were wrong.
DeleteWith the presidency and majorities in both the House and Senate...
ReplyDeleteAbout the only silver lining I find in this highly fracked up situation is that the proverbial ball is totally in the republican court. Either Trump will do nothing but run the country along establishment republican lines-in other words more of the same failed policies which will alienate all those people who thought he would "shake things up and drain the swamp." Or he will get seriously stupid trying to play president and drive the country straight into a brick wall proving his incompetence.
Yeah, the latter will hurt a lot of people but I figure this is one of those periods in American history where we are just going to have to ride this shit wave to the very end.
As for making nice with that piece of filth, Trump and his supporters can kiss my ass.
The one question I have is whether the democrats have the courage and stamina to oppose Trump and then make a case in 2018 as to why the republican congress should be voted out of office.