Mind Fuckers

The Tea Party is such a puzzle to me. I have always been curious about psychology and sociology. I want to know why people do the things they do. It has always been something that has both fascinated and tortured me. As a child my mind could not accept that slavery was a thing. I couldn't understand how people could steal other human beings and force them to leave their families and their homes and work and be abused and actually be owned by other people. I could not understand it. Likewise, when I learned about the Holocaust, I pretty much lost my shit. I think they are equally tragic. They both were attempts at a decimation of a large group of people. Both were exploited as a workforce for no pay. And both groups ended up being murdered in the most horrific means imaginable and their plights were both ignored for far too long by people who should have done right as human beings.

I think the Holocaust was more painful for me because its introduction to me was by video. I literally saw naked, skin and bone dead bodies in a pile being bulldozered into a huge pit. After that, there were many videos and lessons to come. I remember when we read the Diary of Anne Frank I could not get past the fact that it was one family. Of the millions of families who were safe in these countries during this time, so few did anything to help their friends and neighbors. I was bound to learn how that could happen. I needed an answer that would explain to me how millions of people could be so easily led into a situation like the one they were in and not have an uprising or do anything to help.

There are some things that end up being awful but are morally questionable at first where people could not see what was coming. This was not one of them. The beginnings of the involvement of the citizens was called The Night of the Broken Glass. I believe it was 94 or 96 Jews were killed that night. The citizenry was encouraged to go out in the streets and destroy the synagogues and homes and businesses of the Jews and beat them. AND THEY DID IT. Many tens of thousands of Jews were then deported to the concentration camps.

The more I researched the more I was sickened and disgusted with humanity. I believe that most people are born with a strong understanding of the difference between right and wrong. There are a handful of people that probably come broken or are led there, but most know what is right. The fact that an entire nation (and eventually many more nations) went along with years of this atrocity and did nothing about it was absolutely unfathomable.

When I learned about Goebbels, I was fascinated. And mortified. I am sure that propaganda has been used on some level in history in many places for many reasons. But I think he found the exact recipe to actually get all of the people to go along with it. And he patiently took the time to build it so the messages would seep in and become a part of someone's permanent mindset. He studied people and their weaknesses. He understood the ways to use fear and German Exceptionalism and intimidation. He used all means of media available to him at the time: TV, radio, newspapers and even the movies people watched. He carefully crafted the information that the citizens were receiving and even things that the students were being taught in schools. He literally created a citizenry that believed in what they were doing, regardless of the fact that it was against every hint of morality they had been born with.

Those carefully crafted propaganda ploys have been studied and implemented ever since the techniques were mastered in the 30s and 40s. At present, a small faction of the American population is under a similar misconception by those who are leading them. They claim to be demanding changes in our country to make it better for its citizens and more like the Christian nation they seek, but they are being diverted from seeing the fact that everything they are seeking is in complete contradiction with the teachings of Jesus Christ. They hate the Muslims. They hate gays. They hate black "thugs." They hate poor people who need assistance.  Jesus was totally serious about that bit where no one should be judging others lest they be judged. What? Do they think that was a misprint? But, whatever. Jesus never hated anyone, by the way. Jesus would never demand that immigrants be forced to leave and return to a violent homeland. I'm just sure of it. Didn't he love all the little children of the world?  Or was that someone else? And I feel confident saying that Jesus would not encourage anyone to rally for gun rights. I'd bet he wouldn't like weapons at all.

I am not a Christian. I was confirmed in the Methodist Church when I was 13 but it was because I was a kid and that was what my family told me to do. I grew up and decided that none of the religions completely convinced me or spoke to me and I now identify as an Agnostic. I have genuine respect for Christians, though. True Christians, anyway. There are people of all faiths who sincerely do their best every day trying to follow the tenets of their religion to be the best person that they can be and honor those teachings. It is a lovely way to live and a nice guide, when necessary. I do not respect people who conflate the teachings to fit their own agendas and exploit the weak who cannot see the truth. There are many groups who do that overseas like Isis and Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. They have fuckered up their religion beyond recognition. The Tea Party has done the same with Christianity.

I am an empathetic person and I always aspire to understand people and help them when I can. I do not need for there to be a hell to want to be a good person. I want to be a part of a positive change in the world in helping people in need when I can, and accepting them when I cannot.

The sad truth is that some of us want to understand the weaknesses of others so we can reach them and help them. And some want to understand people so they can manipulate them and exploit their weaknesses.

Teabaggers = Ignorance + Hate

March 16, 2015

You really have to hope she doesn't know what tea bagging means. I'm pretty sure Jesus would rather she didn't.

The Tea Party was initially created as a libertarian alternative to the GOP, but was quickly hijacked and has since focused none of its policies on those ideals. They found a following in response to America's having even considered electing a black President. This consideration was bad enough, to be sure, but when he was actually elected, they completely lost their shit. Their leaders had a very singular objective: ruin this presidency at all costs. They met immediately upon his inauguration and decided that, no matter what, they would derail every one of his priorities. The right has always had the capacity to create chaos out of nothing, but not with the passion and unbridled hate that they began displaying at this time.

Out of desperation to ruin this President, they showed they were willing to do anything, including a decimation of their own reputations. They created a political movement that would be able to exist on the narrow agenda their politicians campaign on. To my mind, there are three types of Tea Partiers: there are the benefactors who benefit from the election of those who espouse the party's ideology, there are accidental members who vote for them whether or not they really understand or hear their campaigns (people who generally walk in to a voting booth, check all of the "R"s and go home), and those who are activists. The activists are the ones who are out there with poorly spelled signs and who rally against their best interests every time they are given an opportunity. The accidental members are those who are ruining it for the rest of us. They literally have no idea what is going on and most of them, if they did, would no longer be voting for the Rs. The benefactors are mainly the wealthiest of Americans who find great relief in the movement because they have identified a large group of people who will always go to the polls and vote for whatever and whomever they are told. All they need to do is offer them leadership who spews as much hate as they do about the same things and they are a lock. Easy enough. So they fund those politicians and make sure they are on all of the news shows screaming as much nonsense as they possibly can. Not only does this get their base riled up, but it keeps their ideas in the news. This rhetoric is repeated and Americans soon become desensitized to it and consider it commonplace to hear people call their President the N-word. And that is really important in order to keep their constituency happy. And it is also very easy. They have their own cable network with the word "news" in its title, after all. And 77% of the Tea Party activists watch it exclusively.

It was clear from the beginning that the politicians didn't even respect their constituents. On September 15, 2012, Rick Santorum was quoted as having said, "We will never have the elite, smart people on our side." This should have offended them, but he put the key word "elite" in there. That is one of their red meat phrases that they have learned to use as a propaganda tool to distract their followers from what they are really doing.

They sincerely need to be a part of something. These racist activists have been on the outside of society for so long. They have been so isolated and condemned for their narrow-mindedness that they would probably be willing to put up with a lot to feel the connection and unity of this fellowship that they were finally getting to be a part of. They have ignored the fact that they are repeating rants against themselves. They are generally the poorest of Americans, but they are continually condemning the poor. They rally around the 1% and their rights to do whatever they damn well please in a capitalistic society. They are even willing to oppose their rights to have health care because those leaders who offer them a safe place to be racist members of society tell them it is so wrong and unfair. And they believe that.

The Tea Party members are said to be the most religious of all political parties. And the overwhelming majority identify themselves as being Christian. Yes, that is funny. But they don't know that. They fail to see that the entire message of Jesus was being all about love and doing unto others and all of that. About a decade ago, these same people proudly wore bracelets asking, "WWJD?" Ill bet he wouldn't be at Tea Party rallies holding up signs condemning other people. Most of them probably can't even define irony, so we can't expect them to understand when they are living it.

The activists are out in masses screaming about those nasty immigrants and demanding their immediate removal. No matter what! Even if the children were born here - just send their parents back then, I don't fucking care. They are so desperate to believe they are superior to others. And they hate the LGBT community, too. Just like the immigrants, it's just glorious to have someone's rights they can still take away.

So, knowing the needs of their small constituency, their politicians make sure to speak about little else. And, because these activists are not savvy or intelligent enough to see it, they are easily taken advantage of by those in power. I always visualize times when I was a kid and I used to play with a tennis ball in the back yard with my dog, Pepper. I would pretend to throw it and then hide it behind my back. That is what the Tea Party politicians are doing to their voters. They get them all excited about hating gays and Muslims and the poor and black "thugs" and fear of losing their guns and trying to prevent abortion and demanding birth certificates and getting rid of Obamacare that they miss the fact that the only thing they're doing in Washington is wreaking havoc on our democracy and accomplishing absolutely nothing toward the promises they've made. Pepper was always too smart to be fooled. The Tea Party are not. They are so eager to have a place to belong where they are free to be hateful that they don't see what they are doing to themselves and the nation they claim to love so much.

The GOP Platform Supports Choice. What's the Issue?

Choice. That's what it is. It is, in fact, a choice. It is, in fact, my body. A termination is, in fact, a medical procedure. Neither an embryo nor a fetus are, in fact, a baby.

I don't need to waste time with attempts to counter the "pro-life" narrative because it is all insincere and irrelevant. As detailed here, with the despicable actions of State Representative and proud Tea Partier, Justin Harris, the hypocrisy of their assertions affords their argument no merit. And furthermore, every discussion from their platform detracts from the only valid point: It's my body. It's my choice.

I could certainly empathize with a man if he wanted to have a child and the woman chose to terminate. There are many legal issues where both sides are understandable, however only one person can be victorious. It always has to be the woman in this instance even though it means pushing the fathers will aside. The alternative is unacceptable. The rights of the woman have to be what is guarded in this situation as a law can only protect and define one side exclusively.

Upon its founding, American women were deemed property. And, historically, their rights have been secondary, if considered at all. However, the idea of ownership of another persons body was outlawed with the 14th Amendment. This should, thus, negate any one persons claim to the rights of what another can do with their body. My uterus and anything inside of it are mine alone. A man may pass on some sperm or an HPV. Either could end up transforming and growing inside of me. I could end up with an embryo or I could end up with a tumor. Neither of those two things are a human being. Either growth is mine to contend with and its maintenance is solely my own.

Those of us who choose to filter fact from hype know the history of women's health in America. We know that as procedures become harder to obtain, the rates of death and infection increase profoundly because desperate women attempt to take care of them on their own. In 2015 there is no reason for a woman in America to receive substandard care because a bunch of politicians want to behave like spoiled children. How one politician can call themselves 'pro-life' and have a steadfast focus on sending a nation to war while, at the same time, demanding to define what rights I have to my own body is outrageous to me. Everyone should be outraged. It is time for all Americans to expect more from their "leaders." We can begin with a loud demand of those politicians who espouse a need for a smaller government and whose current party platform states "far greater emphasis has to be put upon personal responsibility for health maintenance."

Your "Pro-Life" Movement is Bullshit

I suppose my opinions about adoption are different from most and will be offensive to many. That's fine. They come from an understanding that is limited by my own experience from having been adopted.

I grew up knowing I was adopted. I don't remember ever having been told or not knowing, so it must have been relayed to me at a very early age. There was never a misunderstanding about what adoption meant, so the explanation must have been clear. Although I have met a handful of adoptees in my life, it still felt like a very singular and lonely circumstance. It certainly seemed unnatural. I was always aware that my people were not really my people. No one that I knew had the questions that I did. When we learned about genetics in middle school and people had to determine which of their traits they inherited from which of their parents, I was the only one who was allowed to just take an A for the project and not do it. Whenever someone would talk about their heritage having been one nationality or another, I had nothing to add. I had fantasies about what my history may have been, but I had no way of knowing where my ancestors came from. Every time I had to fill out paperwork regarding medical history I have just put a big "adopted" across the section asking questions about any diseases that may have been passed down. To be honest, though, these are all very generic explanations of how it felt to grow up having been adopted.

I grew up to be very detached from people. I explained it in depth in a blog called No, Thanks (read here). I was always aware of a bond that I was missing. I could see it. I could (not) feel it. Although less than 2% of American children are adoptees, more than 10% of Americans referred for therapy had been adopted. My detachment is not unique. From the outside it would seem that the adoptee should just be grateful to have a family. In contrast, however, I wonder what would have happened if my mother had had an abortion and my soul could have landed in the body of a child who was wanted.

Surely there are instances when adoption is the only alternative. But they should be rare. Very rare. Most unwanted fetuses don't need to be born. In a perfect America where we didn't have politicians trying desperately to create controversy out of things that are common sense and ignore things that are genuinely important, we would have the focus needed to have that revelation. The anti-choice leaders are so busy trying to excite their limited base with nonsense that neither they, nor their base, take the time to see their hypocrisy or edit their opinions accordingly. To be anti-choice, you need to have an alternative. They do not believe in sex education in schools. Apparently that is too icky. They do not believe in contraception or making it readily available to those who they have neglected to educate about sex and unwanted pregnancies. They do, however, believe in making sure every unwanted pregnancy creates a life. Please, do not spend time trying to convince me or yourself that you are "pro-life" when you refuse to care about that life once it breathes.

As we are being hindered in attempts to actually solve a problem before it happens, we are then left with far too many opportunities to solve the problem afterward. Of course, now the problem is a child. And now that child who was such a desperate concern for politicians has become a statistic that they care only about exploiting in attempts to garner votes by encouraging discrimination of the poor, uneducated and needy. They don't want to have to feed them or give them health care or fund their educations. Honestly, children don't vote so why pretend to give a shit? And, apparently the voters don't mind, because the same politicians in the same party have been pulling this shit forever and they still have jobs.

So we have now created children and evidenced we could care less about them. Fabulous.

Imagine how many more unwanted children there would be if abortion were illegal. Those desperate to get rid of Roe V Wade will tell you all about long waiting lists of people who want to adopt babies. Yep- Those lists exist. Yep- There are a lot of people who can't have children who are sitting on a waiting list to adopt a baby. Something very important is missing from their equation, though.

Our country has many hundreds of thousands of children in foster care waiting to be adopted. They exist. They are alive. They were not aborted. They do not have homes. Every year tens of thousands of these children reach adulthood having never made it out of foster care and never found a family. They are literally in this world with no one. Worldwide there are an estimated 150 million children who need to be adopted. They do not have families. They need homes. Why in the FUCK do we need to be creating more children when we cannot (or do not) take care of the ones we already have?

The irrelevance of these children in any part of a society which demands an anti-choice legislation is stunning to me. It should be stunning to everyone. But no one thinks about it. This is America, you know? We have managed to fucker up the lives of so many children in this country by forcing women to have babies they don't want but once here feel obligated to raise.

Until we can, as a country, find a way to care for and find homes for these children, not only should abortion be legal, but it should be encouraged.

Liberals Get to Think for Themselves. Jealous?

Today, as with any other day, I was bombarded by those fanatics in the Tea Party who are forever trolling on Twitter and ready to pounce with a ridiculous meme to put the rest of us in our place and define their preeminence over whatever issue they are on fire about at any given moment.

First today I was offered an opinion that, because I am a Liberal, I hate Chris Kyle, the soldier profiled in the recent movie American Sniper. As much as I genuinely love for people to consider my opinions, I would always much rather those opinions actually be defined by my points of view. I replied by sending a link to the blog entry I wrote in January here where I went into detail about my support for not only the troops, but Chris Kyle, himself. I then went on to tell those fanatics that one of the many beautiful aspects of being a Liberal is the fact that I get to think for myself.  One of the necessary messages from the right about those of us on the left is that we hate soldiers. You will find there are many Liberals who support our troops. We hate war. We hate administrations who have no capacity or desire for diplomacy. But we do not all hate the troops. The distinction, however, is lost on them and their moral superiority would be quickly dashed if you reminded them that the food stamps they are rallying to cut are used by many military families and vets. Of course, you could always remind them that their elected leaders were the ones who block bills supporting the veterans. Repeatedly.

There is little that surprises me more when debating with someone in the Tea Party than when they post this meme to prove that they are not a racist. I always ask them to question the history of their party and explain to me why they think Dr. King was a Republican. And I ask them how they could possibly think that the man who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation could have been a Republican. It doesn't ever seem strange to them. It is as if they had never had a moments curiosity about it. Countless times I have had a discussion ended with the word "liar" and been blocked when I tell them that the party's switched over time and that it was Civil Rights, specifically, that completed it.

The gentleman I was discussing this image of Dr. King with also demanded that the left were racists. He had many other memes in his profile, as well, which were absolutely offensive. I was going to put one in this piece, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Just know that during Ferguson he really enjoyed a depiction of the only place not being looted as a KFC and there was a rather upsetting depiction of a black child being compared to an ape in a tree.

Later this evening another fanatic who was ranting about the pizzeria in Indiana who stated they would not cater a gay wedding offered me some very clever information. He sent me a link to an online magazine whose name I will not offer because they are absolute garbage and I won't promote their nonsense. They are known for perpetuating hoaxes and hate and I refuse to have any part in that. The story, however, was about a young woman who donated to the fundraiser for the pizzeria who say they were forced to close their doors due to threats of violence from the gay community. Its always funny to me when, in their eyes, an entire community is accountable for the actions of a handful.

The story about the young woman explained that she donated and put a comment identifying herself as a gay small business owner and said that she and many other people in the LGBT community were horrified to see that the business was getting death threats. She wanted to support their rights to operate their business and believe whatever they wanted to. It said that she also called in to a radio show to explain her reasoning. I Googled the piece to see if it was a hoax or if I could not find the story from a remotely credible source, and I could not. I do, however, concede that it may be true.

The thing that these fanatics on the far right fail to understand is that they are defining their own ignorance and hypocrisy when they use the above referenced stories to perpetuate their beliefs. They're so proud of themselves when they have something to offer validity to their stance on an issue by a person who would otherwise meet their disdain that they do not stop to realize why they think it would offend us. They have such a narrow view that they expect the rest of us to, as well. Those on the left, who are allowed to think for themselves and believe others are, too, don't need to have every person in our party believe the same thing. Because we are confident and open-minded, we acknowledge that all people in a single ethnic group, religion, gender, etc do not have to subscribe to the same ideals, even if we support and embrace the group that may find them outsiders in another party.

They congratulate themselves for having found support for their ideologies by those they had determined to hate. I think we should all congratulate them, too. They are finally starting to embrace people who would have previously been maligned. So, because I am a liberal who wants to believe the best in everyone, I will take this as a positive sign that they are finally coming around to a more tolerant way of thinking.