"I really don't care. Do you?"
It seems an innocuous statement, but it's not.
It gets to the heart of how fascism takes root. It's how it grows.
"If I'm ok, I don't really care if somebody else is not. Do you?"
It's weaponizing apathy. It assumes the worst of all of us.
/1
It seems an innocuous statement, but it's not.
It gets to the heart of how fascism takes root. It's how it grows.
"If I'm ok, I don't really care if somebody else is not. Do you?"
It's weaponizing apathy. It assumes the worst of all of us.
/1
Apathy is fascism's greatest ally, selfishness it's greatest friend and propaganda it's greatest weapon.
All of those are here in this episode, and it shows this administration and it's lieutenants more sophisticated in their approach to politics than we sometimes assume.
2/
All of those are here in this episode, and it shows this administration and it's lieutenants more sophisticated in their approach to politics than we sometimes assume.
2/
Our initial reactions every time they do something like this is, "WTF?"
Tone deaf.
Idiocy.
I had to catch my own self, and usually don't fall into this pattern, but with Melania I am still stuck in my "but she might just be a 'hostage'," thinking.
That died today.
3/
Tone deaf.
Idiocy.
I had to catch my own self, and usually don't fall into this pattern, but with Melania I am still stuck in my "but she might just be a 'hostage'," thinking.
That died today.
3/
As chaotic as all of this seems, and it is, it doesn't mean that is not well-planned chaos, because it is that too.
No one, not even the people currently inhabiting the White House, is quite stupid enough not to know exactly how that jacket was going to be viewed by most.
4/
No one, not even the people currently inhabiting the White House, is quite stupid enough not to know exactly how that jacket was going to be viewed by most.
4/
It's crass.
It's blatant.
It's cruel.
It's a message to their supporters, who were cyber high-fiving probably from the moment the first photos hit the internet.
But make no mistake it's a message to the rest of us, and it's literal.
They don't care.
5/
It's blatant.
It's cruel.
It's a message to their supporters, who were cyber high-fiving probably from the moment the first photos hit the internet.
But make no mistake it's a message to the rest of us, and it's literal.
They don't care.
5/
They don't care about what we think about them or about what they are doing.
It's an unsubtle message, and it's a dangerous one.
Of course, we should know by now that they don't care, and we need to extend that lack of care to all of them.
They are all willingly complicit
6/
It's an unsubtle message, and it's a dangerous one.
Of course, we should know by now that they don't care, and we need to extend that lack of care to all of them.
They are all willingly complicit
6/
I think my empathy chip has been too tuned in, by default.
I guess my belief has always been that some people are better than the people around them, particularly when it come to family. Some of my closest friends come from families and backgrounds more Trumpish than not.
7/
I guess my belief has always been that some people are better than the people around them, particularly when it come to family. Some of my closest friends come from families and backgrounds more Trumpish than not.
7/
We can't choose our families. But we can choose our spouses and we can choose who we are as people.
And we can choose what clothes we wear. We can choose how we carry ourselves and what messages we want to send to the world.
Well, currently we can.
8/
And we can choose what clothes we wear. We can choose how we carry ourselves and what messages we want to send to the world.
Well, currently we can.
8/
The gauntlets they've thrown are impressive & daunting. We must always be on our toes. We must see the point of the chaos.
And we must juggle so many things at once. We must recognize these distractions as distractions and simultaneously dissect them AND not be distracted.
9/
And we must juggle so many things at once. We must recognize these distractions as distractions and simultaneously dissect them AND not be distracted.
9/
Fighting fascism was never going to be easy, not the least of which is because none of us really thought this could happen here.
I doubt the architects of this plan had any hope that things would go quite this well.
Even they are shocked.
10/
I doubt the architects of this plan had any hope that things would go quite this well.
Even they are shocked.
10/
We were all complacent & the vast majority of us were lazy participants in our democracy.
We often relied on others to take care of things. I've seen so many interviews with people who failed to vote for Clinton because they assumed it was in the.bag. They were wrong.
#Resist
We often relied on others to take care of things. I've seen so many interviews with people who failed to vote for Clinton because they assumed it was in the.bag. They were wrong.
#Resist
