Thread by @dogemperor

Today's evidence that a lot of the Hurricane Discourse is full-on "active measures" by Christian Nationalists, far-right, and Russian disinfo networks:

MAGAts whinging about "disaster equity"...and that federal aid agencies want to make sure LGBTQIA people can get aid

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Now, first off, "Disaster equity" is just efforts to make sure aid can get to everyone who needs it (and that it's not hoarded or actively denied to maginalized groups).

And yes, much like "Do Not Eat" labels on silica packets, there's a reason why.

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And if you know the history, you see where the Freudian slip of a LOT of these sorts is showing.

At least in more progressive administrations, FEMA and other federal aid agencies don't discriminate against people based on gender or sexual orientation.

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And the same disinfo networks now yarping about "DISASTER EQUITY OH NOES WOKE AAAAAA" who were calling for FEMA to be defunded and have attacked EVERY non-prosyletizing aid agency active in Appalachia...

...are promoting prosyletizing "charities" instead.

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In fact, I've kind of gone INTO that trend of how they not just attack FEMA, not just attack the National Guard, not just attack @RedCross, not just attack @UnitedWay, but even attack nonprosyletizing charities like @chefjoseandres' World Central Kitchen

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And literally EVERY charity attacked has been nonprosyletizing, "serve all, care for all".

What they HAVE promoted is prosyletizing charities...which DO discriminate, particularly against LGBTQIA people and religious minorities.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres Samaritan's Purse is one of the most frequently promoted charities in these campaigns, and Samaritan's Purse not only does "altar calls for aid" (where you have to attend a religious service or film to GET aid), not only puts prosyletizing in aid products...

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres ...but have documented histories in denying aid to LGBTQIA people at all, and have in fact required even aid workers to sign a statement of faith of a very Christian Nationalist nature.

Salvation Army also is notable in denying aid to LGBTQIA people.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres Many people forget that "ol' Sally Ann" is in fact a *religious denomination*, and one which is reportedly high-demand (and, at least some say, coercive), but yes, they've refused housing aid and assistance to LGBTQIA people and the church is VERY anti-LGBTQIA

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres The Salvation Army has even threatened to close soup kitchens and homeless shelters in places that have Fairness Ordinances that require offering benefits to partners and spouses of LGBTQIA employees of their assistance programs.

There's a reason some LGBTQIA boycott SA

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And this is an issue that has been known at least as far back as *Hurricane Katrina*--where George W. Bush (who has had a history of supporting the "troubled teen" industry) basically did a giveaway to Christian Nationalist charities for Katrina aid.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres (That, in turn, led to one of the earliest efforts I've done in getting a "Good Charities/Mid Charities/Bad Charities" list up. There are LOTS of Good Charities that work with disaster aid coordination! )

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And yes, there's three primary reasons this is being pushed.

One is to push an accelerationist narrative (popular among the Russians and the far right/far left)--this is actually part of Russian doctrine to weaponize the "horseshoe effect", btw



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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres One reason (and this and the last ARE related) is to force out all non-prosyletizing charities, so that the *only* option for aid is a prosyletizing charity...or one goes without altogether.

And the third? Force conversions & deny aid to those who won't convert.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And yes, that last one is a *HUGE* part of why Christian Nationalists are so gung-ho on "PRIVATIZE ALL THE THINGS". Not only do the brogliarchs want a literal paywall (for things like hurricane warnings), they want a METAPHORICAL one--*literally* "join us or die".

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres The ultimate goal of a LOT of the stuff in Project 2025--from destroying FEMA, to destroying the Department of Education--is designed to force people to prosyletizing schools and charities run by Christian Nationalists and to, in that manner, force conversions or suffering.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And we know this is the goal and *not* just from what they've done with Hurricane Katrina relief or stuff in other countries.

We know from American history relating to desegregation, which was the *BIRTH* of modern Christian Nationalist lobbying groups.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres In the 50s, rather than integrate schools (in the wake of Brown v Board of Education), many county school systems in the South--and an entire *state* school board in the case of Virginia--simply shut down school systems under an "integration" order from the courts.

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And as part of this "Massive Resistance", the states would hand out school vouchers...which were only usable at "segregation academies", meaning African-Americans didn't get an education at ALL in many cases

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And it took over a decade of lawsuits to eventually declare THIS illegal (on grounds of denying children a right to an education in state constitutions in some cases), and finally the voucher thing was shut down in the late 60s via the Supreme Court & IRS rulings

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres (In case you're wondering: Yes, this IS in fact the origin of the same "school choice vouchers" you see promoted by the Republicans!

Kentuckians: Vote NO on Issue 2, please and thank you. Same for others in states where they're pushing 'pro-voucher' initiatives.)

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres But yeah, the goal is to FORCE people to eventually have no option but prosyletizing hospitals (who can deny reproductive healthcare and deny aid altogether if you're LGBTQIA or even the wrong religion), prosyletizing schools (ibid), and prosyletizing aid agencies (ibid).

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres And, again, a friendly reminder that Christian Nationalists are CLOSE IN with Putin's regime, so it's not a shocker a lot of the "active measures" do seem to be pushing Christian Nationalist groups among isolationist viewpoints

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@RedCross @UnitedWay @chefjoseandres @threadreaderapp unroll