Social media used to be social. A place where we shared our lives in quirky, funny, sentimental ways. Now social media is the place where people scream, begging others to wake up to the danger of the authoritarian state that, in one short week since the departure of the grown up, has become our new reality. The flood of executive orders flying out of the White House is surreal. As he signs each one, the new president is smug in the way of a grade schooler relishing the havoc he is causing. Look what I can do, his expression says. Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou.
The people who surround him are even scarier than he is. We can see him coming, see his crazy writ large, but Pence, Kushner, Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, they will come around the corner and quietly gut you with nothing but a flicker of self-satisfaction in their eyes. Hoping for Trump to exit stage left means we will have to deal with Pence, who is every bit as dangerous in his way. Don't think he and the rest of them haven't been winding up Donald like a toy and setting him on spin, and he's just too stupid to see or care.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that the entire senior management staff of the state department resigned (or were fired). Meanwhile a judge ruled that Melania Trump can sue a blogger who reported rumors circulating about her during the campaign. Also yesterday, the president's senior advisor Bannon told the New York Times that the media is "the opposition" and they should "shut their mouths." I can only assume this was not fake news.
At breakfast this morning, as I birddogged an electrical issue at my mom's house in St. Luica, which is currently rented, I said to my husband, "At least if we have to get away fast we have a place to go." We both fell silent then, stunned by the fact that we weren't really joking.
hi there, just checking in to give you a hug. i so love and respect your thoughts. i am beyond wound up these days, and barely coherent, but still respect good, clear writing. i was thrilled to realize we were both marching in the city. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteYou're right about Trump's minions being scarier than he is. I hadn't heard that about the State Department, though! Amazing. Given Trump's antagonism toward Mexico I'm not surprised.
ReplyDeleteAt least you have somewhere to go! A lot of people don't even have that. Although I expect St. Lucia (and even London) wouldn't be far enough away to entirely escape the effects of a Trump presidency.
No. Not joking.
ReplyDeleteYour post was filled with true visual images of the snakes which T. has surrounded himself with. Their eyes gleam, their tongues flicker. They slither under the dead leaves where we cannot see them.
Be careful - even the Post is putting out misleading stuff. The resignations in question are part of the normal routine with political appointees at the start of a new government. This is from two sources - the AFSA (American Foreign Service Association) and from reporters who have covered the State Dept. for years, according to Vox (www.vox.com)
ReplyDeleteWho can you believe when you can't believe the mainstream papers anymore? It's a mess. The whole thing is a mess.
I left a comment a few minutes ago and it sounded so trite. My unimportant little holiday is nothing. My point was that fear has taken over. I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteIn school I learned that the press is supposed to be the opposition, that in a healthy democracy the news media is the fourth estate, a social and political force to monitor and influence the decisions of the elected government, always assessing whether the will of the people was observed and honoured.
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about who to believe or who not to. I think that's another scare that has been perpetuated ad nauseam by people who like us to think we are helplessly cheated. I have always followed several respected and established news media outlets and esp. a good number of long time commentators. I am not stupid, I get their bias and I know how to distinguish between comment, opinion and basic fact and I can figure out how to establish facts from different sources - if not, I don't go along with it.
If however you rely on fb and twitter for news, well . . .
Don't fear, the world is full of people with brains and hearts and we are not alone, wherever we are.
You are very fortunate to have a place to go. If it were so in my life, I'd have already gone.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have room for friends.
ReplyDeleteGot to get my passport so I can go visit my Canadian cousins. Your place is lots warmer and has the ocean.
ReplyDeleteApplied for eveyone passport right before Christmas. Out of 5 we are still pending 2.... not sure how this is going down, but I feel like we are all going to get screwed. How long do wait before we leave?
ReplyDeleteMy hubby was just saying how he was so distracted by Trump's Muslim ban crap he didn't get much work done-it's all so surreal... he's also mentioned how much scarier Trump's crowd can be. Right there with ya. I don't know if the 'crazy' will ever wear off to me *headshake*
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. A friend of mine whose husband is Italian, naturalized American, observed that "at least they could go to Italy." But neither she nor I felt that was much comfort--she is American, her daughters and her husband are American. Why on earth should they have to leave? I have never been ashamed to be an American, but under T***p, I am. And if anyone tells me to "just leave, then," I will not be governable. Yes, I can leave, I'd love to move to Canada (well, I would if it weren't so damn cold), but this is my country too and I won't give it up to a bunch of fearful ignorati without a fight.
ReplyDeleteIn all my long life as an American, I never thought I would see anything like this. It is at least gratifying that yes, the fundamentally kind heart of most Americans is alive and well -- we are seeing it in the protests. But I sure wish the situation had been seen as clearly before the election as it is now.