Old man yells at crowd: Today in Tweets

WRT graffiti:
Saw an interesting one not long ago here in Toronto. Had some of the common tagging lines, but then next to it was a picture of Totoro (as in Tonari no Totoro) with a big grin and holding a spray can.

“I really don’t want women to be able to turn me down for sex or divorce me. If it takes fascism and/or violent political upheaval to achieve this, that’s okay. Because the whole universe should be centered around my boner.”

In addition to wwth’s, “I also want women to not be able to vote, have limited rights, limited means of earning personal income so they’re forced to marry but cannot divorce and leave me. Women should have a lack of autonomy and be encouraged not to be independent humans but rather barefoot, quiet and pregnant.”

Same spiel these types of guys have been raving about for years now. Everything must be centered about their boner and how the world must bend to their whims only. That is their ~healthy patriarchy~ a world where they only matter and everyone else is harmed because of it.

I saw a pithy meme recently; a picture of a pizza slicer with the words “All edge, no point.”
Now why would I have just now remembered that?

There is no such thing as a ‘healthy patriarchy’; any society which requires the oppression of one group for the advantage of another is by definition not healthy. This is news only to prats who really want to turn the clock back 200 years.

@Dormousing_it
Maybe she doesn’t like the litter? Or maybe the box location(s)? There could be an underlying health problem, too, cats don’t like showing that they’re sick or injured until it’s really bad.

Oh gosh, I heard someone was confused about what progressivism was and why we don’t like Der Tromp, and I came right away! I’m sorry I’m late!

My question was genuine. Trump is many things, but he’s no right winger. …

In which @Merkel reveals he argues against a strawman, and has no understanding of what the left actually wants or does.

His family and his closest friends and advisers are all Democrats or liberal/centrist Republicans.

We don’t care if he’s friends with Republicans or Democrats. Turns out that we aren’t cheering for a sports team, we’re trying to get good policy.

The government isn’t going to be downsized.

We don’t think downsizing the government is a bad thing, we don’t care about that – we care about efficiency and efficacy of social services. Policy driven by data and guided by compassion.

Entitlement programs won’t be cut

Amazing how, if it helps a poor person it’s an entitlement, but if it helps a rich person get slightly richer it’s a right or a sound fiscal policy.

FEMA had its budget slashed and continues to have no actual director. Its previous director was plucked from his position a few weeks ago to be a new Chief of Staff, to try to cover for the raging dumpster fire of this Presidency. The National Hurricane Center has no director. And I hear it might be a bit stormy down in Texas.

Disaster recovery services are as much an entitlement program as any of the others you might care to mention.

To the extent he has a guiding political philosophy (which isn’t much) it’s a form of progressivism.

He’s a nativist, using racism and scapegoats to rile up popular support. Progressives are interested in efficacy of outcomes in the reduction of suffering and the increase of general well-being.

His administration (as well as, again, his friends and family) includes several Jews.

Why would we care about that? You know you’re literally calling us “Jew Lovers” right now, right? Toot on that dog whistle a little harder, I bet you can get it to make some sound.

And when it comes to social conservatism, the sexual revolution, and the sorts of things feminists would (presumably?) care most about, he’s basically a New York City version of Hugh Hefner. He’s a second wave feminist.

Hefner is disgusting. Apparently an anti-vaxxer, too. Supported LGBT rights, so good for him there, but a broke clock is right twice a day. Just like Trump is disgusting. Apparently you think that he’s a f’n feminist himself? Wow. You really have no clue what we believe or want, do you? You really are just arguing against a strawman of your own design.

He’s tossed a few bones to the Religious Right. But almost nothing substantive. And the few things that are can easily be reversed.

You really think that the outpouring of hate that he’s facilitated is going to go back into Pandora’s Box? If he were impeached tomorrow, and President Katie inaugurated the day after (praise be), it would still take decades to undo the disastrous mess his election has caused. The Literal Fascists are bold enough to march in the street with their swastikas – it’s going to take concerted effort to convince them otherwise.

For example, the so-called Mexico City Policy regarding international abortion funding is something that flips back and forth whenever a D replaces an R or vice versa.

How many thousands are suffering back-alley abortions, or being born to parents that can’t support them, in the interim? “Oh, it’ll flip back in a few years” is easy to say, but it masks incredible suffering. The fact that you just sort of glide over that without noticing should suggest to you that you don’t know what progressives want, and that you don’t really give a shit about the suffering of others.

And he’s no threat to the gynocentric system that both Left and Right uphold.

Ah, it’s always nice to hear the classics.

So, seriously, is the rage contrived for political purposes? Is it just for shits and giggles? Is it because he deprived you of the chance to celebrate a female President?

We’re angry about the fact that government policies are making real people suffer when they’re supposed to be helping and supporting. You see, we have empathy for other human beings who are not inside our kin group.

Let me explain.

When we see them suffering, we suffer empathetically. And it makes us angry, because we know it doesn’t have to be that way.

How is he making them suffer, you ask? Here’s a few of the hot tracks:

– Donald Trump has yet to properly staff disaster relief and recovery services since taking office, while Texas is getting slammed with a storm that will displace people for weeks if not months. He’s restricting aid payments. What has he fully funded, though? ICE. ICE will be operating normally, and will be patrolling for immigrants trying to flee the path of the storm. People are going to die because of these policies, and lack thereof. Many, many more are going to have their lives utterly shattered. We don’t want them to be hurt. He’s not on our side.

– Donald Trump has pushed a ban on transgender persons in the military, echoing and giving air to hateful people who would love nothing more than reasons to hurt them. We don’t want transgender people to be hurt. He’s not on our side.

– Do I need to talk about his angry demands to the Senate to repeal Obamacare instead of fixing its issues? And how he’s stated publicly that he’s just going to defund it and let it die? “Let it die” isn’t just going to kill the bill, either. It’s going to kill thousands of Americans as they scramble for services that no longer have the funds to help them, while they’re still paying into the program. We don’t want those people to die or get sick, or have their lives ruined under crushing debt. He’s not on our side.

– Donald Trump has argued – loudly – for a border wall, an end to sanctuary cities, and an aggressive immigrant detainment and expulsion strategy that has literally moved into “concentration camp” territory. He hasn’t yet accomplished this, but he’s still talking about it, going so far as to argue that he would shut the government down entirely if he doesn’t get his way. This echoes and gives air to hateful people who would love nothing more than reasons to hurt immigrants and people of colour. We don’t want them to be hurt. He’s not on our side.

– Donald Trump has shouted – angrily – “both sides” in response to white nationalists marching, and after shouting that he complains about violent counter-protesters, only adding in nazis and racists after the fact. In doing this he’s giving air to hateful people who want to push America back to the Jim Crow era – you know, the era that came about after those stupid Confederacy-glorifying revisionist-history statues were erected. We don’t want that to happen. He’s not on our side.

http://img10.deviantart.net/3814/i/2012/289/5/4/unamused_fluttershy_by_yanoda-d4xikhw.png

Have you noticed the theme yet, Trojan man? We don’t want people to suffer. He’s making people suffer. We don’t like that.

And before you’re all “The left makes the right suffer, look at you callin’ them nazis and Antifa and blah blah,” there’s this thing called triage. Protect the most vulnerable first. That involves pushing back against the cause of harm – that being Trump, the Nazis, and their right-wing facilitators.

And yes, I noticed your “the left and right are basically the same” backflip there. You’re equivocating the mechanics of Washington politics with the desires of people. Something to do with that strawman you’ve constructed. Likely, so that you can feel superior by claiming to be “above it all.” I believe there’s a nice little XKCD comment about that.

So, I hope that helped you understand why we’re upset! It’s real, actual upset, not manufactured rage. I know it’s probably hard for you to believe, but we do actually really care about other human beings, for really real. Promise.

You should try it sometime, it’s good for you.