Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Professor_Peacock: "What is something you do on a daily basis that you don't remember learning how to do?"
The first thing that comes to mind is reading. I started reading by age 3, so it predates most of my memories of anything, including learning how to read. I'm sure I went through the entire thing of learning the alphabet and how to sound out words and all of that, but I don't actually recall any of it.
What I do recall is being very bored in kindergarten when my classmates were being taught the very basics of reading, because I already knew them. Eventually my kindergarten teacher enlisted me (not because she needed my help, but because I was bored) to sit with kids who were having trouble and work with them on their letters.
Your Best Photograph
(My apologies for forgetting to do one of these threads for so long!)
If you're a photographer, even if a very amateur one (like myself), and you've got a photo or photos you'd like to share, here's your thread for that!
It doesn't really have to be your best photograph—just one you like!
Please be sure if your photo contains people other than yourself, that you have the explicit consent of the people in the photos before posting them.
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Here's one I took two days ago of one of my favorite subjects—the sunset:
A Curiosity
[Content Note: Harassment; abuse; bigotry; references to self-harm.]
I wonder if any of the people relentlessly urging me, either directly or via public commentary, to empathize with Trump supporters have spent the last year and a half of their lives being called every misogynist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic slur known to humankind, being subjected to every conceivable iteration of negative and irrelevant commentary on their appearance, being called a "race traitor," being told they should be thrown out of the country, and being admonished, right up until today with no end in sight, to kill themselves or told they should be killed?
You know what I have never done? Inserted myself into Trump supporters' spaces, including public social media accounts, to tell them I think they're wrong.
I have used my own spaces and platforms to advocate for what I believe. That's it.
But I have been inundated by people who do not show me the same respect, and who invade my space in order to harass me, threaten me, and tell me to end my own life.
For almost two years.
Why is it my responsibility to empathize with them? I'm not the one who lacks empathy in the first place.
Recommended Reading
[Content Note: Misogynoir] Bridget Todd at Bullshitist: "What Did I Ever Do to Anybody Except Be Black and Exist?"
[CN: White supremacy; eliminationist violence] Toni Morrison at the New Yorker: "Making America White Again."
[CN: Islamophobia; harassment] Amanda Holpuch, Ed Pilkington, and Jared Goyette at the Guardian: "Muslims in Trump's America: Realities of Islamophobic Presidency Begin to Sink In."
Paul Waldman at the Washington Post: "Why Democrats Need to Fight Donald Trump from the Moment He Takes Office."
The Guttmacher Institute: "Uninsured Rate Among Women of Reproductive Age Has Fallen More Than One-Third Under the Affordable Care Act."
[CN: Bigotry] Caitlin Dewey at the Washington Post: "Facebook Fake-News Writer: 'I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me.'"
LoveMeow: "Couple Takes a Chance on Sad Shelter Cat Who Couldn't Find Home."
Welp
The Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday that he submitted his letter of resignation but would stay until the end of the Obama administration.Which felt pretty good.
"I submitted my letter of resignation last night which felt pretty good. I've got 64 days left," Clapper said during a U.S. congressional intelligence committee hearing.
What was it I was just saying about how Trump's administration will be staffed with people who have no idea what they're doing and/or no ethics? No one competent and ethical wants to work for them.
And that is very scary.
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
It's Okay to Not Feel Like Everything Will Be Okay
[Content Note: Emotional policing.]
Everyone who voted for Hillary Clinton is having some damn feelings about this election.
Yesterday morning, Iain sent me the below picture with the accompanying message: "This picture reminded me of you this morning, lol! ;-)"
100% accurate. That is how I felt yesterday morning, and all the mornings before it back to last Wednesday. And every moment in between.
And it is because Iain, who is damn despondent himself, has taken such good care of me, just letting me feel however the fuck I'm going to feel after spending every waking moment of the last 18 months trying to prevent this outcome, that I was able to laugh at his sending me that picture. A big, hearty, much-needed laugh.
It would not have been funny, at all, if he failed to realize how much this meant to me. Or if he told me, even once, that everything was going to be okay.
Because I don't feel like it will be. (Neither does he.) And I don't want to hear anyone tell me that it will.
None of this is okay.
But not everyone respects my right to feel that way. And the right of everyone else who feels that way, for however long we're going to feel it. Which may be forever.
They want us to cheer up and stop being so dramatic (OH FUCK OFF) and get over it. Always with the "get over it."
At the moment, I don't find anything about which to be cheerful. I am scared, for myself and others, many of whom lack the privileges I have, and I am angry, and I feel lost.
I don't imagine that I will never experience another moment of incandescent joy in my life, nor important victories, nor other good things. But something has been upended that cannot be easily righted, and I'm not going to feel okay about the fact that every breath in my chest just got a little tighter.
And they were already pretty tight, even before this.
I know how to live in a space of survival. And I will persevere, for as long as the fates allow. That does not require me to concede that everything will be okay.
And, at least in this space, it's okay if you don't feel like everything will be okay, too.
Everything's Going Great
This is an actual headline in the world: "Donald Trump's First Planned Meeting with Foreign Leader Is a Complete Mess." And it's an accurate one.
One day before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese officials said they had not finalized when or where in New York it would take place, who would be invited, or in some cases whom to call for answers.Meanwhile, Trump's transition is shambolic, with "offices prepared for Trump transition officials in departments and agencies across the government remain[ing] empty," but the president-elect continues to insist that everything is going just fine.
Uncertainty over the talks shows the difficulties in turning Trump from a freewheeling businessman into a sitting president with a watertight schedule and a fully functioning administration by his inauguration on Jan. 20.
Japanese and U.S. officials said on Wednesday the State Department had not been involved in planning the meeting, leaving the logistical and protocol details that normally would be settled far in advance still to be determined.
"There has been a lot of confusion," said one Japanese official.
The most frightening thing about the transition chaos is that it will absolutely diminish the possibility that competent people will staff this administration. It will be people who have no idea what they're doing and/or no ethics.
Let us remember how many Trump supporters pushed back on criticisms of his inexperience in governance with some variation of "he'll surround himself with smart people."
Whoops.
Hillary Clinton, Y'all
Last night, Hillary Clinton made her first public appearance following her concession speech, speaking at the Children's Defense Fund, where she started her career and which has remained important to her for decades. She was introduced by her mentor and the founder of CDF, Marian Wright Edelman, who called her "the people's president."
I have not been able to locate a transcript, but, if and when I find one, I will post the link here. If you happen to spot one, please drop the link in comments.
I had a few thoughts as I watched her speech last night.
Hillary Clinton is speaking right now & I almost can't believe she still wants to work for this country after everything we've done to her.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 17, 2016
That's what a patriot looks like. That is a person who wanted to be president for the right reasons.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 17, 2016
Watching Hillary speak again, I'm overwhelmed by the thought of what we've lost.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 17, 2016
My heart will never fully recover.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker KitSileya: "What is the common myth or commonly held belief that irritates you the most?"
That any human is inferior to another simply by virtue of their identity.
The Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by paw prints.
Recommended Reading:
Logan: Five Things to Do to Protect Yourself Under a Surveillance State
Keith: [Content Note: Racism; police brutality] Minnesota Cop Who Shot Philando Castile Charged with Manslaughter
Angry Asian Man: [CN: Racism; harassment] Shouty Train Passenger Gets His Anti-Immigrant Rage On
Fannie: Election 2016 Fallout Part 2: On Gaslighting
Monica: Sen. Chuck Schumer: We're in This Together, LGBT Community
[Note: Schumer has been elected Senate Minority Leader, replacing Harry Reid who is retiring at the end of this term. And let us all take a moment to appreciate the powerful message it sends that a Jewish man will be leading the Democratic opposition, and be grateful for Schumer's courage.]
Teddy: Republicans Now Control Every Legislative Chamber in the South
Sonya: [CN: Whitewashing; appropriation] Doctor Strange Takes Audiences on a Spiritually Insensitive Journey of Appropriation
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
This Is Bad
My Shareblue colleague Tommy Christopher has written a piece that will be of particular concern to single working parents in the US: "Trump's tax plan hits single working parents particularly hard."
With all the chaos surrounding the transition to a Trump administration, it is easy to lose sight of even major policy developments. Rutgers University Professor Brittney Cooper flagged a particularly significant issue that has received little attention: "So everyone is clear that Trump's tax plan doesn't allow single parents to file as head-of-household anymore right?"There is more at the link.
Eliminating the head-of-household filing status is a major change, with potentially severe consequences for some who currently use it.
...The article goes on to explain that a single parent would be no worse off if they made $15,150 or less, and would not see any benefit unless their income reached $560,000 a year. But: "Trump's tax rates would increase a single parent's tax bill at almost every AGI level between $15,150 and about $560,000."
I don't even have words. This could be utterly devastating for single parents surviving on low incomes.
And I will never, ever, stop being angry that the corporate media spent 600+ days on Hillary Clinton's emails, while this kind of garbage was largely allowed to fly under the radar.
This deserved 600 days of coverage.
Submitted Without Further Comment
.@sarahkendzior It turns out instead of smashing the glass ceiling, we smashed the lookingglass.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 16, 2016
Recommended Reading
I know this is a lot of recommended reading, but every single article is worth your time. Every word of every piece. It is more crucial than ever that we fully understand what is unfolding and who the key players are.
Liel Leibovitz at Tablet: "What to Do About Trump? The Same Thing My Grandfather Did in 1930s Vienna."
Joshua Foust: "This Is Not Normal."
Sarah Jaffe at Rolling Stone: "Why Anti-Trump Protests Matter."
T.R. Ramachandran: "2016 Election: White Working Class and Trump Support."
David A. Fahrenthold and Frances Stead Sellers at the Washington Post: "How Bannon Flattered and Coaxed Trump on Policies Key to the Alt-Right."
Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Mark Mazzetti, and Maggie Haberman at the New York Times: "Firings and Discord Put Trump Transition Team in a State of Disarray."
Fatima Hussein at the Indy Star: "What's Mike Pence Hiding in His Emails?"
Greg Bluestein, Aaron Gould Sheinin, Tamar Hallerman, and Jim Galloway at the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "A Bill to Restrict the Wearing of Muslim Burqa and Veil in Georgia."
Grant Stern at the Huffington Post: "Stephen Bannon Hit with Serious FBI Federal Election Law Complaint by Democratic Coalition."
Sarah Kendzior on Twitter: "A Message About What We Are Facing."
Daily Dose of Cute
Sophie, hiding on top of a hamper in the bathroom, while the carpets were being steam-cleaned recently.
At one point during the cleaning, Iain and I were frantic, because we couldn't find any of the cats, and then Iain discovered all three of them in the bathroom: Sophie on top of the hamper, Matilda on one side, and Olivia on the other.
Olivia had already vacated by this point, because she can only stay away from food and playing with tinfoil balls for so long. Matilda (who fights the vacuum cleaner) wasn't scared, as evidenced by the fact she's playing with a piece of errant tissue in this photo. But the other cats were there, so she went along. "I guess we're all chilling by the hamper now!"
Sophie was having none of it, until the noise-making monsters had fully evacuated. At which point she did a slow slink, close to the floor, to explore, giving me a deeply aggrieved look as she passed.
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As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
On Chances
[Content Note: Bigotry; sexual assault.]
Every person being floated for a position in Trump's administration: Racist, sexist, queerphobic.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 16, 2016
"Give him a chance, though."
Nah.
I am about at my wits' end with the idea that I should give the president-elect a chance. "See what happens." I am seeing what is happening already. I don't need to see any more.
He didn't earn any chances with his despicable campaign, and he sure as shit isn't earning any now.
And he doesn't need me to give him a chance, when virtually every powerbroker in politics and media is giving him endless chances.
I am incandescently angry just contemplating the number of chances he's already gotten. No matter how many times he shows himself to be an unapologetic bigot and aspiring despot, he gets another chance, accompanied by inexplicable extensions of good faith, to prove he is not the cruel person he demonstrates that he is and confesses to be.
I think of the countless young Black victims of police or vigilante violence whose entire lives and selves are reductively defined to a single photo posted on social media or a single bad act. I think of the countless women who have survived acts of sexual violence and are reductively defined to what they were wearing or something they texted once. I think of the countless children of immigrant parents whose entire futures and safety are reductively defined to whether their parents have a piece of paper.
So many people, people who are victims, who aren't given more than one chance. Whose lives are boiled down to one moment, one choice, one circumstance. One thing, ripped from its context and stripped of any nuance, used to define them forever.
While the president-elect, a man of unlimited privilege, gets chance after chance after chance, to prove that he is not exactly who he is revoltingly proud to be.
