Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 222

The Joe Meme

I somehow missed these this week. Google for more; they’re all over the net. Come back, Joe. We need you.

I know we’d have lost them even if Hillary had won, but I’m still blaming Trump: I’m so going to miss these guys.

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Political Argh

Kiernan wrote:

“I just went through all the comments here, and it didn’t appear there were any conservatives. I could be wrong, but this seems like a homogenous group, politically. I’m generally conservative and small-townish, although I come from a very diverse family politically. So a big part of me feels afraid to speak on this particular thread.”

I think this probably is a mostly-liberal group with a few centrists mixed in, but I think that’s in part because social conservatives (different from political conservatives) probably spit on my books. This group self-selected well before the elections, and I think (not sure) that this is the first time we’ve really addressed politics here in any concrete way because we come here to talk about story in all its shapes and forms, and whatever else comes to mind. So far, I haven’t had to do much moderating in the comments because we’re a relatively small group and we don’t attract much attention. We’re pretty much sitting here with cups of tea and diet Cokes arguing about prologues. And we’re pretty good about agreeing to disagree, but still, I understand your hesitation completely. This is a liberal blog.

Kiernan again: “I think the Left and Right could find lots of common ground, but both sides feel wounded.”

The problem is, I don’t think there is common ground. The people who voted for Trump voted for somebody who actively campaigned as a racist xenophobe. Hate crimes are up all over the country because some of the people who followed him felt they’d been given permission to come out of the dark and do these things. Of course, that’s not all of the people who voted for him. But all of the people who voted for him knew he wanted to build a wall and deport legal Muslim Americans and repeal Obamacare. And because they voted for him and gave majorities to both houses of Congress, Paul Ryan is now going to privatize Medicare, cut taxes on the wealthy, and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Those aren’t gee-maybe-he-might, they’re right there on his website and they’ve been there for months and he’s vocal right now about doing all of those things, January 1 if possible. Ayn Rand just took over the government. I’m a white Christian baby boomer who’s already on Medicare, so I’m probably fairly safe. That doesn’t stop me from being appalled that anybody under 65 is screwed. And that’s before we get to the terrifying people Trump is thinking about putting into government posts.

So I don’t think there is common ground. I think the divide in this country is so deep that it’s between people who are all right with voting for somebody who encouraged violence at his rallies and people who think Rudy Giuliani should not be Secretary of State. And at the head of all of this is a guy who never thought he’d win and is now, judging by recent photos, absolutely terrified. Here’s an interesting bit of news: Trump and his team didn’t know they’d have to replace West Wing staffers. He knew he’d get his own Chief of Staff, but he had no idea he’d have to build his own governing staff. He must have missed all seven seasons of The West Wing. In short, he has no idea what he’s doing. His team has no idea how to govern. And the Republicans are about to drag us back to the 50s. I don’t see a way I can go halfway to any of that. That doesn’t mean people can’t argue for those things here, it just means I’m not going to be saying, “Why yes, I can see some good in Steve Bannon being chief strategist because Breitbartism is something I can compromise on. And I can certainly meet Mike Pence halfway on LGBT issues, maybe there are positive things about conversion therapy.” No. Hell, no.

Kiernan again: “Is it naive to hope that if we are kinder and less reactive–if we stop dissing each other on Facebook or on other social media–that maybe we could effect change and make this a better country?”

I think it might be naive to hope for that on the internet especially on Facebook. This election did not create trolls on either side, they were always there. But what this election did do is deepen the divide, and now anger and fear are bringing out the worst in us. I want to keep Argh civil, and I think because we’re small and out of the way and already have a strong community that we can do that. I’m fine with people stating their opinions here, conservative or liberal (no personal attacks, of course) and I will continue to let people counter those opinions (no personal attacks, of course), but I’m going to flat out state that I’m a radical, leftist, socialist, gay-and-Muslim-loving, Black-Lives-Matter Democrat, and I’m going to fight like hell to keep the Republicans from dismantling the safety net and making racism, xenophobia, sexism, and homophobia the American Way (no personal attacks, of course).

Also to anybody who didn’t vote or cast a protest vote because you thought Clinton and Trump were equally bad: You were wrong.

NOTE: I pulled quotes from Kiernan’s comment, but I think the whole thing should be on here because I don’t want my pull-quotes to cherry-pick her argument:

“Well, I think one way to start this new chapter in American history is to think about social media at the grassroots level. It can be used for good. But it seems to me that it’s often not. It becomes a place for divisions to expand. Facebook is hell on earth.

“I just went through all the comments here, and it didn’t appear there were any conservatives. I could be wrong, but this seems like a homogenous group, politically. I’m generally conservative and small-townish, although I come from a very diverse family politically. So a big part of me feels afraid to speak on this particular thread. The only reason I dare to now is because you’re a kind person, Jenny, and fair, and you won’t flame someone unless he or she is being cruel or counterproductive to a discussion.

“My point is, when you discuss hot-button issues among a homogenous group, how can you ever move toward cooperation with “the other side”? Do you need to? I think so–otherwise, we just spin our wheels, throwing rocks, hurting each other, and our children cry and witness intolerance and grow up fragile and frightened. You can’t make the world a better place when you’re literally shaking and merely trying to survive (Maslow’s Hierarchy is something I often think about).

“If I were a newbie here, I would pass this post and page by. In the old days (pre-election 2016!), I would have said, that’s fine. We build our own tribes, and Jenny’s tribe wouldn’t want me there, and I don’t mesh well politically. But I feel like now–because we all love this country and want our kids to be happy and secure–the tribe answer isn’t good enough because it doesn’t solve the big problems we have, which are very big.

“Jenny, you want to help your causes. Getting grassroots movements going is really the way to go. And you’re right–every time the top makes a decree, it takes so much longer for the country to accept that decision. When we get things going from a state level, the acceptance rate is higher, quicker, and it’s an organic spread.

“But in our efforts to push our causes–which we believe are rights or moral imperatives, depending on your perspective–how can we avoid steamrolling the people who don’t want that cause to move forward and could stymie our efforts? I know it’s tempting to want to steamroll people who are ignorant. But we get more effective returns when we try to win people over instead.

“I think the Left and Right could find lots of common ground, but both sides feel wounded. Is it naive to hope that if we are kinder and less reactive–if we stop dissing each other on Facebook or on other social media–that maybe we could effect change and make this a better country?

“Thanks for making Argh a place where civility is valued and thinking matters.”

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Cherry Saturday 11-12-2016

This month is National Novel Writing Month.

Just do it.

Said the hypocrite.

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Slow

Let’s slow down.

There’s bad stuff coming, but it’s not here yet. There’s time to think things through, figure out what’s actually happening before Jan. 2017, make plans for the long run. It’s going to be a long run with slow progress, but slow is almost always smarter than fast. Slow lasts.

So deep breaths and steady as we go. I don’t think we’ve survived worse, but we’ve survived a lot of bad. We’ll fix this, too. We have work to do . . .

. . . but for just this weekend, just this moment, let’s go slow.

RIP Leonard Cohen. You were amazing and your music will live forever. Wish you could have, too.

Even better:

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So Here’s What I Think

Keep in mind I’m an elderly white baby boomer female who knows nothing about real world politics (back up the salt truck) . . .

I think there are two Americas at this point, the diverse, liberal elitists on the Western Coast and the Northeast, and the white, socially conservative Heartland. And I think we demonize each other because we’ve been so polarized by our political parties. The Democrats with their (our) organization and ground game have had the White House for eight years, trying to govern from the top down while dealing with Republican Congresses elected from the bottom up. It’s been a national vs state game. And the state approach won by a hair.

Abortion rights have been rolled back at the state level. Marijuana is legal at the state level a lot of places. The Death Penalty has been reinstated at a lot of state levels. Right-to-die is legal in some states. Bathroom bills are made at the state level. Gerrymandering is accomplished at the state level. If Clinton wins the popular vote and Trump wins the Electoral College, this election was decided at the state level. The state level is where national policy is born not most quickly but most effectively.

When change is instituted from the top down, it comes faster and more surgically, but it splits the country. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation sparked off the Civil War between two Americas already battling each other. Johnson’s Civil Rights Act helped Republicans create the Southern Strategy that deliberately widened the divide. Both of those acts were not just long overdue, they were crucial to America’s identity as a nation–that statue out in the harbor is our most iconic image–but they also came from the top down because it was the only way to begin to combat America’s racism. And then we elected Obama twice. We did the right thing at the national level all three times, and all three times, the country split further apart politically. It was necessary, but we never healed.

People have said this election was about economics, but the economy is in the best shape it’s been in years. They said it was about change, about throwing out the Old Pro Politicians, but Republican incumbents are being sent back to Congress in droves. This election was about identity, about who we are, and the touchstone was race. One side said “We’re diverse and accepting” and the other side “We’re white and we need protected from terrorists (and immigrants and blacks and women and trans people and . . .).” One political party marginalized that whites only group and the other exploited it, and in so doing both sides made white people in the flyover states a radicalized minority with a clear identity to fight for, to make America great white again.

I’m pretty sure that what happens next is going to be a nightmare. But I’m also pretty sure the way to fix it is at the state level, not by polls and ads and flyers and robocalls, but by people talking to people. A couple of months ago I read a survey that showed that people who lived in communities with immigrants were not the people who were anti-immigration; it was the people who lived in white enclaves who were screaming “immigrant-terrorist-rapists.” We don’t demonize people we know. We may not like them, but we don’t think they’re the first wave of the Antichrist’s army or deranged White Supremacists trying to make The Handmaid’s Tale reality. We find common ground. We figure out a way to work together so we can live together. And we change things locally that percolate up to the national level. It takes years, but it works. Just ask the Republicans in the red states who have been crafting local law for decades. We lost the top because they won the bottom. So we work from the bottom up now.

The good news is that a lot of people who said, “I don’t like either candidate so I’m not going to vote” or “I’m going to vote my conscience” are looking around like the rest of us, trying to figure out what happened. And even in writing “the rest of us” I’ve picked a side. We have to stop picking sides and pick causes. We have to stop laying blame and start making common ground. We have to stop thinking of Us and Them and think about protecting decency and human rights at the local level. Gay marriage is legal nationally now because it began at the state level. I’m fairly sure that marijuana will be legal nationally in a very few years because the preponderance of states will have legalized it. If the Republican government repeals Obamacare, we can work to get single payer systems in place at the state level. We’re going to lose a lot, but not as much as the most reactionary of Republicans think because even though half the country voted for The Way We Were, the other half said No We’re Not That Anymore. Black Lives Matter is not going away. The millions of women on both sides of the divide who’ve discovered that we haven’t come that long a way, baby, are not going away. We just all have to be smarter and more open-minded on both sides, and we have to be active.

And part of that is to look clearly at what’s going to happen. The Republicans will “repeal Obamacare.” But the no pre-existing condition clause will stay because people love that. They might try to privatize Medicare, but I’m pretty sure the AARP will be down on them like a ton of gray bricks. Roe vs Wade is under attack, but Planned Parenthood is everywhere and is going to be well-funded this winter; I’m going to my local branch on Monday to see how I can help and bringing a check. (Also, you can sign up for Amazon Smile and designate PP as your charity. Every little bit helps.)

The asshats who were just elected are not my America, but I’m pretty sure my America will triumph in the long run if we keep fighting for equality and common sense. History bends toward justice, it doesn’t provide it free of charge. We have work to do. All politics is local, so let’s start there.

ETA: If you’re in the mood to write checks, the ACLU is always good:

ETA: Maggie Hassan is now the Democratic Senator from NH. And the Senate is split 50/50 with Pence the tie-breaker.

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Random Silver Linings

I just spent an hour writing down random thoughts about the election. The post was brilliant but depressing. Then I thought, “Fuck it, let’s look on the bright side . . .

There are four more women of color in Congress now.

Democrat Roy Cooper leads Asshat Pat McCrory by 5000 votes in the NC governor’s race.

We won’t have to hear about Bill Clinton’s blow jobs any more.

Melania as first lady should be good value.

The Freedom Caucus is going to eat Paul Ryan alive.

All the people who love Donald Trump live in places he wouldn’t stop to pee in. All the places that Donald Trump likes are full of people who despise him.

Comey is going to have to work with Trump’s Justice Dept. Welcome to Hell, James. You earned it.

Comey is also going to have to explain to Trump why he can’t Lock Her Up. Good times.

The military is even now hunkering down, braced to refuse Trump’s unconstitutional orders to commit war crimes. They may be conservative, but they’re not insane. Imagine Trump’s twitter feed when they refuse to bomb Virginia for not voting for him.

Our religious passion for the certainty of polls is over. I love you, Nate and Sam, but that was getting out of hand. Also, Sam Wang has to eat a bug.

The Oval Office will be redone in gold.

We can still make Yuge and Sad jokes.

Nothing bonds a team like a strong, despised antagonist. Black Lives Matter, Feeling the Bern, and Pantsuit Nation might forge themselves into something formidable.

This is a nightmare for Democrats, but it’s going to be terrible for the Republicans, too. Donald Trump now owns them. If they thought the Tea Party was a pain in the ass, wait’ll they get a load of four years of The Donald.

Ted Cruz must be questioning his very existence.

We live in interesting times.

But Jesus Fucking Christ, I hate this vote.

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Thank You, Susan B.

I saw Hillary’s name on the touchscreen and I cried a little. Then I voted and got in the car and cried a lot. I never thought I’d see this day. And now, fingers crossed, my granddaughters will grow up thinking, “Of COURSE a woman can be President.” I wept both times Obama was elected, really proud of my country. I hope like hell I’m still proud tomorrow morning. Because otherwise we have this:

Pray for Melania.

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Vote

To any Argh Person who is also an American citizen, for the love of God, vote.

And there’s a video, but it’s really obscene and offensive, plus it has an egregious typo, so I put it below the jump. You should probably ignore that and just go vote.

HOLY SH*T (You've Got To Vote) from Moby

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Cherry Saturday 11-5-2016 and Lois McMaster Bujold

Today is Book Lovers Day.

Is that lovers of books or lovers in books?

Never mind. Works both ways.

Speaking of much-loved books, the wonderful Lois McMaster Bujold talked to the Eight Ladies about her new World of Five Gods book, Penric’s Mission. Micki Haller (that’s our Micki) explains:

“First drafts, the death of deadlines, and a strong indication that good test readers are even better than chocolate for a writer’s motivation. Lois McMaster Bujold talked with us over at Eight Ladies Writing about her writing process. She’s the author of the Vorkosigan series, the Sharing Knife quartet, and the World of the Five Gods books – I know a lot of your readers are Bujold fans as well, so they might be interested to know that she’s just e-published “Penric’s Mission” story from the W5G world. Catch her interview with 8LW on the November 5, 2016 post at Eight Ladies Writing.”

Hit that link, people, good stories await.

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Sam Wang and Scholastic Look Into the Future

Sam Wang’s Princeton Election Consortium is one of my fave election sites, and one of his commenters alerted him to this Scholastic Poll of 153,000 school-age kids that I find not only fascinating but cheering. Two big takeaways from the article and the comments section:

Young adults tend to retain the party identities they begin with so unless these kids change in the next ten or so years, this is the future of voting; and one possibility for the difference between adult and kid voting in some of these states is that voting is highly influenced by peer group, and the younger generations are much more diverse and therefore much more likely to look at nationalism, racism, xenophobia, and sexism as inexplicable stances. Go younger generations, that’s what I say. (The post and comments over there are well worth reading, as is most of the site.)

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