“That Conversation about Race” category archive
The Bully’s Puppets 0
Robert Reich looks at how the rich and powerful use misdirection plays to get even more rich and powerful and expresses hope that persons are finally catching on. An excerpt; follow the link for the rest.
The bullied are still there; Trump is still exploiting their anger.
For nearly a decade, Trump has channeled that anger into racism, nativism and misogyny. He has encouraged his followers to feel powerful by bullying those with even less power: poor Black and Latino people, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, Muslims, families seeking asylum, undocumented workers, pregnant women who can’t afford to travel to a state where abortions are legal.
This bullying game has been played repeatedly in history by self-described strongmen who pretend to be tribunes of the oppressed by scapegoating the truly powerless, but who are actually fronting for the rich and powerful.
In reality, Trump and his lackeys work for the oligarchs — cutting their taxes, rolling back regulations that protect the public but that cost the oligarchs, and dividing the rest of us into warring factions so we don’t look upward to see where most power and wealth have gone.
The good news is that Americans are catching on.
The Unswayables 0
Werner Herzog’s Bear offers a theory as to why Donald Trump’s cult is so loyal to a man who has repeatedly demonstrated that he is loyal to no one and nothing. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Trump and his MAGA slogan symbolize the maintenance of all kinds of hierarchies. His name on a sign means support for men in charge, white people in charge, LGBTQ people in the closet, Christianity assumed, and immigrants deported. While not all Trump supporters fit all of these categories, each has at least of one these hierarchies in mind when it comes to their support. Trump could indeed shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose support because what he does is literally meaningless. All of his meaning is symbolic.
I commend the entire piece to your attention.
(Missing link found.)
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Eamma and the crew discuss Fox News’s attempt to make birtherism great again.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The New Secesh decide that, if all else fails to bring back the Confederacy, let’s craft a Way-Back machine?
A Notion of Immigrants 0
David debunks de bunk.
Aside:
This conspiracy theory is, indeed, laughable from the git-go, as David points out.
But it’s not really about elections.
It’s about rallying the bigots and racists who are Trump’s base.
Republican Thought Police 0
“Vengeance is ours,” sayeth the Republican Thought Police.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the Tampa Bay Times, history Charles B. Dew contemplates a couplet.
_________________
*Mark Twain.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini highlights the hypocrisy. A snippet:
Earlier this year, Republicans in the U.S. Senate bowed to Trump’s demands and killed a bipartisan security bill introduced by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
(snip)
The bipartisan bill was not bad for border security. It was not bad for those looking to stop the flow of illegal drugs. It was not bad for those working to solve the asylum problem. It was not bad for the border patrol, since it included more officers and enhanced security.
In essence, the bill was not bad for America, just the opposite.
The border security bill was only bad for one thing — Donald Trump’s campaign..
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Michael in Norfolk feels a need to point out what is obvious to anyone willing to look. A snippet:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Criminalizing Camping 0
Emma talks with investigative reporter and journalist Rebecca Burns about the right-wing’s effort to punish homeless persons for being in this new gilded age.
A Questioning of Identity 0
Thom calls out Republican race-baiting and puts it into historical context.
What’s in a Name? 0
Boston University Professor Joshua Pederson offers a theory as to why Donald Trump continually and (apparently) intentionally mispronounces Kamala Harris’s first name (and, note, it is not a difficult name to pronounce). Here’s a bit from his article:
Read the full article for context.
Trump’s Plan for a Police State 0
Robert Reich takes a look at Project 2025.
“But They All Look Alike” 0
(Warning: short commercial at the end. And our cats prefer kibbles. Honest to Betsy, I can open a can of tuna and they couldn’t care less.)
I’m a Southern boy.
I grew up under Jim Crow and went to segregated schools. I was there when they were desegregated.
You really can’t get much more racist than “they all look alike.”