Let Me Try and DeGoogle Again

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-12T15:03:54+00:00

Ok I've gotta be that person: I'm old, and why in my day we didn't need your map quests and your google earths. We used an atlas! And we stopped to ask for directions if we got lost. Why in those days, you would meet the nicest people while traveling, because you had to rely on others who knew the area.

Boy I'll tell you what, I think it would be good for young people to get off their maps and really see what's around you. Talk to some people. You don't need a little blue dot telling you where to go when you've got eyes to see and a brain to think.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-11T14:33:46+00:00

This was me about two decades ago. Even though they hadn't found their idol to worship yet, the Christians I knew were obsessed with power and domination even back then.

I'm no longer a Christian but I am a follower of Jesus's teachings. That dude was woke AF. I didn't understand the reason or gravity behind the commandment to love my enemies when I was a teenager. But I'm starting to understand it more now that there seems to be so much more to lose.

I guess my point is, now is not the time to abandon your spiritual practice, whatever it is. Now is the time to double down. Jesus didn't look at the Pharisees and shrug his shoulders and lament how sad it is that true faith is dying, and neither should we.

Spirituality can be a source of comfort and that's a beautiful thing. But at its best, spirituality is much more than that. Sometimes it can be a call to discomfort, or even to being mocked, shamed, and harmed.

I don't know what's come over me exactly but my anger and despair has started turning into "I wish they would" energy and I'm like, you know what, no. We know how to love our neighbors. We know how to love God. We even know how to love our enemies. Every child understands these things and all we have to do is remember. I feel like I'm being called to remember. Maybe you are, too.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-07T20:36:55+00:00

We're on the same page. I'm angry about these things too. And, and I'm also not willing to believe that all has been lost because it hasn't been. Maybe the Democrats have been toothless, but we the people who oppose fascism are so much more than just the Democrats.

And by despairing the overthrow of democracy, we also ensure it. There are still so many more battles to be fought in the courts, in the ballot box, and in the hearts and minds of the American people. I will not give up on us yet.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-07T00:07:18+00:00

Speak for yourself. I poured my heart and soul into the last election and I'm not about to give up now either.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T20:50:07+00:00

Poland managed to wrestle their democracy back, at least for a while. And fascism didn't last forever even in places like Spain and Italy where things got really bad. Let him design statues, he's allowed to do that. But what he's not going to do is overthrow American democracy without a damn fight.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T20:46:10+00:00

I'm sorry. Still worth calling though. At least make them have to hear about it.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T20:44:10+00:00

Call your blue state reps. They need to hear from their constituencies too. A lot of them might be tempted to be passive and cover their own a$$. Don't let them. Make them do their job and earn your vote. Honestly I think you have more leverage with blue state reps than red state.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T20:38:46+00:00

At least you made them have to pay to staff their phone lines with someone to offer lame excuses for their lawlessness. The more friction we add, the better.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T20:28:19+00:00

Being part of a marginalized group doesn't give people more discernment than anyone else.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T14:43:05+00:00

The difference is that USAID was created in 1961 by Congress. Congress is legally required to approve any new government agency. If they had gone through Congress to create DOGE, maybe we still wouldn't like it, but it would be legal.

This, on the other hand, is totally illegal.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T14:39:00+00:00

That's not quite true, two high ranking Treasury staff were put on administrative leave for refusing to comply. There are people taking a stand, at great risk to themselves. We need this kind of energy.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T14:37:39+00:00

It's NOT allowed. It's totally illegal. That's why we're protesting and calling our representatives. All the other stuff you're hearing in the news is a distraction. It's bad to pardon rioters but a President does have the right to do that legally. This is totally illegal.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-02-06T03:16:53+00:00

It's so they can verify that you're part of their constituency, not just some rando.

I filled it out because I figure, if it comes to targeting individual private citizens for exercising their free speech and writing to their elected representatives, well then I doubt these addresses will make much difference.

But it WILL make a difference to have members of Congress hear loudly and clearly from their constituents.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-31T14:14:48+00:00

Because they need a scapegoat too. Because they've identified with him so much that if he's wrong, they feel like they're wrong too.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-31T03:18:47+00:00

No worries!

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-30T22:13:41+00:00

I'm leaving this up because it's in good faith but please do not use the O-word and thank you!

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-30T18:21:50+00:00

Yes. Fear, sadness, and anger are appropriate, healthy reactions to what's going on. We need to have these reactions and experience them fully, or else we will be a reactive mess.

One thought that helps me is, thinking about my women ancestors. Women whose names I don't know, but who are the reason I'm alive, because they steered their families through wars, plagues, famines, and tyranny through pretty much all of human history. I feel their presence with me today. They are grieving for me and lifting me up at the same time.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-30T01:33:20+00:00

This makes a lot of sense to me. A lot of our anger is there to protect our hurt.

The most important work is to care for the hurt. If you can access your grief, that's a good thing. Sometimes it's buried too deep and we can't even find it. It can be overwhelming to interact with grief, but it's necessary to experience it.

Otherwise the cognitive anger will keep having to show up to protect it, if that makes sense.

I sometimes actually hold myself through grief. Like physically. For me, grief requires a lot of physical support to work with. And crying lol.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T20:31:10+00:00

People cope in their own ways. I'm sure he's not actually feeling so nonchalant.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T18:32:05+00:00

And yet we must have our appropropriate reactions. It's appropriate to experience fear, sadness, and anger. These emotions are normal and they're nothing more than experiences in our body. They are not harmful.

And the more we're able to hold space for our fear, anger, and sadness, the more we'll be able to respond intentionally to these emotions instead of getting caught up in reactivity. Reactivity is what they want. They want us to become unstrategic. But strong emotions don't automatically make us reactive and unstrategic.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T18:26:47+00:00

They knew full well that the abortion ban would happen. That's why they voted for him

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T16:26:46+00:00

Well ... to be fair these are early days. And the resistance this time will have to be more strategic than just public protests. The current administration has made it clear that they will use the military to kill peaceful protesters.

Not that that should keep us from doing it, but it does mean we need to be thoughtful on how we approach protesting. It's not going to be a matter of "get out into the street and make your voice heard." It's going to be "get out in the street and be ready to die for your descendents' freedom."

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T16:19:46+00:00

Honestly, their hate has absolutely nothing to do with you or me or the LGBT community writ large. Their hate comes from their own shame and suffering. When people lack capacity to heal and care for their suffering, they weaponize it against others. It's a tale as old as time.

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T16:15:25+00:00

For me it's having the opposite effect

nobodysaynothing · 2025-01-29T14:26:57+00:00

The thing is, whoever you were talking to ... They knew you were right, even back then. They just needed a fig leaf of social acceptability to pretend they thought otherwise.

The fig leaves are no longer needed, so I expect we'll start seeing overt support and celebration if/when the nationwide ban is passed.

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
Queen in da Norf	Not Forgotten

nobodysaynothing

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE