The poison that is racism has never made a nation better; every time it’s been used for profit or power it’s ended up destroying both its victims and, eventually, its promoters
Thom's comment: Of all the politically motivated murders that happened in the US last year, 91% were committed by people affiliated with rightwing extremism; only 3% could be traced to Islamic extremism and 6% to “left wing” extremism including anarchists and Black nationalists. Good point
Excellent essay, Thom. My takeaway from this writing is that the endpoint of Republican terrorism is destruction in pursuit of power. I learned about Stalin’s cruel terrorism accidentally. He was pursuing power, and he used Ukrainian farmers, Jews, and anyone he could demonize to pursue that power. Those in power in Russia have not made lives better, except for a tiny few.
Our situation seems to be moving in a similar direction. Terrorism takes a country’s people backward, which does not lift people’s lives up.
Thank you for this powerful essay! Thank you for providing such clarity on the social psychology and putting what we are collectively experiencing right now in context. I hope that your clarity will reach the democratic party and all those who believe in true democracy. What an excellent point that racism has never made a nation better and pointing out how it ultimately hurts those who promote it.
Dems took the Rebublicans to task Wednesday on abortion and domestic terrorism. There was a vote, and this quote is from NPR:
"The bill, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, creates offices at the departments of Homeland Security and Justice and the FBI specifically focused on investigating and tracking domestic terror threats. It also directs these offices to share potential risks and take steps to prevent future attacks.
The legislation had bipartisan support when it was introduced earlier this year. A similar measure was approved by voice vote by the House in September of 2020, just months before the Jan. 6 insurrection. But only one Republican — Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger -- joined all House Democrats to approve the bill late Wednesday evening."
The abortion issue was a House hearing. Check out C-Span to see what Representative Veronica Escobar and Representative Cori Bush said. They are amazing; it was called "Hearing on Abortion Access and Care". The experts were fantastic as well.
Repudiation of racism and terrorism is not on the the Republican's menu. Their version of freedom of speech includes screaming fire in a crowded theater. Just remember they don't do nuance.
I was reminded of something, as Trump considers a 2024 run. During the miserable years of his "reign" over all that's decent, we heard from many psychologists and psychiatrists of his "illnesses". So my question - how can anyone in a modern society run for such a powerful office, a position that can have a far-reaching effect on such a large populace, not pass a psychological assessment? I believe they have to pass a physical assessment. Why are all those psychologists & psychiatrists suddenly so silent? Will they wait until an egomaniac becomes POTUS, and then, when it's too late, whine about the person's problems. This is 2022 - we should be nipping these things in the bud, with the knowledge we possess. Or do we want another Putin-like egomaniac to have the controls over weapons of mass destruction?
The white nationalists that believe the propagandists and their replacement theory are clearly easily manipulated and it wouldn’t take much for them to reach that activated state of pure rage and lizard-brained decisions. When Tucker uses the word “terrifying” to frighten his audiences in der homeland, doesn’t that make him a domestic terrorist? The saddest thing is that these folks were turned into racist terrorists to serve their morbidly rich masters. Think what life would be like if you hated people because you learned to hate them because that’s the way it is, and learned that to fit in you had to keep hating. That would suck. A Christian would forgive them, even if they refused to acknowledge their trespasses, or is it debts, I forget. Perhaps that would be another framing option that we forgive these people for being stupid victims, and try to help them to be less stupid. But without using "stupid" so much in the messaging. Stupid people are touchy about that. I know I am.
Thom's comment: Of all the politically motivated murders that happened in the US last year, 91% were committed by people affiliated with rightwing extremism; only 3% could be traced to Islamic extremism and 6% to “left wing” extremism including anarchists and Black nationalists. Good point
Excellent essay, Thom. My takeaway from this writing is that the endpoint of Republican terrorism is destruction in pursuit of power. I learned about Stalin’s cruel terrorism accidentally. He was pursuing power, and he used Ukrainian farmers, Jews, and anyone he could demonize to pursue that power. Those in power in Russia have not made lives better, except for a tiny few.
Our situation seems to be moving in a similar direction. Terrorism takes a country’s people backward, which does not lift people’s lives up.
Thank you for this powerful essay! Thank you for providing such clarity on the social psychology and putting what we are collectively experiencing right now in context. I hope that your clarity will reach the democratic party and all those who believe in true democracy. What an excellent point that racism has never made a nation better and pointing out how it ultimately hurts those who promote it.
Dems took the Rebublicans to task Wednesday on abortion and domestic terrorism. There was a vote, and this quote is from NPR:
"The bill, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, creates offices at the departments of Homeland Security and Justice and the FBI specifically focused on investigating and tracking domestic terror threats. It also directs these offices to share potential risks and take steps to prevent future attacks.
The legislation had bipartisan support when it was introduced earlier this year. A similar measure was approved by voice vote by the House in September of 2020, just months before the Jan. 6 insurrection. But only one Republican — Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger -- joined all House Democrats to approve the bill late Wednesday evening."
The abortion issue was a House hearing. Check out C-Span to see what Representative Veronica Escobar and Representative Cori Bush said. They are amazing; it was called "Hearing on Abortion Access and Care". The experts were fantastic as well.
Repudiation of racism and terrorism is not on the the Republican's menu. Their version of freedom of speech includes screaming fire in a crowded theater. Just remember they don't do nuance.
I was reminded of something, as Trump considers a 2024 run. During the miserable years of his "reign" over all that's decent, we heard from many psychologists and psychiatrists of his "illnesses". So my question - how can anyone in a modern society run for such a powerful office, a position that can have a far-reaching effect on such a large populace, not pass a psychological assessment? I believe they have to pass a physical assessment. Why are all those psychologists & psychiatrists suddenly so silent? Will they wait until an egomaniac becomes POTUS, and then, when it's too late, whine about the person's problems. This is 2022 - we should be nipping these things in the bud, with the knowledge we possess. Or do we want another Putin-like egomaniac to have the controls over weapons of mass destruction?
The white nationalists that believe the propagandists and their replacement theory are clearly easily manipulated and it wouldn’t take much for them to reach that activated state of pure rage and lizard-brained decisions. When Tucker uses the word “terrifying” to frighten his audiences in der homeland, doesn’t that make him a domestic terrorist? The saddest thing is that these folks were turned into racist terrorists to serve their morbidly rich masters. Think what life would be like if you hated people because you learned to hate them because that’s the way it is, and learned that to fit in you had to keep hating. That would suck. A Christian would forgive them, even if they refused to acknowledge their trespasses, or is it debts, I forget. Perhaps that would be another framing option that we forgive these people for being stupid victims, and try to help them to be less stupid. But without using "stupid" so much in the messaging. Stupid people are touchy about that. I know I am.