I have a maga House of Representative- Kevin Kiley .. I no longer think Of him& all like him as my representative. But my Enemy.. the Republican Party are the enemy of Democracy - enemies to side step & our smart. Don't let your guard down.
No working across the dam isle:
That's suicidal for our Democracy.
The Republican have adhered to bigotry, cruelty and 24/7 lying.
He is my representative too. I send him messages on his government site. He, more likely his employees, respond with canned letters on my email that have nothing to do with what I ask. Occasionally I get a live person when I call. I unload on that person but not with a loud voice or curses. I have no idea if Kevin Kiley keeps track of the concerns of his constituents. After all, I am not sending him money. I do know he is too scared to hold a town hall in person in his mostly red district.
The realization of betrayal often dawns slowly. We default to rationalizations with other reasons, to other explanations for what is appearing right before our eyes, to postulates of what the faint light might be dimly unveiling. What is to be made of the dawning’s reveal? How do we process what we are slowly seeing in a manner that’s consistent with our expectations and experiences? In a manner that doesn’t madden us with a screaming dissonance from pondering the once imponderable? What do we make of one of the two major political parties in the world’s oldest democracy that now disappears those with opposing views, extorts and punishes businesses and institutions that disagree with its policies, threatens peaceful nations - that have been steadfast friends - with forceful occupation and exploitation, abolishes agencies that fed and vaccinated millions of our fellow humans and now leaves them sick and starving, destroys its society’s essential services and abandons its citizens to chaos and fear? When the light is brighter and the revelation is full, the democracy we knew at last dusk is now a chimeric abomination, a snarling fascist beast with jaws that bite and claws that catch.
There is an instinctive primitive response when finally understanding and confronting the MAGAwocky. And that is not to converse and reason with it, but to scream…
When I was still on Twitter/X I followed all the members of Congress and every time they posted something during working hours I replied with a stop watch emoji.
Paying attention to them this way was an eye opener.
Republicans spent an inordinate amount of time on the app. Democrats seemed to avoid social media during working hours. It was as if most Republicans were working ON the app.
I think many of them took the trolls and bots supporting them as real people. I also followed all of them on Facebook, which is where their real constituents are. The difference in all metrics of engagement is what led me realize that the X audience is not real.
A few of them may have been in on the artificial engagement but I think most of them were not.
Even then they were not doing town halls. And in the run up to the 2020 election they were only interacting with people at rallies who were already on their side.
I think a lot of Republicans are unprepared for the real interaction at town meetings because they have been living in a the X bubble.
I have enjoyed the refreshing return to reality I see in town hall clips. I was bemused to hear the woman in Missouri bellowing their stereotypical catch phrase at her representative - "Show Me". In Texas, there was no video, but the report said people were growling an unreported phrase at their representative. I'm from Texas, I know what they were saying - Bullshit.
The essence of a 'functioning' fascistic system is fantasy. Break that down and it's all over.
If the Maga spell actually broke and they somehow woke up and suddenly truly understood how much Trump despises them, the reckoning would be fast and furious.
Mr Brock, Thank you for your poetry capturing so well the existential angst/current events we are living through. Magnificent! We are sending it along to others, with attribution, of course.
Your writing about all this is beautiful, and you expose the pain and horror you feel in a way the sparks visceral response. Your truth telling often feels more like a visual/aural representation of this moment than analysis, and it feels as necessary to the battle against all that trumpmusk represent as the analysis and exhortations to do something.
But, I can’t help but think that the degree of sorrow and pain you reveal in your words must take a huge toll on you. I had the first full blown panic attack of my life last night. I really don’t want to go there again. I was completely shut down by overwhelming dread and profound visceral disgust. I live on a farm, I have been an EMT I am not squeamish, but trump and his coterie of morally corrupt thugs make me physically ill. To see humans who have willingly abandoned every element that redeems our destructive existence on the planet with such twisted, self congratulatory glee is almost unbearable. To see how many people celebrate this administration makes me sicker still.
If we manage to turn this around and even to boot all the sycophants and enablers from government, what do we do about the magaites all around us? Will these people read the room and return to cosplaying decent human beings? That’s what seemed to happen after WWIi in Germany, and time and and supervision seems to have leached the fascist leanings from most of the population, but apparently, fascism is a lot like herpes: it reappears at times of stress and poor civic hygiene. How do you rebuild a just government knowing a significant part of the people you have to work with will abandon constitutional democracy at the whistle of a grifting, ignorant, cosplaying nepo baby?
I know we have to fight, no matter how repugnant and foul rtrump sycophants reveal themselves to be. But i also know we have to take care of ourselves and each other. I’m pretty sure the bad guys are counting on the resistance being too tender and afraid to sustain a battle to evict and neutralize them. Their horror show is meant not just to cause fear; it’s also meant to damage our psyches.
So, thank you for your careful and beautiful descriptions of the reality of our present. And, please take care of yourself. We need you.
This was in Indiana. A mega red state. Gerrymandered to the hilt, yet the small town folks held her accountable. She actually said out loud ‘If you break the rules, you are not entitled to due process.’
The irony is many who have historically not been targeted by systemic or single actions to limit their success in society are showing up to these Town Halls. They are screaming you will hear me in the name of Justice. Only doing so now that they are ever so slightly affected by policy shift.
They are outraged that the manager refuses to speak to them...
Yet they still won't communicate with people who don't look worship talk act or love like them.
Even now being treated just like us... They make sure to let us know "They Not Like Us."
I have a maga House of Representative- Kevin Kiley .. I no longer think Of him& all like him as my representative. But my Enemy.. the Republican Party are the enemy of Democracy - enemies to side step & our smart. Don't let your guard down.
No working across the dam isle:
That's suicidal for our Democracy.
The Republican have adhered to bigotry, cruelty and 24/7 lying.
They are all garbage.
He is my representative too. I send him messages on his government site. He, more likely his employees, respond with canned letters on my email that have nothing to do with what I ask. Occasionally I get a live person when I call. I unload on that person but not with a loud voice or curses. I have no idea if Kevin Kiley keeps track of the concerns of his constituents. After all, I am not sending him money. I do know he is too scared to hold a town hall in person in his mostly red district.
The realization of betrayal often dawns slowly. We default to rationalizations with other reasons, to other explanations for what is appearing right before our eyes, to postulates of what the faint light might be dimly unveiling. What is to be made of the dawning’s reveal? How do we process what we are slowly seeing in a manner that’s consistent with our expectations and experiences? In a manner that doesn’t madden us with a screaming dissonance from pondering the once imponderable? What do we make of one of the two major political parties in the world’s oldest democracy that now disappears those with opposing views, extorts and punishes businesses and institutions that disagree with its policies, threatens peaceful nations - that have been steadfast friends - with forceful occupation and exploitation, abolishes agencies that fed and vaccinated millions of our fellow humans and now leaves them sick and starving, destroys its society’s essential services and abandons its citizens to chaos and fear? When the light is brighter and the revelation is full, the democracy we knew at last dusk is now a chimeric abomination, a snarling fascist beast with jaws that bite and claws that catch.
There is an instinctive primitive response when finally understanding and confronting the MAGAwocky. And that is not to converse and reason with it, but to scream…
I love the idea of the return of moral rhythm.
May we all dance on these fascists graves. Metaphorically, of course...
When I was still on Twitter/X I followed all the members of Congress and every time they posted something during working hours I replied with a stop watch emoji.
Paying attention to them this way was an eye opener.
Republicans spent an inordinate amount of time on the app. Democrats seemed to avoid social media during working hours. It was as if most Republicans were working ON the app.
I think many of them took the trolls and bots supporting them as real people. I also followed all of them on Facebook, which is where their real constituents are. The difference in all metrics of engagement is what led me realize that the X audience is not real.
A few of them may have been in on the artificial engagement but I think most of them were not.
Even then they were not doing town halls. And in the run up to the 2020 election they were only interacting with people at rallies who were already on their side.
I think a lot of Republicans are unprepared for the real interaction at town meetings because they have been living in a the X bubble.
I have enjoyed the refreshing return to reality I see in town hall clips. I was bemused to hear the woman in Missouri bellowing their stereotypical catch phrase at her representative - "Show Me". In Texas, there was no video, but the report said people were growling an unreported phrase at their representative. I'm from Texas, I know what they were saying - Bullshit.
The essence of a 'functioning' fascistic system is fantasy. Break that down and it's all over.
If the Maga spell actually broke and they somehow woke up and suddenly truly understood how much Trump despises them, the reckoning would be fast and furious.
Mr Brock, Thank you for your poetry capturing so well the existential angst/current events we are living through. Magnificent! We are sending it along to others, with attribution, of course.
Thank you for reading!
An excellent Post, I will bounce it along now and every time I see it.
Your writing about all this is beautiful, and you expose the pain and horror you feel in a way the sparks visceral response. Your truth telling often feels more like a visual/aural representation of this moment than analysis, and it feels as necessary to the battle against all that trumpmusk represent as the analysis and exhortations to do something.
But, I can’t help but think that the degree of sorrow and pain you reveal in your words must take a huge toll on you. I had the first full blown panic attack of my life last night. I really don’t want to go there again. I was completely shut down by overwhelming dread and profound visceral disgust. I live on a farm, I have been an EMT I am not squeamish, but trump and his coterie of morally corrupt thugs make me physically ill. To see humans who have willingly abandoned every element that redeems our destructive existence on the planet with such twisted, self congratulatory glee is almost unbearable. To see how many people celebrate this administration makes me sicker still.
If we manage to turn this around and even to boot all the sycophants and enablers from government, what do we do about the magaites all around us? Will these people read the room and return to cosplaying decent human beings? That’s what seemed to happen after WWIi in Germany, and time and and supervision seems to have leached the fascist leanings from most of the population, but apparently, fascism is a lot like herpes: it reappears at times of stress and poor civic hygiene. How do you rebuild a just government knowing a significant part of the people you have to work with will abandon constitutional democracy at the whistle of a grifting, ignorant, cosplaying nepo baby?
I know we have to fight, no matter how repugnant and foul rtrump sycophants reveal themselves to be. But i also know we have to take care of ourselves and each other. I’m pretty sure the bad guys are counting on the resistance being too tender and afraid to sustain a battle to evict and neutralize them. Their horror show is meant not just to cause fear; it’s also meant to damage our psyches.
So, thank you for your careful and beautiful descriptions of the reality of our present. And, please take care of yourself. We need you.
This was in Indiana. A mega red state. Gerrymandered to the hilt, yet the small town folks held her accountable. She actually said out loud ‘If you break the rules, you are not entitled to due process.’
The whole point of due process is that EVERYONE is entitled to it.
The irony is many who have historically not been targeted by systemic or single actions to limit their success in society are showing up to these Town Halls. They are screaming you will hear me in the name of Justice. Only doing so now that they are ever so slightly affected by policy shift.
They are outraged that the manager refuses to speak to them...
Yet they still won't communicate with people who don't look worship talk act or love like them.
Even now being treated just like us... They make sure to let us know "They Not Like Us."
I saw it on the news disappointed I couldn’t be there with a bag of popcorn. Do they still serve popcorn at the Circus?
Plenty, my friend! All the popcorn under the rainbow!
Well said!
This is one of your best yet.
This gave me goosebumps.The broken spell. The moral clarity.
It’s as if The Day of the Locust was a Nostradamus quatrain.