Teetering
Things aren’t good right now and I'm not here to sugarcoat or blow smoke up anyone’s ass. Women having bodily autonomy seems likely to disappear. Gay marriage could be gone within a year. Republicans have introduced legislation to ban contraceptives like birth control and Plan B (no word yet on condoms). Hell, they might even go after interracial marriage and marital rape. For years, progressives have warned that the right-wing is engaged in a war on women. The events of the last ten days should serve as all the proof you need to know we were right.
None of these actions are popular. The vast majority of Americans believe that women should be able to decide when they give birth. The notion of forcing a woman to give birth is distasteful to most Americans. This has been demonstrated in poll after poll after poll. Heck, don’t take my word for it. Ask women.
81% of women believe that abortion should be legal under most/some circumstances. Men are slightly less but still in that ballpark. So why would the Republican party push so hard to get unpopular laws passed? That’s simple. It’s because they aren’t worried about getting elected. By gerrymandering districts and enacting repressive voter restriction laws, they have all but ensured they do not have to worry about elections. That is why they went after voting rights first. Again, all things progressives warned people about, and yet white people still vote for these clowns. And yes, this is a white people problem.
Is it possible that some women actually want to be controlled by men? Do they view themselves as nothing more than babymaking machines whose place is in the kitchen and nothing more? I ask this sincerely. If that’s true, then I have no issue with it. Women can be whatever they want to be. They can be as awful and shitty as men or whoever else. What I do take issue with is that these women seem to feel that they can force that role and viewpoint upon other women. I mean, you do realize that the only reason white women are allowed to vote or have checking accounts or own property or not be raped by their spouses is because of progressive women who fought for that, right? Without progressive women, y’all would still be under your man’s boot.
That isn’t to say women should be grateful. Rights aren’t something to say thank you for. Rights aren’t given, they simply exist. And men should be the ones apologizing for denying women their rights. That isn’t my point though. If don’t think for a second we can’t go back to the days of women being denied equal status to men, you are delusional. Just look at the events of the past week. And by the way, the women who fought for the right to vote were not welcomed with open arms. They were not celebrated. They were treated like this:
Even today, people are allowed to work out their issues with women of the past in video games by treating feminists like this:
Cool stuff, guys.
I fear we are on the brink of losing our country to a group of well-funded, over-reported Christofacsists. They want to turn America into some kind of perverse Christian theocracy. This means that people will be forced to adhere to “Christian ideals” or face legal and civil consequences. I put Christian ideals in quotes because none of what these people believe actually aligns with the philosophy of Jesus. He wasn’t anti-immigrant (he was one). He believed in helping the poor. He believed in non-violence. He believed in lifting up the lowest among us. He rolled with prostitutes and other people society looked down upon. There isn’t a shred of what these people believe anywhere in the Gospels. Instead, like all extremist sects of religion, they have taken a message of peace and love and mutated it into something hateful. Why? Because it makes them a lot of money.
Did I mention all of this is tax-free? Quite the nice little scam they have going. Rile up supporters to hate anyone who isn’t a straight, white, Christian and pick their pockets along the way. Jesus would be ashamed of these people since they don’t seem to have any shame of their own. He railed against wealthy people, especially clergymen, and found their lavishness to be a disgusting offense to god. If there is a Hell, you can bet they’ll all be ending up there someday.
For too long, white people have allowed Republicans to use racial insecurity to gain power. Just like the pastors who bilk people out of their money, these politicians do not serve their interests. Instead, they fight a “cultural war” to keep people in poverty, in poor health, and use white grievance to pin the blame on minorities. Meanwhile, these white folks are in the same damn boat as everyone else. They listen to the siren song of conservatives who make them believe they aren’t.
If white people don’t wake up to what is going on in this country and denounce the lies and manipulations of the conservative Christofascist movement, we will no longer function as a democracy within a few years. And by then, once white people begin to feel the oppression that has been visited upon our countrymen and women of color, it will be too late.