A Culture Of Sadists
This was originally posted on Facebook on May 11, 2022 not long after the leaked decision to overturn Roe v. Wade…. although it is about way more than that.
I'm good most of the time since the decision was leaked. But the white-hot anger hits at weird points.
Out of nowhere, the attack on a lifetime of my own freedom hits me in the gut.
WTH are we doing up in this country?
Or I see an interview with some woman who says "everything should be left to God." Abortions in the most extreme cases included. Including for the health of the woman, or a problem with the fetus. Even a dead fetus.
Is this a person who's never been to a doctor? Called an ambulance?
Needed surgery?
Taken medicine?
We can't have that many super religious medicine-deniers out in our society.
Well, we didn't before. Apparently we do now.
Is she an ambulance-refuser? A surgery-refuser?
I have zero doubts that that woman has neither the strength nor courage of conviction to be so consistent. Especially if it's her own kid or parent.
So we've got a culture of sadists.
I don't say that even a little bit lightly.
It's pretty serious. It's not okay.
I remember when Trump got elected by the Electoral College in 2016 and everyone was floored that so many would even have voted for him.
Because he was mean.
Because he hurt people. Because he hurt women, and was casual about it. Because he made fun of disabled people. Because he was hateful toward most anyone who wasn't an alabaster-hued man in power.
There was an outcry then.
Oh my goodness we've lost our empathy! Whatever will we do!
Well, here we are.
This is what that looks like taken even further.
For another illustration, take a look at it how insurrectionists beat police with blue lives matter flags.
You need some empathy in a society for it to function well.
Clearly we've passed some kind of threshold... because the sadism is out of control.
That's partly by design.
It's easier to oppress other people so you can have power and control if you denigrate them, and treat them as "less than" in some way.
Trump and Company have that down to an art. Especially when it comes to immigrants, or people from what he called sh*tole countries.
It apparently also includes women and girls who need help and love and caring in tough situations - and not victimization and meanness.
I'm pretty damn sick about the whole thing.
We all have different things we can do.
What I'm doing is I'm going to help people who have empathy and caring put that front and center up in this media narrative.
I'm going to to help champion taking the high road, and looking after people. Loving people. Being nice. Embracing our humanity.
To find ways to work together to get through this crap and turn it around.
Because this path is not okay.
I want to help put all of that forward instead.
I want the good stuff front and center. How we should be. What we could be. The world we ought to build.
I don't want a future of sadism.
I’d bet the majority of Americans don’t want a future of sadism, either.
I will believe until I die that we're here to take care of each other.
We're not here to be mean.
We're not here to be intolerant. We're not here to take what we want... while everyone else struggles and suffers. That's not not what it's about.
We have to help each other through this crap. We have to turn it around.
Because this current path is not even a little bit acceptable.
We can do and be so much more.
I intend to help show that path - and light it up. With the brilliance of a million stars.
Because that's what humanity brings when we center the best of who we are.
Damn straight.
Let's bring it.
~~~
We're very close to bringing the new “Shift the Country” nonprofit online to help with all this. It should be operational by early June, 2022 to help do some good. We’ll ramp up from there to make more serious shift happen. Stick around.