My whole life I’ve been trying to figure out my dad. I’ve been trying to figure out myself too in relation to him. It has all come together for me.
The root of the conservative world view is maintaining the status quo, maintaining the old society. So now I have no trouble seeing the link between making …
My whole life I’ve been trying to figure out my dad. I’ve been trying to figure out myself too in relation to him. It has all come together for me.
The root of the conservative world view is maintaining the status quo, maintaining the old society. So now I have no trouble seeing the link between making Mr. Potato Head gender neutral, and ending publication of certain Dr. Seuss books, and banning Confederate flags from NASCAR, and trans toilets, and racism-based voter suppression, and why Trump is their hero, and all of it. The Republican Party, the country club set, the Mercedes and mini-mansion fixation, all of it is my dad and all of it clicks now.
The old society is based in unacknowledged racism, unacknowledged sexism, unacknowledged hetero-ism, and ostentatious & gaudy (and nauseating) status symbol and prestige displays. Even the part Republican politicians being about self-service instead of public service.
My entire life I’ve hated all of it. Retch. And now I can identify it clearly and see all of it.
The many disparate issues and aspects, the seemingly disconnected rants and complaints, all make sense to me now. All of it fits together perfectly.
Thank you so much Dr. Richardson. Thank you so much all of you. You have been an invaluable catalyst in my education. I owe all of you a great debt of gratitude.
Roland, your personal journey certainly has a solid ring of truth for me. I grew up in a family of privilege, and "practiced"all that goes with it. We called my father "the general" because he ruled the house with an iron, bigoted, misogynist, xenophobic fist. Somehow, I managed to escape most of that except not totally realizing my own white privilege. Not so all my family. I wish there were more folks in the world, including the fools in Congress, who would take the time to reflect as you have.
Roland you are so right. Canary in the coal mine. Change is a-comin'. I'm not done with this yet, but here is a concluding snippet:
"Indeed, we are walking backwards into the future. I look to indigenous tribes such as the Lakota in North America or the Musica in South America for examples of large social groups. The ancient worldview where fear is replaced with hope, inner truths are valued above all, community wellness and resiliency is a prime driver, and equality of the masculine and feminine will dominate our social relations."
Roland, so much of what you say rings true for me, too. I think we share the German immigrant father, too, and I never discount how his experiences here during the war, as a young boy, shaped his world view, never mind his typically German domineering mother. But. What I think you get wrong is the mini-mansion, ostentatious wealth part. As a prep school girl, and a peripheral participant in the country club cotillion set, ostentation was never part of it. For people with true inherited wealth, that was frowned upon, and I assume still is. We all wore battered Top Siders, drove old volvos, and that was the public face of it. Old money didn’t flaunt. I think in part that’s why Trump was rejected by NY society - he is nouveau riche to the core, and the antithesis of what they are. I much prefer the university circle we move in now, and have left that world behind, so maybe things have changed. But I doubt it.
Hello Kathy. Love love your message. My ex-wife is Boston blue blood and NY Vanderbilt old money. I know exactly what you mean, I had quite the education into that world. I also went to a private school, so I know about that tattered jeans look. But think about it. The original racists were royalty and slaveowners and industrialists. The richest people. The ones trying to rule everything and everybody. They thought they owned the world, and at the height of the British Empire and the Spanish Empire, they effectively did. Ignore what I said about ostentation. Just think hideous amounts of wealth. The racism and sexism of extreme wealth is legendary. That’s all I have to say.
Well said, Roland! Power is hard to come by, but even harder to relinquish. For over 400 years, the white minority has used hate and fear to suppress the 'mudsills' of society that outnumber them. We were naive to think that the election of Barack Obama was the beginning of a post-racial America. At best it was an acknowledgement of the impact of the civil rights movement of the mid Twentieth Century. But that's the short game, and the long game is on their side.
President Obama's election was not the beginning of a post-racial America, but was rather the rebirth of Jim Crow. My friends on the "right" are saying that Obama's presidency "recreated" racism. I say it ripped the scab off of a badly infected wound and we got left with all the nastiness from such a wound.
What Obama’s presidency exposed was the failure to deal with America’s GREAT Big Lie: that white people are superior to people of color. We did not address that lie after the Civil War, and it came roaring back in 1877. We have continued to be negatively impacted by that GREAT Big Lie to the extent that one political party doesn’t even want our government to be successful and perfect the union for everyone.
Before the 21C, Andrew Johnson was definitely the Worst President Ever. He almost singlehandedly killed Reconstruction by requiring only abolition from seceded states to rejoin the Union, while enabling their worst practices. The resulting Black Codes were slavery in all but name. This despite a Congress and admin that clearly supported Freedpeople's rights. For several years the Grant admin tried heroically to defend them, but the so-called Redeemers ultimately re-entrenched white supremacy.
Fresh air might help heal the pustulant wound. We are short sighted creatures. We want it all now and this is a very long game. As the Italians say, piano piano piano.
Conservatives have been playing the long game since Ross Perot received almost 19% of the vote but not one Elector in 1992. That was when the conservatves decided to take over the Republican Party. The Progressives did not start the long game until the year 2000 when Gore and Bush refused to allow Nader to even attend the presidential debates.
Independent votes represent hundreds of thousands of voters.
Roland you're one of the people who I think of as the "canary int he coal mine" members of this conversation group. When you erupt I know to get super worried.. Although I am now one of the very privileged, both sides of my family were definitely hardscrabble when they arrived here from their various places of origin. The good news is that, when they did achieve financial and social success they did not lose that understanding of where they came from, perhaps because neither side was mainstream in most ways that rendered someone acceptable to Mittle Amerika. I never had to struggle against the complacency and smugness of white privilege in my family so I had that secure space, even cocooned inside the privilege my father and (on the maternal side) my great-grandfather worked so hard to achieve. I think it made a difference. I am so grateful I don't have to fight with family members about politics! It was hard enough dealing with my EX-spouse about it . . .
Here’s the mystery, Roland. Did Hasbro castrate Mr. Potato Head so no one could see his genitals? That would be the extreme remedy. Why didn’t they just paint him some pants? I think there should be an investigation.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU 🙏🙏❤️❤️
My whole life I’ve been trying to figure out my dad. I’ve been trying to figure out myself too in relation to him. It has all come together for me.
The root of the conservative world view is maintaining the status quo, maintaining the old society. So now I have no trouble seeing the link between making Mr. Potato Head gender neutral, and ending publication of certain Dr. Seuss books, and banning Confederate flags from NASCAR, and trans toilets, and racism-based voter suppression, and why Trump is their hero, and all of it. The Republican Party, the country club set, the Mercedes and mini-mansion fixation, all of it is my dad and all of it clicks now.
The old society is based in unacknowledged racism, unacknowledged sexism, unacknowledged hetero-ism, and ostentatious & gaudy (and nauseating) status symbol and prestige displays. Even the part Republican politicians being about self-service instead of public service.
My entire life I’ve hated all of it. Retch. And now I can identify it clearly and see all of it.
The many disparate issues and aspects, the seemingly disconnected rants and complaints, all make sense to me now. All of it fits together perfectly.
Thank you so much Dr. Richardson. Thank you so much all of you. You have been an invaluable catalyst in my education. I owe all of you a great debt of gratitude.
Roland, your personal journey certainly has a solid ring of truth for me. I grew up in a family of privilege, and "practiced"all that goes with it. We called my father "the general" because he ruled the house with an iron, bigoted, misogynist, xenophobic fist. Somehow, I managed to escape most of that except not totally realizing my own white privilege. Not so all my family. I wish there were more folks in the world, including the fools in Congress, who would take the time to reflect as you have.
Very touching. Thank you Pam 🙏
Roland you are so right. Canary in the coal mine. Change is a-comin'. I'm not done with this yet, but here is a concluding snippet:
"Indeed, we are walking backwards into the future. I look to indigenous tribes such as the Lakota in North America or the Musica in South America for examples of large social groups. The ancient worldview where fear is replaced with hope, inner truths are valued above all, community wellness and resiliency is a prime driver, and equality of the masculine and feminine will dominate our social relations."
Roland, so much of what you say rings true for me, too. I think we share the German immigrant father, too, and I never discount how his experiences here during the war, as a young boy, shaped his world view, never mind his typically German domineering mother. But. What I think you get wrong is the mini-mansion, ostentatious wealth part. As a prep school girl, and a peripheral participant in the country club cotillion set, ostentation was never part of it. For people with true inherited wealth, that was frowned upon, and I assume still is. We all wore battered Top Siders, drove old volvos, and that was the public face of it. Old money didn’t flaunt. I think in part that’s why Trump was rejected by NY society - he is nouveau riche to the core, and the antithesis of what they are. I much prefer the university circle we move in now, and have left that world behind, so maybe things have changed. But I doubt it.
Hello Kathy. Love love your message. My ex-wife is Boston blue blood and NY Vanderbilt old money. I know exactly what you mean, I had quite the education into that world. I also went to a private school, so I know about that tattered jeans look. But think about it. The original racists were royalty and slaveowners and industrialists. The richest people. The ones trying to rule everything and everybody. They thought they owned the world, and at the height of the British Empire and the Spanish Empire, they effectively did. Ignore what I said about ostentation. Just think hideous amounts of wealth. The racism and sexism of extreme wealth is legendary. That’s all I have to say.
Well said, Roland! Power is hard to come by, but even harder to relinquish. For over 400 years, the white minority has used hate and fear to suppress the 'mudsills' of society that outnumber them. We were naive to think that the election of Barack Obama was the beginning of a post-racial America. At best it was an acknowledgement of the impact of the civil rights movement of the mid Twentieth Century. But that's the short game, and the long game is on their side.
President Obama's election was not the beginning of a post-racial America, but was rather the rebirth of Jim Crow. My friends on the "right" are saying that Obama's presidency "recreated" racism. I say it ripped the scab off of a badly infected wound and we got left with all the nastiness from such a wound.
What Obama’s presidency exposed was the failure to deal with America’s GREAT Big Lie: that white people are superior to people of color. We did not address that lie after the Civil War, and it came roaring back in 1877. We have continued to be negatively impacted by that GREAT Big Lie to the extent that one political party doesn’t even want our government to be successful and perfect the union for everyone.
Before the 21C, Andrew Johnson was definitely the Worst President Ever. He almost singlehandedly killed Reconstruction by requiring only abolition from seceded states to rejoin the Union, while enabling their worst practices. The resulting Black Codes were slavery in all but name. This despite a Congress and admin that clearly supported Freedpeople's rights. For several years the Grant admin tried heroically to defend them, but the so-called Redeemers ultimately re-entrenched white supremacy.
Always appreciate your historical perspective TPJ 🙏
Thank you Jennifer, really nicely stated 🙏
Fresh air might help heal the pustulant wound. We are short sighted creatures. We want it all now and this is a very long game. As the Italians say, piano piano piano.
Conservatives have been playing the long game since Ross Perot received almost 19% of the vote but not one Elector in 1992. That was when the conservatves decided to take over the Republican Party. The Progressives did not start the long game until the year 2000 when Gore and Bush refused to allow Nader to even attend the presidential debates.
Independent votes represent hundreds of thousands of voters.
Http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-election-day/third-party-candidates-having-outsized-impact-election-n680921
Roland you're one of the people who I think of as the "canary int he coal mine" members of this conversation group. When you erupt I know to get super worried.. Although I am now one of the very privileged, both sides of my family were definitely hardscrabble when they arrived here from their various places of origin. The good news is that, when they did achieve financial and social success they did not lose that understanding of where they came from, perhaps because neither side was mainstream in most ways that rendered someone acceptable to Mittle Amerika. I never had to struggle against the complacency and smugness of white privilege in my family so I had that secure space, even cocooned inside the privilege my father and (on the maternal side) my great-grandfather worked so hard to achieve. I think it made a difference. I am so grateful I don't have to fight with family members about politics! It was hard enough dealing with my EX-spouse about it . . .
Here’s the mystery, Roland. Did Hasbro castrate Mr. Potato Head so no one could see his genitals? That would be the extreme remedy. Why didn’t they just paint him some pants? I think there should be an investigation.
Well summarized Roland.
🙏
There is power in finally being able to put a name to discomfort and discontent that eats away at us.
You ain’t kidding