In another sign that America has a real President again (I’m starting to believe the Trump Administration was a hoax), President Joe Biden revived the weekly Presidential address yesterday, not with some random ramble through whatever angry, self-aggrandizing notions popped into his head (oh, wait: such random angry self-aggrandization don’t pop out of this President’s mouth; they may not even crowd past the organized, service-oriented thoughts that dominate his mind), President Biden posted his conversation with a regular American, talking about the difficulties the pandemic and recession have caused her and the steps he’s taking to help her and the rest of us:
“He read it,” says Michele from California of the letter she wrote to President Biden. “He read it”—there’s a sentence we weren’t able to use in reference to the President of the United States for four long years.
Sure, the video is propaganda as much as anything else our various elected officials issue on the weekends to shore up their case for their plans. But President Biden’s conversation with a real American is a lot more fun and inspiring a filled with more honest give-a-darn than any of the tripe poor Pat Powers has to post all week for his sponsoring party leaders.
Bonus White House Propaganda: On Friday, the Biden White House released this video featuring conservative Americans speaking of their struggles amidst the pandemic and the good things they see in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan:
Find me liberals who could speak with the same sincerity of any of the previous “Administration’s” (mock quotes—still thinking it was a hoax) major policy priorities.
Everyone around me has expressed an initial sigh of relief, but this communication is an easy sell to Biden supporters and rational Republicans. The larger question is how do we reach those who believe in conspiracy theories, Qanon, support Marjorie Taylor Greene, and continue to think the election was stolen. The country must control these cancers, but we really need to understand how to talk and connect with “the other side.” We’re a nation filled with social scientists it’s time for them to step up and make their mark. We need therapeutic recommendations on a grand scale to heal this country and bring the extremists back down to a mutual sense of reality. Like it or not they’re here with us. Like that line from Mamma’s Family “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.” Or your neighbors.
Responding to HC’s call for connection and control, first the true nature of that group needs to be exposed.
They’re all about “42”. Do you know what “42” is?
It’s why they are who they are and it’s why they do and think how they do and think.
“42” is how Trump manipulated that group and even increased their numbers by semi-legitimizing them.
“42” is the year that white people won’t be the majority in USA, any longer.
(However, truth is that white people will still control the politics and money for at least 75 years longer.)
I recommend this book, if you haven’t already read it. It explains well the racism that controls those people.
“CASTE” by Isabel Wilkerson.
I haven’t read it Porter, but to most of us, we know skin color is completely meaningless, then again explain tanning booths. My take most working-class people just want to feel respected and fairly rewarded. Ignorant thoughts about minorities, be they Jews, African Americans, or whoever, should not be accepted, but neither should the love of diversity be raised so high to become “unbounded tolerance.”
“Unbounded tolerance”? Got a real world example of that?
Geez, I don’t know happy, living in cities you have diversity, why do you think cities are very nearly all liberal in all states. Pubs don’t like it even in red states so they use the mantra, the feds are too big, the cities are too small, the state is just right. We will govern you the way we see fit with a little bit on the side, just for us. Is everyone happy?
Between QAnon and Antifa there’s a whole lot Americans can agree on, and must find common ground. I hate to rehash, but in this country, we’ve had female genital mutilation, gay bar terrorist attack by radical Muslim, most recently a French teacher lost his head literally in defense of free speech in defense or explanation in the cartoon drawing of Muhammad. These actions, and the underlying thinking that caused them, are way too far. Similar statements could be said about the far right. White supremism and worse how it was exploited by Trump and the Republican Party.
Happy. When you start bashing Muslims, I’m gone. Enjoy your self loathing.
Radical Muslims. Extremists not based in science. I have never wavered.
I should add, to be clear, extremists of any kind, who are not based in science.
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/female-genital-mutilation-not-uniquely-muslim-problem/
There are numerous christians that perform FGM in the world, not just America.
If your beliefs can’t be proven by science, then you’re just ignorant. Has nothing to do if you’re Muslim, or from Iowa. We should base our belief system on science, not culture.
You know happy, when you just equalize the Qs and Antifa it almost makes me take off my multi colored runic antifa t. My wife won’t let me wear it on our walks on nearby trumplanders territory, I’ve told her their too ignorant to identify it anyway but I don’t want to make her uncomfortable so I just wear it at home. Sort of like the blue light wave I put up before Christmas on our house, she was worried about that too. Antifa is mostly a creation of the pubs they are always doing that sort of thing they need to have hate, it drives them, silly old white boys that they are. Recently its the year 1619 thats driving them nuts, you never know. They have all my Soros.
Okay now Mark, the New Times Times has admitted they were wrong about a number of things in their 1619 story. I will “stand my ground” that our belief systems must be based in science. I would argue that cultural beliefs, and the power those beliefs try to generate, create the greatest problems.
Mr. camper, who is happy, has many good observations in this blogging. Especially #4Science.
Come on camper, stand your ground in Florida has nothing to do with science. Just ask our baseball boy governor. The violence in America is all the fault of mothers naming their kids Kyle.
Hap, there is no reaching QAnon. They are dangerous idiots whom we must simply outnumber and outvote and to whose propaganda and hateful beliefs we must not give any credit.
To the extent we can do anything to check the influence of dangerous people like Greene, President Biden’s Saturday conversation provides an excellent example of what the White House can do to keep decent people from falling into the trap of QAnon-bothsidesism. President Biden shows reason, empathy, and pragamtism. He’s not shouting inflammatory nonsense. He’s modeling proper behavior and good polucymaking, and he will influence millions by his example to shun the pedophile-pizzeria/school-shootings-are-hoaxes shouters.
Who is hap?
While I agree that fundamentalist Islam has some serious, serious problems, it feels like “both sides’ing” the discussion here is a red herring. The political apparatus, to include the last President, are actively fomenting the conspiracy theories in order to grow and maintain power. This makes it extremely difficult to counter such theories, especially when the Hill is too scared to speak up against them at risk of antagonizing the base.
Dicta is right about the whiff of both-sidesing. Islamic and Christian fundamentalism both are for dopes and dupes, but they have nothing to do with the merits of the President’s message and plan. The President’s Saturday conversation is far more useful than any of the hyperventilations and dangerous distractions the previous occupant of the White House unleashed daily.