As they say, "power corrupts." Part of the corruption is the urge to use one's power to benefit oneself. But another part of the corruption is the urge to use one's power just because it makes one feel powerful, even if it is used in such nonsense as described in this article.
As a proud and woke libtard, I subscribe to the Philadelphia Inquirer because they routinely cover bits of history almost all other MSM ignores. The PI is not the best of papers, and it is locally focused, so if you're not from the Philly area much of what they write does not apply. However, they do include gems of national interest such as eradicating the history of slavery in the USA. They are also the only newspaper in the USA (that I know of) that occasionally reminds people of the horror of the MOVE bombing that leveled a Black neighborhood and killed 11 people. PI published a podcast about MOVE, and here is an example of one of their editorials. MOVE is still very relevant today because so much of the police propaganda at the time sounds exactly like ICE propaganda today.
As Mr Carney pointed out in Davos last week, the rest of the world mostly went along with the "American is the beacon of freedom!" stuff because it was useful to us to do so, not because we believed it. It never fooled anyone outside the US except the naive and the young, and it never fooled the groups inside the US who were denied that freedom.
Every country has its nicely burnished self image, that doesn't really reflect the reality all that well - the US is no different there. But most of us know that while there may be some truth to the legends, they are far from the whole truth. Where I think the US maybe is different is in the numbers of otherwise sensible adults who have fallen for the legend and are shocked to find it not true.
People are right to be appalled by the recent murders in Minnesota, but it's odd to see how many are surprised and shocked. People of colour are neither.
"because then racists like Trump and Stephen Miller and the rest of this merry klavern masquerading as an American presidency might feel bad about themselves".
But it's a lie. The people who argue for this crap do not feel bad about themselves when they read about slavery and the native American genocide. They feel GOOD about themselves when they read about that because it is what they want to do now if they could get away with it. Yet the narrative keeps saying they don't want to hear the history because it makes them feel bad about themselves. That's their fucked up bullshit gaslighting framing.
They want the regular centrist people not to know because those people are highly horrified by it when they learn about it. Reckoning with that would lead to progress. That's what the right is trying to avoid.
If we are getting the Trump administration’s view of American history correct, the sequence of our nation’s first 250 years went something like this: Benevolent white people showed up on the continent. Through their own grit and determination, they bloodlessly carved out a great nation all by themselves. Okay, maybe a few slaves helped here and there, but geez, how long do we have to keep hearing about it?
//
I can't believe you left out the part where sure, we killed a few I̸n̸d̸i̸a̸n̸s̸ Native Americans, but only because they tried to kill us first.
I once visited Monticello, Jefferson's home. The tour guide showed us the slave quarters, and explained what their life was like. There was a black lady in the group, and, although she didn't say anything you could see she was upset and angry at this bit of history.
"The Inquirer preserved images of the panels if you want to read some of them. In a classic case of the Streisand Effect, way more people will see them if they are online than would actually travel to Philadelphia to see them in person. So great job, Trump team.
The city of Philadelphia slapped the federal government with a lawsuit over the removal on Thursday, practically as the panels were being taken down." --Gary Legum
THIS IS THE WAY.
And, Philly? If you can, think about quietly displaying those panels on non-Federal property in the city and start a whisper campaign on where to see them for free in 2026, making sure that influencers are whispered to in order to draw more people to see the "forbidden" panels. Guard the panels well when the exhibit is closed overnight.
Fun (not really) fact: While Washington was president, Pennsylvania passed a law stating that all residents had to free any slaves they owned within six months. Washington thereupon hustled his enslaved staff back to Virginia before they could get any funny ideas about going free.
I don't get why they couldn't have just said, "The EO says 'inappropriately disparage Americans'; this display only appropriately disparages anyone." And then when the administration objects, they have to spell it out, and then the museum officials take that to the press. In other words, why give in? They always use weasel words in those EOs so they can't be directly accused of the racism they are perpetrating, so why not use those weasel words against them? I don't get it. Why acknowledge you know what they mean? Why not pretend you don't? Make them work for their damn racism. Somebody might say it's because they don't want to lose their jobs? Maybe? Otherwise people always just give in on stuff like this too damn easy, in my opinion. The way I see it, they wanna play word and mind games -- I'll give them word and mind games.
As they say, "power corrupts." Part of the corruption is the urge to use one's power to benefit oneself. But another part of the corruption is the urge to use one's power just because it makes one feel powerful, even if it is used in such nonsense as described in this article.
Those who seek to erase history plan to repeat it.
As a proud and woke libtard, I subscribe to the Philadelphia Inquirer because they routinely cover bits of history almost all other MSM ignores. The PI is not the best of papers, and it is locally focused, so if you're not from the Philly area much of what they write does not apply. However, they do include gems of national interest such as eradicating the history of slavery in the USA. They are also the only newspaper in the USA (that I know of) that occasionally reminds people of the horror of the MOVE bombing that leveled a Black neighborhood and killed 11 people. PI published a podcast about MOVE, and here is an example of one of their editorials. MOVE is still very relevant today because so much of the police propaganda at the time sounds exactly like ICE propaganda today.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/move-bombing-philadelphia-remains-aftermath-20210604.html
In a country that invented the Fugitive Slave Act
... all that rhetoric sounds the same
As Mr Carney pointed out in Davos last week, the rest of the world mostly went along with the "American is the beacon of freedom!" stuff because it was useful to us to do so, not because we believed it. It never fooled anyone outside the US except the naive and the young, and it never fooled the groups inside the US who were denied that freedom.
Every country has its nicely burnished self image, that doesn't really reflect the reality all that well - the US is no different there. But most of us know that while there may be some truth to the legends, they are far from the whole truth. Where I think the US maybe is different is in the numbers of otherwise sensible adults who have fallen for the legend and are shocked to find it not true.
People are right to be appalled by the recent murders in Minnesota, but it's odd to see how many are surprised and shocked. People of colour are neither.
Conservatism IS Cancel Culture.
What was your first clue
https://youtu.be/t5dvCMWrItk?si=Ou3nWxwTpqZJ4UnN
"because then racists like Trump and Stephen Miller and the rest of this merry klavern masquerading as an American presidency might feel bad about themselves".
But it's a lie. The people who argue for this crap do not feel bad about themselves when they read about slavery and the native American genocide. They feel GOOD about themselves when they read about that because it is what they want to do now if they could get away with it. Yet the narrative keeps saying they don't want to hear the history because it makes them feel bad about themselves. That's their fucked up bullshit gaslighting framing.
They want the regular centrist people not to know because those people are highly horrified by it when they learn about it. Reckoning with that would lead to progress. That's what the right is trying to avoid.
//
If we are getting the Trump administration’s view of American history correct, the sequence of our nation’s first 250 years went something like this: Benevolent white people showed up on the continent. Through their own grit and determination, they bloodlessly carved out a great nation all by themselves. Okay, maybe a few slaves helped here and there, but geez, how long do we have to keep hearing about it?
//
I can't believe you left out the part where sure, we killed a few I̸n̸d̸i̸a̸n̸s̸ Native Americans, but only because they tried to kill us first.
I once visited Monticello, Jefferson's home. The tour guide showed us the slave quarters, and explained what their life was like. There was a black lady in the group, and, although she didn't say anything you could see she was upset and angry at this bit of history.
This is not dead history. It still hurts.
She was probably upset about the perpetuation of the "happy slave" narrative
https://youtube.com/shorts/iNo1ribkCDE?si=In8e2UL0_PyD1pP-
https://youtu.be/gDu4leJgGNk?si=WJRy8-keR8ELfBlx
Hands up if you live in Minneapolis and are safe today.
How long until every private home in the US is required to hang a picture of DFT in a prominent place?
Guess I'll have to take down my portrait of Chairman Mao.
Like mr pilcher in season 2 of wayward pines
The prison system makes that all nice and legal now.
"The Inquirer preserved images of the panels if you want to read some of them. In a classic case of the Streisand Effect, way more people will see them if they are online than would actually travel to Philadelphia to see them in person. So great job, Trump team.
The city of Philadelphia slapped the federal government with a lawsuit over the removal on Thursday, practically as the panels were being taken down." --Gary Legum
THIS IS THE WAY.
And, Philly? If you can, think about quietly displaying those panels on non-Federal property in the city and start a whisper campaign on where to see them for free in 2026, making sure that influencers are whispered to in order to draw more people to see the "forbidden" panels. Guard the panels well when the exhibit is closed overnight.
Thank you Gary Legum!
Nothing to laugh at but if these asswipes think they can erase history -- I laugh at them.
I will fart in their general direction, then taunt them a second time.
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Either that or your hovercraft is full of eels.
I will not buy this record ot is scratchef
What would republicans do if they don’t have hypocrisy?
“You should follow orders!”
But we don’t, we’re special
See: Minneapolis
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴) 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭.
Fun (not really) fact: While Washington was president, Pennsylvania passed a law stating that all residents had to free any slaves they owned within six months. Washington thereupon hustled his enslaved staff back to Virginia before they could get any funny ideas about going free.
Truly, the Father of Our Country
I don't get why they couldn't have just said, "The EO says 'inappropriately disparage Americans'; this display only appropriately disparages anyone." And then when the administration objects, they have to spell it out, and then the museum officials take that to the press. In other words, why give in? They always use weasel words in those EOs so they can't be directly accused of the racism they are perpetrating, so why not use those weasel words against them? I don't get it. Why acknowledge you know what they mean? Why not pretend you don't? Make them work for their damn racism. Somebody might say it's because they don't want to lose their jobs? Maybe? Otherwise people always just give in on stuff like this too damn easy, in my opinion. The way I see it, they wanna play word and mind games -- I'll give them word and mind games.
Yeah like “is this not true? Who is disparaged? Nobody but the Special People? So nobody else matters at all? Thanks for clarification”