Dept. of Getting Woke

[kaffy_r]

This I Believe

Apologies for the large image, but you don't hide Lady Liberty's light under a bushel.

I live-streamed the Women's March on Washington. My First Born attended the march in Chicago. And, although I know it's just the beginning - continued resistance is hard work - I think knowing how much support, how many allies, there are around the world, is a tremendous boost.

Comments

[dewline]

No apologies necessary.

[kaffy_r]

Thanks.

[shanghaied]

But but but she was created by a cheese-eating surrender monkey! :P :P :P

As a long-ago sometime resident of your adopted country, I was always quite impressed by the 'Give me your tired, your poor...' poem (er um Emma Lazarus, I think?) and what it implied, even though the dissonances were all around me - we had moved to Virginia, in the days when the bizarre Murkan colourbar was still enshrined in law (and not to mention the anti-Irish prejudice we encountered***). But for all the flaws and the bone-deep, nay, national-DNA-deep cultural sicknesses then and now, at least 'then' did a reasonable job of doing the Melting Pot Tango. But now...?

Yep, continued resistance is hard work, but it has to be done. The American machine is barely running on one cylinder these days, but if a fuqtun of its people don't get out the spanners and the greaseguns and get to work on crucial maintenance, it will soon break down altogether, so keep on keeping on, 'k?


*** 'twas a major reason for my being sent to a convent school, since I kept getting thrown out of state schools for beating up brats who tried to bully me for my nationality...)

[kaffy_r]

Going backward, rather like my country, to older posts to which I haven't yet responded. It was indeed Emma Lazarus. Her poem is beautiful, and I wish everyone knew the entirety of it. Hmmm. Perhaps I should post it. Because we (and I include Canada, which has its own rotten cultural sicknesses, albeit perhaps to a less noticeable degree) have, somehow, occasionally transcended ourselves. Which is why I continue to live in hope.

I didn't know that you'd been in the south back at that horrible time. Dear lord, anti-Irish prejudice? I thought that had been subsumed and otherwise erased when everyone decided that it was more fun to hate the Guys Born With the Tans. It's depressing to know that I was wrong.

Yep, continued resistance is hard work, but it has to be done.

Yup. Indeed. True That. Aye. Christ yes.

[shanghaied]

Oh yes, do post it! Here's a Wikipedia link that includes the text, if you don't have it to hand (I wikied Emma Lazarus after first posting my comment above).

Virginia being the 'high South' and abutting Washington DC, things weren't quite as horrid as they were deeper down (we started in Richmond which was about 100 miles from DC but later moved to DC outskirts near Alexandria), but horrid they were. And yes, plenty of anti-Irish in the '50s and early '60s - never forget that many who were anti the Kennedy family were anti not just because they were Catholic but because they were Irish Catholic. (BTW I can't totally hate the Yoosay because a notable amount of my musical influences came from skiving off Mass to sneak into the local black Baptist church because their choir was so awesome and nobody there minded. Also my big bro and I used to bus up to DC to see shows at the Howard - 'Apollo of the South' - we were the only ridiculously young, ridiculously pale kids dancing in the balcony to live shows by Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Arthur Conley, Otis Redding, the Franklin Sisters before Aretha went solo, and yes, JAMES BROWN himself, and nobody there minded either. If that's not one of the best silver linings of foreverty I know not what is!)

Re resistance, I have to admire Elon Musk (not that I didn't already admire him hugely) for being willing to dive directly into the cesspit of Meetings with President Biff. As he (Elon, not Biff) says, surely it's better to have moderate voices trying to advise the frakker than leaving all the 'advising' to Biff's reactionary wingnuts!

[kaffy_r]

we were the only ridiculously young, ridiculously pale kids dancing in the balcony to live shows by Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Arthur Conley, Otis Redding, the Franklin Sisters before Aretha went solo, and yes, JAMES BROWN himself, and nobody there minded either.

You are so incredibly lucky! I refuse to be jealous; I'm just glad I am familiar with someone who was able to watch those musicians live!

I heard Musk say what he did, and thought about Obama, spending 8 years certain that he could convince opponents through moderate and thoughtful debate and conversation. And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But if Musk can do it, more power to him.

[shanghaied]

Yes, definitely incredibly lucky. And pleased that you can enjoy my fortunate history vicariously :-)

As for the Elon, 'tis worth noting again and again that part of the fight for sanity includes influential people being, well, visibly moderate. It's a weapon. Hardly the only weapon needed, but a weapon nonetheless.

[maruad]

We were visiting friends of S last night. Nice people but fairly conservative and religious (He is in a senior management role in an insurance firm and he also is a, locally at least, high ranking member of the Knights of Columbus). He surprised me by stating, quite proudly, that two of his sisters were among the group of Canadian women who bused down to take part in the march.

We couldn't discuss Trump though because he would get so upset that he would get ill. He really did not like Trump. In the more than 20 years I have known him, I have never seen him so upset by anyone before.

edit because grammer

[kaffy_r]

Getting back to you far, far too late. I think the one thing Trump has done that is good - quite by accident, of course - is awakening a large number of white folk, too many of whom were oblivious to the deep cracks in American (and by that I mean North American) democracy, largely by pushing their faces into his slimy reality.

I don't think the way I've written that makes as much sense as I'd like it to, but you can probably parse my meaning. Even conservatives hate the guy ... and that might, just possibly might, make them start thinking about the conservative message that he was able to use to help get him into the White House.

One can hope, at least.

[bibliofile]

Cool piece of art! Did you make it? I also like the sign that's next in your image queue.

Continued resistance is the kicker, but I'm glad it all got kicked off in such fine form.

[kaffy_r]

Hi there! Nope, I definitely didn't make it; I ran across it via my daily feed from either Think Progress or (more probably, believe it or not) from Mashable. Feel free to take it; it was made explicitly clear that they were there for everyone to make use of.

I'm glad it all got kicked off in such fine form.

Inorite??!?

[elisi]

Hear, hear! Love the image. <3

[kaffy_r]

Isn't it wonderful? I found a website that had downloadable signs to use at the various marches, and I picked this one up, along with a few others. I can't remember where I got them, otherwise I'd pass ont he information. Feel free to take this one, though!

(Oh, by the way, I finally started watching "Class" and I like it a lot, although that's based on only one episode. )

[elisi]

There are SO MANY GOOD SIGNS!!

I think I'm going to make an animated icon with a pussy hat and then a rotating gallery of quotes. So I'm collecting. ;)

Oh, by the way, I finally started watching "Class" and I like it a lot, although that's based on only one episode.
Huzzah! And if you like the first one, that's important. It's a very very good pilot, and lays down SO MUCH stuff it's amazing. Hope you like where it goes. (And that's another show I need to get back to writing reviews for... So little time, so much to do! /o\) My thoughts on/review of ep 1 is here if you're curious. No spoilers of course. :)

[kaffy_r]

Thanks for the link - I read and commented over there.

[elisi]

I saw. :) Would have replied already, except there was food... :)

[kaffy_r]

Food takes precedence. Always.

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

Of course, Hillary has written her off as just a tramp.

[kaffy_r]

As you know (Bob), I'm not as large a fan of Hilary as some people; I really despised her corporatist ties and much of her foreign policy hawkishness. As you'd no doubt be unsurprised to hear, I supported Bernie (as is only proper for a properly pink Canuck lover of Canuck-style socialism). I do think she cares deeply for this country. A lot of people I disagree with at a fundamental level care deeply for this country; they differ in how they show that love, but I won't question the love itself.

So I focus here on Lady Liberty, rather than any other lady.

I think the current Administration may indeed have people who love this country - I disagree with how they show that, because I think they will (perhaps unknowingly) damage the Lady - but I question whether the gentleman at the very top can love anything beyond himself.

[harvey-rrit.livejournal.com]

Um.

There's this thing that happens when I see people's faces. I've looked at hers many times and never gotten a different take from the first time. So:

Hillary certainly does love the country...

...and I love steak.

[kaffy_r]

Heh. This made me snicker - I may disagree, but it did make me snicker.

Hope you are doing well!

[eaweek.livejournal.com]

Love this!

[kaffy_r]

So do I!

[nucleosides.livejournal.com]

I love this picture.

[kaffy_r]

It's gorgeous. Feel free to take it. I got it from a site that offered it, and a few other graphics, to everyone. I wish I could remember where the site was.