Hello world. It’s another Monday, my least favorite day of the week. I wanted to blog last night but Lulu was insistent on licking my computer screen…so I had to put the computer away and tried to sleep..with no luck. I’ve been having some evil sleeping problems, I just can’t seem to turn off my thoughts and fall into a peaceful slumber.
I worry a lot now about my country and our horribly chaotic political landscape. Trump is driving us into the ground. It’s just insane, and it seems to get WORSE every day that goes by that he is still in office. I’m actually a little bit surprised that he has made it this far (6 mos) without either being booted or killed.
The level of violence in the USA has risen to all new heights. Trump’s being elected to our nation’s highest office, with all of his hate, bigotry and discrimination, seems to have given new life to violence. Some think it’s the answer now. The police in the US are gunning down criminals at an alarming rate – I personally have NEVER in my life experienced a year like we are having. Not a day goes by that we don’t hear of a police involved shooting somewhere in this country. We have had a few of them locally. It’s astounding to me, cops never used to kill people like this. They would find ways to take them into custody without taking their lives. I’m not sure if the Trump administration has given some underlying directive to tighten up and take less prisoners or what. That is certainly what it feels like.
This scares me because the police are supposed to serve and protect the people. And with this very strange, violent, unpredictable administration in DC I am afraid of some sort of Marshal law being instituted. They have already given judicial directives to start trying ALL drug crimes to the maximum penalties. This is not the answer to stopping illegal drug trade in the US. Imprisoning people for small amounts of drugs is a waste of time and money, yet that’s what they (Trump & Co.) want to see happen. The answer is to educate, provide treatment programs and to work to stop the demand. The drug industry is completely fueled by supply and demand. If we could somehow teach people how NOT to reach for drugs as an answer to problems then we would slow the demand, making it inevitably less profitable to deal drugs, and less appealing. Sounds simple huh? Too bad it’s not. Take it from a drug addict, curing addiction is a bitch, and it’s so easy to reach for that thing that kills the pain, makes one happier for a little while, and is so easy to get.
So, I fear the police now. I’ve always had a healthy respect for the law enforcement of this country, and I have had my dealings with them on a few levels over the years. But now it’s different. I fear being stopped in my vehicle, fear reaching for my wallet – maybe I’ll become another statistic of the “….I thought she was reaching for a gun…” defense. It seems that it happens so frequently now. There was an Australian woman in Michigan recently that called the cops because she heard a woman in distress in the alley, as she was standing outside the cop car talking to the cops the cop on the passenger side shot through the driver’s window and killed her. She was holding a phone. She had called them…she needed their help…she ended up DEAD. And STILL the cops are remaining silent, they won’t say WHY they killed her!!!! THAT is an ATROCITY. That is the kind of stuff we now fear from our own law enforcement here in the USA – land of the free, supposedly a safe country. Things are changing. My country is morphing into a place that frightens me, especially as a Butch lesbian.
Trump and Company are in loads of legal troubles lately. They are all lying so much about their involvement with Russia and Putin that it’s pathetically obvious.
I could rant on and on about all the horrible things that Trump and his cronies are proposing to do to the USA. The list is pretty much endless. He’s attacking any and all programs that help people live. He’s attacking minority communities. Doing away with all reference to the LGBT community, attacking HIV/AIDS programs, Social Security, Medicare and our food supplement program – which feeds millions here. His idea is to do away with ALL of these programs as soon as possible. He will create even MORE poverty, more suffering and more hatred. Many Americans, most of us, are upset, angry and afraid for our future; for the future of America as a unified country. But what to DO about what is happening is very confusing and feels out of reach. Even our representatives in government are not all speaking out against all that is happening. A few brave politicians ARE, but the majority are remaining silent; afraid for their own political futures if they “go against” the sitting president. Yes, he has our country in a choke hold, and somehow we don’t seem to be able to yet break free.
Personally, I am trying to hold on to my pride in my country; trying to hang on to some faith that we will come together and put our country back on the right track. We can once again become a country that cares for all, not just some of the people. The American people are very caring and devoted people. Taking care of our own should be our first priority, and yet this new administration thinks that taking care of only the rich and powerful is important, and that the lessers can fend for themselves in all ways. They see women as property and as breeding machines without the ability to govern their own bodies and lives. This has been made obvious by various statements made by several men in the Trump administration over time.
Some of the things you hear and read are so incredible that you just cannot believe that anyone “really” said them! Things like that God is punishing people by making them disabled. That women are meant to be raped. That men are entitled to rape. That we do not need a supplemental food program in a country where 1 in 4 have food instability. That we do not need preventative medical care. That we do not need a healthcare policy. …and on and on…just incredulous statements and ideas!
We know that several things go on when someone wants and intends to control a country’s people.
The news media is discredited and people are told to only believe the government’s words.
Education is cut, because the less educated the people are the less trouble they can cause. Keeping people in the dark.
Scare tactics are used. People are made to fear the police, their government officials, attacks from abroad and each other. An air of distrust is created to keep people on edge and seeking some kind of protection for themselves and their families.
Groups of people are marginalized, like the LGBT community, the African American community, Latino/a community, Muslims, Mexicans, Asians, and anyone not white, well educated and rich. This keeps us separated so that we in turn fear not only them, but one another in many ways. This keeps us from coming together and fighting the real enemy of the people.
These are all tactics used by the powerful to keep the people under their control, and to keep chaos in the air. This is exactly what Hitler did in Germany. This is what Trump is doing to America. Think about it. These things, plus more, are being done on a daily basis. Look at the programs he has condemned to shut down already – including our American Healthcare program, our department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, Planned Parenthood, Women’s advancement programs, child welfare programs, wildlife protection programs, and more. He’s dismantling all that is good about America, one program at a time.
If this stuff doesn’t frighten – or at least concern you a lot – then you really don’t get what is about to happen here. It has to be stopped before it’s too late.
Some Republicans are beginning to see that Trump is NOT good for America or the American way. Those few will grow in number over time. I just hope it is soon enough.
Peace. ~MB
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