Tag: Hate

The Republican Party Appears To Be On A Dangerous, Dark Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

4-22-21
   Seems to me that the Republican Party is going down a seriously dangerous, dark path when you stop to consider what has been going on lately. Think about it. I’m not talking about tax rates or the like. No. I’m looking at the way too many members of the Republican Party are going along with disturbingly extremist influences that are terribly harmful to other people and undermining to our democratic values.
   We saw this trend pick up steam during the Trump Administration when Donald Trump and others in the Republican Party did things like attacking the free press, encouraging xenophobia, denying science, and viciously going after the election process itself. On multiple occasions, Trump seemed to go out of his way to avoid criticizing white supremacists and other extremist elements, which in turn emboldened them to come out of the woodwork and spread their vile, disgraceful intolerance, bigotry, and hate more than they had in many years.
   Trump’s unfounded, dangerous attacks on the 2020 election then exacerbated the boiling cauldron of intolerance, xenophobia, paranoia, and hate to the point where it exploded on January 6th when the entire world saw the angry mob of Trump supporters literally attack the United States Capitol Building. Even now with Trump out of office, he is still spreading despicable, dangerous lies about the election which is further encouraging these far-right extremists to the point where there is serious concern that they will conduct more domestic terror attacks upon our nation.
   Despite all of this, a large percentage of the Republican Party is continuing to go along with (and even blindly follow) Donald Trump’s twisted, self serving, dangerous, narcissistic whims and lies. They are frequently denying science so that many refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated against COVID (thus worsening and prolonging the pandemic). A scary percentage still question the validity of the 2020 election despite the overwhelming evidence that it was free and fair. This in turn has led to efforts by many Republicans in numerous states to try to pass laws which would make it more difficult for many people to vote, which is clear voter suppression.
   There are other disturbing trends emanating from the Republican Party. One is the way many Republicans continue to deny human-caused climate change and often promote the use of fossil fuels despite the fact that this worsens the climate change crisis the planet currently finds itself in. This is also very narrow-minded economically because the future is not in fossil fuels but in renewable energy instead. Another sickening trend is the way the Republican Party in many states is attacking the Transgender Community, particularly Transgender kids. These attacks are extremely harmful to innocent Transgender people and increase the likelihood that some may take their own lives.
   How long will this go on? How many lives are going to be lost and how much damage will our country have to endure before these dangerous trends by the Republican Party finally abate.
   Many Republicans see themselves as rugged individualists. But their behavior says otherwise. Instead, many have shown themselves to be blind followers who are unwilling to think for themselves, stand up for what is right, or speak out against what is clearly wrong.

There Are Multiple Factors Leading To Intolerance And Hate

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events, Social Issues

   Where did all the hate and prejudice that is pervading society today come from? It’s the 21st century! Many of us want to think that society would be better than this, so why does it feel like so much intolerance is all around us.
   We live in an age of incredible advancements in terms of technology and communication. We have access to more information than anyone in human history and the ability to exchange information with one another faster than ever before. You’d think this would help broaden people’s minds as they learn about other people and far away places. And for some people, it has. But for others, it appears that this is not the case.
   So where is all this hate and prejudice coming from?
   I think the answer to that question is very complicated and varies from person to person. Often, it’s probably a combination of multiple factors that come together and lead to prejudice and hate.
   Lack of knowledge is a big one. People often fear what they don’t understand, so when they are confronted with something that they know very little about and is different from their own life experiences, many people respond with mistrust and intolerance. Their automatic response might be suspicion that it must be something bad and that they must stand against it.
   The influences of people and/or organizations in a person’s life which that person trusts are also major factors. If those influences consist of open-minded and tolerant attitudes, that could help broaden an individual’s mind. But when the influences are intolerant and close-minded, that increases the likelihood that an individual will adopt those attitudes as well, especially if the person was already leaning in that direction to begin with.
   Another issue is how so many people these days surround themselves with (or follow) individuals, websites, organizations, and other sources of information that tell them what they want to hear instead of giving them objective information and showing them diverse points of view. Again, this can reinforce intolerant and prejudiced attitudes that a person may already have and even make them worse.
   Fear of the unknown and of change also frequently comes into play. Many people don’t want to step out of their comfort zone. They want to surround themselves with what is familiar and what they prefer.
   So when you think about it, it’s easy to see how all these factors can combine in leading to intolerant, prejudiced attitudes.
   As a society, we must do better than this. People need to have the courage to open their minds and broaden their horizons. Think for themselves and don’t automatically believe some individual, organization, or website. Seek out sources of information that are varied, independent, and reputable. Have the courage to seek out new ideas and learn about different points of view. Recognize that there is often multiple ways to do things and accomplish goals. That this is a diverse planet and that we need to learn about one another, learn from one another, and strive to work together as best we can.
   It’s time to do better.

Getting Beyond The Vicious Toxicity Of The Trump Era Will Be Challenging.

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

2-1-21
   The toxic rhetoric, hate, and lies from Trump and others continue to haunt us. Thousands of National Guard troops are still in Washington DC in order to help protect the US Capitol Building and other important sites from far right extremists.
   Think about that.
   Right now, the biggest terror threat to our country is from home grown, domestic terrorists. Far right extremists who have been encouraged and galvanized by Trump’s outrageous lies and rhetoric.
   It’s seriously disturbing and sad that our country has sunk to this level. And it’s clear that Donald Trump along with those enabling him and blindly following him are major factors in bringing our nation to this twisted, deeply troubling state of affairs.
   Divisions, lack of understanding, intolerance, hate, prejudice, and so on were already problems in the United States when Trump started his campaign for the Presidency back in 2016. The thing is: Trump took advantage of these problems, encouraging and exacerbating them, with his outrageous, hurtful, vicious, and often totally false rhetoric, actions, and lies. Instead of trying to unite people, he worsened divisions creating a toxic, hateful atmosphere so that prejudiced hate groups felt emboldened to become more brazen and vocal.
   Then came the 2020 election, which overwhelming evidence shows was free and fair. There was no widespread fraud or irregularities.
   But Trump began attacking the election before it even had a chance to get started as he viciously went after mail in voting for months prior to a single ballot being sent out to anyone.  Once he lost the election, he quickly began spreading ridiculous, totally false claims and conspiracy theories in his quest to try to stay in office, even though Joe Biden clearly and legitimately won.
   The years of lies, intolerance, xenophobia, and outrageous rhetoric from Trump and others in addition to all these false claims about the election incited these far right extremists to storm the US Capitol Building in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the free and fair 2020 election. Fortunately, these domestic terrorists failed, and Congress did its Constitutional duty and certified the election.
   Troubling still is how throughout all of this, numerous Republicans in important positions as well as millions of every day Americans are still enabling Trump’s horrendous behavior by always going along with him, not standing up to him, and flat out blindly following him. It appears that a significant amount of Republicans in Congress are still bowing to Trump’s whims, even after everything that has happened.
   It’s disgusting, horrifying, sickening, and disturbing seeing how low things have sunk to. It’s also scary how many people are still blindly following Trump despite the fact he incited insurrection and is still undermining (I would say attacking) our democracy.
   For things to get better, we have to be strong and stand up for decency, honesty, compassion, science, caring, and democracy. While Donald Trump and a number of other people should be held accountable for their despicable actions, we also need to put the hate, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and viciousness of the Trump era behind us and strive to make this a better place for all. People must relearn how to open their minds, listen to one another, and work together where possible.
   It won’t be easy. We as a society and a country are battered and bruised. Healing will take time as will bridging the deep divides that have been tearing this nation apart.
   But we will get through it. Our democracy will endure and if we work at it, the United States will get closer to being the shining beacon that we want it to be.

The Toxicity Of The Trump Era Needs To Be Put Behind Us

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events, Social Issues

1-16-21
   25,000 National Guard troops are in (or on the way to) Washington DC in order to protect the transfer of power from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration.
   Think about that.
   Thousands of soldiers needed to protect the Inauguration of President Elect Joe Biden.
   It’s disturbing and sad that our country has sunk to this level. And it’s clear that Donald Trump along with those enabling him and blindly following him brought our nation to this twisted, deeply troubling state of affairs.
   Divisions, lack of understanding, intolerance, hate, prejudice, and so on were already problems in the United States when Trump started his campaign for the Presidency. The thing is: Trump took advantage of these problems and exacerbated them with his outrageous, hurtful, vicious, and often totally false rhetoric, actions, and lies. Instead of trying to unite people, he worsened divisions  and hate creating such a toxic atmosphere that prejudiced hate groups felt emboldened to become more brazen and vocal.
   And then we come to the 2020 election.
   He began attacking the election before it even had a chance to get started as he viciously went after mail in voting for months prior to a single ballot being sent out to anyone.  Once he lost the election, he quickly began spreading ridiculous, totally false claims and conspiracy theories in his quest to try to stay in office, even though Joe Biden clearly and legitimately won.
   And throughout all of this, numerous Republicans in important positions as well as millions of every day Americans have enabled Trump’s horrendous behavior by always going along with him, not standing up to him, and flat out blindly following him. And now we are having to endure the results of this sickening situation. We watched in disgust and horror as an angry mob of Trump supporters (incited by Trump and others) literally assaulted the US Capitol Building with the purpose of trying to stop Congress from certifying the free and fair 2020 election. This was clearly a form of undemocratic insurrection seeing how they used violence to attempt to stop Biden from becoming President.
   It’s disgusting, horrifying, sickening, and disturbing seeing how low things have sunk to. It’s also scary how many people are still blindly following Trump despite the fact he incited insurrection.
   We have to be strong and stand up for decency, honesty, compassion, science, caring, and democracy. It’s time to put the hate, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and viciousness of the Trump era behind us and strive to make this a better place for all.
   It won’t be easy. We as a society and a country are battered and bruised. Healing will take time as will bridging the deep divides that have been tearing this nation apart.
   But we will get through it. Our democracy will endure and if we work at it, the United States will get closer to being the shining beacon we want it to be.

Vicious Hate Spewed Against Gov Gretchen Whitmer At Trump Rally

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

10-18-20
   Let’s get one thing out of the way. I’m an Independent politically and don’t blindly follow anyone or anything. I look at the evidence and make the best decisions I can. With that said, I must tell you that we all need to unite behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.
   I realize this sounds like some political ad, but it’s not.
   The thing is: we cannot afford 4 more years of Donald Trump. The country really can’t. We must vote him out of office, and the only way to do that is to unite behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris because the next president will be Trump or Biden. That’s a fact. Third party presidential candidates have zero chance of winning of this election. Zero. Worse is that supporting one splits the anti-Trump vote and thus helps Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, people voting for third party candidates in 2016 is a significant part of how Trump got in office.
   We all know how horrendously bad a president Donald Trump is. And when it seems he can’t sink any lower, he does. The FBI recently foiled a plot set up by domestic far right extremists (terrorists) who were planning to kidnap Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. During the Trump years, it has been clear that white supremacists and other far right hate groups have been emboldened by Donald Trump’s horrible rhetoric and by the fact that Trump won’t condemn them. Now consider that at a recent rally, Trump went after Whitmer using outrageous claims and boldfaced lies. Trump followers then started chanting “lock her up.” Think about that. Domestic extremists were planning to kidnap her, yet malicious hate was spewed directly at her at a Trump rally that occurred so soon after.
   What has happened to this country?
   The venomous hate and lies permeating the United States have gone too far. It is clear that Trump’s sickening rhetoric, actions, and lack of action are significant factors in exacerbating (and at times creating) the hate, division, and viciousness infesting America today.
   The United States should be better than this.
   Whatever your political views, it’s clear that the Trump Administration is hurting the United States to an extremely serious degree.  We must unite behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to vote Trump out of the White House. We also need to vote a Democratic majority to both Chambers of Congress in order to start trying to repair the damage being done to this country by Trump and numerous other DC Republicans.
   It’s time to start working on restoring decency back to this country.

There Is Too Much Hate Permeating Society These Days

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events, History, Social Issues

7-21-20
   There is way too much hate permeating society these days. Way too much.
   It seems to be coming from all around, like it’s oozing from everywhere.
   Unfortunately, hate is nothing new. It has been a part of human existence for as long as humans have been around.
   The reasons why a person hates can actually be quite complex and is often due to a combination of factors. Fear of people or things that are different or that an individual doesn’t understand is a common one. Lashing out and projecting against others because of insecurities about oneself is another. Influences from surrounding people, family, leaders, and organizations often play roles as well in encouraging and exacerbating hate. Also, hate frequently leads to more hate. Person A hates person B. Person B commonly responds back with their own version of hate.
   Sometimes, it seems almost contagious, and these days, we are seeing populist political leaders using and encouraging hate to increase their power and hold over followers. This sadly is nothing new as historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini used such tactics quite effectively in their rise to power and then desperate quests to keep that power.
   But it doesn’t have to be this way.
   People need to routinely take a good, hard look at themselves examining who they are, how they feel about things, and why. All should strive to recognize hate, or the stirrings of it, and then find ways to let it go.
   Yes, let it go.
   Imagine the world if more people opened their minds educating themselves, seeking out different points of view, and then learning to let go of their hate.
   Imagine.
   And you know what? It’s got to start somewhere.
   And yep, that means with you!