Freedom of speech.

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I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. — Evelyn Beatrice Hall, 1906

I was reminded of this quote today. While catching up on reading comments, I saw one from someone who absolutely hates this blog, and proceeded to tell me all the things they hated about it. Since it attacked the content and not me personally, I decided to approve the comment, even though I had nothing to say in response to it and was not going to “Like” it.

As a blogger, it’s unrealistic to expect I’m not going to have haters.  Fortunately, there haven’t been too many of them.

We are not all going to agree. It would be a boring world if we all did. We are all so diverse and that’s a beautiful thing. As long as our differences don’t veer into hate speech or hate actions, freedom of speech is a beautiful thing.

Social taboo and free speech.

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Credit:  xkcd

The overall attitude toward dissent in a democracy is summed up in this quote by Evelyn Beatrice Hall:

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Stop being polite.

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The outspoken congresswoman Maxine Waters has been attacked by Trump and his administration, accused of “inciting violence” even though Trump and his minions have said far worse things about their perceived enemies, and against anyone who disagrees with Trump.   You may love or hate Maxine Waters. You may find her outspokenness refreshing, or you may find it annoying or even rude,  but at least she’s not afraid to speak out for what she believes and call out evil where she sees it.  She’s fearless.

We who oppose Trump’s immoral and cruel policies have been polite for too long, and it’s getting us nowhere.   Reasoning nicely with them has proven impossible.  Bipartisan solutions continue to fall on deaf ears.   They keep ramming through their self-serving, destructive agenda without a thought about what the people want or need.

They hate it when we speak up and try to make them accountable.  Silence and obedience is what they expect from us.  We don’t matter.  As we stand there extending olive branches and offering compromises, they say whatever they want to whomever they want — no matter how mean or rude or untrue.  Every day, they pick away at our civil rights and find new ways to undermine our right to freedom of speech.   They act like the 1st Amendment exists only for them and we have no right to it.   Soon it may exist only for them.

I probably don’t need to remind you that our democracy is almost gone.  Fascism is winning.   Trumpism is winning.  I don’t have to spell out the reasons why this is so or the events that have transpired that make it so obvious.   Most people probably sense it has arrived.  Our checks and balances no longer work.   We have a fascist tyrant who is breaking laws that any other president would have been crucified for — and he’s apparently untouchable.  The more he gets away with, the more suffering and atrocities he inflicts, and the more we operate as a dictatorship instead of a democracy.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our descent is accelerating.

Now, we have concentration camps.  For children.  In America.  We are where Hitler’s Germany was just before he seized complete power with Reichstag Fire.   Things are going to get worse.  Maybe a lot worse.

I have no idea how much farther into the abyss we will fall — or if it even has a bottom.  There certainly seems to be no bottom to the abyss of the Trump regime’s capacity for evil.

Soon, we may no longer have the right to freedom of speech.  It may soon be illegal to say critical things about Trump or his policies, or even make a joke about one of his staffers.

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They want us to be obedient little sheep, happily accepting their abuse.  Then tell us we’re the ones being rude and combative for protesting or expressing outrage.

Fuck that noise.  If they are rude to you, be rude back.  Why be nice to people who want to strip you of access to healthcare,  take away your Social Security,  rip babies from their mothers’ arms, and put little Hispanic children in cages?   Tell them how you really feel, while you still can.   Don’t let them gaslight you, project their own evil onto you, or say you just have Trump Derangement Syndrome which is making you overreact to the terrible things they do.

Most Democratic politicians seem to be afraid to speak truth to power.  They are afraid of not seeming politically correct.   When our country’s being overrun by a fascist dictator who could be the next Hitler, and who is already kidnapping and trafficking children and putting babies in cages, fuck political correctness.  Has the Trump side ever worried about political correctness?  Of course not.   Take a page from their book, and stop beng so nice.   They don’t play nice, so it isn’t going to work.  This may be our last chance to take a stand.

One more thing.  Stop tolerating the intolerant.

 

So now I’m a terrorist.

 

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The Department of Homeland Security now wants to compile a list of all journalists, bloggers, and “media influencers.”   In particular, they’re keeping tabs on journalists, bloggers, and media influencers who oppose or criticize our Dear Leader Trump.  The DHS was created to combat terrorism, not punish people for exercising their First Amendment rights.   But in Trump’s America, journalists and bloggers who are critical of him are terrorists.  So I guess that makes me a terrorist.

Soon they’ll come knocking at my door at 4 AM and issue me an armband identifying me as a “dissident” and then ship me off in the darkness to a Trumpian concentration camp.  It’s not a matter of if but when — unless I can find a way to escape this country before that happens.  Or unless democracy survives (which is definitely possible — I refuse to stop being optimistic, as hard as it is at times).

One thing’s for sure.  I’m not going to shut up or let them win.  I’ll spit in their faces as they cart me off.   I’ve had enough of that sort of abusive crap all my life from other narcissists and sociopaths.   I’d rather die than be their bitch.

Big Brother has arrived.