If you do NOT want to deal with any of the current news, then please skip reading this post.
Here is a 5:13 segment from “The Ring of Fire” with a dire warning to foreign students and scholars at universities in the USA titled Foreign Students Warned To Scrub Social Media Accounts Of Any Trump Criticisms. But that warning gets extended to include any and all people who currently are staying in the USA on any kind of visa, or who are planning or considering travel to the USA.
Based on the current state of technology, it is pretty safe to assume that “social media” also includes the blogs and story comments here on BigCloset TopShelf.
Comments
No Protests, No Rallies
Protests, parades, rallies, gatherings are great and serve a couple purposes. One the people taking part of the event feel good they are doing something. Guess what, two those who the protests are supposed to be influenced don't really care. Three, one's name and face is probably now in the record if those with the power and authority want to come after those protesters.
Remember the TEA Party rallies? I certainly do because I attended one. So did a lot of FBI people. I stayed at the very back fringe and watched as certain people moved among the crowd. It wasn't the speech they came to hear. And they sure as heck weren't news reporters taking pictures although it was the impression they wanted to give. Sadly many of those in the crowd were delighted their picture might be in the news.
Some of the dumbest times in human history is when large groups of opposing sides face off and start the killing of the opposing side. I can not in my most unhinged moment think this could possibly be a way to fight and win battles and wars. Neanderthal thinking has been alive and well all through human history.
What I'm trying to explain is if one feels an absolute need to protest believing it's the way to accomplish a goal. Lots of luck. There are ways to get one's desires and intentions across. Do so with knowledge and research, not from what one has heard or read or others have said. When one thinks they have the facts, dig in even harder and deeper for a lot of those facts started on a lie and repeated so often everyone begin to believe the lie was the truth.
One last word of caution. I've been invited and asked to join different LBGT groups and or sign petitions. Not only no but NO. I equate both with the same concept as a rally or parade. It's exposing one's self in a non defensible position. I'll share research and try to get a meeting with congressmen and senators. It's not a totally safe approach because I am exposing myself. According to Trump, I'm not human, I can accept that. Going to be harder to erase me if I'm not part of a bigger disenfranchised group. Do what your heart and mind tells you. Do it with intelligence, not knee jerk reaction.
Hugs Jessica and All
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
If we all hide our heads in the sand……
Then nothing will change. By refusing to act, by running away and hiding, we are condoning what is happening.
Remember, in the words of Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Or if you prefer, as Edwin Hubble Chaplin said so well, “Neutral men are the devil’s allies.”
I had an instructor at the Naval War College who told me something once that has always resonated with me. It is a quote from Marcus Aurelius, “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” He also told me that, “It is at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys,” which was a quote from Emil Zatopek.
So many others have said it better than I ever could, but the bottom line is that if we do nothing to stop evil, then we will get the government we deserve. As for me………
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
D. Eden
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Re: No Protests, No Rallies
What you say about protests and rallies, and their most likely results, reminded me of the climate activists “The Last Generation” that became extremely notorious in Germany especially in 2024. They are best known by the epithet “climate gluers”, because they would super-glue themselves to the pavement on streets, highway access roads and even airport taxiways. Thus causing huge disruptions with traffic jams that could be several kilometers in length, or closing down an airport for several hours with the attendant flight cancellations, delays and diversions. At least one person died in an accident because the emergency vehicles were also blocked in by these protests. On the other hand, at least one truck driver started to roll his truck over one of these “protesters” in front of live news cameras, but was stopped short by the police who warned him against taking the law into his own hands. As a result virtually all climate activists have lost most, if not all, sympathy and good will they had with the general population.
When these so-called climate protectors glued themselves to the pavement, it was often necessary to cut out chunks of pavement to remove them quickly from the streets, leaving behind potholes that needed to be repaired later on. And the police and EMTs could then take their time to dissolve the super-glue without ripping of the skin from their hands. After facing increasing law-suits by local governments and airlines for damages that start in the thousands and could potentially reach millions, they stopped and resorted to vandalism with paint. Including art work in museums, historic memorials and buildings, and even private jets.
The right to assemble and to protest is sacred in Germany. But when you disrupt the activities of others or destroy public or private property, you will reap the legal consequences. The last I heard, the climate activists “The Last Generation” has now been classified as a terrorist organization. Several of their offices, as well as the homes of many of their leaders have been raided by the criminal police with lots of hard copy and electronic devices confiscated for prosecution.
History is always written by the victors……
And as such, how groups are remembered by history is entirely dependent on who won.
I am not excusing what may or may not have been done by “The Last Generation”, or negating how the organization is classified. But my point is simple - one man’s patriot is another man’s terrorist.
A perfect example of this in recent history is the Jewish organizations Haganah, Irgun, Lehi, and even Palmach. Each of these organizations were instrumental in the formation of the State of Israel, and are revered as patriotic organizations there. They formed the basis of the IDF, as well as Mossad and Shin Bet. However, they were also described by others - notably the British, as terrorists. A fact supported by their numerous acts of violence including blowing up bridges, buildings, ships, etc., prior to the granting of independence to Israel.
Another good example would be the IRA and it’s political wing, Sinn Fein.
In fact, our own founding fathers could easily have been remembered as terrorists had our War for Independence turned out differently.
But I find one line from the Declaration of Independence to be key when discussing the difference……..
“We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
There is a line from the song Anchors Away that has always stuck with me from the many times I have listened to it……..
“Faith, Courage, Service true, with Honor, Over Honor, Over All.”
It is honor which separates us from the likes of Trump and his MAGA crowd.
D. Eden
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
"Be one."
Many times have I said, describing the situation even before the present, "Nyeah-nyeah, look at what we can do, and you can't do a damn thing about it." One can complain, beg, explain, scream, cry, protest, etc., all in vain without some kind of enforcement.
Sometimes, to be good, one sometimes has to get nasty.
I'm thinking about filing a criminal kidnapping complaint or two, about specific instances of someone being grabbed off the street and transported away. I also have ideas of the appropriate punishment for military takeovers and similar, aggressive war, genocide. (It gets worse for a first nuclear attack on a population in any conflict, and any widespread apocalypse resulting in a billion or more deaths.) I'll probably leave those punishments on this site to stories.
-- Daphne Xu
I Have An Advantage
Maybe it's temporary but as I am not a US citizen and do not reside in the USA I have some impunity when it comes to protesting, and a few of you may have noticed that I do not hold back on this site (depending what Admin let me get away with!).
We have had our share of 'Climate Extinction' protesters, et al, supergluing themselves to various fixtures and defacing famous/valuable paintings, but I think they have figured out that these actions are not winning them any friends, and the object of protest is to change opinions to support what you are selling.
If public support lasts, the Canadians are doing a great job in boycotting US goods and US holidays. I say "if it lasts" because we are all inherently selfish and the hip-pocket and convenience are great temptations.
My view is that if you can make your targets look foolish and get the public laughing at them, then you're on a winner. Huge gatherings don't work because they take place and then they're over. People forget. I took part in 'Ban The Bomb' marches in London in the 1960s and we achieved nothing other than feeling good about ourselves. Satirical TV shows achieved much more in changing public perceptions about various subjects like racial discrimination, slower and more subtle, but leaving lasting impressions.
I hope there is still time in the US for such protests. Dictators hate them, and, make no mistake, Trump and his cronies are dictators. I've said it before and it bears repeating..."They are Nazis".
But protest you must. Just make it effective. Go underground if need be. When people are being snatched off the streets with no due process tyranny has already arrived.