Double Targets for Punishment

Listening to the radio today I heard of Tesla owners in Canada fear being vandalized by folks they don't know, to get back at Musk and Trump, although I hear the reason is to get back at Musk for his support for Trump, acts that punish Canadians and Canadians punish Musk by vandalizing the car.  This is a roundabout way of expressing anger which punishes the innocent particularly since the cars were probably purchased before we knew anything about Musk.

People tend to punish the people who cannot fight back. This is a morality issue. Yes it would be difficult to do anything to hurt the biggest bullies who are destroying our world but we have to be wise. Retaliation does not hurt those who hurt others. Hurt people hurt people! And there goes our work/money to punish the innocent for our fleeting sense of righteousness.

If we are hurt, angry, tired, afraid of what is happening in our world, we must choose actions that will help us not make things worse. Of course it's not easy finding the right things to do, especially if the villain is out of target range. We can think seriously before we act though.

It reminds me of a woman who tried to punish men for what her father did to her mother. Only it backfired of course. She only hurt herself when a boy she fell for expressed his desire and she punished him losing his love forever.

A loser is someone who seeks rewards by hurting others. 

Most of us have been hurt in our lives but the greatest pain is for those who persist in competing for top spot and who become isolated, afraid, while trying to look tough. People who choose to hurt others in order to feel good.

It's a terrible idea. Hurt people hurt people.

When the news, the media succumbs to this, we as a group cannot find a way to fix what hurts others and therefore we watch our world slip into war, torture and blame, and then feel disgusted, powerless, punished and in despair.

White Male Fragility

 "Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and detention in a Louisiana ICE facility is a harbinger for a new authoritarian era of the United States. Khalil’s arrest, the capitulation of Columbia University against dissent and protest by its own students and the Trump administration’s threat of stripping the university of $400 million in grants if it does not meet its requests is just one place where the tentacles of fascism tighten their grip." Chris Hedges https://scheerpost.com/2025/03/19/americas-constitutional-crisis-w-katherine-franke-the-chris-hedges-report/

University under Trump?  What is the future of America if Universities are too afraid of political discussions? Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. 

1. Definition: White male fragility refers to the defensive reactions some white men exhibit when their racial or gender privilege is challenged.

2. Origins: The term was popularized by sociologist Robin DiAngelo in her book "White Fragility."

3. Emotional Responses: Common reactions include anger, denial, and withdrawal when confronted with discussions about race or privilege.

4. Impact on Dialogue: These reactions can hinder productive conversations about race and inequality.

5. Cultural Context: It reflects broader societal dynamics of power and privilege in discussions about race.

6. Self-Reflection: Encourages individuals to examine their own biases and the societal structures that support them.

7. Goal of Awareness: Aims to foster understanding and empathy in discussions about race and gender issues.

8. Criticism: Some argue that the concept can oversimplify complex issues or lead to defensiveness rather than constructive dialogue.

9. Importance of Education: Engaging with the concept can help individuals navigate conversations about race more effectively.

10. Broader Implications: Highlights the need for ongoing discussions about privilege and systemic inequality in society.

    White fragility refers to feelings of discomfort a white person experiences when they witness discussions around racial inequality and injustice.

    For example, people of color may find it difficult to speak to white people about white privilege and superiority. The white person may become defensive, and the person of color may feel obligated to comfort the white person because we live in a white-dominated environment.

    White fragility differs from both white privilege and white supremacy. White privilege refers to the fact that white people have advantages in society that others do not. White supremacy is the belief that people with white skin are superior. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/white-fragility-definition#definition

    
    

     

Found on Facebook today

BREAKING: Canadian Member of Parliament Charlie Angus humiliates MAGA Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his reckless remarks — says that he "needs to be sent back to school" before really tearing in.

America has become the laughingstock of the world under Donald Trump...

"Well, I think Marco Rubio probably needs to be sent back to school because when you say that someone doesn’t have a right to have a country, that’s an act of war," Angus told MeidasTouch.

He was referring to Rubio's support of Trump's idiotic demand that Canada become America's "51st state." Supposedly, the disastrous tariffs are an effort to coerce Canada into surrendering its sovereignty but there is simply no scenario in which they'll agree to do that.

"When you rip up arbitrarily trade agreements, and threaten, and say you're going to break a country, that’s an act of war," said Angus. "And Canadians have responded in kind."

"The boycott that Canada has launched against the United States is punishing," he continued. "We were told in January a 10% drop in Canadian travel to the United States would cost 140,000 jobs. We’re seeing at least a 40% drop now..."

"...and we’re hearing these nightmare stories of ICE detention centers, of people who are traveling across the border to fix their visa or that, that have been strip-searched, chained, and kept in deplorable conditions," he went on.

"Is Donald Trump really trying to destroy the tourism industry in the United States?" asked Angus. "And then like three days before St. Patrick's Day picks a fight with the Irish of all people? You're going to pick a fight with the Irish on the eve of St. Patrick's day, throwing 200% tariffs and then 200% tariffs on France?"

"I mean that's the last bottle of bourbon that'll be sold in a generation in Europe so what we're really picking up here is not just the rising level of resistance in Canada — and I've been on a tour through the industrial heartland of Canada and the resistance is so much stronger than I could have even dreamed — but we're picking up now the rest of the world is watching Canada and following our strategy..." he said.

"...which is just disengage and to disengage economically," he continued. "So the United States has become a much weaker force on the stage of the world. If people aren't buying products, if people aren't traveling, if people aren't willing to buy anything American right now that's hurting so many American businesses who are basically collateral damage in Donald Trump and Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance's idiotic campaign to please the MAGA voters."

"Its hurting us to some degree but it's right now, we think the impact on the average American business that has always had good relations with people in their markets, they're getting punched in the face right now because of what Donald Trump's doing."

Angus is absolutely right. America gains nothing from these destructive trade wars. All Trump is accomplishing is the immiseration of his own people. Meanwhile, our adversaries are starting to look like far more stable trading partners to our former allies.

Soon, America will stand alone.

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The War of Social Denialism

 The threat to our survival has already been spent. In Russia, Ukraine, in the treatment of women, in the organization of schools who favour kids who can answer the question correctly, in might makes right, in the arms industry in violence against women and partner violence, in social hierarchy, industry and wealth management, in racial "superiority" and in backing wealth before life values.

Clearly we have chosen white upper class representation even though the values of Trump are not naturally supported.  Now we have a neighbour who is so contemptuous of life he is trading on power using contempt for people who are different.

A few politicians and business interests got really scared when people started talking about their genitals as part of who they are. We already knew this but capitalism with it endless messages of corporate vanity is frightened of the real feeling of life's worth whether it be brown, white, two-legged or other.

You see all the capitalist messaging for the past 70 years is about manufacturing who you want to be. A movie star whose body is so beautiful photographers and playwright's line up to capture it in film.

America sold us stories and facial creams to say we can improve who you are. Forget about your breasts, stomach and feet, make yourself beautiful using our products, it will cost you less than a million dollars. What's not to like? Even the poor grammar is chummy.

Now they have installed a sociopathic agenda to celebrate whiteness winning over nature. Man winning over the entire world. Adapting the spirit world to make us heroes.

I know this sounds much too harsh. Are you comfortable with your anger? Will you suck it up buttercup? Because you don't want to make it worse.

Essentially it doesn't get any worse. This is the future of politics. Win at any cost. When our species is dead and gone, no-one will be there to remember.

WARNING!

" This is not an illiberal drift, it is the beginning of the confiscation of democracy. Let us remember that it took only one month, three weeks and two days to bring down the Weimar Republic and its Constitution."

Robert Reisch

Who Is To Blame?

 

"Where there is no love, there can only be destruction. Smash the planet then transcend it; leave your indelible mark on Earth while reigning triumphant in the heavens: this, I believe, is a deep, unspoken urge that helps explain Trump’s programmes. But even if, through some grim miracle, the planet wreckers succeeded, they would soon discover that no technological wonderland, no space station or Martian city, compares to what we have." George Monbiot

As I listen to news and reports from various socialist or capitalist observances I am struck by how there are laws, habits and trends that demand the attention of thoughtful people attempting to survive in our society. People who love their pets but can't afford 20 thousand dollars for an operation to save their lives. People who love their children but can't afford to send them to university even though they know how education is vital to their survival. People whose parents can't afford to buy a house or apartment to live in. 

Capitalism has come home and now we realize it's not just about fashion and fame. It has become "God". It you are rich and famous it means you are blessed by the angels and rulers of the universe. I know no-one has come out and said that in my world but I sense it is believed by billionaires and other tricksters.

While genuine people agonize over paying their bills and doing the right thing, the emperor's agonize over their new clothes, how they look to their subjects.

Royal families rule the world they don't have to live in. We can leave them to get on with it. We just have to live in the world we have very little power over.

Power is the most problematic issue for men and women. We might not fear how the future will unfold but the question of what to do to avoid being killed because we have no control over the masses and those who rule. Is never too far from our sleepless nights. And rather than waste time improving our relationships we worry about the next war or next great flood. 

Who is to blame? Is where our planning often gets stuck. And where the canny create questions to keep us awake at night. Is it capitalism, greed, women, immigrants, billionaires, government? Has the emperor won? Are we humans too stupid to survive much longer?

WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T WALLOW IN THIS QUESTION. Ask ourselves where do we spend our love? You are not expected to save the world alone, it is a universal project.

Message from George Monbiot

"This week Trump ordered the mass destruction of national forests and other protected lands by the timber industry, to be overseen by the US Forest Service, whose new boss was previously vice-president of a timber company. The results will include heartbreaking losses of wildlife and rare ecosystems, and a heightened risk of wildfires. Trump justified his order with that classic dictator’s gambit: a purported “emergency”. "

https://www.monbiot.com/2025/03/07/fossil-record/