Hey there. I wrote a Twitter thread about the consequences of supporting Trump. I’m sharing it here because I know many of you don’t use Twitter.
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The other day I saw a tweet where a person described that when they find out someone they know personally supports Trump, they lose all respect for them instantly. I liked the tweet and retweeted it, but stopped short of sharing it on Instagram.
Why?
I suppose it’s because, like the author of the tweet, I also know Trump supporters in real life. They already know I think Trump is gross, and they know that I frequently criticize Trump supporters as a group. But I’ve hesitated to tell them directly that I’ve lost respect for them individually.
But I woke up this morning, read reports of the final night of the Republican National Convention — an event where hundreds of federal employees broke many laws — grew deeply angry, and now my hesitation is gone.
My instagram content is different than my Twitter content. On Twitter, I mostly retweet people. On Instagram, I share more personal stuff — like renovations, vacations, and updates about my family. I also highlight tweets and political opinions on Instagram, but it’s maybe 20% of my content there.
A frequent DM (direct message) I receive on Instagram is some version of this: “I come here for design and to see your life in France. Stop posting political stuff.”
These DMs are, without exception, from Trump supporters, or people who claim to be independent, but will definitely vote for Trump and are ashamed to admit it.
My response: I do not create content for you.
It makes me sick to my stomach that you, a Trump supporter, ever read or watch or listen to anything I’ve created. This is true even if I know you in real life.
I see what you are trying to do. You want me to treat you like a decent human being. But you are not behaving like a decent human being.
A decent person doesn’t align themself with people who are proudly racist and who insist America doesn’t have a racism problem.
A decent person doesn’t align themself with people who believe viral right-wing stories on Facebook over trained journalists, who think Q is real, who think the pandemic is fake, who think the earth is flat.
A decent person doesn’t align themself with people who weep and faint over celebrity-child-trafficking-rings that don’t exist, but support the ICE family separations at the border that actually lead to child trafficking.
A decent person knows what it feels like to do a job and not get paid, and recognizes that Trump is first and foremost a con-man, liar, and thief.
A decent person knows and acknowledges that Trump only looks out for himself.
A decent person knows Trump raped a 13-year-old, has read her description of the rape, has read all the other accounts of Trump sexually assaulting girls and women, and never forgets Trump is a rapist who has never had to face consequences for his assaults.
I see you. Especially my fellow white women. You want to read what interesting people are reading, you want to see good movies, you want to know what the designers and artists are creating.
But you don’t want anyone to know you are voting for Trump.
You don’t like when people you follow talk politics. You say it’s because you want to “focus on the positive.” But really, it’s because it reminds you of your Trump shame.
You want to vote for Trump and experience no negative consequences.
But that’s not an option.
One of the consequences of your actions? I do not respect you.
How could I?
How could I respect someone who hears about a Black man being shot by police 7 times in his back, while his kids watch, and their first thought is: “Well, we don’t know the whole story.”
Another consequence of your actions? I have a deep desire to withhold my community and my creations from you.
Instagram has data that could tell me exactly which of you support Trump. I wish they would give me that data. I would block every single one of you.
My Instagram followers request access to my life daily. You’re voting for Trump and you want to know the source for my daughter’s dress? My answer is: No. You want to know the paint color we chose for the attic renovation? No. You want to participate in a parenting discussion on Design Mom? No.
I want to shun you from my community.
If gatherings were safely happening, I want you to be shunned from all events hosted by decent people. No wedding invitations. No conference tickets. No backyard barbecues.
I want decent event hosts to send you a card, explaining you are not invited because you are a Trump supporter.
I wish stores like Ikea and Target wouldn’t let you buy their products.
I wish your internet provider (who for sure knows you’ll be voting for Trump), would cut you off as a customer.
I want to see you shunned by every person and organization that doesn’t support Trump. No more access to their books, movies, products, music, events, artists & influencers — till you are left with nothing but Smashmouth concerts, and Ben Shapiro talking about his sex life.
Some of you will tell me you have no choice; that you’re a single issue voter and that your single issue is abortion, so you can only vote for an anti-abortion candidate.
And I will respond: The Republicans are making a fool of you.
We all know Republicans talk big about being anti-abortion but their policies don’t reduce abortions. Republican policies increase things like teen pregnancy, which also increases abortions.
The fact is: abortion numbers go down under the policies of Democrats.
If you want to reduce abortion, the most effective, proven way to do so is to vote for Democrats. If the most important issue to you is reducing abortions, then the only choice you have is voting for Democrats up and down the ballot.
Some of you will tell me you support Trump because of the stock market.
Well, that is certainly something a selfish a**hole would do.
A whopping 90% of Americans have no stake in the stock market. I’m one of them.
If you like the current trajectory of our economy; if you want existing and newly created wealth to continue to be concentrated in the top 10%; if you don’t think employers should have to provide a living wage; if you somehow think hoarding a billion dollars is ethical; if you don’t want to tax the rich; then I don’t make content for you.
I create content and community for decent people. Do we agree on everything? No. We may debate the best way to educate kids. Or disagree on baby names, favorite books, or suburban vs. urban vs, country living. But I will not make space for you to debate the merits of white supremacy.
You want respect, but your behavior and beliefs are not worthy of respect.
You don’t want to be shamed or mocked for supporting Trump, but you align yourself with people who want to “make liberal snowflakes cry” and who mock anyone who wears a pandemic mask.
Do you think I care about losing you as a follower? I do not. Not one bit. I will actively block you on Instagram if I know you’re a Trump supporter. You unfollowing me doesn’t hurt me in any way. I literally — in the true sense of the word — won’t notice you are gone.
You can’t support Trump and also be a decent human being. You can’t support Trump and earn my respect.
Want to be a decent person? Don’t want to worry about being shunned? You’re in luck! The solution is easy and free:
Stop being a Trump supporter. Don’t vote for Trump.
That’s it. That’s the thread. How about you? Can you relate? Or do find that you are still able to respect the Trump supporters you know?
Brava! Thank you for using your social media platform in this way.
Thank you for your bravery and clarity, Gabby.
YES. YES. YES. Amen.
With your permission, I would love to print out this manifesto, put it on my office door, email or hand it to anyone who indicates they are even remotely complicit with this administration.
Just last night my husband was saying my parents’ very old family friend (we’re talking 50 years), who was also our real estate agent on our past two homes and I adore, was praising on FB the RNC. I asked, “He’s a Trump supporter?!” and my husband replied “Big time.” I told my husband, I’m glad we’re not buying/selling a home right now b/c I would not be able to use him as our agent.
For me, it was one big Trump Bucket of ShXt from AAAALLLLLL the horrible things he did up to (and including) the pandemic. But once the BLM movement came to the forefront and we were all shown – without a shadow of a doubt – that he is a big-time/not even gonna hide it anymore racist….well, I am SO DONE.
Sooooooooo done. Like, paralyzed by fear at the very thought of him winning this election.
I admire your strong opinion. I wish you all the best.
I have followed you since before Flora was a twinkle in your eye. 😉 I wholeheartedly agree with every word of this post. Over the past several years I, too, have disengaged myself from people who appear to have lost their thinking minds. How anyone can support this administration is beyond my comprehension.
I believe that most people who have a very public platform choose to do so to engage with their readers. What you describe- blocking all Trump supporters- seems like a desire to create an echo chamber. I don’t understand it, personally.
I don’t know the Trump supporter you describe above. I do know people like my mother and my brother, and I disagree with them on politics.
There are real Trump supporters in my community, on my street- even next door. Am I talking openly with them? Do I have them over for dinner, so they can meet a real left-leaning Democrat- not the fictional ones they hear about reading someone’s scathing blog post? Is there true dialogue, with people “in real life”? Because otherwise it doesn’t matter at all.
Katherine, you are welcome to invite Trump supporters for dinner. Have fun learning about Q and how vaccines are evil and how Chrissie Teigen eats babies.
Who all do you believe owes Trump supporters a dinner? Do Black families need to invite over their neighbors with BlueLivesMatter signs or confederate flag stickers on their truck? Do Mexican-American families need to invite over neighbors with BuildTheWall signs?
Do Trump supporters ever have to do any kind of compromising or apologizing or reaching out? Or is it just Democrats?
You make the assumption that I have a goal to persuade Trump supporters to change their mind. That is not my goal. If they still stand by Trump at this point, nothing I can say will change their mind. Will they be embraced by decent society again someday? I have no idea. What happened after WWII to all the German families who were all-in on Hitler?
Wow. This is so, so good. You are my SHERO!
Kim, that was awesome. Agreed. Thank you, Gabby.
It is only when decent people with something to lose stand up that real change happens.
Thanks.
That is so brave because that is NOT easy. I’m french, and I have a family that thinks very different from me and yes, at some point, you have to draw a line because politics is about morality, it’s not a hobby. I can still find tiny spaces where I can meet my family (our common love for nature and poetry), but I wouldn’t let my child spend too much time with them. I don’t feel relieved, it’s still complicated. I teach Philosophy and I have experienced so many times that not all of us have the same desire for truth. Some people just want to be right, to avoid doubt or to keep their tradition and privileges. Again, I think you are very brave, and strong. I will definitely remember this manifesto in times of weaknesses. It is so easy to be a coward.
I just wanted to add that, if you haven’t read Hannah Arendt, I think she would fuel your thoughts, especially her work on the banality of evil (“Eichmann in jerusalem”)“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” Evil is not a terribly ugly monster, it’s in the little things, little weaknesses.
I read the entire Twitter thread aloud to my husband yesterday because it captured so well how I feel toward the childhood friends and family members who support Trump. Thank you for posting it.
Brava, Gabby! I was originally drawn to your blog for your baby-naming chops (true!). I stuck around for design and parenting insight. And I’ve loved following along on your France adventures (parts one and two). But what I have loved more than anything is your embrace of social justice positions and your willingness to use your considerable platform and influence to promote positive change in the US and the world. Keep it up!
Having recently re-read 1984, I’m dismayed by how truly Orwellian our lives are now under Trump and his hollowed our Republican Party. “We’ve always been at war with Oceania.”
I’m not at all religious but I still pray for us in November. I hate to see what four more years of this would do.
hollowed out*
Thank you for this–so powerful!
Gabby, you are a force for good in this world. I do post content on Facebook for my Trump supporting friends to see, and read. I choose things that are short, with a strong graphic that are impossible to ignore. I want to flood their feeds with information about him. I want them to have to choose between being my friend (my actual friend, I only have a handful of “friends” on FB that I am not actual friends with) and supporting Trump. Hoping that flooding them with the truth might cut through the flood of lies they are reading and seeing from Fox, Epoch Times, Breitbart and The Daily Caller.
I swore that Trump would not separate me from some of my long-time, very dear friends. But I’m afraid he has. Because his super-power is bringing out the worst in his supporters.
I don’t always agree with your point of view on Twitter (and I think some of your retweets are a bit…dubious if I’m honest) but I respect your opinion and I think here you’re spot on.
I’m happy to offer you a full refund.
I’m not sure what you even mean here? I said I respect your opinion but don’t always agree with you. Are you saying you only want your readers to always agree with you now? Because that seems to be going way beyond what you originally wrote.
No, I’m not saying that. I’m just feeling grouchy. I read your comment as a complaint; that you wish my content were different, and that you wish I would showcase different tweets. I’m not in a good headspace to receive criticism about the content I make freely available. My gut reaction at the moment is: You don’t like the tweets? Then don’t read them. I’m not forcing you to come to my blog. I’m not picking out the tweets for you, I’m picking them out for me.
I imagine if it was the blogging heyday, and I was making my primary income from blog content, I’m sure I would be more open to your feedback.
Feel free to ignore the comment.
I’m sorry that you read it as a complaint as it absolutely wasn’t intended that way. I’m not sure that we haven’t had a British/US English miscommunication as “spot on” is very much a compliment!
In any case, my point was that I have been surprised by some of the retweets. Does that mean that you shouldn’t retweet them? Absolutely not. I don’t expect to agree 100% with everyone I follow and, for the record, I have always found your point of view interesting and thought-provoking.
Thanks, Cath.
[Removed because David is an a**hole]
Why are you on here? You’re betraying yourself by reading and commenting.
I LOVE this post! So powerful and so necessary. Well done for speaking the truth.
Hi,
Long time reader, first time commenter.
BRA–F@*#KING–VO.
I said it on Twitter and I’ll say it again here, I am printing this out for the next time a “friend” or family member starts talking about Trump. Thankful that I no longer associate with many, but if husband’s family asks, well…
Thank you for speaking out! I find it hard to do living in a red state where I’ve voted blue for almost 30 years now. You’re inspiring!
I stand with you. Thank you.
Now THIS is the kinds of content I love to read over my morning coffee! (I mean, obviously love your design content, too, but THIS!!) Bravo and thank you. Also, thank you, Smart Readers, for your great commentary, too. Now gonna find a phonebank to work:)
Gaby, saw this on twitter and am so glad you posted it here too. I’m with you! X
I love you. This is the best thing I’ve read since your thread on abortions. Way to go. I want to send this to every single person I know in real life who supports Trump.
Thank you for this worthy post in this horrible time for our country. I stand with you.
Colleen Dumas
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! You inspire courage!!
YES.
Bravo to you, Gabby. We need to run this column on the front page of every newspaper in the country daily until the election. The inhumanity of so much of the US is mind boggling and horrendous. If you read about how during the Holocaust so many ordinary Germans got caught up with Hitler’s rhetoric and became vicious SS officers, you will see the parallels with Trump. Please continue to be courageous in the hopes that some people might see the truth. Thank you!
Thank you. Please let that settle and give you a moment and the deep breath that actually fills the lungs completely. Thank you. I miss my parents. I haven’t seen them since last Christmas, and I know because of the pandemic that I won’t be seeing them until next Spring at the earliest. But they are Trump supporters. I have rarely discussed politics with my parents, if at all…until the other afternoon. I called my mom to check in, to see how the CA fires were impacting their air quality, to tell them to stay indoors, to be safe. And politics bled into our conversation. To hear aloud what I already knew was a blow to the chest that I simply didn’t have in me. This election will divide families in ways we thought the last one would. Evil is no longer lurking in the shadows; it stands proudly in the daylight and has its own defenses. My ten year old, who came out just before last Christmas, is terrified. She keeps asking what can we do, what are we doing, that she doesn’t feel safe in this world, and that her future is being striped from her. For my husband and I it was always a one or none with regards to pondering having a child, and when Obama won the presidency, we decided that this was a world we felt we could bring a child into. My child now carries the weight of a past, present, and potential future that she feels, and is legally, powerless to change. So I tell her the truth, we need to vote. Everyone needs to vote. Each vote is not just for your own voice, but to amplify the voices of our children; all of our children within our borders. It is time to seriously consider what side of history you would like to be known for standing on.
Rebecca, my heart goes out to your child, and I am voting for a future for her. I simply don’t understand how anyone could read your comment and still choose to vote for our hateful president, let alone how her grandparents could know and love her and still do it. I’m heartbroken for her and you.
This is exactly what I don’t understand either. So many people voting against their own self interests and those of family members.
Virtual hug to you, Rebecca. I hear you. I have lost respect for many Trump-supporting family members. I cannot understand how they would align with such a hateful man. It’s very hard to see him become a wedge in families.
Ultimately, all we can do is live according to what we each believe. It’s pretty wild how differently Trump supporters see reality. I don’t get it, but I sure hope we do not have to endure another four years of Trump Twilight Zone.
For all those who find themselves torn on alienating from their Trump-loving family and community – I come from South Africa and I was a teenager during apartheid. I remember clearly being shunned when expressing anti National party views. (the ruling party) I remember being told that ‘my kind’ were going to be sorry when we got murdered in our beds. It was hard to voice your opinion when so many disagreed with you. It was hard to stand against something you knew, in your heart, was wrong, but that so many said was our (white people’s) only security. These people were our neighbours, friends, teachers and even the cute boy down the road. Fear and ostracism are powerful weapons. But history has shown us which side was right. Just like with Hitler. And it will be the same with Trump. I forsee a time when people will downplay their support of him and pretend that they always knew he was a bad man. Make a stand now. Do the right thing now. I wish you the courage and the strength of your convictions. You do not stand alone.
Thank you Gabby for such a powerful and emotionally courageous piece.
Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking a lot about how good Germans reconciled with Hitler supporters after WWII and it is interesting to hear your perspective from South Africa. I think it will be a long time (or never) before I can respect some trump supporters in my family. But hopefully they wake to their senses and time can restore relationships.
Thank you, Corinne! Thank you! I needed to read this today. Inam getting all kinds of backlash for making my own stand. But I stand by it and want to be very clear what side of history I am on.
You put into words what I have been feeling! Thank you!! When I find out a friend, family member, co-worker, or neighbor supports Trump I loose respect for them – which made me feel guilty. But no – decent human beings do not support him and actively speak out about his policies!
We are living like Germany 1933. Thank you for every word you wrote. I have family members and neighbors who are Trump supporters and it sickens me. How can these people go to church and pray but in their hearts they are okay with a man who is a traitor to this country (we might as well say he’s a Russian agent) a man who has abused women, a man who is a racist and a man who has conned people all his life, and a man who has shown he doesn’t care that almost 200,000 are dead from Covid-19. He’s pro-life? Thousands of people are dead because of his inaction on a mask mandate and his incompetence from back in February.
I want to scream at these people to come to their senses. Thank you for a bit of solace in these awful times. We are at a precipice in this country’s history.
We need to be brave and draw a boundary as you have. Thank you for your courage!
I
Yes, yes, Diana!
I love your post. I love and agree with everything you said. I hope this goes viral. I will help your words go viral !!!
Most authentic thing I’ve read.
I’m struggling through still loving those Cheetoh head supporters in my life vs completely shutting them off and your words helped. Thank you ! I’m a new follower bc of this post!
Thank you. You are an unapologetic badass and an inspiration to me and my girls. Xx
My sentiments exactly!! Xo
I get you. I am with you.
Thank you a million times over. I have told my family that I can’t be an authentic Christian if I don’t work for racial justice. I have bi-racial nieces and nephews who are at risk every time they leave the house. Driving while Black is real. My own (white) kids never think twice about driving. The system needs to change. I need to do my part.
I have thought often along similar lines. Thank you.
People who say they are *Christians” admire and even adore Trump, and yet he cannot even quote a single verse that he likes from scripture, he has no idea, and his behavior is so immoral and hypocritical and disgusting, but they refuse to see it or acknowledge it.
I don’t understand that.
Ugh, Trump makes my stomach turn and my blood boil. But I fear that we are falling further and further into a pattern of digging in to our own ways of seeing the world and not being willing to listen or attempt to understand anything about our opponents. I believe that every person is worthy of respect, and worthy of going out on a limb to rescue, even people who can’t see the damage they are doing with careless thoughts and words. Do you think that shunning will bring about real change in our American community? What should we do with all the people who supported Trump when this is all over? Imprison them? Segregate them into separate communities where we don’t have to tolerate their ignorance? Or possibly try to welcome them back into the fold of decency and teach them by example to listen to those they don’t understand? I always appreciate your strong and frank perspectives Gabby, but I think you are wrong here. However I am glad we have this opportunity to engage and disagree.
Emily, I highly recommend reading the comments, especially Gabby’s replies. She makes it clear that this is about boundary setting and a disruption of normalcy for people who refuse to see the consequences of their actions by supporting and voting for 45 unless we create consequences. I’m not sure how you leap to imprisonment and segregation (??), but I think the clarity will help.
Yeah, imprisonment and segregation were hyperbole. But I just think it’s so important to actively search out the humanity and decency in anyone we meet and help it to thrive, however small and nascent it may be. I fear that excluding people from our lives, and even facebook feeds will only lock them further inside their own echo chamber and reinforce ideas that liberals are all coming for their guns and rights to free speech (we may be coming for their guns, but they should be exposed to the arguments, the calm cool arguments, for why that’s ok). Know what I mean? Also, after this hopefully only four years of Trump, there will be a lot of healing that needs to happen for America to hold together, and I think it gets harder and harder the more bridges we burn.
I hear you. My sister approaches her Trump supporting friends with the same thought process–if they don’t hear it from her, they won’t hear it from anyone else in their bubble, so she feels it’s her duty to continue the relationship. (And I admire her for her ability to do so!) I think there are a variety of approaches, and all have validity, including the one expressed here.
I do have to say that I don’t see Trumpers giving anyone else this kind of respect you are proposing, and I often get frustrated in situations like that where the other party refuses to meet anywhere in the middle.
How much abuse do we have to take? Trump voters are abusing the rest of us. They are harming the most vulnerable with their votes. Voting might seem abstract. It might seem like it’s just filling out a bubble on a sheet of paper and walking away. It’s not. It’s policy. It’s putting people in power who destroy the environment and take away our healthcare, that redline districts so Black families can’t have homes or generational wealth, that refugees can’t come here to live safer lives, that LGBTQ people don’t have the same rights as straight people. Voting is an action, and some votes cause harm. We’ve said repeatedly, “Your actions hurt us; stop hurting us,” and they’re saying, “No, we didn’t, and even if we did, you have to like it.” We don’t have to like it. Nobody has to accept this abuse over and over again. And we don’t have to engage with them if their beliefs trample our rights and our lives. We’re saying you don’t get to have continued access to hurt us. We’re saying, “You can believe what you want, but we don’t have to spend time with you or like you. If you want a different outcome, consider changing your behavior.” If someone else’s child keeps taking your child’s toy and making them cry, hitting them, or behaving poorly otherwise, do you tell your child they have to keep playing with them? Or do you put them in a timeout and stop inviting them over until they learn to behave better? Let them feel the loss of our support. Let their worlds grow smaller and let us find others with shared values. Maybe they’ll miss us enough to want to be better. It’s not our job to coddle them, and after almost four years of chaos, including six months of quarantine and unnecessary death, nobody has the patience anymore. They don’t get to be comfortable when we are taking on the bulk of the suffering. I learned about the Tree of Life shooting while standing in the lobby of the synagogue where I work. Should I make Trump supporters feel comfortable when my life is in danger from white supremacists just by entering that building? There’s no more room for their feelings. The people who deserve to be made comfortable are those who are the most vulnerable to the effects of bigotry, not those perpetuating it.
Mel I of course when someone is treating my child badly, I am compelled to remove them. I get that. I don’t think physical abuse should ever be allowed, and since Trump is not standing up against it, he should be removed, in the most efficient way possible. We should also personally stand between any actual abusers and their victims when we have power to do so. I don’t think support for Trump should be encouraged, it should be discouraged. BUT, I think if we can win people to decency by taking a little bit of rudeness ourselves over facebook, or offering grace toward some ignorance at family gatherings, we will actually chip away at his support more than if we prove that we are people who do not listen to or understand them.
It’s not “rudeness;” it’s verbal and mental abuse. You minimize it when you say otherwise. It’s life or death to some of us. Like I said, I was standing in a synagogue when I learned 11 Jews had been murdered in one by a Trump supporter who believed his lies. It has affected my choices about whether I continue with my work. If you want to talk to Trump supporters, then you can do it. Don’t ask people who are being harmed by his policies and his rhetoric to take on that burden, too. I have Trump supporters in my family, and they are not interested in having their minds changed. They’ deny and distract, or simply disappear, when confronted with facts. They deserve to feel shame. They deserve to sit with the knowledge that their vote makes them unpalatable to others. They do not deserve any more of my time or attention if at this point they are still unwilling to listen or learn. It’s not a virtue to accept this behavior from people who claim to love you but whose actions show otherwise. I have too much love in my life and work to do to help make the world a better place to further waste my energy on people who do not want to budge. Some people are beyond help.
You inspire me and give me courage, Gabrielle.
If there is a gratitude pile-on for this post I’m here for it. This is the best statement I have ever had the pleasure of reading on any blog, ever. Gabby, you have my fathomless respect. I’m going to stop this comment as I’ll tumble over my words and they feel inadequate, but you make me hopeful that more like you will take a stand. Thank you And I’m sharing the shit out of your post.
You nailed it!!! Thank you for saying all of this!
So grateful for your intelligence and courage. Thank you for this. It made me feel less alone.
This is exactly how I have felt for the past 4 years. It has broken my heart to lose respect for my parents, some friends and other family members. How can I respect someone aligned with those beliefs? It has upended my life and shaken me to my core. I so appreciate your thoughtful words and hope it opens peoples eyes to realize that we see them for who they really are. Thank you!
Thank you! It drives me nuts when people are afraid to take a stand, ESPECIALLY about Trump.Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I do not support Trump and will not be voting for him, but I think this post is too extreme and the opposite of inclusive.
At what point do we have to include people if they are actively harming others? This reminds me of the paradox of tolerance. Being tolerant does not mean you have to tolerate intolerance. In fact, I often find that GOP followers will weaponize things like inclusion and tolerance to make a case that liberals are hypocrites when they are not inclusive and tolerant of hate and harm, and they do so to get away with actions that harm others. I call BS on that line of thinking.
Two things I’m thinking about after processing your post Gabby and reading the comments. First is an article entitled “Fascism Anyone?” written in 2003 by Dr. Lawrence Britt that my 17 year old daughter shared with me. He listed 14 characteristics of a fascism regime and the Trump presidency embodies every. single. one of them.
Second is the oft-quoted poem by Martin Niemoller which is displayed at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, “First they came…:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
We are there. We have talked to our children about how the Germans were complicit, the South Africans were complicit, the non-slave owning Northern whites were complicit. We cannot be complicit and have history look back at us the same way. There are certain views and behaviors which go against the very moral fiber of humanity and we must condemn them now.
This is so brilliantly written. So accurate and on target. I sincerely thank you for this article!
Thank you for posting this poem Andrea. It is so relevant.
Wow! I do not always agree with other topics you’ve written about but I have respected your right to have them. I’m also not your target audience (long time Jewish Democrat). But wow! I very much respect & admire your courage in putting this opinion out in public. You don’t have to & will probably get a lot of grief about it.
I almost never comment online, but I must say thank you! You eloquently expressed exactly how I feel.
We think it, you always manage to articulate it so very well. Thank you, always.
[Edited to remove total nonsense.]
Michelle, I only hope that despite your ‘teachings’ your daughter grows up to be a critically thinking, informed human being who knows better than to ‘respect’, aka be complicit with, racism, ignorance, bigotry and fascism. I grew up in a part of the world torn apart by the Holocaust and by communism and I’m ashamed of those who ‘respected’ and did nothing, said nothing, and even worse, contributed to the system of evil. Living here in the US I am horrified by the destruction of humanity happening around me now. I’m proud of Gabby for speaking up and hope you seriously reconsider your passive support for the wrong side of history.
I really liked you before this tweet. Now, I really love you! Much respect! I couldn’t have said it better how I feel. Thank you for being a strong intelligent woman who is brave enough to stand up for decent people.
Would you respond this decisively if the Trump supporter was Ralph or Maude or. . . ?
(Please know that this question is genuine and coming from a sincerely searching for answers place).
Yeah, right? That could happen. I was raised in a super liberal home and now am a conservative born again Christian. My life is so much more stable now, but my mom and I love each other so much we will never allow that to divide us. We refuse to talk about it to save our relationship. We have too much else in
common. She would never shun me , but I guess Gaby would her kids … if she sticks to this mantra
Oh, and I attend a church that’s 30% black 30% Hispanic And it’s beautiful
so please don’t call me a racist
E/Emily/A/Em/Anonymous, stop commenting here. You have a history of writing rude comments under all of these names. I don’t make content for you and you are not welcome here.
Robyn, once your children reach adulthood, they have control of the relationship with you. As parents, you no longer really get a say. They get to decide how often they will talk with you, and how often they will see you. You can makes plans to see them, or set a weekly family call, but they can choose not to participate (and if you have a crappy relationship, they probably will choose not to participate). They are adults.
If Ralph or Maude (or Olive who is also an adult) did a 180 and decided they were supporting Trump, they would still know what my beliefs are and would get to decide how often they wanted to interact with me.