Nobody's hearts and minds are moved by performative cruelty. All fathers hope their sons will be proud of them. Tim is the luckiest father in the world. I teared up watching Gus give so much love to his dad.
I mean all I thought seeing that was hopefully one day my son and I will have that kind of relationship when he is older. I simply think the weird right do not appreciate non-transactional relationships. But most dads my age do, and I hope that is illuminating for them.
Awful, cruel, shameless, unacceptable, and sadly becoming the norm. I wasn't aware of this bullying until you wrote and shared this note. This challenges my intention to seek to understand more than to be understood. How can a political party claiming to be for family values, a large majority of whom also claim to follow Jesus of Nazareth, countenance such behavior? I can only conclude that in seeking power and dominance, MAGA extremists have completely lost touch with whatever moral grounding or basic human decency they once possessed. If there is to be any distinction among ordinary people within the MAGA movement and these extremists, it's on those people who disagree with these attacks to denounce them and the extremists who are making them. Silence is agreement. Silence is complicity.
This is the kind of stuff that really makes me want to just give up and be done with this country. So many people think this is acceptable behavior, it's unfathomable. Like Parker said, it doesn't matter whether he's neurodivergent or not, but that certainly adds another fucked-up wrinkle to everything. It's the mocking of the disabled journalist by Trump, with everyone jumping on board. The worst kinds of people.
Could be wrong, but I think the people who do this shit are a tiny minority, even within the Republican party. They're not normal, so desperate for clicks and attention that they'll say anything. Yes, Republicans could win themselves some credit as decent human beings for merely repudiating this, which they won't. But I don't despair for the country, social media puts a spotlight on the worst people in the world, the Walz family is far more representative of America than these right-wing attention-whores.
It's sad, but it's always the worst who get the most attention. Look at your local news. A big part of it is probably about crime, the criminals never have a problem getting their faces on TV, but the person who's been volunteering for years at a local food bank or volunteering the help schoolkids doesn't get a mention.
Michelle reversed her "when they go low, we go high" with her marvelous speech where she went "low" with amazing style. And the current GOP seems to have adopted "when they go low, we go much lower." Attacking a kid for showing emotion? I hope the children of these bloviators get good counseling as they wrestle with what their parents have wrought.
Here they are again, "be"ing "best". Guess Melania doesn't have a continuing platform? Or anyone else over there, either? So very Christian. I'm thinking of all the times Jesus mocked his ene--oh, wait.
[I BAWLED at that amazing moment when Gus AND Hope AND Gwen were in tears with such genuine affection and awe radiating from their faces. Finally! My America!]
Look at their comments, this isn't just a case of assholes being assholes, this is a very specific right-wing talking point: Kids today are being coddled, and are getting TOO MUCH acceptance for who they are. We see right-wingers express this sentiment most often about gender and sexual identity, but it's much broader than that. They look at a term like "neurodivergent" as dangerous political correctness.
In his shitty book JD Vance tells a story when he was a kid and mistakenly thought he was gay, his grandma gave him a good talking-to and literally set him straight. They really do believe that if more parents did like JD's grandma, we'd have far fewer gay people today.
And when we're talking about teen boys, they really get going, how boys are being "feminized" and so any public expression of emotion is suspect and cause for attacks and mockery.
It's important to understand this because I see our resident right-wing jackass is trying to "bothsides" this, and it may be possible that some liberal rando on Twitter has said mean things about Barron Trump, but what liberals DON'T do is build an entire ideology around attacking kids who are different and kids - especially boys - who display emotions in public. That bit of perverted, sick thinking is exclusively a right-wing thing.
Personally, I'm proud to live in a society that is getting more empathetic and accepting and kind. Gives me hope for the future and boy, do we need more of that.
I'm trying to think of the last time I saw a man cry in public. I'm pretty sure it was during a class in the first year of grad school, when the instructor, a Vietnam veteran, took a moment to talk about Veterans' Day. He was specifically talking about why you may seen grown (and particularly older) men crying on that day, and he started choking up himself.
I defy ANY of these right wing ghouls to say a damn thing to him about how "soft" he is.
My hope (as always) is that the people who aren’t on social media are, like me, genuinely moved by how much love there seems to be in the Walz family. Any teenagers, regardless of gender, who love their dad so much they cry out of pride are wonderful kids, and wow does America need more leaders like Tim Walz. I wish these right-wing loons knew what love was, but alas, their lives seem to be lacking.
Thank you, I've never had a Twitter account and I haven't been on Facebook in ten years, and I hope that means I have a more accurate estimate of Americans generally. I still believe the vast majority of Americans are decent, helpful people who are just trying to get by as best they can without hurting others. The people who get the most attention, unfortunately, are the absolute worst.
My observation as someone who’s been paying attention to politics since 2001: every day the Republican Party is worse than the day before. Every day the Republican Party is the worst version of themselves
Cruel, but not surprising. Conservatives have been grappling with a "crisis of masculinity" for decades and I think it lays bare the fundamental flaw of conservatism, it's a prescriptive ideology; they define the box and demand you stay in it.
"The emotional scenes also captured the attention of conservative Fox News, where hosts Martha MacCallum and Dana Perino talked about how moving it was."
Good, I'm glad to see that. Nice to know they're not all monsters. Maybe this is helping to identify which ones are monsters and which ones aren't.
Nobody's hearts and minds are moved by performative cruelty. All fathers hope their sons will be proud of them. Tim is the luckiest father in the world. I teared up watching Gus give so much love to his dad.
I mean all I thought seeing that was hopefully one day my son and I will have that kind of relationship when he is older. I simply think the weird right do not appreciate non-transactional relationships. But most dads my age do, and I hope that is illuminating for them.
"I simply think the weird right do not appreciate non-transactional relationships."
This. Right. Here.
What's in it for MEEEEEE?
Awful, cruel, shameless, unacceptable, and sadly becoming the norm. I wasn't aware of this bullying until you wrote and shared this note. This challenges my intention to seek to understand more than to be understood. How can a political party claiming to be for family values, a large majority of whom also claim to follow Jesus of Nazareth, countenance such behavior? I can only conclude that in seeking power and dominance, MAGA extremists have completely lost touch with whatever moral grounding or basic human decency they once possessed. If there is to be any distinction among ordinary people within the MAGA movement and these extremists, it's on those people who disagree with these attacks to denounce them and the extremists who are making them. Silence is agreement. Silence is complicity.
Terry Schilling absolutely needs to be fired into the sun. My god.
This is the kind of stuff that really makes me want to just give up and be done with this country. So many people think this is acceptable behavior, it's unfathomable. Like Parker said, it doesn't matter whether he's neurodivergent or not, but that certainly adds another fucked-up wrinkle to everything. It's the mocking of the disabled journalist by Trump, with everyone jumping on board. The worst kinds of people.
Could be wrong, but I think the people who do this shit are a tiny minority, even within the Republican party. They're not normal, so desperate for clicks and attention that they'll say anything. Yes, Republicans could win themselves some credit as decent human beings for merely repudiating this, which they won't. But I don't despair for the country, social media puts a spotlight on the worst people in the world, the Walz family is far more representative of America than these right-wing attention-whores.
They're a tiny minority, but they're the ones being heard. I'll stop dispairing when they're drowned out.
It's sad, but it's always the worst who get the most attention. Look at your local news. A big part of it is probably about crime, the criminals never have a problem getting their faces on TV, but the person who's been volunteering for years at a local food bank or volunteering the help schoolkids doesn't get a mention.
rat bastards each and every one
Michelle reversed her "when they go low, we go high" with her marvelous speech where she went "low" with amazing style. And the current GOP seems to have adopted "when they go low, we go much lower." Attacking a kid for showing emotion? I hope the children of these bloviators get good counseling as they wrestle with what their parents have wrought.
Here they are again, "be"ing "best". Guess Melania doesn't have a continuing platform? Or anyone else over there, either? So very Christian. I'm thinking of all the times Jesus mocked his ene--oh, wait.
[I BAWLED at that amazing moment when Gus AND Hope AND Gwen were in tears with such genuine affection and awe radiating from their faces. Finally! My America!]
Look at their comments, this isn't just a case of assholes being assholes, this is a very specific right-wing talking point: Kids today are being coddled, and are getting TOO MUCH acceptance for who they are. We see right-wingers express this sentiment most often about gender and sexual identity, but it's much broader than that. They look at a term like "neurodivergent" as dangerous political correctness.
In his shitty book JD Vance tells a story when he was a kid and mistakenly thought he was gay, his grandma gave him a good talking-to and literally set him straight. They really do believe that if more parents did like JD's grandma, we'd have far fewer gay people today.
And when we're talking about teen boys, they really get going, how boys are being "feminized" and so any public expression of emotion is suspect and cause for attacks and mockery.
It's important to understand this because I see our resident right-wing jackass is trying to "bothsides" this, and it may be possible that some liberal rando on Twitter has said mean things about Barron Trump, but what liberals DON'T do is build an entire ideology around attacking kids who are different and kids - especially boys - who display emotions in public. That bit of perverted, sick thinking is exclusively a right-wing thing.
Personally, I'm proud to live in a society that is getting more empathetic and accepting and kind. Gives me hope for the future and boy, do we need more of that.
I'm trying to think of the last time I saw a man cry in public. I'm pretty sure it was during a class in the first year of grad school, when the instructor, a Vietnam veteran, took a moment to talk about Veterans' Day. He was specifically talking about why you may seen grown (and particularly older) men crying on that day, and he started choking up himself.
I defy ANY of these right wing ghouls to say a damn thing to him about how "soft" he is.
Lots of sickos out there & it's not the Walz family.
My hope (as always) is that the people who aren’t on social media are, like me, genuinely moved by how much love there seems to be in the Walz family. Any teenagers, regardless of gender, who love their dad so much they cry out of pride are wonderful kids, and wow does America need more leaders like Tim Walz. I wish these right-wing loons knew what love was, but alas, their lives seem to be lacking.
Thank you, I've never had a Twitter account and I haven't been on Facebook in ten years, and I hope that means I have a more accurate estimate of Americans generally. I still believe the vast majority of Americans are decent, helpful people who are just trying to get by as best they can without hurting others. The people who get the most attention, unfortunately, are the absolute worst.
My observation as someone who’s been paying attention to politics since 2001: every day the Republican Party is worse than the day before. Every day the Republican Party is the worst version of themselves
Cruel, but not surprising. Conservatives have been grappling with a "crisis of masculinity" for decades and I think it lays bare the fundamental flaw of conservatism, it's a prescriptive ideology; they define the box and demand you stay in it.
They all suck, holy shit. I almost feel bad for them that they don't understand what love looks like.
"The emotional scenes also captured the attention of conservative Fox News, where hosts Martha MacCallum and Dana Perino talked about how moving it was."
Good, I'm glad to see that. Nice to know they're not all monsters. Maybe this is helping to identify which ones are monsters and which ones aren't.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/22/tim-walz-son-gus-crying
Thank you for saying all these truths and exposing the deeply warped psyche of the right wing.
And thank you for all of your writings. You identify important threads, make connections, and provide smart analysis.