December 22, 2016
In this holiday season, I’m looking for silver bells and silver linings. Barring a half dozen dead hookers being found in a closet in Trump Tower, this practical joke on America is going to be sworn in as president on January 20th. The educator in me wants to figure out how this is a “teachable moment.” How can we glean some value from watching the United States jump the shark?
As a feminist scholar, there’s a game I play in the classroom when trying to reveal the nature of cultural power imbalances. It’s called, “Put the Stiletto on the Other Foot.” If you want to find out of something might be sexist, flip the sexes and see how plausible it might be. Would there be much a debate about abortion if men got pregnant? What if men were evaluated primarily on their looks instead of their acts? Hey, how about if sorority houses were known for sexually assaulting male students? What if all the men in congress dyed their grey hair and the women in congress didn’t? We could go on and on.
One of the best examples of this was during the Trump-Clinton contest. A meme went around that asked what the media chat would be Hillary Clinton had five children with three different men? What if Hillary Clinton bragged about grabbing men’s penises and moving on them without restraint? What if Hillary Clinton walked into the dressing rooms to catch boys naked because she owned the contest they were in? Can you imagine?
The point is that there’s an ancient Affirmative Action program called patriarchy that gives men a lot more latitude for bad behavior. Just like our black president had to be the perfect scandal-free executive and it still wasn’t enough, women have to meet a standard far above their male colleagues. On the surface, there should have been no choice between an overly-qualified states-person and a ham-fisted, morally challenged (at best) buffoon. But one was female and held to a completely different and unrealistic standard. Welcome to the world of women.
So, for the next four years, every time Trump gets a pass at something that Hillary Clinton (or any other woman, for that matter) would have been raked over the coals for, let’s all shout, “There’s the gender card!”
Much was written during the campaign about the sexist double standard in evaluating the candidates. This includes Trump’s countless and daily (hourly?) lies while castigating everyone else as a liar. “Lyin’ Ted,” “Crooked Hillary.” How did he pull it off? If she called him on his shit, she was instantly labeled a “bitch.” It was a no-win situation, invented long before Mr. Trump came along. Smile, honey, but not too much.
The campaign is over. The Russians, I mean, Trump won. But the shit show is just starting. The bar for both Donald and Melania has been dropped to the sub-basement by the droogs that voted for him and continued to support him even after he told them to their faces that 90% of what he said at his rallies was complete bullshit. “Yeah! Huh? Yeah! Drain the swamp!”
The Stiletto on the Other Foot game has lots of other applications, race being the most obvious one. This time imagine if Obama had five kids with three different women and bragged about sexually assaulting women and then tried to write it off as “locker talk.” These mental games often allow folks to get creative. There’s a clever 1995 film called White Man’s Burden, starring Harry Belafonte and John Travolta. It imagines an alternative America where black and white positions in society are switched. The movie bombed. Just too much to process I guess.
I’ve been thinking lately what would being said right now if Trump was Jewish. With all his “conflicts of interests,” pay-for-play tactics, insider trading positioning, and cabinet filled with Goldman Sachs loyalists, he would be viewed as the worst stereotype of the Jew. As it is, his neo-Nazi (alt-right) followers haven’t even noticed. It’s good to be the king!
I imagine we’ll have a chance to play this game every day for the next four years (unless he quits because people stop believing his “just trust me” mantra). The silver lining here is that it should awake a whole new generation of feminists who start telling the men in their lives, “Don’t think you can get away with it just because Trump can.” Then the next question should be, “And why can he get away with it if you can’t?” Donald Trump is the poster boy for white male privilege and he’s going to exalt that to his dying day. He’s clueless. His presidency will do more to discredit unchecked male power than all the Women’s Studies classes in the world.
Watching the Wheels 
On Thu, Dec 22, 2016 at 9:27 AM Watching the Wheels wrote:
> > Webster’s could use Trump in the usage sentence under the definition of > “hypocrite.” > > > > Randy Blazak posted: “December 22, 2016 > > In this holiday season, I’m looking for silver bells and silver linings. > Barring a half dozen dead hookers being found in a closet in Trump Tower, > this practical joke on America is going to be sworn in as president on > January 20th. The ” > > > > > > > > > >
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Ya know Mr. Randy Blazak, I’m wanting to know if you are a real educator or a fake educator who has issues with the sexes and common sense. Calling Mr. Trump a ‘joke’ on the American people is an absurdity. The man is highly educated, with a high IQ, doesn’t flaunt it, he’s an extremely successful businessman, and well liked by people, a super negotiator, and guess by your standards his biggest fault may be that he tells it like it is. He doesn’t hold back. He tells it like he sees it which is exactly how I grew up and talked to people all my life. Only with the help of successful business people, good friends, caring friends, as I got older I learned how to do and talk the way I do only with some tactfulness. Since we are all human beings, and not God (assume you believe in God) someone greater than yourself, we all are prone to making mistakes in life. We do however, learn to take responsibility for ourselves and what we do, and be accountable. This is also what Donald Trump does. He has written quite a few very successful books which are truths vs the mockery of life that Obama has written and flopped about his own life,and Hillary has written and flopped with.
There is absolutely nothing ‘sexist’ about being proud of one’s daughter and saying so by telling others how beautiful she is. She is beautiful and in the eyes of most men and women, or should I say Fathers and Mothers, to them their children whether they be daughters or sons, are beautiful and/or handsome. You have a problem with how Mr. Trump expresses his love and admiration for his daughter. If I had a son who was very good looking, I would probably say the same thing only that I would say something to the effect of ‘If he wasn’t my son, I’d be dating him’. He’s such a good looking boy or man. I’ve heard others saying similar statements about their children and no one ever thinking it being sexist unless they were prudes and thinking highly of themselves.
As far as turning things around, I’ve been using that strategy on people (progressive liberals) to make a point for a very long time, and especially during this particular election cycle. It amazes me that the Democrats, progressive liberals, give Hillary a pass on murder, lying, fraud, satanism, ignorance, arrogance, infidelity, misuse of money, and much much more. Lying has become part of her demeanor and she’s so used to it she believes her own lies as truths. Her daughter wears an upside down cross. She ran as a woman – period end of statement. Didn’t run as an individual who actually cared about the people of America wanting to make things better, but strictly because she is a woman and she wanted / needed to out do her husband who had many many mistresses, and affairs even while in the White House and it was overlooked. He was even impeached and still he didn’t honor the law but laughed at by staying on as President. What does that teach our young people Mr Blazak. What does either Clinton teach our young people. How to lie and get away with it; how to murder people fighting for our country and getting away with it; pretending to have a ‘charitable foundation’ where the money is laundered and used for personal use; how to threaten people into doing their bidding. Been following the Clintons for years. She was fired from the law firm she worked at for lying. People here in Arizona have proven without a shadow of a doubt that Obama has been a false president for the past 8 years. People go into government positions, Senators, Congressman, and President without much money to their name, (some of them) and then come out of their respective offices millionaires. How does that happen sir. Guess stealing is ok as well. When the Clintons left the White House they also left with a lot of items from the White House that weren’t theirs. They were made to give some of it back, but in essence they are also thieves. They supposed to be called ‘souvenirs”?
There has always been the male/female fight going on for years. The ‘inequality’ in the sexes, races, and religions. It’s called prejudice. Things are ok for males to do and say but not for females; things are ok to be done and said if you are this religion, but not this religion, men can walk around with their chest bare but if a woman does it, it nudity and wrong – that’s just a fact of life. Woman were given the gift of life; men were given the gift of women to bear their children. If you read the Bible, it was done actually as not a blessing but a curse for sinning. But out of that sin and curse was given something beautiful – life. A child to love and nurture. Then man steps in and decides it’s okay to murder a child – called abortion. Don’t want to be pregant, not accountable for one’s own actions, so let’s kill the unborn child and get rid of it. The worst one being Partial birth abortion. The child is actually born, a living breathing being, and then killed, bludgeoning it’s head, shoving a sharp instrument into it’s head – that’s pure murder of which Hillary was totally for. The poor black woman have been led to believe that this and the Planned Parenthood is a good thing and not being told that Margaret Sanger, was actually wanting to eliminate the black race so she started Planned parenthood and took advantage of the poor black women. Many many blacks have finally gotten educated on this and know this truth now. Talk about ‘Sexist’, ‘Racist’.
Where is your education sir? Is it segregated like all your other thinking and beliefs? One sided vs researching all sides to come up with a common sense approach to a subject and discussion. I’m not the most highly educated, reason I do a lot of research on a subject so I do get educated. I took some college classes (psychology, art) but am High School graduate A-B sometimes C student (depending on the class – if I liked it or not). Pretty standard for majority of the population. I do know, and associate with a lot of highly educated college educated friends but they aren’t arrogant and self-centered like other I also know. Have you ever heard the saying – watch what/who you’re pointing at because there are 3 fingers pointing back at you? Speak to others as you would want them to speak back to you. Speak facts only; be able to back up what you say.
Just want to voice my ‘opinion’ on your subject. Majority of real Conservatives actually think and believe as I do so we are not the cruel, uneducated, uncaring people you make us out to be. Look back at your own Party and how it lives, what it says, and actually does then rethink what you’re saying. Read a lot of self-help books, psychology books, success stories to read where those successful people came from and how they got where they are. Maybe you’ll change your mind on who you think we all are.
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Everything you say here shows your hypocritical ignorance and lies and makes me puke. A curse for sinning? Puking goes double for your sick God that punishes everyone for the supposed actions of one. That’s pure malicious evil. No wonder you’re so appallingly twisted and your outlook is so perverted, just look at what you believe. No wonder this country is so fucked up, it’s people like you. Thanks a lot for fostering on the rest of us this grotesque orange crotch grabbing turd and invoking your sick God while you do it, because of course your God would nod along approvingly. Meanwhile you demand that we are just supposed to “understand” judgmental assholes like you . No. No way. Not on your goddamned life.
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Pffft. **** foisting ***. Not fostering.
Only “family values” Christians would handwave away Trump’s obscene behavior towards his daughter. The pictures of her all draped over him – disgusting. Oh wait, this is standard behavior for priests and Christian Youth pastors, so of course sexual overtones towards children are normal to her friends and people have said that to this commenter that they would date their children. The only person I ever heard say that about his child was President Elect Crotch Grabber. Yep, that’s “real Conservatism” alright.
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You may speak against God, but if you really look at the Bible, you’ll find that it is more than just a book with words and stories. It is a book of fulfilled prophecies. The Bible has been around for over a millennia. Here are some prophecies that has come true:
1) Israel will prevail over its enemies
This happened when Israel became a recognized country in 1948. In Isaiah 41:12-14, the prophet said God would help Israel during times of conflict with enemies (if the people have faith in God). Isaiah said this during a time when the northern kingdom of Israel had already been conquered by the Assyrian Empire. And the southern kingdom, Judah, was about to be conquered by Babylon. (The Bible explains that Israel and Judah lost their independence because so many of the residents had turned to false religions). But, since 1948 when Israel was re-established, Israel has been attacked by much-larger countries. And Israel has prevailed in each of those attacks. This prophecy has found partial fulfillment; Christian scholars believe that a time will come when all of Israel’s enemies are destroyed.
2) Jerusalem would become the world’s most important religious site. In Micah 4:1, the prophet said that the Temple mount in Jerusalem would become the focal point of the world. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. But, it is interesting to note that Jerusalem is, and has been for centuries, the world’s most important religious site. Christians and Jews regard the city as the world’s most important, and Christians and Jews comprise about one-third of the world’s population. No other city in the world is a religious focal point to as many people.
3) Egypt would never again rule over other nations. In Ezekiel 29:15, the prophet says that Egypt would recover from a desolation (perhaps Babylon’s attack about 2600 years ago), but that it would never again rule over other nations. Up until the time of Ezekiel, Egypt had been a world power for centuries, dominating many nations, including Israel. But for most of the past 2500 years, Egypt has been controlled by foreign powers, including the Romans, Ottomans and Europeans. Today, Egypt is an independent nation again. In 1948, 1967 and 1973, Egypt tried to dominate Israel but was unsuccessful each time, despite the fact that Egypt is 10 times larger than Israel. Since the time of Ezekiel, Egypt no longer rules over other nations.
These are 3 examples of MANY Biblical prophecies. These are words from God through men. You may curse God for everything, but if you study the Bible, you’ll find that everything happening in our world today is coming true. The Bible speaks of wars, famine, earthquakes, and poverty. But for those who believe in God, will have an everlasting life in Heaven. I pray that God touches you in a mighty way.
When you take your final breath, you’ll stand before God. On that day, every tongue will speak truth. For those who are believers will be welcomed into the Gates of Heaven. Like you, I was once an angry person (not saying you are) who cursed God, was against all Islam, and filled with bitterness. I was once a student of Randy, and he can tell you how much I disregarded all of them. Today, I’m not that person anymore. I don’t see a race, sex, or culture as my enemy. Instead, I see them as my brother/sister. I pray for those who don’t believe. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
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Sorry Brian, I’m not “angry at gawd”, I’m just sick to death of one person claiming the old and new testaments are histories with their gawd raining down curses on punishment on innocent girls for the act of one and I’m expected to call that “just and moral” when in the real world it would be considered completely and utterly immoral. Yet in the supernatural world of prophesies, it’s good and great that girls are just written off as cursed just for being born girls. Then you come along with the big reveal that the bible prophesies wars, famine, earthquakes, poverty, and redrawn borders and empires rising and falling. Wow, what a stretch, but at least it makes all that cursing acceptable. Then you try to get me to buy in to your Big Book of Magic with your Christian “I was once like you, now look at me” sales pitch. The very same one used by multilevel marketing scams. Honestly, you just can’t make this stuff up.
The very idea of saved vs unsaved, the whole eternal sorting process based on the limited thoughtcrime of not “believing” and thus not being “saved” (and it’s fruitless to go into what that even means since no 2 Christians even agree on it, yet somehow I’m expected to just “believe”) is the most immoral, monstrous and indecent doctrine of the new testament and Christianity.
“Like you, I was once an angry person (not saying you are)”. Come on Brian, you just did and then with zero self reflection denied you did. Looks like you’ll say pretty much anything.
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GREAT PIECE! you got the situation right on the mark. WELL DONE !!
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There’s something I don’t understand. I heard many times if you don’t like or support Obama, you’re racist. Now, if you don’t like or support Hillary Clinton, your a sexist and a racist. I’m sorry, but it was the house Democrats who voted to keep slavery before it was abolished by the Republicans.
Yes, there are people who do take things to extreme levels. Take religion as a good example. The KKK/racist groups are to Christians as Jihad radicalism is to Islam. So rather than pointing the finger at everyone calling them a racist, sexist, and anything else that ends in ist, stop and ask yourself this question, “Am I really doing anything good by pointing, yelling, and shaming?” How did you feel when your parents or whoever else did that to you? It doesn’t resolve anything.
I don’t need to say anything else about it because someone already said it, but what about Bill Clinton and his sex scandals while SERVING AS PRESIDENT? Did liberals forget about it or coincidentally ignore it? What’s the difference between Bill and Donald? Bill was caught in the White House and Trump was caught saying things with a hot mic. All I’m saying is, before you cast judgement (which its not our job, place, duty, or responsibility because we aren’t a judge), think about the actions of those who you hold high on a pedestal.
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As I was browsing online, I came across something that I thought was interesting. There’s a restaurant that put up a sign that said, “if you voted for Trump, you can’t eat here. No nazis.” This shows how immature people are. Will anything happen to them? Probably not. If nothing happens to them, then the ruling against the baker for refusing to bake a cake for their same sex wedding should be overturned. Saying a certain group of people can’t go there because of who they voted for is indeed discrimination. But let me guess, I’m missing the point and itsa not discrimination?
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Got it. We have to love Nazis now. If you don’t, you’re “immature” and you’re discriminating. What whining. But it’s so hilarious coming from someone who most likely goes home every night and bellyaches about “political correctness”.
Yeah, so you think that being gay is a “choice”, just like who you choose to vote for so it’s totes the same as voting for a man who wanted to execute black teenagers and even after all the evidence has exonerated them STILL thinks they’re just guilty of SOMETHING, he just knows it somehow, they were in a park after all. Therefore they must be punished, better yet, killed. And you want everyone to kneel down and kiss your feet for it.
“I’m sorry, but it was the house Democrats who voted to keep slavery before it was abolished by the Republicans.”
And, if you are that truly committed to the concept that the Democrat and Republican parties are so immutable and have been so stagnant the last 150 years that absolutely nothing has changed, then why not the next time you see someone fly the Confederate flag of celebrating their secession and treason, tell them how much you admire them for embracing their Democratic heritage. I hope you have your Obamacare after that.
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I didn’t know Nazis were still around. All this time, I thought the Nazi regime fell in May 1945. Thank you for educating me. There’s something about me I don’t tell people because I’m not proud of it, but I have family that’s from Selma, Alabama. Yes, my family were once upon a time slave owners. I’m not proud of that at all. Actually, I prefer to renounce that part of my ancestry because what they did was wrong.
Fast forward to today, people still take on slavery like it still happens. Yes, racism is still a problem. Morgan Freeman once said, “The only way to beat racism is to not talk about it.” Everywhere you go, it’s race this and race that, you’re white so that makes you racist.
To be honest, the reason we are a country so divided is because of mainstream media. If you take them out, it could be something different. It doesn’t matter if it’s liberal or conservative media, there’s always going to be pieces left out of pieces that’ll be fluffed.
And for the record, I don’t need Obamacare because my health care is much better than that. I’m proud to say that I am truly part of the 1% club. That means, I volunteered to served my country, to fight for my country, and come home wounded for my county only to have my country take care of me after my years of true dedicated service. I loved the military because it wasn’t about race, it was about brotherhood and knowing the man to your right and left would watch your back. Outside of the military, it’s a free for all. Everyone fighting for a change, but there’s no leadership. Colin Kaepernick all the other disrespectful athletes is a perfect example.
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Hi, I don’t agree with everything you said here, but I totally appreciate how personal it is, thank you for sharing that, and am grateful for what I perceive as your less hostile and accusatory tone. We need more like this, thank you. You showed us how it’s done.
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