Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Keep up the good work, Progressives!
I’ve been watching the Women’s March television coverage this morning with equal parts amusement, irritation, and confusion. I find myself thinking that the rioters of yesterday and this sea of pink “Pussyhats” today are doing more for the Conservative cause than any amount of campaigning ever could.
I personally know (and like) at least a dozen women at the march in Washington and at least twice that many at the march in Indianapolis, and I’ve had many conversations about why they’re attending these marches. The main reason given is that they’re “scared” of Trump, his policies, and his presidency. Many of them seem to believe that we’re only days away from the forced childbearing of “The Handmaid’s Tale”. The actual cause for which these women are marching is amorphous…abortion (or, as Progressives nowadays like to term it, “reproductive rights”), LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, BLM, etc. Basically, they seem to want to send the President and all of us cretins in the red states the message that we’re on the wrong side of history and that we’ll have to peel their abortion implements from their cold, dead hands
It would seem that the Progressive Left continues to misunderstand what happened on November 8th. We The People didn’t elect President Trump because we’re enamored of him personally; we voted against the constant finger-pointing, haranguing, and truly oppressive political correctness that has been ascendant in our public life since the mid-90s. We voted for the Constitution and a renewed observation of the Enumerated Powers. We voted to return to American Exceptionalism. Personally, I hope the Left continues their histrionics and shenanigans, reminding the rest of America why we voted the way we did.
Published in General
I picked up on this backlash against political correctness in posts many months before the election, particularly here and here. Notice in the latter post how one of our less than prescient contributors implied that Trump would lose as bad as McGovern did and that those of us who predicted his victory had not done our math. That comment got 20 likes. I suspect that the extent of this backlash that I just referred to has come as news to the majority of Ricochetti.
Where were these millions of women on November 8? I protest with my vote. Then I go back to work.
On Greg Gutfeld’s show last night they had a segment where Katherine Timpf and Tyrus went out and talked to people in the march. Tyrus said that half the people he talked to had not voted. Amazing.
Voting is so much less work than getting to one of these marches and spending all day there. But voting lacks the “look at me how good a person I am” quality that marching has.
Whatever you do, don’t tell these ladies that we have elections every other year.
Edit: I want these ladies where they can make the most difference: in the streets, inconveniencing people and riling up white male voters.
@Front Seat Cat, It came from the Women’s March web page … at the time, a day or so before the march, there were 19 pages of partners listed … I picked out a few names from the list that I found particularly offensive and I thought would reveal the truths about the march … but, yes there were (at that time) a full 19 pages of unacceptable organizations partnering with them.
https://www.womensmarch.com/partners/
They were probably in California. Or Massachusetts, or some liberal enclave. To be fair, many or most of them probably live in very liberal places, which may have something to do with why they didn’t vote: they knew that Hillary would win where they lived regardless of whether they voted or not. Even so, it would be best if they continued to not vote :)
If the people I know who marched in local versions of the march are representative, many participants have no idea of the vile origins of the march, or of who was really behind it. The people I hear from keep telling me it was not an anti-anything march, it was all about love and getting along. The Left is very good at getting people to go along with their agenda by hiding and/or misrepresenting their ultimate objectives.
Regarding the march, I would seriously recommend everyone interested in how these things are organized, planned, logistics, etc. visit the webpage. I found it quite impressive, very professional, all the latest tools, apps. It was well put together; and I found it a little scary. Mostly, because even on Ricochet, people seem to think that participants in this effectively anti-American protest are good folks. I agree only to ignorant.
I often have wondered how the Nazis (no, I am not name calling) were able to convince an entire country to support them. It boggled my mind. Most of my life I wondered about how an entire nation’s regular folks can be turned to evil (because I wanted to know what “signs” to look for). Now, I think I know… ignorance, and a childish need to be a part of something big.
I think many Americans don’t have a clue as to what is really happening. I have been disowned by some family members for calling them out on their effectively anti-American actions such as supporting this march, and similar nonsense.
My bottom line, if a person is going to engage in events such as this march I will more than enthusiastically share the facts about what they are doing, and if they still want to protest/engage, have at it. But I won’t help them and, we’ll both know, they can’t ever honestly claim ignorance again; instead they must live with the truth.
The week before the election I took part in a dramatized staged reading of Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. Of course, when I signed on I did not know that we weren’t doing the original script from the ’30s but rather, one that was written just last fall by a group from Berkley.
I guess you can imagine how that and the discussion panel with a packed house of primarily leftists went, afterwards. As an actor and a conservative, I’ve had my patience tested plenty here over the years but the barrage of hateful, horrible, fact-free nonsense I heard that night literally left me shaking, I was so angry.
I hadn’t warmed at all to Trump, by then. Still haven’t, really. I find him boorish and off-putting. I still do. But as God is my witness, the first thought that popped into my head as I stormed out of the theater that night was “I hope that SOB wins. If for no other reason but the shaudenfreakin‘ JOY I’m going to feel, watching these hateful people’s heads explode.”
If anything, I underestimated, first the meltdown that would ensue and second, what fun it’s been to watch. Fingers crossed there’s a third wave of celebrating when he actually manages to do a good job.
Quelle supris, kelsuprise!
We are on the same boat.
My pitiful local paper had an entire page of coverage of the Womens’ March Against Trump today.
I was intrigued by the Sympathy Womens Marches in other countries. There were Womens’ Marches Against Trump in Australia and the European capitols. They are understandable as just the usual from Leftists being Leftists.
But what is up with the march in Saudi Arabia?
There was a march in Botswana ?!?
The Associated Press reported with glee on these marches, but they had no information about what was going on in those places.
Yeah, I knew what they meant. But it just seemed especially tone-deaf.
I’d recommend having another chat with your friends who attended the Women’s March, or casting a wider net to gather more opinions. The fears of myself and my friends are that the last several decades of what we consider to be social progress in supporting the rights of women, including the right not to be sexually assaulted, will be lost. If you’ve never walked down the street at night and felt your heart drop through your stomach when you see a man, because you don’t know who he is but know that he could rape you, then you can’t truly understand why women are angry about the most powerful man in the world having been a proponent of sexual assault. I hope you will be willing to take us at our word.
Some of We The People who did not elect Trump (i.e. the 48-68% of Americans who disapprove of him, per recent favorable/unfavorable polls including from Fox) are likewise amused, irritated, and confused by folks who don’t seem to understand why we feel betrayed. For those who oppose Trump, it’s hard not to see a supporter of Trump as someone who has stated that they are *willing to tolerate* contempt for women. Can you blame us? If you voted for Trump but do not endorse the vile things he has said about women, then I’d expect to see you in the streets with a pink hat on.
@vitabrevis When the Hollywood celebrities who are outraged with Trump become outraged with Roman Polanski, let me know. When the mental and moral giants who see no problem with Whoopi Goldberg saying that what Polanski did to a 13 year old girl was not really rape, but claim to be terrified by locker room talk, why should we take them seriously?
Also Bill Clinton has been credibly accused of rape and his wife intimidated the victim into silence for many years. I don’t remember a women’s march after his election.
And there were pro-life women who wanted to march against Trump, but it was made very clear that pro-life women were not welcome at that march. To pretend that all of this is about anything other than abortion is ludicrous.
But doesn’t their hypocrisy bother you? The message they are sending is that it’s ok for men to be sexual predators as long as they support abortion. I find that much, much, much more scary than anything that Trump has said. And the same women who are outraged at Trump have never stopped celebrating Bill Clinton.
And don’t forget Nina Burleigh, who said she’d be happy to service one of our most famously randy presidents in order to keep abortion legal. I don’t recall any overly-hysterical backlash on her, claiming that she was advocating the prostitution of the female members of the press corps. It was also a female who coined the term “bimbo eruptions” as a cutesy little catch-all for any of Clinton’s conquests who spoke on record, one of whom has never wavered in her assertion that she was raped. If people like Nina Burleigh really cared that much about women’s rights not to be assaulted, maybe she’d have taken up that story instead of giving us fluff pieces like this one.
Don’t know how old you are, @vitabrevis, but I’ve been watching this nonsense build to a fever pitch for nigh-on 30 years now and I’m sick of it. I cannot take any woman seriously who would endow careless words from one man (however crass I might think that man is) with criminal intent while giving a complete pass to downright grotesque and alleged criminal behavior from another.
My definition of “assault” doesn’t take party affiliation into account.
It was a liberal temper tantrum two and a half months too late. Conservatives were not welcome in any of these marches. In the march in my hometown they were carrying signs about gun control. What does that have to do with so-called women’s issues?
Also, Trump never advocated sexual assault. He clearly implied consent (“they let me do it”), which makes Trump more polite than Bill Clinton. Welcome to Ricochet, but if you like to spew Democratic talking points you will find them challenged vociferously here.
Vita is particularly brevis when you’re a fetus in utero liberalis. Please excuse my poor Latin.
@vitabrevis I believe Trump apologized for his lewd statement. I wouldn’t want to be judged for everything that came out of my mouth 10 years ago. I was offended by what he said, but he apologized. I forgave him. If he had a history of sexually assaulting women or even disrespecting women, I might reconsider.
Speaking to my friend who attended the march in D.C., she spoke of the spirit of compassion and kindness that imbued the event. She admitted she didn’t hear the speakers, which were the opposite of compassion and kindness. I’m speaking specifically of Ashley Judd’s and Madonna’s remarks. Am I the only one who saw the hypocrisy in the outrage over Trump by celebrity women who have built careers allowing themselves to be sexually objectified?
However, I do appreciate your POV, because it explains the perspective of a marcher that I didn’t understand. It seems to me that the women who marched see themselves as potential victims of men’s will. They must reclaim some perceived power that has been denied them with Trump’s election. Trump wasn’t my candidate, but I don’t believe he denied me power. We elect mortals to office, imperfect men and women, and I’m not holding it against him. I’m granting him some grace, and I wish these so-called compassionate and kind women would as well.
Also, fear is a subjective thing. We should criticize people for being illogical or immoral, but how can we criticize them for being afraid?
Are you serious? Trump is going to roll back rights? How? Please lay out how this will happen @vitabrevis
More later, but “letting” is very much not the same thing as consenting. If someone holds a gun to my head, I let them do whatever they want. It’s easy to underestimate (1) how much power can be involved in an interaction between two people, even if there is no force involved, and (2) how strong the impulse is in all people (and maybe more in women) to freeze when thrown into a crazy situation. If both parties are not actively saying yes and meaning it, then it is assault.
Defending Roman Polanski and Bill Clinton while at the same time criticizing Trump is both illogical and immoral. I am not criticizing women who do this for being afraid; I am just saying that we should think twice before taking seriously the fears of women who have proven themselves over and over again to be both illogical and immoral. The hypocrisy and double standards at play here are not lost on the millions upon millions of women who voted for Trump, and millions more who did not vote for Trump but know hypocrisy when they see it.
I’m sure he would have elaborated on the nature of the consent that was given, but he was engaged in what he thought was a private conversation on a tabloid bus with a tabloid frat boy. Of course, why am I explaining this to you? You know this, as does the entire world. He still won. I’m sure that is painful for you.
Edit: BTW, moderators, I’d like a ruling. Was what I just did “engaging in bad faith?” or just engaging in schadenfreude? I would like it on the record that I think Vita Brevis is a liberal seminar commenter. I can’t prove it, but I sincerely suspect it. Please view my comment in that light.
Wait, I thought this wasn’t a march against Trump, but a march for women.
this is so confusing. because why they tally up the numbers of who all was “out on the street” on Saturday, every person there had their own personal agenda, or at least an agenda within an agenda.
And the Women for Life were not welcomed.
I didn’t finish my hat, I do have a scarlet pashmina, but I think I missed the party.
But “support of the basic decency towards women” does not extend to women who see unfettered abortion as damaging to women.
I’ve observed more than once this weekend regarding the left: Dissent is a right owned by the left. Conservatives need not apply.
The explicit exclusion of Women for Life is precisely the evidence for the viewpoint, along with most of the hatriol spewed by the left.