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Thumping Trump


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Well, social media is all a-twitter over the trending topic fueled by actress Meryl Streep's politicizing her acceptance speech at Sunday's televised Golden Globe's ceremony where she was being honored with a Life-time Achievement Award. Without mentioning his name, she called out Donald Trump for the incident where he made fun of a disabled NY Times reporter during his campaign, saying she was appalled that such a man was about to take office as president. Naturally the room, which was filled with Hollywood's liberal community, was in accord except for a few notable outsiders like Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn whose stricken faces were panned in on by the TV cameras. 

Of course the on-line debate about this is divided along party lines, and Trump supporters are saying Streep was out of line, as they become increasing frustrated because Dems won't concede Trump's victory and give him the respect they think he deserves. Meanwhile, Liberals are full of praise for what they considered a courageous gesture on Streep's part and are lambasting and lampooning Trump. Predictably, he took to Twitter to whine about Streep being an overrated actress and branded her as a Hillary groupie before denying her accusation about what had actually been captured on tape.  All of which exposes him as the lying scoundrel that he is, and adds to his lack of credibility.  

 I'm glad Meryl defied protocol and took advantage of her platform to take a dig at Trump who is the one that has set the tone with his disregard for tradition, and his ego has proved to be an Achilles heel that provides a target for arrows to wound. In these crazy times anything goes and thanks to the Internet, people have at their finger tips the power to use mockery as a weapon.  Just like terrorists, tweeters can do great damage by plowing into the Trump Tower of pride, making him the object of the ridicule that hurts his feelings.:D 

Maybe Progressives won't make much of a dent in the Republican fortress, but they do stand a chance of getting the last laugh.   :lol:

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Progressives have twitter and Trump has the White House. I think Trump has the last laugh and he will be laughing all the way to the bank. 

We dominate making jokes on Twitter and they have the presidency, the Senate , and the House of Representatives. 

Sure we can dog the president at these inconsequential award shows or ridicule him on Twitter but these actions are of no consequence. 

If we've learned anything from the last presidential campaign this type of thing just makes Trump stronger with his base, and fuels his popularity.

In my world the Golden Globes mean less than nothing. Did any black people win? Since I am online I did catch wind of Meryl Streep's speech berating trump. But honestly I have zero interest in anything Meryl Streep has to say. That is not to say that she does not have something of interest to say I just spend my time listening to others.

I fully appreciate this makes me an outlier in terms of interest in celebrity and pop culture but as I've gotten older, this stuff interests me increasingly less.

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Yes, black people won performance awards and the black movie "Moonlight" won for best picture of the year and, yes, you are guilty of dismissing and ignoring the pop culture that wields a lot of influence on current events as opposed to the YouTube videos from years back that you prefer, not to mention that even PBS would acknowledge the significant role that pop culture plays in society where celebs often have as much of substance to say as wind bag politicians. But continue to wear the blinders that hinder a broad scope of awareness.:P;)

The whole point of my post was to say that little things can count when you don't have big guns.  Tweeter-addict Trump is such a petty, thin-skinned creep that no matter how much power he commands, ridiculing him still gets under his skin, still drives him to respond with the stupid answers that expose to the world what a pouting liar he is. He is affected more by the criticism of his enemies than the approval of his fan base and that is not to be taken lightly.  .  

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I don't believe Hollywood is THAT liberal.
It's ran by rich, powerful, egotistical White people (regardless of their religious affiliation).
Most of the negative racial stereotypes that saturate this society is fueled by Hollywood.

Infact, I think we need to establish clearly what it means to be a "liberal"

I'm seeing too many wealthy, snobbish, people with elitest mentalities who are just as closed minded and almost as racist as any redneck except for their one or two little nitches of concern like being pro-environment, or the right for a woman to have an abortion
being thrown into the "liberal" category .

Liberal used to mean being open minded and believing in fairness to women and Black people.
Now any fool who smokes weed on a consistent basis is considered a leftist.

Things have gotten so confusing and convoluted in this nation that entire neighborhoods of poor and working class people....if it's mostly White....are identifying themselves as "conservative" when they have absolutely nothing in common with the rich businessmen who operate through the Republican Party.
Meanwhile most wealthy suburbs are full of White people who are vegan, do yoga, and are environmentally conscience and call themselves "liberal" but STILL hold to traditional values like marriage, stay-at-home parenting, and even have negative views about Black people and really don't want them living next door to them.

Really........

Take a stroll through your average Whole Foods store and most of the people who shop there will be  labled as "liberal" even though most tend to be wealthy, snobbish, and not fond of Black people.

I think we should either have clear definition of what liberalism is so that it can't keep switching around and getting convoluted generation after generation.

And don't get me started on the term "Progressive"........

If people want to see a REAL Progressive in action, they should study the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Not these elitist snobs in suits and ties who are just as conservative as their Republican counterpart but may not be quite as ruthless.

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Cynique I'm completely aware of how the social media-fueled pop culture dominates our society.  I'm also aware if how our celebrity obsessed, shallow culture distorts current events.  I do my best to opt out of this simply because I also recognize how destructive it as been to both our culture and even our political process.  I think we can both agree that a country feed on tweets, and reaction to those tweets, is the very thing that put Trump, a profoundly unqualified candidate, into the white house.

So no, I don't think my lack of focus on pop culture limits my perspective I think it broadens it.  Indeed those old youtube videos, and the new ones, are perhaps the best thing on the internet.  I would trade all the rest of social media for youtube.  But again, that is just me... the book slinging raceman--an extreme outlier ;-)

And sure at the rate we are going all politicians will be on par with celebrities; indeed we are seeing them become one and the same.

Pioneer, those terms, left, conservative, right, and progressive are virtually meaningless.  Black in the south, for example, tend to be very conservative, because of their Christian sensibilities, but they vote overwhelming democrat--why?  Many poor white people voted for Trump--obviously against their best interests--why?

As an aside, a Whole Foods will be opening in Harlem this year, on 125th St and Malcolm X Blvd.  I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods. So I have no idea what those people think of themselves--other than wealthy. 

Interestingly, I leave my neighborhood (Harlem) to go white neighborhoods to shop where the deals are better.  Man, even cocktails in many Harlem Restaurants cost $16 or more.  There are better deals on drinks in midtown Manhattan--seriously!

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@Pioneer1 Liberal and Conservative philosophies actually embody a broad spectrum that runs the gamut from moderate to extreme views. Most people are probably somewhere around the middle. I think you are resorting to stereotypes in your characterizations of Liberals and Progressives. And smoking weed nowadays has nothing to do with one's politics. Hollywood is representative of people who identify themselves as those who support liberal causes.They may not be activists but they give lip service,  show concern for the underdog of their choice and contribute money to help those toiling in the trenches. Yes, this is superficial but the vast majority of movie stars backed the liberal standard bearer Hillary Clinton much to the chagrin of those who huddled under the conservative banner sulking about being ridiculed and having political correctness thrust upon them.

 Women and Blacks, however, are never going to completely prevail in making their cases because, as in every industry, money is the bottom line. And white men of any leaning have no interest in sharing their power.

@TroyBeing an audience for the pop culture sideshow is amusing if nothing else and at this point, my sense of humor is what sustains me. I regularly watch Family Feud hosted by Steve Harvey, just to laugh at how stupid the average person can be. I find myself not taking anything very serious any more. I didn't even bother to watch Obama's farewell speech last night. Bye, Barack. I'm just here chuckling to and at myself, shaking my head at the absurdity that has come to define America. 

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Guest Alexis Taylor

In my opinion, Meryl Streep was right and I am glad she stood her ground and voiced her opinion. People think that celebrities shouldn't get involved in politics and that they need to just focus on their careers. But my question is didn't a celebrity win an election? and also didn't a reality show win the election? President Trump's job isn't to act out like a child every time somebody says something about him. That is life people are going to talk about you. People talked about President Obama and they are still talking about him but you don't hear about him having countless rants on twitter because he has more valuable things to do with his time than spend worrying about what everyone thinks about him. This isn't a good look for America and it's sad that it came to this point.

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The Meryl Streep speech reminds me of the Madonna Speech. Both woman are part of an two elite groups. Millionaires and Celebrities. Celebrities are our royalty. Celeberity worship is not new. I bet you can name more celebrities from one decade than politicians in any 100 year period. 

 

Babe Ruth justified making more money than the President of The U.S. by saying that he had a better year than the President. Can you name a movie where Meryl Streep had  black co star. 

There was an article about when will the disenfranchised white male voter realise that Trump sold them out. What about the othe disenfranchised people. Donald Trump wants to be noticed and maybe even Loved and respected by the public. That's not likely to happen. Since he is not a likeable guy. In my mins eye I can see his son Barron asking him some brutally honest  questions, that Trump won't have answers. And on that day Donald Trump will be a broken man. Trump is the most important President ever, and his rhetoric will spawn unlikely alliances.

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If forgot one to mention one of thing that has completely blown my mind.  The majority of white women voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton

Somebody, please explain to me how in the hell THAT could possibly happen.  I know I put a lot of blame of the negative impact of social media including killing journalism, but there has to be more to it.

And while I did not listen to Streep's rant, I'm sure offered no explanation.  I wonder what Susan B. Anthony would think about how white women has used their right to vote. If white women were not allowed to vote it is possible Hillary would have won the election.

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I'd say one reason would be that a lot of married white women were luke warm about the way she handled her husband's infidelity.  Also, women in general are not particularly supportive of each other because of their inbred cattiness, and some white female supporters of Bernie were unforgiving over how she usurped him. Then there were the obedient wives of all the chauvinistic males who supported Trump, - women who voted the way their husbands did. But, who knows? 

 Black women didn't have a lot of issues when voting for Hillary  and had no problem thinking a woman would be good at heading up things because this is a role they have been thrust into all of their lives. 

 

 

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The "cattiness" is something I always heard applied to Black women.  It is interesting to consider it in this context.

Given the number of unfaithful men, I can't image women, collectively, holding this against Hillary.

True, Hillary squashed Bernie, but I can't image anyone who supported Bernie actually casting a vote for Trump. 

Are there still women left who follow their husbands to the extent that they would vote for Trump because their husbands told them to?  Obviously, these men would be Trumper supporters and obviously, they are evangelicals and wife abusers;)

Maybe what we are witnessing is a backlash.  Women who want things the way they used to be, before they had to go out and work a crappy job to support an existence marginally above subsistence.

53% percent of white women voted for the Donald. While I previously played down the role of racism in this election I can't help but see as a major factor driving the white female vote.  White women were probably attracted to Trump because he "said" he was going to; get rid of the Mexicans and build a wall to keep any more from coming in; and be tough on the Mooslims.  We already know how he feels about the Blacks.

Protection from these people is more important than seeing another woman in the Whitehouse, besides they did their part tolerating 8 years of Obama right?

Make America Great Again!

 

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Yes, you could be right!  Race can never be eliminated as a factor.  But you might also consider expanding what you can "imagine".  Female Bernie supporters looking for change can't be counted out when it comes to those who voted for Trump.  And perhaps the remark reportedly made by Michelle Obama during Barack's race against Hillary,  that  "if Hillary can't manage her own husband, how's she going to manage the country" was a sentiment many white women also espoused. Submissive women, undoubtedly chosen by their sexist mates for being gullible, probably did vote the way their husbands did.  And all women are catty, but sistas might be a little more inclined to be on the side of another female who is running against a male. 

I wonder to what do white female pundits attribute Hillary's unpopularity with women of her own race?

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I pulled the stat from a NY Times article from a few weeks back.  I did not see anything that really explained this, just a recognition that a LOT more work needs to be done if women are ever going to achieve full parity wth men, and how the work of Susan B. Anthony is being undone.

Barack is arguably the smartest man to have served as president.  His personal life is essentially flawless and scandal free.  His education and academic record are impeccable.  He is a relatively handsome, physically fit, family man. His wife is brilliant in her own right.  We can debate whether Obama's political experience was adequate, but he was a state senator.  This stands in STARK contrast to Donald Trump.  Black folks aways knew we have to be twice as good to get half as much in America.

It is interesting double standard play out for white women.  In fact, one could argue Hillary was a superior candidate in 2016 than Obama was in 2008.  Sure Hillary had a lot of baggage that Obama never had time to accumulate, but Trump has loads of baggage, much more than Hillary, but the media made it seem as if it Trump's baggage was equivalent to Hillary's while completely ignoring the vastly superior level of experience Hillary holds over Trump.

We often talk about Black folks being like crabs in a barrel, but white women are even worse.  Many Black people came out to vote for Obama simply because he was Black--I was one of those voters.  White women simply would not, come out in mass, and support a woman simply because she was a woman.  I mean it is not like we are talking about a Sarah Palin...

One could argue that white women were operating on a higher principle--ignoring gender and simply voting for the best candidate.  But that defies logic given the fact Trump was the opposing candidate they selected over Hillary.

The really crazy thing is that all the Black women voted for Hillary (well 94% of them did).  I think the reason has more to do with the democratic party's lock on the Black voter than Black women allegiance to other women.  The republicans could have put Angela Davis on the ticket and Black women would have still voted democratic.

 

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Guest Enjoyed reading this segme

I enjoyed reading your comments on Hillary, whlte women and their vote, and many of your comments on various subjects you briefly touched.  I teach African American Literature at Des Moines Area Community College.  I am an anglo-saxon person who tries to help your African American men and women realize the richness of their heritage and be proud of their accomplishments and continue the heritage.  There so much to learn in the African American experience that every person should be aware about and the tremendous contribution many of these artist have contributed to American culture and society.  Keep up your great work and comments.

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Troy how many White Women were in your sample? Every Four years the American Public is asked to particpate in a Beauty pageant. The winner has the platform that most aligns with the public. Hillary comes off as more of an elitist than a Billionaire. Basket of Deplorables not smart. Trump comes across as a billionaire populist. Hillary is Hawk not afraid to send your kids to die. Donald avoided the war. Perhaps the American public is more afraid of sexual advances from Hillary than Trump.

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I don't disagree.  That line, "Perhaps the American public is more afraid of sexual advances from Hillary than Trump." was rich LOL.

BTW, the number of women was not a sample; it was the entire electorate dude.  

Honestly, I did not run the numbers.  But we do know the majority of white women voted for Trump.  If we eliminated all the votes cast by white women, it is possible that difference could have swung the election the other way.  It would not take too much heavy lifting to figure that out if that is indeed the case. 

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On 1/12/2017 at 0:34 PM, Troy said:

If forgot one to mention one of thing that has completely blown my mind.  The majority of white women voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton

and how about 13% of black men voting for Trump?  Really?

Unsurprisingly, turnout for Clinton was higher among black women than black men, with Hillary earning 94% of the female black vote (4% for Trump) and just 80% of men (13% for Trump).

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Troy Social Media is still the Medium. And it is now democratic. Also Newspapers are also the media and a free press is important. I think it will not be business as usual. And the divisiveness and greed of Trump will cause a change. People that wouldn't normally bind will be bound together. And there will be a collective purpose. In short Trump will force people GLOBALLY to form communities. You are in the midst of revolution.

 

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I hope it's a revolution that can successfully overturn the present administration. The real enemy is the Right Wing Christian Evangelicals who want to turn this country into a fascistic theocracy, with VP Pence being the power behind the throne.  I just read an article by a woman who removed herself from this underground net work that is allied with the Alt Right and Tea Party cults, and the things she had to say about how she and thousands of other children are being brainwashed by their religious fanatic parents through homeschooling, were chilling. She said they are being trained as missionaries to go out into the general population and convert people to a strict oppressive Christian way of life that is against EVERYTHING that does not comply with their narrow views which encompass white supremacy,  homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, anti-abortion and anti-global warming.

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Cynique any one who advocates their group above every other is problematic. The ame way I don't trust homophobic BLM. Or Racist Feminist. Classist Homosexuals et cetera. I am not fond of what privledge nor victim privledge that victimises the weaker. People in power don't want to give up power. And if the roles were reverse we would still be in the same position. No one wants less. Meryl Streep and Madonna are members of a few priveldge groups. 

 

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