Warren clapped and laughed at the Pocahantas jab the other night. What was that all about?
AFAICT, it’s because he said “Pocahontas says yes,” and she was responding to the “says yes” part. “I was applauding his statement that the United States has given aid to Ukraine,” she explained.
I was really hoping she - or someone else - woulda shouted out, “How dare you!” when he used such a blatantly offensive term intended to be derogatory, in what ought to be an august setting.
No - he wouldn’t change a bit. But if he is going to call Warren Pocahantas, why oughtn’t he say, “Someone remove that uppity crippled n___” about Green?
Don’t let bullies get under your skin. it empowers them. Laugh along with them, and they feel weaker and often leave you alone. Because the point was to make you feel horrible.
It isn’t as if Liz Warren has been passive; unlike a majority of Congressional Democrats, she is one of the about a dozen making real noise and calling out the egregious undermining of critical agencies and outright fraud being committed by DOGE and Trump’s prospective Cabinet nominees. If there were merit in making a spectacle of being called ‘Pocahontas’ she would. But while Trump is so thin-skinned that if anyone even mispronounced his name he would pout or throw a fit, Warren distinguishes herself by taking the childish insult and blowing it off while taking the accusation that she supports Ukraine as a badge of honor.
Stranger
I disagree. Not sure this is an instance where “being the bigger person/taking the hig road” is preferable.
This was a very public situation. The insult was far from the worst thing Trump said. But a very directed comment pointing out how inappropriate Trump’s insult was would have garnered outsized attention from different audiences than the folk who pay attention to her routine professional efforts. Force the fuckers to explain why it is appropriate to use a Native American name as an intended insult. And force their fucked up supporters to acknowledge to themselves, “Yeah, I’m good with that.”
Folk are going to have to decide which specific instances are appropriate for them to speak up to power. IMO, this was one such situation where any risk/cost was clearly outweighed by potential benefit.
If you did a shot every time Trump uses a racist epithet or insult belittling some marginalized group…you’d die of alcohol poisoning after ten minutes of watching him talk. And frankly, protesting that kind of baiting behavior is just what his base, and even people adjacent to his base, love and adore. They think it is funny when he can “own the libs” by throwing a few verbal sticks and stones, and they think it makes him look powerful even though he’s a weak and pathetic loser for having to resort to some tactics in lieu of displaying a command of actual rhetoric.
Stranger
We disagree here. Which is fine. I sorta think of it as instances if someone tells an off-color joke in my presence. I have to decide, do I ignore it, or do I tell them I do not approve.
Responding in THIS instance in no way equates with responding “every time.”
We can certainly agree to disagree, but I’ll just note that the entire point of this performance of power (which is what it was, with the cheering and chanting) was to pander to Trump’s MAGA base by outraging Democrats. This is a classic move from the fascist playbook in demonstrating power by making your opponents visibly engaged and then showing how ineffectual they are to actually do anything to stop you. Rep. Green made a great show of his legitimate disgust but he also got escorted away in front of openly grinning Republicans (I couldn’t stop thinking how Mike Johnson would look with a few teeth missing) and the Sergeant at Arms literally making a “You’re Out!” baseball hand sign. What message does that send?
Stranger