Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
This morning I had breakfast—my first face-to-face meeting with a respected and valued Precinct Chair (PC) and Super Precinct Chair (SPC). I’ve been a PC since last June. However, I just became an SPC about a month ago. A native of Austin and a natural for politics, she reached out to help me in my new role. She wore the pin in the image. She gave me one, and I wore it. It said, ask me about voting.
We had a wonderful and productive time sharing our experiences mixed in with politics and strategy on how I could recruit leaders within my Super Precinct. We talked about voter registration. People must register their new address when they move or be ineligible to vote. In addition, kids turning eighteen are potential new voters to register. I was thrilled when she volunteered to do a voter registration table with me.
During the midst, a woman with an infant around two months raised her voice and referenced us as voters in a derogatory sense. With an infant in her arms, fussing, she menacingly circled our table, spewing Fox rhetoric, calling us socialist and demeaning terms.
We thought about leaving, then realized intimidation is a common practice to silence people. If voters succumbed to intimidation, this country would not be America, the land of opportunity. Trump and his mob would rule the country, and there would be chaos and violence against Black people, LGBTQ people, people living in poverty, and anyone who spoke the truth or disagreed with lies.
That woman with an infant, unhappy with how she held him, felt emboldened to provoke us for no reason. She could have triggered someone in that restaurant and jeopardized her infant’s life and everyone else.
Her behavior was on the heels of a mass shooting in Texas where the women threw themselves over two surviving children to protect them. Five people were killed, including an eight-year-old child. The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, was their neighbor and is still at large. If Republicans are pro-life, why aren’t they concerned about the lives of living children and adults? Instead, they ignore the now commonplace mass shootings and continue to stir anger, hate, and violence through Fox and right-wing media.
That woman tried to make us uncomfortable with our Democratic values of wanting a better world. She failed and eventually left.
Get informed and understand what’s going on around you. Voting makes a difference and is the only way many can make a difference.
Once more, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Travis County has an upcoming May 6 election. Early voting started and continues through May 2. Vote YES on Prop A and NO May on Prop B.
Court settlements related to police misconduct cost city taxpayers almost $20 million last year. Prop A will reduce those costs by ensuring police oversight with a strong deterrence for misconduct. Prop B will negate Prop A and allow police to continue investigating themselves without citizen oversight. For more information, visit votetravis.com
Great post, Angela — Godspeed as SPC.
(It has become commonplace at blogs such as yours that my attempt to “Like” it was met with “You and 1 other blogger like this.” — but my icon didn’t appear. Then, when I logged out and returned, there was no indication at all of my action. WTH?
I’ve just tried the same step…same result. When I post this comment, I’m going to re-do the log-out-and-return thing and see what has happened….)
Hi Bob. Thank you. What problem did you encounter?
5 minutes later: same problem. At 79 yo, I don’t like to waste my time…some robot or other “fixer” needs to intervene in order to make this blog accurate in this single regard.
I am so sorry you had problems commenting. What was the issue?
The “issue,” Angela, is that — at this very moment on this very page — the “Like this” field just below your text shows NO INDICATION that I “Like” your posting, despite now-MULTIPLE tries by me to do so. At this moment, the icon identified as “thisiskoo” is the only entry in that field, which confirms that status via the statement “One blogger likes this.”–and that “One blogger” isn’t I. I’m not going to so much as bother to try again here on this page…. (As I wrote initially above, this unresponsive/no-action situation has now been, for me, the RULE rather than some sort of EXCEPTION in most of the few blogs I frequent.) [One more observation in this by-now-surely-boring lament by me: I have learned that I can, at least occasionally, WORK AROUND the “issue” by using the “Like” field included in the email via which the/a blog comes to my inbox with partial text shown. If I click “Like” on that email screen — despite the fact that, at that point, I HAVEN’T EVEN READ THE TEXT of the blog — I am transported to the blog page, where I can duly note that my “Like,” with my icon and name, has been recorded along with my full reading of the text and, if I choose, augment my “Like” via a comment.]
Maybe all this is not worth my getting fussed-up about…but that’s part of my nature that is determinedly OCD…and, as I recently became acutely aware a couple of years ago via a “diagnosis,” is evidence of my “intense personality [on steroids]” self.
Have as good a day as possible in fascist/racist/uber-violent/at least quasi-Apartheid Amerika. More and more, I’m convinced that we’re all Palestinians now….
Hi Bob,
I am going to send your complaint to WordPress. I am upset too. It means WordPress is not delivering what I paid for. Not being able to like means fewer likes, and viewers can’t engage with my posts how they would like.
Let’s see if WordPress can identify and fix the problem.
Thanks for your being “upset,” dear Angela! I appreciate your reaching out to WP. Here again, I tried to “Like” your instant comment…and “the system” would not do what I intended it to do! I fully agree with your “Not being able to like…”: I try to make it a point, out of simple courtesy if nothing else, to “Like” the entirety of blog posts and then individual comments with which I have total or even nominal/partial agreement. That, to me, is a major component of the process of communication and interaction (“engagement,” as you so well put it).
I’d like to consider other questions if I may. If someone else determines who I can vote for, does my vote really matter? Since I left the decision on whom I can vote for to someone else, why can’t they also do the voting for me? What would make me think they don’t determine the outcome in advance? The ability to choose the master I serve means nothing to me in terms of freedom; I’ll still be the slave I was before. I never had the right to vote, I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now that I am in the right place to legally vote, I’m also wise enough to play by my own rules and not vote for the parasites who have never worked an honest day in their lives. Has it never occurred to anyone that you can only own property so long as you pay the yearly extortion fee? If you don’t they’ll take your $200k property for not paying $3k in taxes. ..but we’re free right? Yeah, free to pay as long as we can. Oh, and BTW: If you think you live in a democracy, read the pledge of allegiance. What does it say? Republic, not democracy…. “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands” Ya can’t make this xxxx up if you tried. Don’t even get me started on the Fascist symbolism that exists to this day in the house of Congress and the Lincoln memorial. Every state of the union address people are looking at 2 copies of a Fasces on the wall behind the president, and no one seems to know what they are looking at. Since ignorance of the Law is not an excuse, why isn’t there even 1 single public school that teaches even 1 law? They could start with the 74,000+ pages of the tax law. Hahaha. Anyway, there you have it; my thoughts on voting.
I hope life is treating you well, greetings.
Wow, Onno, that was a lot to unpack, and I wholeheartedly agree with your points. We live in a Republic where your constitutional rights are not dependent on being part of a majority. Everyone citizen should have those rights.
No one is free! However, there are different degrees of freedom within the box, even if you live outside the box. We only get to select the politicians chosen by the powers that be.
What would freedom look like to you? How do you suggest we the people, select who runs for office?
I am doing good! How is life going?
It doesn’t matter. We could put a farm animal at the head of every government and it wouldn’t make much difference. I can envision a herd of Donkeys running around in our bicameral form of Donkmocracy. First you must look at who really runs a country and you haven’t done that. That’s not an accusation, it’s merely a statement of fact since no one can pinpoint the ones in power directly. The ones that could, …. well ask Epstein, he knows.
Life is interesting but for now the fun is over and done with. All things considered I’m doing pretty good, thanks for asking Angela.
Why is the fun over?
Because the smell of death is hard to get out of your nose and impossible to erase from your memory.
Unable to use the “Like” button, so this is my “Like” of your comment.
Just had a chat with WordPress chatbox since the Happy Engineers haven’t responded yet.
Where were you?
Wow: I really, really admire your “Epstein” reference; thank you! (But I don’t think Prince Andrew and a few other “sweaty hands” scofflaws will be “thanking” you….)
Do you still believe that a good politician has integrity?
Why do you ask?
Because I wanted to know what you thought about that. Was I not clear enough when I asked my question?
Hehehe. I don’t recall saying that. I need more context.
Why?
I define integrity as doing the right thing when no one is looking. Good politicians, doctors, and police officers should have integrity.
Trump. Republicans, law enforcement, the criminal system, healthcare and the Supreme Court are a few examples of politicians and institutions without integrity. What’s more, they don’t care about integrity.
When I think about it The entire government and just about all businesses lack integrity. It’s hard to keep your integrity when your environment is surrounded by people and institutions who lack it.
Nice. So (again) tell me: Do you still believe that a good politician has integrity? 😈
Yes and No! Many consider Trump, a good politician, and he has NO integrity. I don’t think he is a politician. He’s a con man.
No! Many consider Trump, a good politician, and he has no integrity.
Dear Angela, I agree with your post except for one caveat. One thing it’s amazing that being queer went I was growing up was derogatory like being called the N word.
I don’t agree with the LGBTQ community! But in this society it’s now excepted. That’s fine and they do have their rights. What I don’t like are these lifestyles being promoted in our schools to children. They will learn about that soon enough. Also I believe in Florida they refuse to teach CRT because in some instances it included teaching LGBTQ. We need to draw a line, having rights is one thing pushing there beliefs in the schools is another. Also trans women should have boundaries and I know you know what I mean. In the last 15 years these peoples’ rights have gone overboard.
Hi Rudy. Good points! I have to gather my thoughts before responding.
Re: “Also trans women should have boundaries and I know you know what I mean.” But I don’t know what you mean. So tell me.
Competing with women in sports and using women restrooms and lockers.
Good, now I too know what you mean.
Hi Rudy, I was all over the place on a few issues about the LBGQT+ community. I am a Black woman who is the lowest of the low on the NWO hierarchy. My life is irrelevant, according to Republicans. My ancestors survived but endured the evil and hate within white society that continues to this day. So I empathize with the LGBTQ community, especially since many within the community are Black.
It is a strong community, much stronger than the Black community. For the first time, many white people know what it feels like to be hated for no reason. I believe in building alliances with groups who share some of our experiences.
With that said, I don’t think women who become transgender men or men who become transgender women should compete in sports with men or women. That is a recipe for nonfatal and fatal injuries. I don’t know the solution. I can’t entirely agree with 8 or 10 years old getting gender-affirming care. The part of the brain that controls impulses does not fully mature until 25-30 years old. However, that is my opinion, and I have to respect the opinion of parents who feel differently. They know their child, and if that is what they want and can pay for it, then that is a privacy issue. There should be a process to vet children who want to physically change their gender, involving all parents.
Kids need protection. The reality is we can’t shield them from the surrounding world. Our children live in a vile society bent on exploiting their innocence and robbing them of their childhood—a culture where a fetus’s life is more valued than a living child’s. Guns have more rights than people.
The Republican solutions are more guns, criminalizing people who don’t fit into their ideology, and erasing them from history.
The Democrats must set boundaries or limits while being inclusive.
Dear Angela, the Negro community never had any true allies! As soon as these so-called allies get what they want they forget about us or turn on us! The Negro for the most part always excepted the LBG community especially the Negro women. Not really sure what the Queer community is except a combination of LBG. In my opinion a person shouldn’t be allowed a sex change until at least 18 years old preferably 21 and should be told everything that could go wrong. I’ve read several articles of people who regret that decision!