Both-siderism has now been elevated to a sacrament, if not to a religion itself. The entire idea of “both sides do it” is to dismiss Donald Trump’s latest atrocity — or some other GOPers faux pas. But the gist of it is a grade school level mentality that everything and anything is justified because somebody else is doing it. So cheat on your taxes or incite a riot at the Capitol, today’s Republicans would have you believe it’s all the same.

I don’t recommend that you waste an entire ten minutes of your life watching this, but just glance at it and see if you, too, can conflate the use of the word “fight” in normal political discourse with the 20 times Trump used it (not to mention his tone and the rest of the context in which the word was used) the day of the Capitol riot.

The fascination here for me, as someone who loves language, is that the word “fight” is being argued in some absolutist fashion, as if the word means only one thing, and the fact is that any word is made more or less powerful by the context in which it is used, the tone of voice in which it is uttered, all of these considerations — which is common sense. But, as usual, this iteration of the GOP wants to go Orwellian on us, we are to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears. It is their final, most essential command.

Fascism didn’t come to America wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. It came in the form of a floofy haired reality TV actor who was the epitome of dysfunction and lack of impulse control — and an entire broken political party that enabled him. That is how fascism came to America.

 

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12 COMMENTS

  1. To me it sounded like a schoolyard chant when a couple of idiots squared up to eacj other – “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

    Especially when the same utterance was looped in the same clip (making it sound like whoever had a stutter)

    • Context and tone are everything. I have said to one of my cats, “you’re a very naughty boy” when petting him and cooing the words. That’s understood differently from if I had screamed, “You’re a good cat!” at the top of my lungs, while hitting the animal. You cannot divorce words from the rest of human communication.

      • You’re lucky – our moggie usually just ignores me unless she wants fed (or the door opened).

        She also emulates Heinlein’s cat and complains if the weather is bad at the back door as well as the front

        • While I could still have furbabies, Daithi, I had a couple like that, the weather would be the same at either door and they had the nerve to be surprised. And I often wonder the same about these people – were they watching what I was watching? How did they see something that different?

  2. I will not watch the lyin’ liars for tRump. That’s all they are, liars, and will twist whatever needs twisting to try to protect him. Of course, meeting with members of the ‘jury’ doesn’t hurt their cause either.

  3. Oh Ursula, one of your greatest statements…

    ‘Fascism didn’t come to America wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. It came in the form of a floofy haired reality TV actor who was the epitome of dysfunction and lack of impulse control — and an entire broken political party that enabled him. That is how fascism came to America.”

    Because there is no doubt it IS fascism.

  4. I’m still watching and what I’m wondering is if the defence team actually watched the same live stream video of the 6th January that I watched. They seem to think that if they can somehow make people believe that what they saw didn’t actually happen then they can somehow change history. Shades of 1984’s ‘Ministry of Truth’.

  5. You are far kinder than I am using the phrase “floofy haired reality TV actor” to describe Trump. Leaving aside his ridiculous duckass combover hairdo, I prefer to stick to my own oft used description of him being a flaming orange human shaped rectum.

  6. Hmm, all of Congress critters heard as most of us did how and in what context tRump uttered those now famous, self-incriminating, 20 words of his total lack of wisdom …

    However, since they forgot to mention, or tag explanations of other’s singular use of the same word for full reveal and avoided confusion, I would think this juvenile prank shows a huge disrespect for the Democrats as well as the lowest form of scum the GOP has become … just another operation in the sorry clan of misfits that SHOULD be doing everything right, per the sacred chamber and building that surrounds them at this time …

    I think the pig crap stink of Trump and his family, brandishing their polished brass letters of T R U M P, on most of their vermin-infested kitchens and buildings, bed bugs and roaches to be discovered with bright flashlights …. is now a teflon coated funnel to end runs of everything he has touched or promoted … what could he/them provide NYC/NY State to make things right?

    The over-rated value of his/their properties will collapse in a flash of lightning, provided by those that are poised in those highest Courts in NY with men and women that not only carry guns but have standard cuffs and plasticuffs as well … my idea for a grand parade … the Trump clan, sans all the young kids with tie chains between their ankles and a short chain to a family length common chain, a true, “Chain Gang if ever there was one … Ivanka’s sister is probably ok, along with Mary, the cousin of endless info dumps …

    If they are all wearing the latest in bright orange jump suits it will make for a truly fine day …

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