'Night everyone. Still sorting tech stuff out a little.
How do we wake up every morning to these atrocities? How do we sleep? It's so hard, but we will find ways to deal and fight this stuff.
I'm glad at least Maddow did her A-Block on shaming members of Congress. That was the only place on TV where I've seen someone actually say, "This can help, try this."
And before you comment without fully understanding what I just said, watch the segment.
@GottaLaff Rest as well as you can, Laffy.
@DEDGirl Thanks, sweetie. You too.
@GottaLaff Fire nearby (Hughes) so maybe not so much rest for me tonight.
@DEDGirl Omg you're near there?? Stay safe!
@GottaLaff
@GottaLaff Good night, Laffy.
@rlstone4dems 'Night Rory!
@GottaLaff That's what we need. "Here's what you can do" versus "Oh no! Oh No! Not that too!"
@GottaLaff
Have a peaceful night, & sleep well.
@Callalily You too!
Watched Maddow’s A block on shaming members of Congress.
I mean, really, is there a more uncomfortable and undesirable emotion than shame? Public humiliation? Embarrassment?
Guilt is a powerful negative emotion as well.
I think Maddow is spot on.
Pounding officials daily with questions designed to promote feelings of guilt and shame is a great idea.
I’m going to talk to my therapist about provoking shame through questioning next week for resources.
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff Help please. How do I "watch Maddow's A block"? I tried to search it and all I get is 1 and 2 yr old clips.
“Republicans choke on defense of Trump's pardon of Jan. 6 rioters. Could it be shame?”
@MelodyWainscott @SteveJB @GottaLaff
Republicans with shame??
Maddow must have hit every branch when she fell out of the naïveté tree!
Their shame train left in 2015 and it is not a round trip. They are only left fearing losing their grip on power.
@jmccabe You’re not getting it. Did you watch? @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
@GottaLaff @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
I did - we'll soon see the STOPPING of the press even being able to even talk to R's.
The answers from the shitbirds show no shame nor change of course. They are bought and paid for.
@jmccabe He point though, was that when their constituents and the press (well, the ones with functioning brains) pressure them, we see incremental change. Just a teeny bit. That has merit. @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
@GottaLaff @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
Their "constituents" are dopes and the voting fuckery will take care of the rest of us.
Shtibird will be unconstrained by the "friction" felt by R's in congress. Those that speak up will be replaced by more corporate-friendly candidates.
Hounding them relentlessly will only get the hounds beaten into submission.
@GottaLaff @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
I do like this take from Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/juliusgoat.bsky.social/post/3lggiotghgk2s
@jmccabe I do too. @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
Have read replies and JFC how do you deal with this? Seems most think they are professional psychologists, think all officials are 100% republicans, or need to advise me on what my expectations should be.
Don’t let my youthful appearance fool you, people. I have houseplants older than most of you.
@MelodyWainscott So many replies I get are know-it-alls who insist they can predict the future, or understand what's going on better than anyone. I wade through sooooo many of those. I ignore most.
And same goes for my youthful appearance.
It was an excellent way to find folks who need blocking!
@MelodyWainscott LOL, true!
@GottaLaff @MelodyWainscott You two are the exceptions to my normal rule that people under 40 lack sufficient life experience to offer real wisdom.
@msbellows @MelodyWainscott Under forty what? IQ? Pounds?
@GottaLaff @MelodyWainscott No, no, women need to be smart and curvy. Guess again!
@msbellows Under 40... kilometers? Degrees Celsius? @MelodyWainscott
@jmccabe @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB @GottaLaff I'm genuinely curious about your response to Laffy, because a few months ago you boosted a laudatory post I wrote, also about Maddow. And now you mock Maddow as foolish and naive. She hasn't changed. Who are you? Why the switcheroo?
@pattykimura If you saw my deleted reply, please know I read your post wrong, and reacted to THAT rather than what you really said. @jmccabe @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
Saw that, saw your reply, saw your other reply, and I am now going to get better at using the space bar to differentiate on replies that include multiples. I've done it myself. No worries. It's what happens in vertical space.
We're good!
@pattykimura LOL, my bad. I misread a lot. I'm so sorry.
@pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB @GottaLaff
We're in a Brave New World in the body politic - do you really think the R's have any "shame" left?
@jmccabe Again, it's not about shame, per se, but being shamed and having to face both their constituents and tough press questions relentlessly. They're "shamed" meaning ...pressured. They clearly feel embarrassed or they wouldn't be ducking the press's questions. They have no answers and they know it. @pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
@GottaLaff @pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
What I am saying is that the idea of shame has no function in US politics today. The voters have the attention span of a goldfish so this episode will be so far in the rearview mirror it won't even be a blip.
The gish-gallop from this regime and their media arm will ensure voters don't see these breathless reporters asking the good questions and getting shit for answers.
Next answers will be "Fuck you, whatcha gonna do about it"
@jmccabe And what I am saying is, I disagree. If both the press and the public put them on the spot, it chips away and eventually can make a difference, shiny keys or not. Some of it gets through. @pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
@GottaLaff @pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
I hope you are correct.
It is good to see pushback. Where are you Dems? Making a tuna-melt?
@jmccabe The Dems are embarrassing right now... not all, but so many. @pattykimura @MelodyWainscott @SteveJB
@SteveJB @MelodyWainscott Go to the MSNBC website, find her show, it’s likely the first clip you’ll see
@GottaLaff @SteveJB @MelodyWainscott
MSNBC's site has it locked down pretty good (or could be me, trying to see from Canada). Portions of her show are thrown on Youtube, this segment from yesterday's show seems like it could be part of the A block: https://youtu.be/q6j3CN1EdZM?si=jrZU9FFHCJfOLmXX
(news/current affairs shows break their slot into segments or blocks by commercial breaks - regular viewers tune in but frequently leave after the A or B blocks, so those command higher ad $$)
@pinhman @GottaLaff @SteveJB @MelodyWainscott oh its not that or geo blocking, its more like "please link your cable subscription/provider to watch on our website"; anonymyzing doesn't help
@tezoatlipoca @GottaLaff @SteveJB @MelodyWainscott Hmmm, a video version of https://archive.ph/ to get past media paywalls?
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff timely counter and reminder that most of the MAGAty narcissistic psychopaths entirely lack any sense of guilt, or shame.
They only fear transactional retribution, or anger from a mob of enraged victims.
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff I’d love to hear what your therapist says about that, seems like an inspired idea.
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff
I was listening to a radio show the other day while driving. I can’t remember who it was or what show - something on the local NPR station. The speaker claimed to be non-aligned with any political party and with progressive attitudes. One thing they said that really stood out to me:
People believe that morals will lead political actions - but studies have shown that it is the political choices that are primary and then morals are shaped to fit those political choices.
Shame is based on morals. No one feels ashamed for something that is within their moral system. Republicans have proven to us over and over and over and over again that their moral system no longer includes shame.
I suppose it’s worth trying but don’t count on it being effective.
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff I have seen little evidence that Republicans, especially their leaders, have even the tiniest modicum of shame
@MelodyWainscott @GottaLaff ... but without conscience, there is no shame.
"is there a more uncomfortable and undesirable emotion than shame? Public humiliation? Embarrassment?
"Guilt is a powerful negative emotion as well."
It's important to keep in mind that sociopaths don't feel guilt or shame, so this works on their enablers and supporters, most of who are humans who do. Trump and Musk are shameless, for example.
@GottaLaff Canada’s got an election coming up. I’m starting to get people ready for it by dropping real shit in conversations, just one comment a day. Gotta nudge people into action by pointing out the consequences of sitting out or not voting strategically. Polling places are all over, and we legally get 3 paid hours off work to go vote in federal elections, so no excuses.
@RowinSpeez Thank you!
@RowinSpeez @GottaLaff that worked just great here in the US.
@denebeim @GottaLaff I get the cynicism, but US and Canada are not even remotely comparable due to the way elections are run.
There are few barriers to mobilization in theory, but enthusiasm is low. Gotta influence people in your life to care.
@GottaLaff I've largely switched off from the relentless drip of every new detail, in favour of practical/political action in as many areas as I can.
It's much harder for you, because your practical action IS to focus on every detail, to get accurate news out there, and it's a very important role.
One thing I find helpful for calm and sleep is hand-sewing. My main project currently is making handkerchiefs to use instead of tissues (not for actual illness but those little random sneezes or watery eyes.) Most crafts are very soothing and good in those ways.
Wish you all the best in maintaining your well-being in these difficult times.
@MelissaBenyon Great idea.
@MelissaBenyon I second the handcrafting and giving them to others
@GottaLaff
@kellyromanych @GottaLaff Yes, giving them to others does that little bit to build connection and community, which I think is going to get more and more important in the coming years.
I don't usually watch Maddow (or any TV news/opinion stuff) because I don't want to participate in the rage-machine. That said, I did watch the segment you referred to, and yes, she's right. Relentlessly asking congresscritters about the indefensible things like pardoning all of the violent J6 insurrectionists is important. They need to be seen dodging the issue or, if pushed hard enough, perhaps some of them might do their jobs and act as the guardrails they have sworn oaths to be.
Our government was designed to have checks and balances. We need to make sure that those checks are active, and for some of these politicians, the only way to do that is to shame them.