This is the year of the toughening.
As opposed to the year of the letting go, or the winnowing, or the sitting still. As opposed to the year of cleaning up, or the year of going out.
The year of toughening: the year of no-whining, of bootstraps, of not thinking about how much I don’t want to do something that ultimately may be helpful to me and others, like protesting against the oligarchs. It is also the year when I say no because I have things to do. But it is also the year in which I don’t start the day dreading taking a shower, brushing my teeth, taking my meds. All those things represent the start of the day and it is high time I accept this and get on with it. I shouldn’t put off getting dressed for three hours each morning. That’s not tough. Tough is gritting your teeth and getting on with it.
Life is short, you know. Democracy is impatient.
This is the year of the toughening because we have democracy to save. I know we hoped to save it last year but that didn’t work out, did it? And now, well, now it is 10 times more important, what with rogue DOGE and slippery Trump running roughshod over the Constitution. A ridiculous president vowing to buy Gaza when Gazans simply want their home back, not bought and turned into Trump’s honky-tonk tourist trap, and not pushed into countries not their own. Imagine Trump-by-the-Sea, just like all those other failed ventures:
“Trump Taj Mahal, which was built and owned by President Trump, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. The Trump Plaza, the Trump Castle, and the Plaza Hotel, all owned by President Trump at the time, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992. THCR, which was founded by President Trump in 1995, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the new name given to Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts after its 2004 bankruptcy, declared bankruptcy in 2009.”1
I point it out because, well, he has a bankruptcy problem, especially when it comes to real estate. Netanyahu, you might want to be cautious. Just sayin’.
The toughening is about reclaiming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in its grand promise. Trump, apparently unaware that DEI isn’t about quotas or discriminating against Whites, has talked about suing private companies and foundations that haven’t abandoned their own DEI policies. But we’re seeing some comply in advance, and I’m guessing their cynical idea of DEI was for performative purposes anyways. I know I should have seen that DEI was a public relations ploy. Still, I’m disappointed in Target, WalMart, McDonald’s, Toyota, Meta, Lowe’s, Amazon, Harley Davidson, Brown-Forman, to name a few. I’m baffled by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the influential science foundation, clawing back millions of dollars to colleges they funded to do the thing they were asked to do, the thing that was the right thing to do: strive to give underserved students an experience in the sciences. Really, HHMI?
Remember this in our toughening: Our collective horror and outrage after George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020 prompted businesses, colleges, churches, and other institutions to consider ways to mitigate racism, leading to the adoption of DEI policies across society. It was seen as a much-needed step forward in our evolution. While equal opportunity initiatives began with the Civil Rights Movement, the focus on DEI turned our attention inward, teaching such concepts as privilege that block minorities from achieving equity and perpetuate systemic racism. For me, the surge of DEI training was a godsend, helping me understand how I enabled racism. Hard truths surfaced. But clearly, hard truths were too hard for MAGA, and now we are literally asked to erase DEI from our vocabulary. How very Orwellian.
This is the year of toughening because we’re finding so many individuals (Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam what’s-his-face AI guy, and others) ready to bend over backwards and snap whatever spines they still have, handing their knotty cords to Trump. The year of toughening and the year of remembering, because you can bet we will make sure you have an entry in the history books as this era’s most cowardly individuals. And I promise you, we’ll have total control over the history books.
We are the tough ones. We are the ones standing in front of your office, asking for meetings, holding you accountable, Congress. We are the ones haranguing Senators and state representatives and states’ attorneys general, and the U.S. House of Representatives with pesky phone calls to prick their consciences. I’ve heard that they are too scared to stand up because Trump released all those convicted of violence during January 6, 2021. They are scared for their safety. They could have had our protection. We would have had their backs. But now? Well, suck it up, Republicans. Your grandchildren, swept up by swollen rivers (oh, right, climate change) and soon homeless, will know the truth.
That’s why we are the tough ones. Protesting, stamping our mark in unlikely places, calling for a return to democracy which you all so thoroughly fucked up. We have the lawyers, doctors, scientists, and super smart lawmakers who will see you in court. We have the working class—the service workers, bricklayers, auto workers, the AFL-CIO, teachers, trades—who will walk out the door when the time comes. We are the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, co-workers, neighbors of all the millions you disenfranchise. We stand shoulder to shoulder, louder and louder. We are transformed. Toughened.
CATS AT WORK
Throw-back Thursday. Scouty is preparing for the DNC Convention, August 2024.
On Pigspittle Pond
No pond pictures today but a disturbing story from our county commissioner Drenda Keesee. The head of the Faith Life megachurch, Drenda is not talking about sexual abuse charges against her son Tom Keesee, which also include allegations from his sister. Drenda is a first-time commissioner; her mission is “to expose the Antichrist agendas seeking to destroy our families and our freedoms.” Of course, it leaves you wondering why she isn’t looking in her own home. Here’s an Instagram post from two weeks ago. Kinda makes you scratch your head.
#TheyAreComingForYourChildren … #GoodNews? Um, no.
FORM S-4 REGISTRATION STATEMENT, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000119312522150801/d226205ds4.htm#rom226205_7
Spot on and a great speech, coach!
Trying to balance the toughening and the self-care. Some days that seems like a tightrope walk!