I’m emotional this week especially over the asininity of Trump’s actions.
I needed these, your comments, Steven:
“Let’s respond to the joylessness of this regime by making and playing music, throwing parties, writing beautiful stories, telling jokes, hanging out with friends, acting with kindness and defying the lawless Trump thugs
who revel in cruelty.”
—-
I’ve been kicked off Twitter!! 🤣 After all my dedication to lambasting as many lies as I could, the post that finally got
me banned was my disgust over the crude, gauche, cheap, decor of gold paint on the doors and elsewhere. I posted to the White House account.
I have said very recently to my husband that the joy really has gone out of our collective experience. The days of community picnics, drive-in movies, and just wandering around the neighborhood as kids looking for trees to climb have evaporated and what we are left with is a fog of suspicion and fear, reinforced by ICE agents. I miss those days. I miss thinking and feeling that I live in a tolerant community, where all religions and all immigrants are welcome. At this point, the “high crimes and misdemeanors” are as numerous as stars in the sky. I pray for better days…yes, I do.
Thank you, Steven, for encouraging joy and laughter when everything seems so dark. Music and dancing makes people feel better, even if they have to face the lawless realities in the morning. We will take back our country from the gangsters who populate our federal government. They are weak, and it’s becoming more obvious to the world.🌎
Steven, I read you every day and this is your best post since Trump's inauguration. The paving over of the Rose Garden is a particularly poignant metaphor for the whole Trumpian mess, and in my humble opinion it is a better story than the Epstein saga.
Let me dwell on this for a moment. I've been trying to argue that Epstein is a distraction, and not a productive subject to encourage resistance, and your column today helped me to see why. Epstein is a tabloid story; and tabloid stories are never universal. By definition, they put us in the role of spectator. The essence of that story-- the horror of exploiting children-- is a serious and important matter for law enforcement, historians, and serious journalists. But there is no way to protest the Epstein saga with a celebratory counterpoint.
No Kings Day was a national party in the street, celebrated by millions. But it's almost two months later, and I fear that stories like Epstein are forcing us to the sidelines, and into the role of spectators. The main story every day, the only story, should be the multifaceted story of what is being chipped away from our essential identity as a country, so that we can continually, collectively demonstrate its antithesis-- as you say -- with exuberance.
Our role in the Epstein saga is to keep the victims and survivors at the center and support them; to advocate for justice. The same is true of masked law enforcement grabbing people off the streets; the horror show that is their detainment.
Exploitation, cruelty and the breaking down of the rule of law are part of the multi-faceted story of devolution occurring in governance. I see our role includes pushing past acceptance and reject the idea that we have no role. We choose our role.
Protest art has a long history. Art is multifaceted, therapeutic and there is joy in seeking justice.
Instead we have lived with a succession of fallen angels: Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton, OJ Simpson, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein to name a few and now a new crop of domestic terrorists ignored by the media. What’s another dead woman? At least you aren’t in Gaza or Ukraine
Your post from 2019 was insightful and accurate. You have seen this man for who is from the beginning of his assent to power. I'm sure the historical similarities between him and other authoritarian's rise to power, would be shockingly similar.
But more importantly your piece today is an invitation for all of us to take a moment to realize that we still posses and share the values and beliefs that are the foundation of our country and Democracy. It's who we are, and we're not alone. Never let these sick and demented people change who we are. Remember to find ways and time to celebrate with each other.
From the late 1960s, through the '70s, and even into the '80s and '90s I participated in (and often helped organize) many, many demos and other actions. They were almost always joyful, exuberant, and *musical*. Musicians were featured at rallies and we knew most of the songs so we sang along. As our civil rights and union organizer predecessors knew, singing keeps the energy up and the fears at bay. Chants are also good -- I still remember passing by the back of the White House during the epic 1979 National Gay & Lesbian Rights March chanting "2, 4, 6, 8, how do you know that Amy's straight?" (Amy Carter was about 12 at the time.)
Some of the old songs seem to be coming back -- they sure haven't gone out of date -- and new ones are probably being written. Carry it on!
Things are bubbling up. 😊 I saw that our visual arts association is hosting an outdoor performance honoring the Harlan County women from the coal field wars. (one of a series of events) It mentioned featuring songs like ‘whose side are you on’ and ‘we shall not be moved.’
Thank You Steven .. Yes all my friends agree that we have to continue on and have fun when we can. A good amount of time is spent on him but not all of it. Everyday I secretly hope the Supreme Court will start to see what they have been doing and change their rulings. I have close friends who grew up in an authoritarian country. They try to tell me how to survive a government like that. They are talking about having fun and living life to the fullest. I understand but what I want to say to them is this has never happened in this country before. I want to scream no we won't let that happen here all the while it is. ..faster then anyone could have imagined. Very sad in America ..
TY, Steven. Yes, w song, celebration, love & wit! We need this! In a different vein I'm adding honesty, bravery, courage & keep faith. Thankful for your postings!
Lest we forget: Everything Trump Touches Dies. It was written years ago; it is the truth; it was the prediction. We now live in a dictatorship of the greedy, the gullible and the religious Christians in Name Only who forgot the most important facts about Christ: He said he was God; He was the first Socialist to gain an international following. YES, CHRIST WAS A SOCIALIST! He preached peace, equality, the rich sharing with the poor, love and forgiveness, not greed., divisiveness and retribution. The Christian right(?) have forgotten and are therefore VERY WRONG. The Catholics in power especially in the Supreme Court, MAGA and the Heritage Foundation have forgotten but many of us have NOT forgotten. Goodness, Democracy, the Golden Rule and the Rule of Law will return but not in my lifetime because those who can make the changes to modernize the Constitution to rid us of the present dictator are too weak and lack the courage to do so. We CAN NOT WIN BY THE OLD RULES AGAINST FORCES THAT USE DIFFERENT RULES including insurrectionists in the government, in ICE, and in Congress.
I will not surrender but neither will I keep funding leaders who won't so what is really the only lawful way left. Only God and Time can safe us now.
I love the Midas reference. The Trump touch doesn’t make him powerful; it isolates and enriches him but it makes us strong. J.D. Vance is actually gold in our pockets, one might say. It will be easy to convert him to liberal votes, as one might take gold to the bank and trade him for useful currency.
We’ll have good work liquidating what Trump and his family have made, liquidating Heritage Foundation, liquidating the Supremacy Court.
I believe Trump wants to live surrounded by gold so he feels rich; have concentration camps for retribution and genocide and adoring rallies like Hitler so he feels adulated like a god; and infinite power like Putin.
The first step is to create a modern constitution that GIVES THE PEOPLE the POWER TO RECALL and official who abuses power or fails to keep campaign promises. I have been promoting this for over a yera with little support from politicians , lawyers, law school faculty or the public response to my book. It will have to happen sooner or later, and the sooner the better.
If any of your followers can afford to, I'd urge them to help by clearing educators' wishlists, donating to local arts foundations, and making donations so schools can have the arts or keep the arts programs they have. Please. The other day marked 10 years of Hamilton on Broadway. What a remarkable feat. I remember hearing about it before Broadway. My thinking was the same as the Obama family that rap+hip hop+ = no way. Especially about a founding father. The behind-the-scenes teams continue to make it possible. Yes, kudos to Lin for writing it. But kudos to the history professors who made it possible and the lighting/sound people who do that hard work day in and day out. Kudos to all of those educators who paved the way for their students to be in Broadway and the parents for paying for so many years of lessons and camps.
Thank you and agree multiple times over, that the arts need our support to continue through these times. I’m sure that there are many grants and awards that have been cancelled, but we don’t know until the results are public—going dark. Especially after the reversal of funds for public television. Goodbye documentaries, goodbye concerts, goodbye theater…endless list. And of course, NPR, which I support but I know that in smaller areas it will go dark.
I feel like we need to build one of those SOS signs on the sand you see in movies about castaways stranded on a deserted island, stretching across the entire nation and visible from the ISS: H E L P
Sounds great if you are privileged enough to have health & health care and basic social safety supports and a roof over your head to celebrate under and you're not Brown or Black or trans and have to be scared every minute of every day. Those are some pretty significant obstacles to joy. How about if you do have that privilege you share it with those who don't? I find a great deal of joy in making people's lives at least bearable. You want to throw a party? Make it a fundraiser. And avoid the crowds that will draw law enforcement of various kinds, because you may feel safe in those crowds but your next door neighbor may feel otherwise.
Yes, it is so true that there is no appreciation for culture, the arts or beauty in this White House.
It is all about the Benjamins, nothing else. Another thing that horrifies me is the debased language he uses. Should a president of the U.S. be calling things he doesn’t like bull shit? His language is so crass and low compared to the soaring eloquence of so many other presidents.
What a fix we are in with this poor excuse for a human being.
As James Baldwin once wrote: “I can’t believe what you say when I see what you do.”
We know who they are through their despicable actions, which they cheerfully celebrate. Keep resisting…in any way you can.
I’m emotional this week especially over the asininity of Trump’s actions.
I needed these, your comments, Steven:
“Let’s respond to the joylessness of this regime by making and playing music, throwing parties, writing beautiful stories, telling jokes, hanging out with friends, acting with kindness and defying the lawless Trump thugs
who revel in cruelty.”
—-
I’ve been kicked off Twitter!! 🤣 After all my dedication to lambasting as many lies as I could, the post that finally got
me banned was my disgust over the crude, gauche, cheap, decor of gold paint on the doors and elsewhere. I posted to the White House account.
They finally noticed!
Joy! 👏
🎵
It's an achievement!👏🌷🎼 Congratulations!
C’mon over to BlueSky, AVee. It’s like going outside after a long night in a smoky bar
Hi Susan
Ha!
Thank you
I’m on Blue Sky and Threads as well!
I have said very recently to my husband that the joy really has gone out of our collective experience. The days of community picnics, drive-in movies, and just wandering around the neighborhood as kids looking for trees to climb have evaporated and what we are left with is a fog of suspicion and fear, reinforced by ICE agents. I miss those days. I miss thinking and feeling that I live in a tolerant community, where all religions and all immigrants are welcome. At this point, the “high crimes and misdemeanors” are as numerous as stars in the sky. I pray for better days…yes, I do.
Ellen, that's what they want. It's even more reason to fight back and support the arts and educators. To support healthcare.
Now is where it's going to get dark. It's even more important to realize the US was founded on genocide. Fight back against this new wave of genocide.
Thank you, Steven, for encouraging joy and laughter when everything seems so dark. Music and dancing makes people feel better, even if they have to face the lawless realities in the morning. We will take back our country from the gangsters who populate our federal government. They are weak, and it’s becoming more obvious to the world.🌎
Steven, I read you every day and this is your best post since Trump's inauguration. The paving over of the Rose Garden is a particularly poignant metaphor for the whole Trumpian mess, and in my humble opinion it is a better story than the Epstein saga.
Let me dwell on this for a moment. I've been trying to argue that Epstein is a distraction, and not a productive subject to encourage resistance, and your column today helped me to see why. Epstein is a tabloid story; and tabloid stories are never universal. By definition, they put us in the role of spectator. The essence of that story-- the horror of exploiting children-- is a serious and important matter for law enforcement, historians, and serious journalists. But there is no way to protest the Epstein saga with a celebratory counterpoint.
No Kings Day was a national party in the street, celebrated by millions. But it's almost two months later, and I fear that stories like Epstein are forcing us to the sidelines, and into the role of spectators. The main story every day, the only story, should be the multifaceted story of what is being chipped away from our essential identity as a country, so that we can continually, collectively demonstrate its antithesis-- as you say -- with exuberance.
Thank you for your thoughtful note, Jill. I agree the key is to find ways to be a participant, not just a spectator.
Our role in the Epstein saga is to keep the victims and survivors at the center and support them; to advocate for justice. The same is true of masked law enforcement grabbing people off the streets; the horror show that is their detainment.
Exploitation, cruelty and the breaking down of the rule of law are part of the multi-faceted story of devolution occurring in governance. I see our role includes pushing past acceptance and reject the idea that we have no role. We choose our role.
Protest art has a long history. Art is multifaceted, therapeutic and there is joy in seeking justice.
Instead we have lived with a succession of fallen angels: Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton, OJ Simpson, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein to name a few and now a new crop of domestic terrorists ignored by the media. What’s another dead woman? At least you aren’t in Gaza or Ukraine
People are not angels. IMO, our celebrity & hero worship is not only beyond the bounds of reality but unhealthy.
Don’t include Bill Clinton on that group and none of these assholes were ever angels.
I am in total agreement except it is the world we live in brought to you by the make networks and cable and radio station owners.
Your post from 2019 was insightful and accurate. You have seen this man for who is from the beginning of his assent to power. I'm sure the historical similarities between him and other authoritarian's rise to power, would be shockingly similar.
But more importantly your piece today is an invitation for all of us to take a moment to realize that we still posses and share the values and beliefs that are the foundation of our country and Democracy. It's who we are, and we're not alone. Never let these sick and demented people change who we are. Remember to find ways and time to celebrate with each other.
From the late 1960s, through the '70s, and even into the '80s and '90s I participated in (and often helped organize) many, many demos and other actions. They were almost always joyful, exuberant, and *musical*. Musicians were featured at rallies and we knew most of the songs so we sang along. As our civil rights and union organizer predecessors knew, singing keeps the energy up and the fears at bay. Chants are also good -- I still remember passing by the back of the White House during the epic 1979 National Gay & Lesbian Rights March chanting "2, 4, 6, 8, how do you know that Amy's straight?" (Amy Carter was about 12 at the time.)
Some of the old songs seem to be coming back -- they sure haven't gone out of date -- and new ones are probably being written. Carry it on!
Things are bubbling up. 😊 I saw that our visual arts association is hosting an outdoor performance honoring the Harlan County women from the coal field wars. (one of a series of events) It mentioned featuring songs like ‘whose side are you on’ and ‘we shall not be moved.’
Thank You Steven .. Yes all my friends agree that we have to continue on and have fun when we can. A good amount of time is spent on him but not all of it. Everyday I secretly hope the Supreme Court will start to see what they have been doing and change their rulings. I have close friends who grew up in an authoritarian country. They try to tell me how to survive a government like that. They are talking about having fun and living life to the fullest. I understand but what I want to say to them is this has never happened in this country before. I want to scream no we won't let that happen here all the while it is. ..faster then anyone could have imagined. Very sad in America ..
TY, Steven. Yes, w song, celebration, love & wit! We need this! In a different vein I'm adding honesty, bravery, courage & keep faith. Thankful for your postings!
Thank you, Mary.
"Sadistic glee" Sadly that about sums it up. When is the next big protest?? Until then I agree we must live joyfully while we can
Lest we forget: Everything Trump Touches Dies. It was written years ago; it is the truth; it was the prediction. We now live in a dictatorship of the greedy, the gullible and the religious Christians in Name Only who forgot the most important facts about Christ: He said he was God; He was the first Socialist to gain an international following. YES, CHRIST WAS A SOCIALIST! He preached peace, equality, the rich sharing with the poor, love and forgiveness, not greed., divisiveness and retribution. The Christian right(?) have forgotten and are therefore VERY WRONG. The Catholics in power especially in the Supreme Court, MAGA and the Heritage Foundation have forgotten but many of us have NOT forgotten. Goodness, Democracy, the Golden Rule and the Rule of Law will return but not in my lifetime because those who can make the changes to modernize the Constitution to rid us of the present dictator are too weak and lack the courage to do so. We CAN NOT WIN BY THE OLD RULES AGAINST FORCES THAT USE DIFFERENT RULES including insurrectionists in the government, in ICE, and in Congress.
I will not surrender but neither will I keep funding leaders who won't so what is really the only lawful way left. Only God and Time can safe us now.
I wish he would touch J.D. Vance, Lindsay Graham, his entire cabinet, you get the drift.
Agreed. Mikdas touched his daughter and she turned to gold. That was his punishment.
I love the Midas reference. The Trump touch doesn’t make him powerful; it isolates and enriches him but it makes us strong. J.D. Vance is actually gold in our pockets, one might say. It will be easy to convert him to liberal votes, as one might take gold to the bank and trade him for useful currency.
We’ll have good work liquidating what Trump and his family have made, liquidating Heritage Foundation, liquidating the Supremacy Court.
I believe Trump wants to live surrounded by gold so he feels rich; have concentration camps for retribution and genocide and adoring rallies like Hitler so he feels adulated like a god; and infinite power like Putin.
The first step is to create a modern constitution that GIVES THE PEOPLE the POWER TO RECALL and official who abuses power or fails to keep campaign promises. I have been promoting this for over a yera with little support from politicians , lawyers, law school faculty or the public response to my book. It will have to happen sooner or later, and the sooner the better.
If any of your followers can afford to, I'd urge them to help by clearing educators' wishlists, donating to local arts foundations, and making donations so schools can have the arts or keep the arts programs they have. Please. The other day marked 10 years of Hamilton on Broadway. What a remarkable feat. I remember hearing about it before Broadway. My thinking was the same as the Obama family that rap+hip hop+ = no way. Especially about a founding father. The behind-the-scenes teams continue to make it possible. Yes, kudos to Lin for writing it. But kudos to the history professors who made it possible and the lighting/sound people who do that hard work day in and day out. Kudos to all of those educators who paved the way for their students to be in Broadway and the parents for paying for so many years of lessons and camps.
Thank you and agree multiple times over, that the arts need our support to continue through these times. I’m sure that there are many grants and awards that have been cancelled, but we don’t know until the results are public—going dark. Especially after the reversal of funds for public television. Goodbye documentaries, goodbye concerts, goodbye theater…endless list. And of course, NPR, which I support but I know that in smaller areas it will go dark.
I feel like we need to build one of those SOS signs on the sand you see in movies about castaways stranded on a deserted island, stretching across the entire nation and visible from the ISS: H E L P
Sounds great if you are privileged enough to have health & health care and basic social safety supports and a roof over your head to celebrate under and you're not Brown or Black or trans and have to be scared every minute of every day. Those are some pretty significant obstacles to joy. How about if you do have that privilege you share it with those who don't? I find a great deal of joy in making people's lives at least bearable. You want to throw a party? Make it a fundraiser. And avoid the crowds that will draw law enforcement of various kinds, because you may feel safe in those crowds but your next door neighbor may feel otherwise.
Yes, it is so true that there is no appreciation for culture, the arts or beauty in this White House.
It is all about the Benjamins, nothing else. Another thing that horrifies me is the debased language he uses. Should a president of the U.S. be calling things he doesn’t like bull shit? His language is so crass and low compared to the soaring eloquence of so many other presidents.
What a fix we are in with this poor excuse for a human being.