Tagged: America
It's so hard to turn away sometimes
- by Alyson Shane
As far as news consumption goes I guess you could say I obsess a little bit, but I'm a wonky person who likes to be well-informed and finds politics and rhetoric interesting and important and so I listen to multiple podcasts, like
Up First
What a Day
The New York Times Daily
The NPR Politics Podcast
Pod Save America
Pod Save the World
America Dissected
FiveThirtyEight Politics
just to name a few
and every day I read articles from the New York Times, the CBC, The National Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Los Angeles Times
just to name a few
and as a Canadian who attended a Black Lives Matter protest that was 20,000 people strong and managed to go off peacefully and without a hitch being bombarded by media coverage of how badly things are going in America is
horrifying, to say the least
and this morning on NPR I heard about the 52-year old Navy vet named who showed up and was beaten by police for
literally just standing there
trying to talk to the officers
and that was scary and awful but then I came across a video of what happened on my Twitter feed and I wasn't prepared for what I saw
you don't have to watch the whole interview (though you should) but at least watch the part that starts around 1:00 where a federal officer just WAILS on him for several seconds before they douse HIS FACE in pepper spray
and yes I've read news reports and listened to pundits talk about it but somehow still wasn't prepared to see it play out on camera, and as I scrolled through the Portland news in my feed and watched videos of federal agents in riot gear shoving people and beating them up and barrelling into groups of moms peacefully protesting, tears started rolling down my face and I became a big, blubbering mess
because I'm terrified for the people in Portland and Chicago and Detroit and for
all of America, really
because this is what the slide into fascism looks like.
Being Canadian and watching this go down just south of the border is complicated because, on one hand, thank god that's not happening in my city, in my country, thank god I don't have to put on a helmet and a mask every night and go out and march until the morning light just to get police to stop killing black people
but on the other hand I can't do anything. All I can do is sit in front of my screen and cry and get upset and blog and hope against hope that things turn out ok in America
but I'm not holding my breath.
Why I'm Voting for Mitt Romney
- by admin
spoiler: I'm not, but this upstanding young lady is.
this is how that video made me feel:
Why Obama Now
- by admin
An animated short about the big choice in 2012's presidential election
- by Simpsons / Family Guy animator Lucas Gray
- also available at http://whyobamanow.org/
watch this and be inspired by it
- by admin
because shit's fucked up in nyc today
people are dead, more people are hurt, the country scared and so is the rest of the world
for you, america. we're scared for you.
because we miss this side of you.
the brave one, that inspired us and made us proud. made us wish we were americans because you guys were the coolest of the cool doing the best of the best.
so please stop shooting each other. you can do so much better.
get well soon.
your friend from canada
xo
this weekend we're going to the US of A
- by admin
no it's not going to visit Tony though I wish I was. we're going to red lake falls to do some tubing and camping and drinking liquor at 1/4 the price that is up here in canadia.
I've only been there once, and even then not really.
when I was a youngster my nan and granddad took us to some town like an hour south of the border (I forget which) where we hung around in parks and had picnics and probably did some cool stuff that I don't remember anymore.
what I do remember is the first night we stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool and my nan was upset that our sliding door looked out onto it because it was loud. I was swimming in the swimming pool and coming up to the ladder to get out some kid pushed me and I slammed my upper lip against my teeth. I had braces at the time and it hurt like a mofo and I got blood in the pool and it was disgusting.
I also remember reading a Babysitter's Club book on a picnic bench while my brothers played in a park. I'd bought this bookmark for 2$ at some tacky souvenir shop where everything was all wood or glass, you know the kind, and it had a fairy on it. I wish I had it now so I could see if it was still as nice as I thought it was.
probably not.
the thing I remember most, though, is having dinner in some restaurant and the waitress turning to my nan and saying "oh where are you guys from?" and my nan replying "oh we're from Canada" in her very, very British accent and the waitress saying
"oh I thought so, I can tell by your accent"
which was my first impression of Americans ever.
but now I'm grown up and have much more complex views of my neighbours to the south and frankly am excited to go down there and party it up a bit.
even though we'll be there for canada day long weekend and will be partying with a bunch of other Canadians who all have the same idea.
but you shhhh about that.
what happened to you, America?
- by admin
how did you let people like this have a hand in running your country?
if Rick Perry replaced
"gays in the military"
with
"Blacks in the military"
or
"Jews in the military"
people would cry bloody murder
and not let him get away with it
but
somehow
here we are
when someone who is
(apparently)
a serious contender for the presidency of the United States
is spewing hate speech that normally would get you
expelled from school
beaten up
ostracized
fired
even killed
as part of his campaign?
I repeat:
what the hell happened to you, America?
Tea Party audience cheered for letting the uninsured die
- by admin
this is probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in a 'civilized society'
the amount of ego, ignorance and selfishness involved to
cheer about letting an uninsured person die
is something I can't grasp
whatever happened to being a good person
looking out for your fellow man
basic human decency
remember that Jesus guy in that book all the Tea Partiers love so much?
what would he have to say about this
don't you think he'd be disappointed in the way these people think?
