Gillian Gower, PhD

Yes in this particular moment the blame is 99.9% on Republicans. A dozen R’s in Congress could together end this presidency now

I understand what you’re getting at but with sincere respect, I don’t think this is the right time or place for you and I to talk about this

I try really hard to be empathetic to people who are frightened but the way some of you are willing to excuse the murder of other people’s children as long as they don’t look like yours is appalling

This goes for terrorist organizations, too. And while I’m covering my bases, I don’t think children forced or groomed into becoming soldiers deserve the death penalty, either.

lol

It is so fucking exhausting that if you ever say “maybe the party that I’ve voted for in every election at every level since I became a citizen 20 years ago COULD BETTER REFLECT MY WISHES,” legions of these stafferbots show up with “they don’t have they votes and I’ll bet YOU DIDNT EVEN VOTE.”

it turns out those of us that are politically engaged have opinions and those opinions don’t preclude us from voting for the best option available. wild shit, I know.

I wonder if a hard-line successor will assume power and further destabilize the region just like every other time this has happened

I promise you that the government that murdered Alex Pretti and Renee Good does not give a flying fuck about the protests in Iran.

That’s how you do it.

It’s been terrifying to have almost every year in the past 20 years be a lesson in how many people with power make decisions about who lives and dies with little thought or care or even a clear idea as to why they’re doing anything, and it’s terrifying that it seems to be getting worse

I have no idea what I Posted about yesterday, let alone last month! I am not a PR firm! I do not have to issue a notes app statement every time I read something horrible in the virtual newspaper!

Yes, it is the natural order of the Discourse

As you know, I must first condemn this social media atrocity before I am permitted to discuss the rest of the atrocities

Newsflash: You are not legally or morally obligated to disavow all of the atrocities happening across the globe before getting angry about the atrocity the US government is currently doing

It’s bad that Iran bombed a civilian airport in Kuwait! Can I be angry that my own government started this now?

Oh my god, are we really doing “You can’t publicly criticize attacking Iran unless you also publicly criticized the Iranian government for murdering protesters”? Really???

Once again, you can think that a country’s government is very bad without also thinking that the children of that country deserve to die for their government’s sins.

Your opposition to war can just be that war is evil. it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.

[John Oliver voice] Cool.

cool cool cool cool cool cool cool

@musicologyduck.bsky.social

It’s not supporting the troops to send them off to kill and die in an illegal war of aggression whose purpose is to make sure that their votes don’t count.

Picture of Marjane Satrapi alongside a quote from her. The quote reads: The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same... - Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French graphic novelist

Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.

regressing to my youth (walking around occasionally reminding myself that my right-wing government is waging an illegal war)

They're not doing either of those things, Brad.

Finally, Democratic Party messaging is the job of the Democratic Party. Unless they are your literal boss, you are not obligated to toe the Party line just because [elected Democratic congressperson of your choice] said so. Go on and post your opinion in the comments while you still have the right

The truth is they are doing horrible things to every single one of us: white people and people of color, Jews and Muslims, American citizens and American immigrants, cis women and trans women, urban and rural, at home and abroad, etc. They're weaponizing these binary oppositions. You can't let them.

EVERYTHING IS REALLY BAD AND EVIL. It's not a competition between Your Pet Issue and Every Other Terrible Thing the Regime Is Doing. It's all part of the same huge, terrible program.

I know it's hard to comprehend. That's what "flood the zone" means. But you do not have to participate.

When you reply to posts about IRANIAN KIDS BEING BOMBED with AI slop memes about the Epstein files, YOU are the distraction. Exercise some critical thinking and ask yourself why you think the Epstein victims are more important than brown children and their families halfway across the world.