Wow, I live in a woke city with a woke daughter and yes, it has gotten so far ahead of us all. My sister in law who is Mexican told me that even though my father (Irish Immigrant) who was discriminated against wasn't the same because he was White! How does one respond to that??
Haha! I get it! If you want to read a killer of a book read "Power and Liberty" by historian Gordon Wood. He describes in detail the plight of the Irish immigrants to America, and also the horror of indentured servitude which was very similar in many (but not all) ways to slavery. (Indentured servants were literally sold just like slaves, could be legally beaten and raped, had no rights, couldn't vote or own property, etc.) People forget too that the Irish in the 19th century were fleeing the horrors of British oppression and the potatoe famine. Everything now has been downgraded into "whiteness." This really uncouples all the realistic complexity of how things were. The Irish were treated horribly, spat at, rejected, denied work, called monkeys, etc. They died in the tens of thousannds from disease living in tiny tenements. Unfortunately (read: 1619 Project) we're in a bleak time where history is considered fictitiously; if one doesn't agree with historical reality, one simply changes that history. One last thing. Your comment about your daugher-in-law. Reminds me of this black Trumper I met in Santa Barbara, where I live. He and I started talking about politics and soon we were discussing BLM and Wokeism and we agreed on everything. But this is what stuck with me: He told me his early twenties daughter, becuase he voted for Trump, calls him a "terrorist." His own daughter! This nails the problem down to its essence: Why can't people have different views? Why do I HAVE to believe what you believe? That just gets everyone's hackles up. I think most of us have the same reaction when others try to tell us what to think, how to think, what to say, how to act, who to vote for: "Fuck you."
Thanks for the book suggestion,. In the eye's of the woke, my Father's suffering both in his birth country (for being Catholic) and adopted country (for being Irish) don't count. My daughter, also 20, always wants to know what "source" i have been reading when I express an opinion. As if that discounts anything i have to say. I totally get it. Being a Conservative in San Francisco is akin to being a convicted murderer, so I feel for that "Trumper" you were talking to. ALL my close friends are conservative, and we meet in a total dive bar in Northbeach that we consider our "safe space" to speak our minds. This is what we have all been reduced to. Makes me nuts.
Yeah. I get it. That makes me sad for our country. Honestly, I take a decent amount of shit from "progressives" as well for, as they say, "both sides-ing" it. Haha. Part of the problem is that Fox news and other outlets pick up these points and use them and then lefties think, Anything Fox says its bullshit, so it can't be true/real. In my opinion the Repub party HAS definitely gone way, way too far in the wrong direction as a whole (though not all Rs; I am hopeful for guys like Glen Youngkin), and much of what they say seems to be just as ridiculous as the far left...but they sometimes ARE hitting on semi- or whole truths. So then it's just more complex cause progressives will say, 'The Irish struggled? That's a far-right talking point!" And will then dismiss it. There's SOME truth to this...but it doesn't mean it's not true. Generally, we're in an extreme time, obviously. Weirdly, I think it might be Gen Z who save us; they're starting to rebell against Millennials. But we'll see. I just think social media is a BIG part of the problem. We all need to get into physical contact with each other and remind one another how much more we have in common. The media on both sides might tone down the radicalism and lying, too; that might help :)
Well said! I agree on all points. I stopped watching MSM all together. Now I have turned to substack which of course someone said "I heard that's not a reliable source". You can't win but seeing changes at CNN is a step in the right direction.
Hi Micheal,
I am here because of our interaction over on the GL comment section.
I will be reading and looking over your Substack posts
Thank you for your reply to my posts.
Awesome! And thank you :)
Wow, I live in a woke city with a woke daughter and yes, it has gotten so far ahead of us all. My sister in law who is Mexican told me that even though my father (Irish Immigrant) who was discriminated against wasn't the same because he was White! How does one respond to that??
Haha! I get it! If you want to read a killer of a book read "Power and Liberty" by historian Gordon Wood. He describes in detail the plight of the Irish immigrants to America, and also the horror of indentured servitude which was very similar in many (but not all) ways to slavery. (Indentured servants were literally sold just like slaves, could be legally beaten and raped, had no rights, couldn't vote or own property, etc.) People forget too that the Irish in the 19th century were fleeing the horrors of British oppression and the potatoe famine. Everything now has been downgraded into "whiteness." This really uncouples all the realistic complexity of how things were. The Irish were treated horribly, spat at, rejected, denied work, called monkeys, etc. They died in the tens of thousannds from disease living in tiny tenements. Unfortunately (read: 1619 Project) we're in a bleak time where history is considered fictitiously; if one doesn't agree with historical reality, one simply changes that history. One last thing. Your comment about your daugher-in-law. Reminds me of this black Trumper I met in Santa Barbara, where I live. He and I started talking about politics and soon we were discussing BLM and Wokeism and we agreed on everything. But this is what stuck with me: He told me his early twenties daughter, becuase he voted for Trump, calls him a "terrorist." His own daughter! This nails the problem down to its essence: Why can't people have different views? Why do I HAVE to believe what you believe? That just gets everyone's hackles up. I think most of us have the same reaction when others try to tell us what to think, how to think, what to say, how to act, who to vote for: "Fuck you."
Thanks for the book suggestion,. In the eye's of the woke, my Father's suffering both in his birth country (for being Catholic) and adopted country (for being Irish) don't count. My daughter, also 20, always wants to know what "source" i have been reading when I express an opinion. As if that discounts anything i have to say. I totally get it. Being a Conservative in San Francisco is akin to being a convicted murderer, so I feel for that "Trumper" you were talking to. ALL my close friends are conservative, and we meet in a total dive bar in Northbeach that we consider our "safe space" to speak our minds. This is what we have all been reduced to. Makes me nuts.
Yeah. I get it. That makes me sad for our country. Honestly, I take a decent amount of shit from "progressives" as well for, as they say, "both sides-ing" it. Haha. Part of the problem is that Fox news and other outlets pick up these points and use them and then lefties think, Anything Fox says its bullshit, so it can't be true/real. In my opinion the Repub party HAS definitely gone way, way too far in the wrong direction as a whole (though not all Rs; I am hopeful for guys like Glen Youngkin), and much of what they say seems to be just as ridiculous as the far left...but they sometimes ARE hitting on semi- or whole truths. So then it's just more complex cause progressives will say, 'The Irish struggled? That's a far-right talking point!" And will then dismiss it. There's SOME truth to this...but it doesn't mean it's not true. Generally, we're in an extreme time, obviously. Weirdly, I think it might be Gen Z who save us; they're starting to rebell against Millennials. But we'll see. I just think social media is a BIG part of the problem. We all need to get into physical contact with each other and remind one another how much more we have in common. The media on both sides might tone down the radicalism and lying, too; that might help :)
Well said! I agree on all points. I stopped watching MSM all together. Now I have turned to substack which of course someone said "I heard that's not a reliable source". You can't win but seeing changes at CNN is a step in the right direction.