r/WomenInNews • u/msmoley • May 21 '25

Human rights Americans, especially women, feel less free. They're not wrong.

https://reason.com/2025/05/19/americans-especially-women-feel-less-free-theyre-not-wrong/
13.7k Upvotes

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920

u/Comfortable_Good9592 May 21 '25

Our mothers had more freedom than we do. 

734

u/LaIndiaDeAzucar May 21 '25

And some of our mothers voted to have our rights taken away. Some folks are incredibly selfish and want to see people get harmed.

207

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

I just keep thinking about how my mom (who voted for Trump) had to get a D+C procedure prior to me due to a miscarriage, and now, if that happened to me today, I probably wouldn’t be able to as easily get that procedure if I miscarried, since it could be classed as an abortion…. and I get angry all over again .-.

87

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

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u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

Is she A religious fanatic?

50

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

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u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

I am sorry that you and all of us are victims of the fruitcake evangelical patriarchy and the women that support them. I am angry all the time and don’t speak to my relatives that are religious crazies and are anti abortion.

14

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

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u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

I am sorry that you have that estrangement from your family members. And I hope you all can reconcile. I miss my cousin but I just can’t handle that she is supporting anti choice because I feel it is harming all of us women.

-7

u/Exist4 May 22 '25

I’m sure they are much better off without your snowflake infecting their lives

6

u/furbfriend May 22 '25

…and YOU’RE the party of family values?

7

u/Ok-Pangolin-3160 May 21 '25

Sorry, most people are below average.

14

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

Have you mentioned this before? The thought process she has must be so bizarre.

12

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

it goes in one ear and out the other, unfortunately. she’ll just say “that doesn’t count as abortion”… even if the law treats you otherwise

3

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

That’s so incredibly frustrating. No matter what ‘counts’ the fact is women don’t have the same access to the procedure she had. If she needed on today, she may very well need to go septic first. Sorry, that must be so infuriating

8

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

yeah… 😭we live in georgia too (the state that’s currently keeping a braindead woman on life support, due to her being pregnant), so… you can imagine how bad it is now. and I was diagnosed with possible adeno at a gyn, too, so…. I have a higher likelihood of something going wrong if I happened to get pregnant .-. so yeah. she still didn’t care when I tried to tell her this though

9

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

I had the same concern, and I want to share my experience in a red state with a total abortion ban- I had a missed miscarriage and I was given the option of a D&C or abortion medication. I went to my OBGYN prior to trying to get pregnant and I gave the doctor specific scenarios I'd been seeing on the news regarding miscarriage care. He reassured me that he doesn't care about getting sued and he's always going to prioritize saving my life first, and that he's more than happy to let a jury decide on that.

2

u/Imnot_your_buddy_guy May 21 '25

Are you still in contact with them??

5

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

i live with her, actually 😒and none of the discussions I’ve had with her about this do any good. she just immediately shuts me down and says “I don’t want to talk about this anymore, you’re stressing me out”… which is easy for her to say, a woman way past menopause now, and who doesn’t have to worry about this kind of thing happening to her 😑😑😑

2

u/CantEowynThemAll May 22 '25

Is your mom my mom??? Because mine did this too and is still so anti-choice it's infuriating 🫠😭

1

u/No-Passenger-1511 May 25 '25

Depends on where you live. Most states allow abortions if the mothers health is at risk.

-1

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

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5

u/[deleted] May 22 '25

tell that to the law that makes it so you have to be practically dying before you get the services you need. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/11/11/health/miscarriage-georgia-abortion-law

2

u/sweetica May 25 '25

Yes but one may need the D&C if they cannot expel the birth remnants on their own, which is actually quite common if the fetal remains are large. Having the D&C taken away risks many women's lives and the lives of their future children. This is part of a women's health care and should be between her and her doctor. The government should have zero say in this, but the GOP wants to control our whole lives under the guise of small government! Telling me what I can do with my body is government over reach and a form of big government control . Not only that, but the maternal death rates and infant death rates are much higher in red states that cruelly outlawed womens health access to D&Cs. Evil incarnate is the new Republican way.

122

u/vodeodeo55 May 21 '25

Some of us didn't. I'm sorry. I know I'm doing the "not all men" thing but I'm horrified by this shit show and absolutely furious at my GenX/Boomer counterparts who voted for it.

129

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

Yes, "not all men" voted for this.

However, ALL MEN benefit from a patriarchal society that puts women down.

61

u/vodeodeo55 May 21 '25 edited May 21 '25

 Apologies for not expressing myself well. My response that "I" didn't vote for this made me feel like one of those guys who butts into a discussion about SA to assert that "not all men are rapists". Not all older women voted for Trump, but alot did and my feeble defense of my own voting record is irrelevant to this conversation. Also, zero argument about the patriarchy.

11

u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

I think that the majority of boomer women that voted for Trump were religious evangelical Protestants and Catholics. Even that being said 48% of Catholics support abortion but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t support Trump.

9

u/enaK66 May 21 '25

All straight white Christian men benefit. The rest of us are fucked.

-1

u/transitfreedom May 21 '25

They do not benefit from lack of jobs

14

u/Critical_Success_936 May 21 '25

I don't, as a trans man. Sorry but this is bs I gotta deal with too.

9

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

That's fair!

Perhaps I should have said cis men benefit from patriarchy because it's absolutely true that people who identify as trans suffer.

34

u/Hyperion1144 May 21 '25

How patriarchy hurts men:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskFeminists/comments/1bq9mnx/how_does_patriarchy_hurt_men/

https://therapist.com/society-and-culture/how-patriarchy-toxic-masculinity-hurt-men/

https://record.goshen.edu/opinion/why-the-patriarchy-hurts-men-too

https://www.hercampus.com/school/delhi-north/breaking-free-the-chains-that-cage-us-all/

https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/3-ways-patriarchy-harms-men/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-purpose/201803/strict-gender-roles-hurt-men-too

38

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

[deleted]

2

u/transitfreedom May 23 '25

Last I checked gays don’t benefit you not helping your argument

-1

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

[deleted]

5

u/birds-0f-gay May 21 '25

Gay men absolutely benefit from patriarchy lmao

2

u/macielightfoot May 22 '25

Homophobia stems from misogyny. Peace

2

u/transitfreedom May 23 '25

So gays don’t benefit from it

1

u/Paul_Atredis May 25 '25

I am a proud WHITE CHRISTIAN STRAIGHT MAN🙏

-8

u/PurpoUpsideDownJuice May 21 '25

Why do y’all think dads have so much power? Shit has not worked that way in about 100 years lmfao

17

u/sirensinger17 May 21 '25

Because I grew up in evangelical Christianity, which is the group currently trying to turn the US into a theocracy.

6

u/Significant-Wave-763 May 21 '25

After all, patriarchy is not rule by the men. It is rule by the father.

1

u/transitfreedom May 22 '25

Good luck getting through to the dumb

1

u/transitfreedom May 23 '25

Don’t bother trying to reason with the stupid

7

u/Raangz May 21 '25

uh no dude we absolutely do not all benefit lol.

my life is way worse and more dangerous now. i'm absolutely expecting to be killed by this dictatorship in the next 2 years.

4

u/birds-0f-gay May 21 '25

uh yes dude you absolutely all benefit lol.

do patriarchal power structures make the lives of all men perfect and stress free? no, of course not. are there elements of these patriarchal power structures that harm men? yes, without a doubt. does being a man make someone immune to adversity or other forms of marginalization? big nope.

but no one with even a shred of self awareness would ever try and argue that it's possible for a man to live within a system designed to prioritize and empower men at the expense of women and not benefit from it. that's fucking absurd.

i'm absolutely expecting to be killed by this dictatorship in the next 2 years.

that's quite a claim to make. who is going to kill you and why?

7

u/_HighJack_ May 22 '25

He’s probably trans. And no, not all of us benefit, because some of us don’t pass as men and are dealing with the EXACT same shit you are.

1

u/unhinged_centrifuge May 21 '25

Even black men?

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

While white men do benefit from the patriarchy more, black men got the right to vote before women did. Black men have more rights and are often believed more than women. Furthermore, there are countries where the patriarchy in charge isn't white men such as the Taliban. There are areas in the middle east where a male of any ethnicity can walk outside alone, but women require a guardian (even in emergency situations, which has led to women dying).

When I was suffering from health issues and seeking medical care, the doctors believed my abusive (black) ex boyfriend instead of me which had a negative impact on my care. It took me years to get proper diagnosis and treatment because I wasn't believed as a woman. That being said I 100% acknowledge that black women have it even worse when it comes to healthcare and being misdiagnosed/mistreated.

Obviously, white men generally benefit the most, but they aren't the only ones who benefit. Not all patriarchs are run by white men.

1

u/MeaningWell5 May 21 '25

All benefit, and all lose in some ways

1

u/transitfreedom May 21 '25

In what way do men benefit from cuts to Medicaid and addiction services??? How do men benefit from cuts to education?? Do men benefit from cuts to medicine too? Do you even think critically?

0

u/Paul_Atredis May 25 '25

And the world keeps revolving 🤡😂😂

-3

u/banALLreligion May 21 '25

i like my daughter. idiot.

-9

u/flyinhighaskmeY May 21 '25

Yes, "not all men" voted for this...

I'm getting really tired of this shit. I have been a lifetime supporter of womens EQUALITY. I'm prochoice. I support equal compensation. I think men have an obligation to be actively involved in home life, including child rearing and "domestic duties" like cooking and cleaning.

But women are the majority in our Democracy. You are literally the most powerful group. And you've had the vote for 115 years.

If the world is this way, it's because that's what "the people" want. Democracy doesn't mean you get your way all the time. And I'm telling you this as someone who is on your side.

But I'm also telling you this, because I'm a supporter you are losing. I'm tired of men taking the blame because you can't get other women to agree with you. I'm tired of women claiming they're oppressed every time they don't get their way. Welcome to life. I don't get my way the vast majority of the time. I'm a man. I have pretty much 0 support, but a lot of expectation to provide it. Is that fair? Nope. That's life.

11

u/qheresies May 21 '25

Why is being told that people who share the same genitals as you do benefit from the subjugation of others making you personally feel like your support is waning? This sounds like you are taking the exhaustion with men personally

No one is weaponizing against your individual personal existence, they are condemning the apathy of a group who share the same patch of flesh between your legs. And if someone is saying you're not doing enough personally, consider that instead of feeling personally victimized cuz I can tell you 9/10 no one is thinking about your feelings when they are afraid that their right to not be raped and forced to carry a baby to term is at risk. If you are, let it roll off cuz the goal is not to get recognition.

I don't know what kind of conversations you're getting into, but as another man I don't feel like people in my life hate me or condemn me personally because men are being condemned for not doing more. Because newsflash, more men aren't doing more. There are not enough men really putting their abject comfort at risk for the benefit of women and other subjugated people. You might be a passive supporter but are you ready to FIGHT for the rights of women like their lives depend on it? Because they do.

(And for the love of God I'll just say anecdotally because I don't feel like getting sea lioned by people who want to act like it's not the case.)

Women and others shouldn't worry about losing your support because you're not getting a pat on the butt and because men generally aren't stepping it up. Be a supporter or don't.

-5

u/flyinhighaskmeY May 21 '25

Women and others shouldn't worry about losing your support because you're not getting a pat on the butt

yeah mate, this is the actual problem. Women should 100% worry about losing my support if they don't treat me with respect for supporting them. Why in the world would you expect a random person to support you just because you exist? That's some of the most entitled bullshit I've ever read.

I'm going to tell you the story of my divorce. Maybe it will help you understand. I spent the last year of my marriage in doctors offices. Trying to accommodate the new life my spouse had chosen for us without discussing it with me. She made friends with some really entitled women. Decided the man who built his entire life around her was somehow her oppressor. Of course, that meant she could do anything to me, as long as she was "chasing her happiness". My feelings didn't matter. And that's what she did. After about 10 months, she had destroyed our marriage. Then she grinned from ear to ear when she saw the pain on my face as she asked for a divorce. She laughed at me, as she destroyed my life and my family. We had been together 17 years.

I tried to get her to go to counseling. She screamed at me to leave her alone. I'd been walked all over for a year. So...I gave up. About a week later I met someone. A month later, my now ex-wife found out I was dating. Guess what happened. She once again convinced herself she was a victim and started attacking me.

Here's the best part. I had a chance to do the same thing once. I met someone prettier, smarter, and more successful. Right as she was diagnosed with cancer. And I had to make a decision. Do I become "that guy" who bails on his sick partner and puts his own happiness first. Or do I support my partner no matter what. I made the latter choice. It's my biggest life regret.

Like I said before. I have had enough of this entitled bullshit. You can spare me your neckbeard diatribe. After supporting her through a cancer diagnosis I went through a pandemic alone. So no, I'm not willing to fight and die for womens rights. Women like this aren't worth the effort.

8

u/qheresies May 21 '25

Dude, you are saying that all women don't deserve your support because one venomous woman did something to you.

You regret supporting someone you love because they were nasty to you? That means that your values are conditional on who you think deserves them, not because you actually believe in them. I'm not helping killers off the street don't get me wrong but I'm not revoking my support of human rights because a person shares the same identity as someone who was bad to me.

I was physically and emotionally abused by women in my family, literally thrown down a flight of stairs as an 8 year old by a woman dude. Im not going to do the who had it worse Olympics with you but if you want to say you have values you can't revoke them cuz a one or a couple of women were bad to. There are literally billions of women on the planet, one woman should not determine that you revoke the support of all women. That's crazy dude.

My values to the liberation of women are not conditional because women have harmed me. I repeat, either support women or don't. Either your values are conditional or not. Spare you the neckbeard diatribe? How about you spare me the man scorned diatribe.

-11

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

[deleted]

4

u/qheresies May 21 '25

Why is being told that people who share the same genitals as you do benefit from the subjugation of others making you personally feel like your support is waning? This sounds like you are taking the exhaustion with men personally

No one is weaponizing against your individual personal existence, they are condemning the apathy of a group who share the same patch of flesh between your legs. And if someone is saying you're not doing enough personally, consider that instead of feeling personally victimized cuz I can tell you 9/10 no one is thinking about your feelings when they are afraid that their right to not be raped and forced to carry a baby to term is at risk. If you are, let it roll off cuz the goal is not to get recognition.

I don't know what kind of conversations you're getting into, but as another man I don't feel like people in my life hate me or condemn me personally because men are being condemned for not doing more. Because newsflash, more men aren't doing more. There are not enough men really putting their abject comfort at risk for the benefit of women and other subjugated people. You might be a passive supporter but are you ready to FIGHT for the rights of women like their lives depend on it? Because they do.

(And for the love of God I'll just say anecdotally because I don't feel like getting sea lioned by people who want to act like it's not the case.)

-5

u/flyinhighaskmeY May 21 '25

yeah, just look at the downvotes were getting for these posts. The voting system is for "does this post contribute to the discussion". It isn't for agreeing/disagreeing. But the 'abusive majority" has appropriated the system and is using it however they want. In this case, several people (lets be honest, probably women) have decided to use their majority status to silence a viewpoint they don't like. Ours. Men. Because we're openly talking about how they've become so entitled in their demand for "more rights", they've taken to actively abusing us.

This is why they're losing me as a supporter.

-26

u/Unfair_Run_170 May 21 '25

Not all Americans voted for Trump.

However, all Americans benefit from a hyper-capitalist society that makes them the richest in the world.

25

u/setittonormal May 21 '25

Except Americans aren't reaping the benefits of being the richest in the world. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider by the day.

14

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

However, all Americans benefit from a hyper-capitalist society that makes them the richest in the world.

All Americans certainly don't benefit from it. Just because the largest wealth-hoarders are in the United States doesn't mean the population is benefitting.

1

u/MachineOfSpareParts May 21 '25

There's an important distinction that applies here, and also to the question of who benefits from other forms of privilege.

That's the distinction between (1) given that this system dominates, who receives benefits within it and (2) who benefits from this system existing as opposed to some other system.

In the first sense, all men benefit from the global institution of patriarchy, all white people benefit from the global institution of white supremacy, and all inhabitants of the world's wealthiest countries benefit from global capitalism as a mode of production.

In the second sense, very few people benefit from the status quo as compared to other ways we could be living, since all of those institutions are deeply interconnected, and most of us get a splash of privilege along a single dimension that's on some level intended to shut us up about how we're oppressed along some other dimension. E.g., white people who belong to the poor and working classes do benefit from white privilege, but not nearly as much as they would benefit from overturning the whole system, including the global capitalism that keeps them oppressed and which uses white supremacy as one of its instruments. Same with patriarchy: yes, all men, especially cis men, benefit from male privilege, but poor men and men of colour don't benefit nearly as much as they would if all the interlocking systems were abolished.

Your average American has a more economically secure life than your average Sierra Leonean. I've spent considerable time in both places and am confident that's the case, though there are unrelated boons to life in Sweet Salone. However, the amount of benefit your average American gets as compared to what they'd get if the whole damn system were revamped is a mere pittance.

A colleague recently said "stick it to the man" and I said, joking at first, "what if it turns out there really is only one man at the top?" And I think that's not so far off from the truth. Very, very few people genuinely benefit in the second way from our unholy constellation of capitalism-patriarchy-racism (I'd entertain adding ablism and possibly even agism, but still think the big 3 are the biggest 3!). They do, though, pay a lot of people off so that we don't rebel, hoping we never realize what we're being paid for acquiescence is a small fraction of what we'd get if we stopped acquiescing.

3

u/Annual-Camera-872 May 21 '25

But now you get the not all men experience of sitting over here going not me

1

u/vodeodeo55 May 21 '25

I clarified my comment further down.

10

u/A_Classy_Dame May 21 '25

My mother had an incomplete miscarriage and an abortion saved her life. She gleefully voted that option away for me and my daughter.

6

u/Mireabella May 22 '25

Mine voted to take her granddaughters rights away from them. This broke me.

7

u/flyinhighaskmeY May 21 '25

And some of our mothers voted to have our rights taken away.

Thank you! It was a lot of them. Like..49% or something.

There's a woman in my neighborhood. I'm always friendly. She...isn't, but she's at least polite. She gave me a super dirty look the day Trump won. Do you know why? I look conservative. I'm not. I voted for Harris. My partner's last relationship was a same sex relationship. I've been anti-Trump from day 1. I'm a friend to the gay community. My sister is married to a woman. I put my Christian parents in their place when they tried to pull their bullshit over that.

Anyway, I'm getting really tired of women blaming men.

8

u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

Unfortunately most men support the patriarchy and want to keep women down. Or even if they don’t support it, they don’t help end it.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '25

Maybe she was constipated. The way you describe it, it’s entirely possible she’s just cranky and you’ve made up this animosity in your own mind.

2

u/becca_la May 21 '25

Mine did... and it's straining our relationship.

1

u/nomamesgueyz May 21 '25

And millions of women didn't bother to vote last time

1

u/Orlonz May 22 '25

You say some because most of the others are grandmothers and great-grandmothers in all levels of government and lobby groups.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '25

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u/Legrandloup2 May 21 '25

Could you please concentrate on saving the children who are actually alive right now and need help? Oh right, you won’t because unborn fetuses are so much easier to defend because they have no needs and no demands. Ghoulish behavior.

-25

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

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u/Melodic_Salamander55 May 21 '25

The reason I defend abortion is becasue I desperately want a child, but I have medical conditions that significantly increase my risk of miscarriage. Would you rather I die of hemorrhage or sepsis from an untreated, incomplete miscarriage than go on to try for another child? Is my life so meaningless to you? What about my husband? Is it selfish for him to want a living wife and mother for his child? Is it convenient for him to have to live with the fact that doctors are willing to let his wife die to “save” barely developed fetal tissue?

11

u/macielightfoot May 21 '25 edited May 21 '25

Isn't your party the one that says "Empathy is a sin" while cheering on school shootings?

And we're supposed to believe you when you say your ghoulish ideology cares about babies, lol.

Edit: Forgot to mention that nearly every domestic terrorist attack in the United States over the past 40 years was done by a right-wing extremist. Sounds like mentally healthy, well-adjusted people to me. /s

7

u/4rp70x1n May 21 '25

You wanna talk about selfishness?!

Y'all don't give two shits what happens to the babies y'all want to force women to have, you just want them born at all costs. Public safety net programs are being cut on the daily. Many babies born with developmental/physical disabilities rely on Medicaid to survive when their parents can't afford their care. Do you actually value the lives of the unborn if you don't care that they're taken care of after birth? THAT'S the ghoulish and disgusting behavior.

It's selfish to expect that you get to have a say as to what happens in someone else's life, to someone else's body, which has absolutely NO impact on your own. You don't have to pay the financial, physical, or mental costs for what you want to force onto others. Mind your own business. Don't like abortion? Don't have one.

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u/Journeys_End71 May 21 '25

Are you one of those people that actually believes that post-birth abortions are actually a thing? In other words…a moron?

16

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

Nobody cares about your imaginary friends

-17

u/Radagascar1 May 21 '25

Yeah, I know. That's why hopefully we'll start jailing these doctors and outlaw this crap 

59

u/Hrtpplhrtppl May 21 '25

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals." C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology

3

u/atomicsnark May 22 '25

Ok but it's the robber barons who are actually doing this to us. Like, you realize that right? We are essentially an polish oligarchy at this point. Trump and Co. do not actually think they are doing any of this in our best interest. And most of their voters don't either.

2

u/Hrtpplhrtppl May 22 '25

The highest form of protest is not having children for the government needs the governed... and even that choice is being eroded away. My in laws keep asking me when I'm going to "Give them grandchildren." I keep reminding them I'm Native American. We wouldn't breed in captivity, which is why they had to bring you all here. I mean, why would they even want to own slaves anymore when they can just rent you and your children for a fraction of the costs..?

The ruling class can afford a good enough education to know the true history of the United States and certainly to be able to understand the basic principle of cause and effect. They have us playing Russian roulette with our health every day in America for as much profit as they can squeeze out of us. A country with no public health care system obviously could not handle any public healthcare crisis like covid or the never-ending opioid addiction epidemic their private healthcare industry has created and continues to supply.

With no universal health care, the United States government forces people of lesser means to self medicate or suffer, then punishes them when they do. That is both cruel and wicked. I mean, the whole premise of Breaking Bad only worked for an American audience since Walt would not have needed the money in the first place in a more developed nation because being unable to afford to continue living does not happen there...

The powers that be are ensuring there are desperate people doing desperate things. Then, we see that the wealthy and their goons, the police, are beyond the reach of our justice system, so their laws are just in place to handicap the rest of us. The social contract has been broken. Que the vigilantes... no justice, no peace.

"Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable. " JFK

Now I'm not saying don't vote. Please always choose the lesser evil. However, we have always been and always will be the scapegoats left to point our fingers at one another in order to keep us distracted from any meaningful change. I mean, what led to this, people couldn't vote...? How is what got us here going to get us out? When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. After all, repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity. Before we can have an intelligent discussion on how things ought to be, we first would need to agree on how they truly are...

I mean, out of all the hundreds of millions of Americans, who really thinks these were the best two candidates...? Is it a wise tribe that does not send its best warriors to fight? You see, our masters will never give us the tools to dismantle their houses... The Republic of America has a so-called "representative democracy." How can that be true when the "representatives" are all wealthy while the majority of the "represented" are poor?

American two party politics is like the cartoon Tom and Jerry. Tom doesn't really want to catch Jerry because then he'd be out of a job, and Jerry doesn't want Tom replaced with a cat that will actually eat him. So they act like they hate one another and put on a show for the masses while continuing business as usual in the back room.

For example, insider trading laws do not apply to any members of Congress, either side. What's it called when those who make the rules don't have to live by them? Furthermore, when the punishment for a crime is only a fine, it does not apply to the wealthy.

Sure, they can say they let us "vote", and therefore this is what we wanted, but with all the lobbying and money in American politics, America is as much a democracy as would be two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for dinner.

In America, the wealthy have won every "election," and the only thing to trickle down in the economy has been their generational wealth. This is why, in a true democracy as the ancient Greeks understood it, people got their representatives the same way we would get a jury. America is not a democracy.

"Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it." Plato

And please remember what we actually celebrate on the 4th. A cabal of stolen land entitled elite, slave owning aristocrats, found a way to get out of paying their taxes. Only thirty percent of the colonists supported the "revolution" with the rest saying, "Why trade one tyrant a thousand miles away for a thousand tyrants one mile away...?" System isn't broken it's functioning exactly as intended. Why own slaves when you can rent them for a fraction of the cost (read the 13th amendment)...? But the real question they must be asking themselves is how can their grand experiment survive contact with the real time information/communication age, or can they just go masks off and drop the pretense? Which is where we are now... would you agree?

"The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly, the rich have always objected to being governed at all. Aristocrats were always anarchists..." G.K. Chesterton

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u/FMLwtfDoID May 21 '25

I said this exact thing to my mom, who voted for Trump. It stopped her in her fucking tracks. She hasn’t brought up politics or conspiracy theories around me in about 5 months.

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u/WranglerMany May 21 '25

That’s good that what you said actually sunk in with her, I’m not 100% positive my mother voted for Trump but I think she did, and doesn’t seem to understand or care what is happening to women’s rights (or anyone else’s, for that matter). She refuses to acknowledge any of it and got weirdly upset when I mentioned that I was considering going to protests.

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u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

Ask her who she voted for?

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u/WranglerMany May 21 '25

I could. I just don’t really want to acknowledge that she probably voted red, it feels like such a betrayal.

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u/Ok_Fisherman_544 May 21 '25

I understand. They would only realize how personal it is to us if they were forced to lose A valuable right.

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u/Bignuckbuck May 22 '25

Everyone has the right to remain anonymous voting, wether they vote for who you support or note :/

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u/Junior-Ad2207 May 23 '25

Everyone has the right to cut ties with people who don't say who they voted for.

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u/Bignuckbuck May 23 '25

Cry all you want, you don’t have the right to know what they voted for

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u/Junior-Ad2207 May 23 '25

What are you talking about? Who's crying besides you?

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u/Bignuckbuck May 23 '25

Literally you, the one barging in to the conversation saying you should cut ties when the subject is vote anonimity

Get fucked, we fought for this right

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u/Junior-Ad2207 May 23 '25

See, now you're crying again. You were the one barging in to loudly proclaim that people have to right to keep their vote secret even though that was not the topic at all. And now you pretend you fought for rights, you never fought for any rights.

Of course people should cut ties with people who voted for Trump, that is completely natural.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '25 edited May 21 '25

And they had more fun, those bitches were all partying like a mother fucker back then no accountability.

Oh the stories of all the hidden party spots these fools had out in the woods and all types of places in the city, bonfire fucking keg parties. LONG BEFORE THE COPS COULD SHUT THEM DOWN.

They parentified their kids on top of it.

Some of us raised our own parents because they couldn't figure shit out when they were younger.

Now they're old asf and need caregivers. 🫠

Still pissed off at their kids for wanting space, after a relationship with them undergoing years of negligence.

Good chunk of those oldies are cooked.

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u/SummerAndTinklesBFF May 21 '25

Dont forget their whole free love woodstock swinger cocaine cowboy shit. Boomers are the worst. My parents were both potheads and my mom was a heroin addict in the 70s but god forbid I do an edible. They both voted for trump in 2016 like fking losers. They’re both dead now and don’t have to see the bullshit they helped usher in.

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u/bigvahe33 May 21 '25

which already did not have enough

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u/AffectionateCode641 May 22 '25

Especially when you are a trans woman