Person Of The Year
CRAZED! Op Ed Dec 2016 Double Issue Dec 7/Dec 14, 2016
Person Of The Year
Try Poodle of the Year
By Annette Sugden
In Case You're Under a Rock...
I mean, I’m not judging your lifestyle choices, just thinking you might not have a wifi signal, but Trump (I can't choke out “President Elect”) was named “Person of the Year” by Time Magazine. It's a yuge honor as you can imagine, it's bigly, believe me. But just not the same as when it was “Man of the Year,” because now women, even ugly women, women who menstruate, women who don't like him, women who complain about non consensual pussy grabs also qualify. He didn't say this, just implied it at one of his “thank you” rallies where he stands at a podium so brainwashed angry and/or racist homophobic people can hail him and shout stuff like “lock her up!” It's all very unpresidented type behavior on Trump’s part.
How do I know that he complained about Person vs Man of the Year? This clip below from the Washington Post where he makes a huge point of it and asks a mostly white male audience to vote via applause for which is better:
Now to be clear, I’m not on the PC, Trigger/Spoiler Warning, you better call me by whatever the non-offensive term of the minute is for how I choose to identify myself is or I will start a flame war with you on the Internet type of feminist who isn't completely cis gendered (I’m about 60/40 to 50/50 f/m but term myself female and am fine with either she or they pronouns) and who also identifies as polyamorous, but that's another topic. Still the debate about the terms man vs person for things like awards of the year is long over. I mean if I ever won Time’s award, as a woman, I don't want to receive a “Man of the Year” award, nor do I want to insist that it be renamed “Woman of the Year,” for the time period that I was chosen. Plus no gender is neither above nor below “personhood.” I understand that in these changing times where white males are soon to be the minority group, and where more people are talking about gender fluidity, different definitions of masculinity (and femininity), plus that gender isn't actually binary, that they are feeling frightened and threatened. Believe me. I’m weird, a freak. Much of who I am I’ve spent huge hunks of my life afraid to express even to myself. Welcome to the party. Maybe you could open a dialogue with those of us who live alternative lifestyles and have different gender or relationship or sexual identities than cis gender, monogamy, or heterosexuality? Are views and identities aren't contagious. We aren't trying to turn you into us or join us. We just want to talk, to accept each other and to work together.
Oh and This Also Happened...
So probably you haven't been under your rock too long, and maybe you knew about Wikileaks and DNC hack suspicions that perhaps Russia was involved in, but nobody would confirm because they didn't want to appear biased towards Clinton or any other not Trump candidate for fear of influencing the election. You heard about that back in October, right? Well, I have bad news and worse news.
The bad news is that the following US Intelligence agencies all agree that the Russians definitely used cyber attacks to influence and disrupt the presidential election to ensure Trump won and to undermine our democracy:
Oh it's all of them. There are 17. You might have been in wifi range when the FBI said they didn't agree with the CIA’s assessment of Russian involvement and motives, but they now say they never dissented and the CIA is correct.
The only person who claims he doesn't believe that the Russian government, his new bff, Vladimir Putin, were responsible and had a hand in installing him as, (did I say that out loud?), er electing him Russian Poodle of the United States.
Note: I can't take credit for “Russian Poodle.” It's from Nicholas Kristof’s brilliant New York Times Op Ed piece, https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/opinion/sunday/donald-trump-the-russian-poodle.amp.html. I highly recommend you read it. In fact read papers like the New York Times, Washington Post and The Guardian to stay on top of non fake news coverage.
What's the worse news in my opinion? It's that many Trump supporters and some Republicans don't care that a foreign power’s interference in our democratic election has undermined our democracy, threatened its survival and insured that a candidate favorable to their interests and/or that they can manipulate is elected President of the United States. I don't care who you voted for, or how you feel about Hillary Clinton, you should be angry. You should demand that this be thoroughly investigated. You should actively question the integrity, the validity of the election results. The fact that Russian Intelligence under orders from the Russian government hacked institutions and systems, leaked documents, and published propaganda - in the new double plus good speech “fake news,” to influence the US government and undermine democracy should not be something a majority of folks just shrug our shoulders, and say “whatever” about, or worse have our heads up our asses and be in denial over.
While You're Out From Under There...
Under where? Admit it. You said underwear. Anyway...Maybe you just are too tired or depressed or shy to call and write elected officials about things or to attend protest marches, but you can resist in other ways. You can subscribe to publications Trump hates because they criticize him or just show video tape of him actually saying stuff he says he doesn't. For example you can subscribe to Vanity Fair, a magazine whose food critic gave Trump Grill a negative review:
And Trump’s response on Twitter:
Vanity Fair is having a special right now. For $5 you get an annual subscription that includes print and digital access.
You can watch Saturday Night Live, a show Trump regularly goes on Twitter rants about after Alec Baldwin impersonates him in a sketch on the show.
You can tweet at him: https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump.
You can stay informed, fact check everything you read, including Trump’s tweets. Here's an app to fact check Trump Tweets: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/realdonaldcontext/ddbkmnomngnlcdglabflidgmhmcafogn.
Here's a website to fact check news:
You can stop hitting share on social media before you fact check links to articles.
You can start a blog. You can make art about how you feel. You can write plays. You can write songs. You can have in person conversations with people who have differing views from your own.
Trump says in order to unify as a country we must all join his movement. He's wrong. In order to unify, we don't have to agree or assimilate to views and lifestyles that aren't our own. We have to talk to each other, to dialogue, and be open. We have to understand that coming together doesn't mean consensus with a “winner” of an election. That's not freedom. That's not democracy. That's populistic fascism. We have to start communicating and stop trolling. Hate and fear aren't helping. Hiding won't help. Elections and democracy aren't sports. “Losers” don't have to shut up and be trampled by the “winners.”
©Annette Sugden
Annette Sugden is a writer, artist, performer, dancer, actor, and a bunch of other adjectives. She's founder and Managing Editor of CRAZED! Her work has appeared here, in Poeticdiversity.org, Gentle Strength Quarterly, Bearfoot Magazine, and Beyond Baroque Magazine. Some of her past poetry was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Sundress Best of the Net.
CRAZED! is an online politics, lifestyle, film, arts, and entertainment zine.
Crazed! accepts submissions including reviews, interviews, short fiction, poetry, and op ed/personal essay. We are also always looking for material to review and people to interview. Send queries via email to Annette at submissions@crazedzine.net
Crazed! accepts submissions including reviews, interviews, short fiction, poetry, and op ed/personal essay. We are also always looking for material to review and people to interview. Send queries via email to Annette at submissions@crazedzine.net
For Submission guidelines go here:
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