January 31, 2017

Boycotting the normalizers.



Via Mashable, "US Weekly is all-too-ready to normalize Trump," by Heather Dockray:
While printing photos of a president's family is standard practice for a pop culture magazine...

For readers just starting to become aware of the dangers of the Trump presidency, (yes, that's just happening for some), US Weekly's cover is a mistake.
Dockray seems to have the assignment of tending to Trump-related feelings of millennial (and younger) readers. What's just the right touch of outrage + humor? How much earnestness? How much sarcasm?

Her post yesterday was: "What to do when you're so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move." It's illustrated by a cutesy cartoon of a wide-eyed Statue of Liberty in hell saying "This is fine." There are lots of gifs showing sweet young people getting upset. What are kids supposed to do when they feel required to stay engaged but battered by one scary thing after another?
The bad news comes in so fast you can hardly keep up with it.... As important as it is to remain informed, however, it's equally necessary for people to stay calm and not lapse into full on Facebook post hysteria. It's far easier to organize when you're motivated by the hope in your heart rather than the panic our president inspires.

You can't and shouldn't dissociate from what's happening in Washington. You have a moral responsibility to act. But there are more effective ways you can manage your media consumption and activism, making you a stronger organizer (and way more likable human)....
There are 13 items, like:
8. Eat whatever the hell you want because f*ck it

Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight — now is not the time to go Paleo, folks. Sure, it's technically "good" to eat healthy, but who cares. If eating fettuccine alfredo for breakfast keeps you from bawling in front of your boss, then do it. Don't let Trump take away your constitutional right to cream sauce.
That's not representative of the list. That's in there for relief. Mostly the list tells you to limit your consumption of the news and pick a few moderate political things to do (like "Go to a march").

Managing the mood of young people is serious business. It won't be easy. It shouldn't be easy.

85 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Every time I catch a view of that US Weekly cover out of the corner of my eye, I think I'm seeing Tiffany Trump coming at Barron Trump's neck with a big kitchen knife.

Achilles said...

More snowflakes melted by the trump twitter feed.

Hahahahahahaha

Achilles said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"Every time I catch a view of that US Weekly cover out of the corner of my eye, I think I'm seeing Tiffany Trump coming at Barron Trump's neck with a big kitchen knife."

You mean it was possible that siblings fought? Abnormal!

mezzrow said...

Managing the mood of young people is serious business. It won't be easy. It shouldn't be easy.

That's why God made ritalin, Ann. Ask your guidance counselor.

re your comment #1: it's like a Tudor family feud or something!

Q: Did Marla have six fingers?

Bob Boyd said...

Growing up Goldstein

Fabi said...

I'll be sad and disappointed if the left ever ceases with their perpetual meltdown antics. Thank you President Trump!

AlbertAnonymous said...

Jessica Valenti is vile. Just click on the professor's tag for her and read the garbage she authors. Ugh!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

But we were supposed to trust these magazines when they told us Michelle was a fashion icon. And all the fawning press they gave the hideous congenital liar Hillary were what, not propaganda by-the-left-for-the-left?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

That's a pretty good-looking family there. Really nice looking. Wholesome. Like the Osmonds. Yeah that's the ticket.

damikesc said...

Tip: if you're so upset you can barely move:

1) buy a gun
2) buy bullets
3) place gun against temple

rehajm said...

Your pace is unsustainable. Look at how frazzled Chuck Schumer looks. Keep it up and you're going to look like that by Valentine's Day.

Mr. D said...

What would we do without all our freelance commissars?

RMc said...

8. Eat whatever the hell you want because f*ck it

Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight


This is exactly what I did as a kid growing up in the 70s, when everybody was certain the Russians were going to bomb us any day now. (Unfortunately, they didn't, and now I have to eat salads and work out more. Thanks, Brezhnev!)

eddie willers said...

Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight

Where can I go to watch this clock ticking?

Literally.

Dave D said...

The derangement of the left over all things Trump has me wondering when we moved from a two-party system with competing ideas and compromise to a "left-only, all things from the other party are Hitler, even when our Savior did the same thing!" scream fest by the left? Had they, in their snowflake minds, thought they had totally defeated the opposition and it was pure sailing to their leftist utopia from now on? Or is this the norm for lefty responses to all setbacks from now on? The latter is just another form of emotional totalitarianism, IMO and the former is just plain ignorance of what half of the country believes in.

Fernandinande said...

Remember that sweet, rosy time just weeks ago, when Twitter's main concern was about the press "normalizing" Trump.

No.

hysterically retweeting Vox articles, often immobilized with fear.

#14. Consult your psychiatrist before going cold-turkey on the meds.

Laslo Spatula said...

8B. Fuck whoever the hell you want because f*ck it

Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight — now is not the time to go Heteronormative, folks. Sure, it's technically "good" to keep your fetishes in check, but who cares. If a Gay Rusty Trombone for breakfast keeps you from bawling in front of your boss, then do it. If sucking the cock of a sketchy Transsexual Woman by a dumpster in the alley keeps you from wetting your pants in public, go for it. If looking for Young Rough Trade eases your road rage, strap on the studded leather collar and get some ass sex. Don't let Trump take away your constitutional right to Rainbow Sauce.

I am Laslo.

Fabi said...

No chance that "Grow the fuck up" was one of the thirteen suggestions.

buwaya said...

Its always a good time to eat paleo.
I didnt, and now have diabetes.
Stress doesnt help either.
These people arent doing the kids any favors.

I do paleo now, closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

Anyway, for cases of political anxiety I recommend firearms and military training. The NRA has a tremendous marketing opportunity, maybe, as may also the CA National Guard, which as of now seems politically about the same as the GA National Guard. But that all may be a step too far in cognitive dissonance.

David53 said...

True story.

I was talking to my psychiatrist friend yesterday, a female about Althouse’s age. We’ve been friends for about 10 years and rarely talk about politics or work though she did complain several years ago about having to let some of her office staff go because she couldn’t afford the Obamacare insurance hikes. I don’t remember precisely how the conversation started but she said she had never seen so many grown men weeping in her office because of Trump. She said since the election her days had been full of “talking them down.” She related one of her clients, a young gay man, was convinced Trump’s administration had a list of all the LGBTQ people in the country and was going to round them all up and send them to concentration camps for reprogramming. I was stunned. I have seen lots of examples of Trump Derangement Syndrome online but I didn’t realize the extent to which it is affecting people’s mental health. I told her, “Yes, we are living in interesting times,” to which she replied, “Some Chinese believe it is a curse to live in interesting times.” Trump may end up being a terrible President or he may be just what we need, in any case I have faith in our system of government and the resilience of our people, we will survive and thrive, no tears are necessary.

rehajm said...

Fettuccine alfredo for breakfast is not going to help with your endurance. Besides, in the long run you're probably better off if your boss knows you're a bedwetter.

Big Mike said...

@Achilles, not only did Pelosi's microphone not work, but the bullhorn the Dumbocrats brought as backup didn't work either. My first thought was that it was somehow typical of Dumbocrats to rush into things without checking to make sure everything is going to work as advertised? I mean like Obamacare? Oh, that's right, I didn't hate Obamacare because I paid more money for poorer coverage. Nope, Morgan Freeman and other Dumbocrats assured me that it wasn't merely because I'm a racist.

My second thought is that nearly all the people in this country who can actually do the things that need to be done -- electricians who can wire up a sound system, plumbers, auto mechanics, farmers, ranchers, policemen -- they're all Trump voters.

Fernandinande said...

Laslo Spatula said...
8B. Fuck whoever the hell you want because f*ck it


Party like it's 1348!

Wilbur said...

Hey, does Valenti really think people are going to cancel their subscriptions to US Weekly? There's an article from Khloe K. telling us how she survived her divorce!

Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rehajm said...

Has there been a single fatality from contracting Trump Derangement Syndrome? Heart attack? Anything serious?

The most serious symptom so far is it makes everyone around you miserable.

Anonymous said...

Seriously,

They are doing a much better job of convincing me that "They" are Aby-normal, than of convincing me that Trump is not normal.

Ease up guys. You have at least four years to deal with your pain.

Big Mike said...

@damikesc, you forgot to tell them to load the gun and chamber a round. Also to verify that the ammunition they buy matches the gun. There's a reason why I call them Dumbocrats.

Quayle said...

"Like the Osmonds."

Oh, what these people would give now to rather see the Romney boys on the cover.

But just a short 4 years ago, these were the same people telling us that Romney was a heartless, sadistic, dog surfing, top-women collecting, factory closing, cold war loving, worker firing, birth control confiscating, wedgie giving, school yard bully, out of touch elitist.

Clearly for these folks the news really does come in so fast they can hardly keep up with it.

Let's hope that when their heads stop spinning, their face is back to the front.

campy said...

Had they, in their snowflake minds, thought they had totally defeated the opposition and it was pure sailing to their leftist utopia from now on?

Yes.

Or is this the norm for lefty responses to all setbacks from now on?

No. Once they get power back it'll be barbed wire and Zyklon-B for the deplorables.

Anonymous said...

Wilbur said...
Hey, does Valenti really think people are going to cancel their subscriptions to US Weekly?


Do they even sell subscriptions? I buy mine every week at the check-out line :)

Same day I pick up my National Inquirer.

Mark Jones said...

I voted for Trump. Well, to be precise, I voted for the only candidate with a shot at winning who WASN'T HILARY. I was relieved to have dodged a bullet when he beat her.

But now, after two months of leftist crybullies having their prolonged tantrum everywhere--in the streets, on tv, on the internet--I'm not just relieved. I'm happy. I am enjoying watching their complete meltdown, and the way they're revealing their totalitarian instincts to everyone watching.

And it's having an effect on me. It's making me ecstatic that Trump is President instead of Hilary (and his actions so far have added to that reaction). It's also immunizing me against any criticism of Trump. I discount virtually every word of criticism and opposition because it's all so over-the-top, and whenever I investigate a potentially troubling claim it is invariably an outright lie, a misrepresentation or a hysterical overreaction to perfectly normal Presidential behavior. They're crying "Wolf!" 24/7 and when the wolf really does appear nobody who hasn't already drunk the kool-aid is going to give a damn.

Bad Lieutenant said...

eddie willers said...
Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight

Where can I go to watch this clock ticking?

Literally.

1/31/17, 9:39 AM

try longnow.org/clock

RBE said...

Vanity Fair put Melania Trump on the cover of their Mexican edition. What are they going to do about that one?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I saw that cover in the checkout line Sunday and I was shocked. US and People are really leftist, as are all magazines except The Rifleman and maybe First Things. My first thought was that it was going to drive the crazy leftists even crazier. My second thought was that the publisher must think that it will be able to sell lots of copies with favorable coverage of the first family. Which is why their will be a serious attempt to shame the people at US magazine. That's the power the elite left has. Name and shame.

JackWayne said...

So she picked #2 from your poll (pick one thing and concentrate on that) which not too many voters chose. Looking back, maybe you should have altered that choice to read: Pick one thing to obsess about and go full cray-cray.

Anonymous said...

David D: Had they, in their snowflake minds, thought they had totally defeated the opposition and it was pure sailing to their leftist utopia from now on?

I'm sure that's part of it, for the older engrage-ees. The ruby slippers disappeared just as they thought they were going to get their claws on them.

I feel kinda sorry for the freaking-out millenials, though. Their elders have a lot to answer for, for deliberately keeping them in eternal toddlerhood and for deliberately turning their brains to mush.

wildswan said...

Millenial's Do Outrage

Binge outrage. Will it be followed by outrage anorexia? suddenly no one goes to marches, or follows tweets. Will there be stories about a special set of Tibetan rocks that restored Samantha Bee's ability to go incoherent with outrage over a picture of Trump's family? Will there be cavern in India murmuring a sound that enabled an aging minor Hollywood actress to continue e-mailing seventy times seven a day? Will there be clinics where they wrap you in the New York Times and set you adrift in a warm pool in a darkened room WITHOUT A PHONE? Will they take up the s..t diet where they eat Schumer's s..t to align their gut reactions with his and restore lost outrage?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

She related one of her clients, a young gay man, was convinced Trump’s administration had a list of all the LGBTQ people in the country and was going to round them all up and send them to concentration camps for reprogramming.

To bad somebody didn't just tell him, "look dumbass, Trump was for gay marriage like 20 years before Obama or Hillary. And he used to hangout with a famous gay mob lawyer. Now get over yourself."

Would have saved him a lot of money.

Rumpletweezer said...

What if these people had been of voting age when Dylan went electric?

Achilles said...

Big Mike said...

My second thought is that nearly all the people in this country who can actually do the things that need to be done -- electricians who can wire up a sound system, plumbers, auto mechanics, farmers, ranchers, policemen -- they're all Trump voters.

And we live over 90+% of the geography of the country.

The left is made up of a small upperclass of white technicals/professionals and an urban ghetto population. There are a bunch of lawyers, journalists, educators, and tech coders who couldn't change a flat on their own car and an underclass that is starved, shoved into shitty prog schools and poorly educated, lives in crime and filth, and likes to throw rocks through the widows of Starbucks. Sometimes they meet on Saturdays to protest Trump because that's all they have in common.

Anonymous said...

"For readers just starting to become aware of the dangers of the Trump presidency, (yes, that's just happening for some), US Weekly's cover is a mistake."

Dockray seems to have the assignment of tending to Trump-related feelings of millennial (and younger) readers. What's just the right touch of outrage + humor? How much earnestness? How much sarcasm?


How much poor grammar and inability to write clear English? That quoted sentence above doesn't even make sense.

Ann Althouse said...

"I remember this as clearly as anything, largely because Kennedy looked worried and gray, not a look you wish to see in a president when you are ten years old. We had installed a naval blockade around Cuba to express our displeasure and Kennedy announced now that a Soviet ship was on its way to challenge it. He said that he had given the order that if the Soviet ship tried to pass through the blockade, American destroyers were to fire in front of its bow as a warning. If it still proceeded, they were to sink it. Such an act would, of course, be the start of World War III. Even I could see that. This was the first time that my blood ever ran cold. It was evident from Kennedy’s tone that all this was pretty imminent. So I went and ate the last piece of a Toddle House chocolate pie that had been promised to my sister, then hung around on the back porch, wishing to be the first to tell my parents the news that we were all about to die. When they arrived home they told me not to worry, that everything would be all right, and they were right of course as always. We didn’t die—though I came closer than anybody when my sister discovered that I had eaten her piece of pie."

Bryson, Bill (2006-10-17). The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir (p. 202). Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

PB said...

There is a deep sickness in the Democratic Party. It is a malignant, metastasizing cancer that could take down the whole country.

Achilles said...

Mark Jones said...

And it's having an effect on me. It's making me ecstatic that Trump is President instead of Hillary (and his actions so far have added to that reaction)

I was ecstatic during the primary when he did the same thing to the GOPe. The political class is being torn apart. They chose their destructor and now it is time to cheer the destruction.

lgv said...

So, is she saying we should stop eating locally sourced, organic, gluten-free, GMO-free, vegan food?

What happens when all the artisanal, organic little restaurants and food stores kept in business by correct thinking millennial go out of business? The horror!

Meanwhile, Denny's, Olive Garden, and the evil Chick Fil-A will now be packed with new customers. Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Quayle: Oh, what these people would give now to rather see the Romney boys on the cover.

Too funny.

Gusty Winds said...

"What to do when you're so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move."

Rethink your life.

Sebastian said...

"Managing the mood of young people is serious business. It won't be easy. It shouldn't be easy." Huh? Nothing's easier.

Thanks for keeping track of the latest skirmishes in the culture war though. Good to see US Weekly didn't give in to anticipatory shaming. Now let's see if they'll apologize.

DJT chose his family well, I'll say that for him.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Geez these people are stupid. It's too late to fight his normalization, idiots: he's the President!

The same people who fully love the Media and its specious Leftist nonesense can't seem to see that the Media made Trump. The Apprentice is an NBC show! You know, the same NBC that owns Saturday Night Live--which I'm told regularly "destroys" Trump? The Apprentice was one of Mark Burnett's shows, right? He gave us all those fun Survivor villains, and now President Trump.

Pop culture is filth. The Left owns pop culture. Trump as a public figure is entirely a product of pop culture. The Mashable morons created Trump! It's waaaay too late to worry about normalizing him now.

Maybe I don't take them seriously because of their clear lack of contrition. If they'd apologize I might believe they understand. "We're sorry America--we were super happy to embrace vulgarity and crudeness, to treat the President as just another pop culture celebrity/reality show star, to insist that everything in the culture must be political and thereby intertwine pop stars and politicians...we know we helped create the culture that allowed Trump to win." I have yet to hear that, though.

When you argue that the vapid political views of celebrities are important and celebrate Left-approved politicians as pop culture celebrities (slow jamming the news, etc) you drag down both politics and pop culture. They did, and we got Trump.

But good luck un-normalizing the actual President you pussyhat-packin' pop culture-lovin' geniuses.

Achilles said...

@ Ann,

Sorry, I don't believe that story. Only Republicans are warmongers trying to start WWIII. Kennedy was a democrat and completely perfect in all ways.

Anonymous said...

Ron Winkleheimer to David53:

"She related one of her clients, a young gay man, was convinced Trump’s administration had a list of all the LGBTQ people in the country and was going to round them all up and send them to concentration camps for reprogramming."

To bad somebody didn't just tell him, "look dumbass, Trump was for gay marriage like 20 years before Obama or Hillary. And he used to hangout with a famous gay mob lawyer. Now get over yourself."

Would have saved him a lot of money.


I'm skeptical that this psychiatrist's clients really believe the stuff they're moaning about. I'm guessing they're educated, middle-class at least? And they "don't know" about Trump's history with gay rights? Sure, it's possible that people like this have had their heads so far up their asses for so long they really do think Trump is a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, but...not probable.

I think many of them are enjoying the hysteria. Gives some meaning to vapid consumerist globo-rific existence, right? Or at least a cheap thrill. A lot of these "fears" about Trump that I come across read embarrassingly like chick-porn fantasies.

The problem with wanking to political hysteria is that you keep needing crazier and crazier stimuli to get off.

Over to you, Mr. Spatula.

Paddy O said...

Millenial diagnosed with tragic inability to even.

Dave D said...

HoodlumDoolum: That is one of the best descriptions of the origins of the Trump phenomenon that I have seen. May have to steal that!

buwaya said...

One of these days the left will wake up and take the Spanish Civil War as a model and start organizing Anarchist militias. OK, laugh, but it was a thing. Complete with milicianas in cute hats and uniforms, looking bravely vulnerable and all.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"She related one of her clients, a young gay man, was convinced Trump’s administration had a list of all the LGBTQ people in the country and was going to round them all up and send them to concentration camps for reprogramming."

Maybe in leather bondage gear with some whips and chains too?

It don't take no Laslo to write the young gay man's wishcasting mega-orgy alternate reality in Trump's America.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Yes Mark Jones, I agree with every word. They are continuously screaming "WOLF" and "THE SKY IS FALLING" to no effect. People tune out. Our house used to have news channels on 24/7 and we just stopped. They all suck. If and when Trump ever does something shifty we won't hear or believe it because they have desensitized the public to genuine outrage. This is why global warming hysteria is confined to small groups and this is why we got Trump.

They chose the form of their destructor, so to speak.

Seeing Red said...

Wooowwwwww. This is what happens when you listen with 1/2 an ear.


Dickie Turban about Sessions. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Lies lies blah blah blah, if he's confirmed I will resign?


Does he promise?


That allows Rauner to appoint a republican.

I guess it's no fun anymore!


Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaa

buwaya said...

Gay and transsexual milicianas probably won't work, no matter how cute the hats.

Gojuplye said...

Maybe you are all missing the biggest element in the prog rage. Outright terror that Trump is going to keep all his promises. He promised to address the rampant poverty, failed education system and crime in the urban areas. Any inroads he makes there are going to destroy the most loyal and secure base of the progs. The rich, elitist, coastal dwellers are only a fraction of the progs voter base. Losing the urban poor will leave the Democrats as a marginal party at best. Why else all the emphasis on everything Trump does as being racist? It's a tactic that has worked for them in the past, and it's pretty much all they have left.

cubanbob said...

The Left created Trump. They thought they could make what they considered a joke the candidate for Hillary to walk over. They can't believe the joke's on them. The guy has been president barely ten days and they are apoplectic.

David53 said...

@ Angel "I'm skeptical that this psychiatrist's clients really believe the stuff they're moaning about."

True, it could just be a method to try to score some Xanax.

ALP said...

"Had they, in their snowflake minds, thought they had totally defeated the opposition and it was pure sailing to their leftist utopia from now on?"

No kidding. Seattle press is rife with young women going on about how Trump has mobilized them, they are gonna get involved with advocacy for sure now...

Which I hear as "Had Hillary won I'd be sitting on my ass eating chocolate, gloating, and not doing shit for the world because its all ok...I even quit my volunteer gig because I'm not needed any more!"

BTW: this Trump meltdown is beginning to remind me a bit of "War of the Worlds" and those that were naive enough to get caught up in that hysteria.

I work in immigration law and am waiting to see how the H-1B rush will go this year.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, I followed your link to the Scott Adams blog to see what he makes of all this. I found the most recent post to be spot-on. In fact all of the top three make good sense (damned bastard persuader is persuading me!). But the fourth one is not merely persuasive but scary. He believes that in order to make the "Trump = Hitler" come true the lefties will escalate their demonstrations into out and out violence in hopes of fomenting a violent reaction so that they can say that they told us so, Trump really is Hitler.

I can see it happening. And I worry. I don't worry that people who voted for Trump won't see it for what it is. I worry that too many of us will have passed our fed up point and join in the head bashing.

n.n said...

Another baby hunt to secure political, social, economic, and religious monopolies, and the right to wage social justice.

buwaya said...

"the lefties will escalate their demonstrations into out and out violence"

The likely worst case result will be some sort of urban guerrilla/terrorist movement rather like the 60's-70's. There is no need to overreact in this case. The people in question don't seem like the aggressive sorts that got into this back then. The level of testosterone is way down among the brainier types and the bloom definitely is off on the black activist side of things.

And the whole public is much less tolerant of this foolishness now than then.

Chicano activists, rebels, etc., I don't know. That is possible, but the demands and membership are going to be rather divergent. Its hard to align what amounts to an irredentist movement with a claim to central state power.

Renee said...

Too cute and very relate-able. So many people growing up with half-siblings of different ages. I hope all five them really do get a long, as well as the picture goes. Step-parents come and go, but siblings are forever.

Sigivald said...

"Do you want more Trump? Because this is how you get more Trump."

cubanbob said...

I can see it happening. And I worry. I don't worry that people who voted for Trump won't see it for what it is. I worry that too many of us will have passed our fed up point and join in the head bashing."

Mike, I fail to see the problem. Besides, where will this supposed violence take place? Not in the red counties. So then where? In the blue cities and counties? Good luck with that. That will definitely make the less than militant communists or anarchists in the blue cities even more likely to go to the dark side of Trumpism.

BJM said...

I have zero patience with these over privileged, selfish, self absorbed twits. Do they not realize that protesting costs cities money that they must divert from other programs, and/or could use to help minorities, the elderly poor and refugees?

How about volunteering for a refugee assistance org and actually help people if immigration is a concern? There millions of minority children who could use a "Big Sister" or a mentor, not to mention a meal, find the appropriate NGO and do something positive instead of wasting your money, pissing and moaning about that which you cannot change.

Oh, and grow the f*ck up.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

All this Trump hysteria reminds ME of the Chicken Little story. Everyone is familiar with the line "The Sky is Falling" as a representation of hysteria that then gets picked up by all the other critters.

Most people don't remember the ending to the folk tale. Link to an early version

The Democrats and Leftists might want to consider the moral of the story.

" O Fox Lox ! " says Turkey Lur-key, "the sky is falling!"
"Who told you?" says Fox Lox.
" Turkey Lur key, "Goose Loose told me."
" Goose Loose, who told you?"
" Duck Luck told me."
" Duck Luck, who told you?"
"Hen Pen told me." "Hen Pen, who told you ? "
" Chicken Little told me."
" Chick- en Little, how do you know it ? "
" O, I heard it
with my ears, 1 saw it with my eyes, and part of it
fell on my tail ! "
" Make haste ! " says Fox Lox, " and all come into my den "

Fox Lox opened the door, and in went Turkey
Lurkey. As she went in, Fox Lox bit off her
head, threw it one way, and the body another.
Then went in Goose Loose. Fox Lox cut off her
head, and threw her in. Then came Duck Luck.
Fox Lox did the same by her. Then came Hen
Pen. Fox Lox bit off her head, and threw it one
way, and the body the other. Then came Chicken
Little. Fox Lox caught hold of her, and eat her
all up, and then finished his supper with the rest,
and all this from the foolish fright of Chicken
Little.


Don't believe everything you are told. Don't focus on hysterical imagined threats when there are real threats and danger all around. By focusing on the hysteria and the imaginary, you may just blithely walk into real danger. Foxy loxy is always waiting to take advantage of the blindly hysterical.

The left is running around like chickens with their heads cut off, focusing on imaginary issues while real danger is lurking. If it were just THEY who would be marching into the fox's den, I wouldn't care. But they want to drag us all into the fox's lair.

Francisco D said...

David53,

I have been hearing the same things as your psychiatrist friend for several months now.

None of my patients are delusional, but they have convinced themselves that Trump is out to get them for whatever absurd reason.

As a Ph.D., I do not prescribe meds. I think that they are seeking attention and affirmation for their "I am a victim" beliefs.

The rush to victimhood has been all the rage in progressive circles for at least 20 years.

Bruce Hayden said...

Why is it that the kids of Republican Presidents and nominees seem to tend to be better looking than their Dem counterparts? Of course, the low point was Chelsea Clinton, who was two bigger, coyote ugly, and was only marginally improved with a lot of expensive plastic surgery. Before that, it was Amy Carter. And, even Carolyn Kennedy looks too much like a Kennedy (her brother got their mother's looks). Obama girls, well, maybe beautiful in a Black sort of way, but not being Black, not really getting it. The Reality money boys really were good looking. Still, the Trump kids are attractive, extremely well groomed, educated, and articulate. Glamorous in a way we haven't seen since the Kennedys.

How does this tie in to the article? Right now the left is trying to shame publications like this to ignore the Trump family, if they can't attack President Trump directly. But, there is money to be made showcasing the Trumps. Half the electorate voted for him, with that including over half of married white women. Just like Fox News succeeded by finding a market niche that was half the electorate, some of these publications are going to find that catering to the half the populace who voted for Trump is good business. Obama's reign was glamorous because of the beautiful people he hung around, but they were never, themselves, that glamorous. The Trump family is glamorous, maybe even more so right now than A listers in Hollyweird. Maybe more like Will and Kate in the U.K. Who still, despite being fairly scandal free on a personal level, still sell magazines on this side of the pond.

I am reminded of what Rush said about feminists, that one reason that they are militants is that they are ugly enough that they can't get a guy. Or, something like that. I expect that we are going to see more of this dynamic, a bunch of reasonably homely women trying to shame the rest of us not to get sucked into the Trump glamour. I don't think it is going to work - too obviously their ire will be driven by one of life's great failings- envy. They can feel superior all they want, looking down on all of deplorable, but magazines with the Trumps on the cover are going to sell well over the next four years.

Matt Sablan said...

"Listen, the doomsday clock is literally inching towards midnight"

-- Honestly, the Doomsday Clock doesn't deserve to get any coverage any more. It's a stupid thing that, sadly, moves forward and backward based on whimsy. It serves no rational purpose.

Michael said...

Believe it or not, there was a time when 20-year-olds were grown-ups and could manage their own moods...

mockturtle said...

The left has believed wholeheartedly that they would set the pace and the rest of us would follow. After all, they are The Enlightened Ones. It seems they were wrong and they just can't accept it.

urbane legend said...

Rumpletweezer said...
What if these people had been of voting age when Dylan went electric?

Went electric? Next you'll tell us he can sing now, too.

Freeman Hunt said...

Do people have subscriptions to US Weekly? I thought that was pretty much a checkout line only publication. In a Venn diagram of US Weekly purchasers and people who care about this boycott, do the circles touch?

Drago said...

Bruce Hayden: "Why is it that the kids of Republican Presidents and nominees seem to tend to be better looking than their Dem counterparts?"

Chelsea is only purported to be Bill Clintons child.

damikesc said...

Chelsea is only purported to be Bill Clintons child.

Hubbell is a homely man and I've heard he's boring as shit...so I buy it.

Anonymous said...

Francisco D: As a Ph.D., I do not prescribe meds. I think that they are seeking attention and affirmation for their "I am a victim" beliefs.

The rush to victimhood has been all the rage in progressive circles for at least 20 years.


Maybe you can tell them that if they make it through the Trump administration they can describe themselves as "survivors". They seem to like that label, too.

readering said...

It's an odd choice for a photo cover. Two of the "kids" are old enough to be president themselves, a third could be a senator. Three of them are easily old enough to be the parent of the one in the middle, and one is almost old enough to be the parent of the one on the right. Three different mothers.

Still think the most beautiful presidential daughter of my lifetime--Susan Ford. But generally they're all attractive, both parties. It's genetic. Future presidents get to marry attractive women. Admittedly, some marry for money (LBJ).

Francisco D said...

Angel-Dyne,

I get your point. Frankly, I don't really understand the inner psychology of leftists. Aside from virtue and victim signaling, they are totally incoherent. But then, I am trained in the scientific method, not politics.

Real survivors don't publicize their past. They take pride in their fortitude, but they are way far removed from the people who want to be victims.

SukieTawdry said...

I'm trying to remember if anyone endeavored to manage my mood when I was that age. I don't think so.

SukieTawdry said...

I just followed the link to Jessica Valenti's Twitter account and found I'm blocked. I didn't even know she knew me.