Blink!

Posted on by Claremary P. Sweeney

During the news coverage of one of the recent marches, I noticed a young man with a sign that read, “Blink, Melania, if you need help.” It was something I myself often have thought about every time I’ve seen her in public with her husband, because there is no doubt in my mind that he is an abuser. He has been abusing his power, his position and the American people even before he stepped into the Oval Office. And he has surrounded himself with people who have enabled him to become the Ultimate Abuser in Chief.

In a previous post on Bullies, I wrote about my feelings regarding enablers. The jeering, cheering throng that goads a bully on making the victim feel even more defenseless and abandoned .

This is what many Citizens of the United States have been experiencing lately. Some days we just want to close off all media and hide. But on a positive note, this is essentially what is uniting these citizens. This gives me cause for hope.

For some people, the Presidency and the country is akin to a family. At this low point in our history, we certainly are a dysfunctional family – much like those families dealing with an unstable, alcoholic parent who, when sober, appears caring and nurturing, but when inebriated is mean and unpredictable.

Some people identify the term “abuse” only with physical or sexual abuse. The abuse I’m discussing is the mental and emotional abuse that comes as a result of being constantly lied to and kept in a continual state of confusion – Blurring the lines of what is truth and what is fact. Erasing the clarity of what is real and what is fake. Insisting that those around you blindly agree with you and conform to your reality. Making your wants and needs the priority. Punishing those who aren’t complicit or subservient to your demands. Keeping everyone on edge awaiting the ax to fall. Annihilating Trust. These are all the methods of an autocratic, abusive personality. This is the mental and emotional abuse we have been subjected to for the past 110 days.

And so, like family members, we sit around awaiting the next sucker punch we know is going to be delivered (not unlike the one former FBI Head James Comey took on Tuesday). We anxiously wait not knowing when the punch will come or how debilitating it will be. And we hope someone will help us off this tight rope we walk every day. We hope someone with influence or power will step in and offer a hand to help. And we tiptoe amidst the land mines set by our abuser. We wait, we cope and we adapt like a frog finding itself in a beaker of water coming increasingly closer to the boiling point. The frog has been given the survival instincts of jumping out of the water or adapting to the temperature. And so, it chooses to adapt each time the temperature under the beaker rises. Ultimately, it forgets it has the ability to jump out and boils to death.

At this moment in time, we appear to be adapting to each fresh pile of chaos being dumped on us. We are adapting to the water in the beaker as it gets hotter and hotter. Unfortunately, we can’t choose to jump out because, you see, there is a hand covering the beaker. It is the hand of everyone choosing to enable this abuser; the hand of the racist haters; the hand of the republican politicians; the hand of the gullible followers who still don’t get it. It is the hand of the CEO’s and big businesses making their profits off the middle class; the Pharma groups who take advantage of people needing insurance and medical treatment and medicine. It’s the pale, bloated hand of rich old men who feel they are entitled to place their financial interests ahead of the welfare of this  country.

In conversations with friends and chats on social media, I’ve expressed my view that this country needs to go through all of this dysfunction in order to get to a healthier place. I contend that this is the best civics lesson we could ever receive. A tough love course in Government 101. We allowed this buffoon and his buddies to jump in and take full advantage of our complacency and naïveté. We allowed an illiterate, crass, wannabe-Putin, with Russian financial ties,  to walk into the White House and then open its doors to other bullies like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

I’ve stated often that in January I truly thought we were on the verge of giving this country away and then came the day after the Inauguration when women stepped forward and the light at the end of the tunnel came into view. And if you look hard, you can see it in the distance. It’s there.

There are Pulitzers and Nobel Peace Prizes and accolades to be had for the journalists and the citizens working to voice their concerns tirelessly to eventually get the truth out in the open. The states attorneys general and members of the judiciary are stepping forward. I’m seeing level-headed leaders speaking out in the Senate and House of Representatives. Their voices are encouraging and they are filling in the gaps. There are elections on the horizon, ripe for the taking by people who value democracy and understand the repercussions of allowing it to be usurped by a narcissistic psychopath and his enablers. And there are the women.

Over 11,000 women already have declared they are going to run for office. When they win, the real difference will become evident, because many women think and act differently than their male counterparts. They often place others first. They usually get more done in an hour than a man does in a week. They are more insightful and if given a chance, will work twice as hard to accomplish a goal than any man on the team. That’s a fact! And if you think I’m biased, you’re absolutely right. And here’s a piece of advice – Never piss a woman off! The Pandora’s box that buffoon has opened will never be closed. Mark my words!

Charley and I have had many political discussions about what could happen and invariably he is pessimistic about what we will be able to do about the buffoon. Other men have voiced the same pessimism.  I, however, am confident that the truth will come out and Trump will be tried and possibly  found guilty of treason. Other women I’ve spoken with and listened to feel the same way with the caveat: “If someone doesn’t do him in first.”

This has been a true wake-up call for the United States of America. It is our chance to show we are not like the ugly Americans who value money over everything else. We are not like the ugly American who churlishly refused to shake hands with the visiting German Chancellor and abruptly hung up the phone during his first call with the Australian Prime Minister. We are not like the ugly American who lacks respect for individual differences, for the freedom of religion and freedom of the press. We are so much better than that.

We care about others and want to live in a country that cares for its most vulnerable and provides sanctuary for the oppressed. We want leaders with values we can be proud of when they represent us. We appall the ignorance so blatantly flaunted in rediculous tweets, hasty acts, and poorly researched speeches full of false facts.

I have no idea who will finally come forward to begin to repair the damage being done to our democracy. I don’t know what will finally precipitate the change. Will there be cause for impeachment when the Russian investigations are concluded? Will the buffoon finally extract enough money and profits from his position and decide to resign and walk away with his ill-gotten riches? Will one of his followers suddenly realize he/she has been duped and decide to take matters into his/her own hands? Many of his followers will have much to be embittered about in the future and they are not the kind to take a public betrayal in stride. They have guns and know how to use them. I think by purposefully lying to them for his own gain, he’s played a very dangerous game.

He’s fired US Attorney Preet Bharara, Attorney General Sally Yates, numerous state department officials with vast stores of invaluable experience and history. He’s installed millionaires into key positions with little or no experience in their fields. He has not properly vetted many of those incompetents and some have already proven to be people we wouldn’t want anywhere near classified information: Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page and Roger Stone to mention just a few. It’s been an interminable 110 days and it is a wonder the buffoon hasn’t caused a major diplomatic incident with another country. He’s filled our government with toadies bent on helping him make as much money from and cause as much turmoil for our country as possible because that is what Russia wants – to keep our democracies in chaos. Ultimately, we will find out it is exactly what they’ve been paying their puppet to do. They have gotten good return on their million dollar loans and are laughing all the way to the bank. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/10/james-comey-firing-trump-lavrov-putin-215124

In the end, I’m hoping it will be a peaceful transition to a better and wiser USA and that it is precipitated by the underlying truths now being brought to light. I’m hoping there will be a moral at the end of this story and that the plot has a hero/heroine who comes forward and shows all of us all how to speak out against ignorance and obtain justice for all. I’m confident there are many who will come forward as Sally Yates and the students at Bethune-Cookman University did this week. I have hope

But right now I’m sitting here with my eyelids fluttering.

I’m blinking madly.

Lots of us are blinking.

We need help.

 

92 thoughts on “Blink!”

  1. As he becomes more outrageous, people will step up more, even those who are supporters today. My local federal representative, who is a moderate Republican, has voted against his bills. Locally we are putting pressure on one senator who is a supporter to the point where he no longer does town halls. He barely was elected and I blame that on the opposition party selecting the lesser of two candidates but we are stuck with him for 6 years. I’ve had that same odd feeling about Melania. An immigrant (whose English isn’t all that great) with a child, what chance does she really have to voice her own opinion.

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    1. His interview with Lester Holt today was quite damning. The Republicans are starting to jump ship. Even they find highly suspicious the motive and the timing of Comey’s firing. And the fact that he let the Russians and their reporters into the Oval Office yesterday has opened up questions of security, especially if he had his cell phone or computer in there where it could be tapped into. What a total asshole!

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      2. There is nothing smart about the buffoon, in fact, he proves himself to be extremely intellectually limited the more we know about him. He is sneaky and dishonest, though and that along with the money inherited has done him well.

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      4. It’s hard to get it if all you listen to is talk radio, watch “reaality” shows and Fox News and read the Inquirer. All that crap tends to have a long-lasting effect on the brain. They see people not doing that as “intellectuals” (pretty low bar) and despise them for it. That’s why I think, just maybe they should allow some of those Trump Care items through. A little Tough Love can be a big lesson.

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  2. YOu are so right … abuse does not simply encompass the physical. What I am seeing is surely abuse. The absolute refusal to value anyone other than self and to use power to ensure that the victims are suitably cowed. That’s abuse. Blink Melanie, blink USA – sooner or later the abuser will be set upon and then may God not help him.

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      1. I think Germany is very unlikely to be so foolish and I think Merkel played a clever game with him from the start. He will get his. I just hope it’s soon enough.

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      2. The photos of him shaking hands and laughing with the “Good Old Boys” Russians in the Oval Office was so telling since he had refused to shake the hand of leader of the Free World – and a woman, no less.

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      3. We had Russian friends (from Moscow) staying the weekend. It is telling what their opinion is. Do not, please, make the mistake of thinking that intellectual Russians are behind him.

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      4. I have great hope for the Russian people and have been following those who are trying so hard to remove Putin and his Oligarchs from power. The photos that came out from yesterday’s meeting with the buffoon sends the wrong message to the resistance. We are not behind that Putin Puppet.

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      7. Then make sure it is managed. Revolutions are a great concept but as we see form history, they can result in a worse picture. Great leaders are what is needed now. Compelling narrative from educated (and I mean those who have seen) and then the rest will follow.

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      8. We are certainly in the middle of a Revolution here in the US. The Marches have been peaceful and are showing results. My worry is that when the buffoon’s followers wake up and see they’ve been used by him and have ended up worse than ever, they will take it to the street with weapons. His followers are not among the thinking people who respect the Constitution and are trying to get this mess straightened out through the Judicial and Legislative Branches of Government in spite of the obstruction coming from the Electoral Branch. There is a dark element in this country going back to the early days when our economy depended on the Slave Trade. It is still embedded deep in the good-ole-days plantation mentality.

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      9. Indeed. There is not a tradition of peaceful protests in the factions that were attracted to him. We live in dark times on both sides of the Atlantic. The fat lady has not even warmed up let alone begun to sing 🎶

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  3. I’m blinking too but like you, I believe better days are ahead. I think this administration will clearly lay the foundation for a complete turn around in the near future because Americans will realize that this is not us, this is not who we are or what we want.

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  4. Great post, Clare. I vacillate between your confidence that our better natures will prevail and we will ditch this narcissistic tyrant … and Charley’s pessimism that Trump and his cronies are firmly entrenched. At this point I’m beginning to wonder if there’s anything that can or will awaken Trump devotees to his corruption, lies, incompetence, and self-serving motives. By my count, there have been at least 20 instances—pre-and post-election—where I have thought “how could anyone possibly continue to support this slimeball after this?” and yet millions continue to give him a pass, and even to admire him for his ability to emerge unscathed from each egregious action or revelation. What amazes me most is the millions of conservatives—especially conservative politicians—who for years have recognized Russia and Putin as a dangerous threat to America and the world, yet who now show little concern that our President is very likely in collusion with them for his own financial benefit. I’m hoping this will at last be the factor that tips the scales, but I’m not yet optimistic. There are just too many enablers, and too many people who see Trump’s election as vindication for their own bigotry and greed. Thanks for making me think this morning. I look forward to celebrating the downfall of this dangerous buffoon—it can’t come soon enough.

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    1. Hey, I was just on your blog reading your Anniversary Post and saw you had put my post on your 52 weeks segment. Thanks, Bernadette. I was going to put this post into Senior Salon, but you included it on your blog and that is much appreciated. The poster was a self portrait painted and carried in the Women’s March by a 94 year old woman. I couldn’t read the signature, but I’ll try to track it down. Check out the buffoon’s interview with Lester Holt today. He continues to get himself into more and more hot water every time he tweets or opens his mouth.

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      1. Claremary, thanks for looking into who did that poster. I find it fascinating. I will check out the interview but it will have to be later in the day when I can have a drink to accompany watching it.

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  7. I’m with you, Clare, I believe women hold the key to the future. I was just discussing this with a good friend the other day. Erin was saying her view, which is that we are coming out of a patriarchal age and moving back into a matrilineal again. I hope so. That sure sounds nice! xx

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  8. So well said, Clare! Today, Trump was in full on buffoon mode and maybe we have moved toward a special prosecutor or independent commission given his actual acknowledgement of obstruction of justice. I ran a group for abused women for 17years and co-led a batterers’ group with Doug for three and agree with your assessment only adding the gas-lighting he adds from his narcissism. I tend toward optimism, and hope for a hero or two to step up and say NO to Trump and Yes to a full investigation – perhaps Warner and Burr, perhaps McCabe. The downside for me is Pence is Trump’s replacement and Ryan is third in line. Love your mind and passion, my friend! Jo

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    1. Jo, I feel I have not been posting very much since January because everything seems to be so minuscule compared to what is going on around us. I don’t want it encompassing my thoughts and my writings. so a post like this during a week like this seems to be the thing to do. I know how difficult it is for many people to have the news and then social media reminding us of our political chaos every day. It’s because we are all being abused that we want to close our eyes and ears to it. I feel the same but my need to be educated and informed takes precedence over my desire to put my head in the sand. I know you are feeling the same and the fact that we can both be optimistic and have hope for justice to prevail is heartening. Thanks, Jo, and have a peaceful weekend.

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      1. L was asleep but woke up. Watched and listened to the news all day…and had an intense recollection of watching Watergate unfold as I did. That and a rich dinner woke me up.

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      2. I was watching CNN while I sent you the note. I finally fell asleep after 4AM. When I heard the Lester Holt interview, I knew the buffoon had made some major mistakes and kept following throughout the day to see about the legal ramifications of it all. And then, those photos with the Russians in the Oval Office! What a day!

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  10. The Republicans in the House have lost all credibility with me. They are so focused on keeping a “Republican” in the White House, they are willing to demolish democracy in the act. I’m now calling them Repugnicans – my new word for the gutless yes-men – and far too many Repugnican women, Ms. Conway I’m talking to you, giving Trump his power.

    I do think the best defense against this seditious b—–d is the young people in our country getting involved. It’s going to be their world most impacted by the mob of greedy politicians and moronic racists.

    Women, rise! Men, you can be part of the answer as well. Thanks, Clare, for a wonderful assessment of the current situation.

    As for Melania – she’s dressed in splendor – but I worry for that youngest son. Remember the exuberant confidence of the very young Obama girls when their dad first took office? You see any of that in Barron Trump? He is the person who shows signs of abuse – tentative, nervous, vacant-eyed.

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    1. I truly believe at the heart of it all, many Repugnicans just can’t get over the fact this country had a Successful, Black President for eight years. And yes, we have seen what a woman must do in that male crowd to get ahead. Sellouts! It is thought that Barron may have Aspergers and his mother is trying to overprotect him from what his father has thrown them into. Abusers always place themselves first. I’m sure he is very dismissive of the anxiety that must permeate Trump Tower.

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      1. Yet despite all our outrage at the destruction of our democracy in only 112 days, I’m not sure how to turn this around. Most young people are Independent, to which they are certainly entitled, but the Indies have no real power yet and no masterful leaders. I keep waiting for the Democrat leadership to take a firm hold but not seeing much action there either. We can’t wait out the rest of his term. But what is actually effective to control him? Should be the Repugs but they are so gleeful at “being in charge” they can barely stand still for all their spinning. Aren’t they the ones always throwing around the Constitution and State’s Rights? If I write any more, it will get nasty and unfit for print, so I’ll stop. You know what I mean.

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  11. Beautifully written, Clare. I hope you’re right that good will come of this, and quickly too. Sadly, I think we’re going down a similar path in the supposed name of democracy. It may be more than Melania and the US who are blinking soon.

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      1. France has taken a tentative step down that path, and hopefully Germany will too – they have their own history to remind themselves of the dangers. I don’t think our election will improve things though, and that is a depressing thought.

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      4. An entire class of black college graduates stood and turned their backs on one of the buffoon’s appointees when she came to give the commencement speech at their graduation. Billionaire, Betsy Devoes, Incompetent Secretary of Education, has not had an easy time of it. Looks like her money bought her a pile of grief. Young people are not taking this well in the US and many will be voting in the next elections. Hope!

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      5. I saw that, it was reported here. Good on them, but I wasn’t impressed with the guy who told them to behave or their degrees would be mailed to them. Time to make a stand!

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      6. Adults in positions of authority can be very threatened by what they consider disrespect for authority. The administration had been warned of the students objection to this speaker. They’d signed petitions but weren’t listened to. Devious stated that Black Colleges were at the forefront of school choice. WTF! There was no choice involved in school segregation! This woman was given the honor to speak to a group of Black College Graduates who obviously, unlike Ole Betsy, knew their history.
        That’s been our problem – treating this buffoon and his minions as though they deserve respect because they have landed in this golden shit pile together. Gloves off!

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      7. Reap and ye shall sow! Total ignorance seems to be a common thread with this administration. They are business people in a world that is alien to them. It makes me wonder how they managed to be successful in business with such high stupidity levels. I know those aren’t an automatic correlation – what I mean is that they are stupid not to check their facts before speaking.

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      11. Just following the Immoral Leader’s approach. Reports here suggest he’s about to appoint a non-scientist business professor to head agriculture, just because he doesn’t believe in climate change either. What a twat!

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      14. And now we find out he was feeding the Russians security- sensitive information at his meeting with them where the US press were not allowed in but the Russian Press, and arm of the govenrment, was welcome!

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      16. If he dies before the impeachment, we’ll all have to pay for a HUGE State Funderal, so, I want him alive, impeached, impoverished, publically humiliated and in jail. After that he’s free to die at any time, hopefully sooner than later!

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      17. I really hope that happens. But impeachment will depend on senior GOP figures finding a backbone and some courage, rather than allowing him to walk all over them and the country. Here’s hoping, but I’m not holding my breath – blue skin is such a bad look…..

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      18. Clive, Treason at the highest level of government is hard to condone. But then, we’re talking about making the “Unbright” see this as something important to deal with. Who knows? But the “man” truly is a buffoon and it was nice having him out of the country for a while. 💙

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      19. From a non-American perspective it is an incredible situation. Basically, a businessman with a very chequered history has lied and cheated his way to the Presidency, which he appears to see as a money-making opportunity for him and his family. The Russian connection is obvious to anyone with half a brain, and is, as you say, an act of treason. But there seem to be no checks and balances in the system to challenge him and remove him, for his incompetence as much as anything else. No doubt he’s about to announce America’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, taking the whole world a huge step backwards. It’s unthinkable that the supposed most powerful democracy in the world allows this to continue.

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      20. This country never prepared itself for someone like him in the WH. We all let the Republicans get in at grass-roots levels and now are seeing what can happen when you’re not watching the hen house.this is a history lesson we all have to endure. In the end, I’m confident the citizenry will take back our country and it will serve as a lesson on what could have been done, but wasn’t, when Hitler first came into power.Time will certainly tell.

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      21. There are some worrying parallels with Hitler, particularly in the refusal to accept any opposition and the hatred of the weak which lies at the core of the administration. I hope the lessons from history can be learned and acted upon in time, before even more damage is done.

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      24. Yes, we truly have the most “Unbright” person ever in the WH. It speaks to this country’s fanatical idolizing of celebrity. The telly has created a subculture of idiocy here in the US, I am ashamed to admit. And they actually showed up in the last election because they thought it had something to do with casting a vote for Dancing With the Stars or The Voice or America’s Got Talent. Guess what? Some of us may have talent but still are truly lacking in the brains department.

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      25. It’s going the same way here, sadly. The masses are so used to voting on things that don’t matter that they can’t see the importance of a proper vote. Those programmes pander to the lowest common denominator and sell newspapers for the mass audience too: those who get a paper to look at the pictures as the words can be a little difficult for them. Mindless crap for a mindless generation. I hope you aren’t suggesting that the Orange One is talented, though I fully agree that he is lacking in the brains department. No soul either.

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  12. An excellent, well-thought post, Clare. I so hope you are right to feel some optimism and it is certainly encouraging that some Republicans are jumping ship.
    I mostly agree with your points about women except we have a woman here who most certainly does NOT put others first – unless they are very rich. I may have already said to you, she’s beginning to make Margaret Thatcher look like a pussy cat (with apologies to Roxie).

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    1. Yes, those women are out there trying to please their men or fashion themselves after what they consider powerful men. Look at Le Pen and Conway. But they are far outnumbered by the women who know what is right and will step forward to do what is right – for everybody. The newest planned March on Washington to insist this Russia fiasco is being handled properly is being planned as we speak. I think millions of women and their men chanting will be music to everyone’s ears. The citizens of this country have had it!

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  13. Clare, there are many people around the world blinking furiously at the moment. I just can’t believe he keeps getting away with all the stuff he’s doing. Why hasn’t he been forced to make his financial affairs – tax returns public? Is there a precedent for that? And the nepotism! I can’t believe he is allowed to stack the deck like he has. I was heartened after the shock sacking of the FBI director, Comey, to hear his replacement, McCabe pay homage to him and state that he and the bureau will continue to uphold truth and integrity. The buffoon can’t keep firing them.
    Like you, I believe something good will come out of all of it. Daisies bloom in cow pats.

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    1. Robyn, this buffoon is a cow pat! We have all been too trusting. We thought we’d truly evolved when Obama took office. We underestimated the underlying seething of the rascists and bigots – acne just waiting to find a time to burst forth. And we let lawyers and the wealthy find clever ways to cut down the middle class and form a Corporatocracy. We all just kept doing the right thing every day and trusting our leaders were watching out for us. We should have seen the signs and watched out for ourselves, like we are finally doing now. And slime like the buffoon saw the cracks and seeped in, so, now we are involved in a toxic clean-up of world-wide proportions and it is a mammoth undertaking we have to take on. And we realize it, now and are left shoveling the crap into bins, trying to contain it every day.

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    1. The pictures are from photos I took at a local exhibit in Wickford of posters from the Women’s March. Wait until the books finaly come out in the future and we find out how really bad it was inside the WH. I now think my sister was right – the syphilis is continuing to do its damage!

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  15. Excellent post, Clare. I have nothing new to add to all the Comments I have “liked” on my way down to leave a reply.

    Reeling here, especially when I am aware of the millions of women who support this misogynistic narcissist and his minions – and the millions more who are still willing to “wait and see.” For what? Breadlines? Death on the side of the road because the emergency rooms are full? Nuclear war?! What WILL it take to shake them and wake them?

    Read a wonderful POV online in an article posted on The Senior Salon: “Neutrality always supports the oppressor.”

    BLINKING!
    xx,
    mgh
    (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
    ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
    “It takes a village to transform a world!”

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    1. Madwlyn, I’ll have to visit Senior Salon and read that post. Some women in this country are still brainwashed to believe that “Daddy” will take care of it for them. They are the “ladies who lunch”. It’s comfortable for many of them to enjoy the privileges that go along with marrying money. Look at Melania. They sell out. And then there are the women who feel they need to be like men to succeed. And then there are the women who just don’t get it yet. They are the ones who blindly follow religious and political leaders and let their husbands do the thinking for them. These are the ones who will give their own children the poison Koolaide. As women become better educated, we are seeing a change; an evolution. But it is an unbelievably slow process in this country.

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      1. Clive suggested we’d be kindred spirits – and, judging from your article and this comment, he seems to be right!

        I can’t recall the name of the post, but the graphic is a building with a bunch of candles in the window. Not American, but she is definitely one of “us!”
        xx,
        mgh

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    1. Herb, I’ve been away for a few weeks and am just getting back to the blog. (And our “reality” just seems to be getting more and more bizarre.) I’m trying to keep up with everyone’s writings and posts, but have fallen way behind. I hope to get a post out soon, but that is still to be seen. Time! Thanks for stoppping by and have a great weekend. Clare

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  18. I agree your country is in a mess – at the moment predominantly because of the right-wing government under Trump. However, in the UK, we have many,many women in power in the governing (such as it is) party and opposition parties at the moment and I don’t agree with you that they think differently, place other people first, are more insightful or work harder than their male counterparts. In the UK we’re having to put up with a woman prime minister (not ‘put up with’ because she’s a woman, but because she’s pretty useless as a leader), there is a woman leading the party (the D.U.P.) that she has just cosied up to in order to get a majority for her party, there is a woman leading two of the other parties… there are many, many women in positions of power who are doing absolutely nothing different from the men before them.

    I understand why it’s a good idea, in America, to vote for a woman, but I would never be able to vote for anyone in any party based on their gender.

    And while, granted, I don’t see her on the news on a daily basis, Melania looks to me like a woman who can stand up for herself, not someone who is being bullied.

    Sorry to disagree with so much in this post, Clare, but I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and needed to say something. I really think you’ll find that whoever your next president is, whether Rupublican or Democrat, or another party, that person’s gender will make no difference.

    Here, I count down the days and weeks to when we might have someone who has a bit of sense in their head, and I’m sure there you are counting down the days and weeks to when your current one goes and is, hopefully, replaced by someone who is more in touch with his or her people.

    The world is in a mess, all round. 😦

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    1. Val, It does seem that other countries like the UK have women leaders and some of them are not the best of their ilk, I agree. But we seem to be so far behind in the US. We truly are a nation run by rich, old white men. Our latest “health care” bill speaks to that. Taking from the poor and doling out to the rich is not the way we need to be going. Letting Big Business and Lobbyists for the rich control our legislative decisions has been a disaster for our middle class. We’ve had a Corporatocracy for so long and with this buffoon it has been brought into the open and “normalized ” in the process. So many decisions affecting women are being decided by men and I can’t help but believe women would see things much differently if they were in a position of power. The Women’s March has made a difference in the interest level for politics and that can only be beneficial. But it will take years for us to get to this point in the US. I don’t belong to a political party and I always vote on the issues and wouldn’t cast my vote for someone just because they are a woman. I would cast my vote for someone who has values which are compassionate, fair and rational. As for Melania, time will tell. I think, if the buffoon doesn’t buy her off in his next divorce settlement, there’ll be a very interesting book to come of all of this. I don’t think anyone in the buffoon’s sphere is free from intimidation and bullying. It’s his modus operandi. But in this country, money talks and has great influence. It is the controlling factor behind everything. We are in a very sorry state. We truly do need someone who is in touch with the common man and not lying to them and pretending to be understanding in order to benefit himself and the rich people who make up his “reality”.

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      1. I agree. And its such a damn shame how much progress needs to be made there. It is unlikely to happen til Trump goes, (His attitude to most things seems to be ruled by money and of course money can do a hell of a lot of good but has to be used wisely and he sure as hell isn’t doing that.) Women’s health – and more -will suffer under his regime.
        Here we’ve got something similar to watch out for as our prime minister cosies up to the DUP who are anti-abortion (even if a woman has been raped or if her baby is going to be born dead), and our highest court has just ruled that women from Northern Ireland cannot have abortions here on the NHS (ie, free). So girls and women on low incomes have to live in hell there, and we, here in the UK, are hoping that the DUP doesn’t manage to exend its tentacles into our own laws (which, despite N.Ireland being a part of the UK manages to have laws different from the other parts. ) I personally think the whole world is in a mess.

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      2. It appears inevitable here in the US, if something isn’t done, a class revolution will follow. Yes, a sorry set of affairs, for sure. And we had made inroads into better women’s health and more right to make decisions regarding our own bodies. Now, like your examples, we are going backward.

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