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| One of the milder photos. The "pussyhats" were everywhere. |
Donald Trump's got nothing on the participants of yesterday's "Women's March" themselves.
The female marchers degraded themselves so much more profoundly and efficiently than any lecherous man ever could.
What Trump said years ago in a secretly recorded video was terrible. It was a loathsome way to talk about women; it disparaged women, marriage, and human dignity itself.
Trump's words, however, never made me ashamed to be a woman. Yesterday's march did.
I won't post the disgusting photos on my page, but please, click these links and read/observe all. See what was said at this march, listen to the speakers, look at the photos, look at the signs. Take in the scene, figure out the themes (it won't be hard to do):
Thousands of Women Head to Washington to Protest Donald Trump
Here's What We Saw at the Women's March in Washington
(More signs)
Here's What We Saw at the Women's March in Washington
(More signs)
The vastness of the proud display of vileness and evil was shocking. How far have so many women fallen from an embrace of the virtues, from simple common decency. It is shocking how many of our sisters, living in the freest nation in the history of mankind, have become as crude and shameless as the depraved men they decry.
Think about it, logically, for a minute: How did the women of the "Women's March" respond to their disgust of Trump's degrading words? By degrading themselves on a scale worse than anything Trump ever said. Multiply what he did by a million, and you start to get the picture.
As one friend put it:
I watched some coverage of the 'Women's March' in DC and I have to say: I saw and heard MORE foul language, MORE crude terms for female and male genitalia, MORE misogyny (and even misandry), MORE mockery, MORE derision, MORE thuggishness, MORE rudeness, MORE law-breaking and MORE lunacy in those few minutes than I ever saw from Donald Trump in the 18 months of his campaign.
Who but the devil himself could have concocted such a plan? Take the evil, and multiply it! Make throngs of proud, elated, deluded souls feel as if they are giving women dignity, when they are doing exactly the opposite. Deceive them into believing they are lifting women up to the sky, when they are actually smashing women down into the filthiest muck.
It's a trick from the pit of hell, but that's the point. These women are blinded.
In its essence, the entire anti-Trump march was nothing more than a pro-abortion, pro-LGBT march. No one can plausibly deny it. The names of the sponsoring groups prove it. The explicit rejection of pro-life women's groups confirm it.
My hope and my prayer is the crux of Christian mission: That Donald Trump's sins are not imitated and multiplied, but that his sins are met with virtue. Not only our own virtue, as citizens, but that the people surrounding Trump would present him with the alternative: A witness of Christian truth. A witness of prayer and goodness. And guess what? As far as I can tell, that is what has happened to Donald Trump in the past few months. He has been surrounded by good, prayerful Christians who have, by all their accounts, seen him change. Let's pray it continues.
Any Christian who mocks the possibility and the movement toward redemption of President Trump has missed the point of our Faith.
Redemption of sinners is the point of our Faith!
While Trump has apologized for the words he spoke in the past -- and so what if the catalyst for that was his public humiliation? If any of us had our sordid pasts exposed and were moved to betterment, that's a good thing! -- the women who (literally) hate him have become like him. Times a million.
And no, it's not somehow better because the women degrade themselves, it's worse. Far better that someone sins mortally against me than I sin mortally myself.
Dear Lord, what have we become?
To the good Catholic women and men who went to this pro-abortion march to make a pro-life presence known, to plant seeds, to reach lost souls, I applaud you. We need you. You are full of courage. Thank you.
But to see some good Catholics openly supporting this march? Well, at first I was truly stunned, and next my heart broke. To the claim that the march had "some" worthy messages and would promote "some" good, I say same with Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood does STD testing and very basic cancer screening, for example. These are "some" good things we can identify in a terribly evil organization. But no faithful Catholic would proudly, happily march in a Planned Parenthood parade and excuse the overriding evil of the thing, would they?
Women of the march who hate Donald Trump:
You multiplied him over a million times.
You slimed us all.
That's not a win. You lose. Women lose. Men lose. Children lose. We all lose.
God forgive us.
To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women. -- Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
Amen Leila, Amen!
ReplyDeleteVery sad and miserable people. Love your posts. Love that you are willing to put yourself out there. These people scare me!
ReplyDeleteLoved it. Sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm getting a lot of blowback, even among Catholics. But I know there are a lot of people being silent who are horrified but afraid to speak up. I'll keep talking.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Please, in whatever venue that you choose, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteAre you coming to the March for Life this Friday? It'll be the first for my wife and me!
Nathan, sadly I am not! But I will be there in prayer and spirit!
DeleteYou are absolutely right. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteMy wife said you were getting trashed elsewhere for this post so I am a new follower. Good stuff thanks for writing!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that, Joe, and welcome! Yes, there is a surprising amount of vitriol for anyone who dares criticize this pro-abortion march, from good Catholics. I feel like a dark spirit has erupted and is affecting all of us with this dark event. I would not have gone near that place without a pack of holy water. People totally discount the idea that demons are crawling around in places/events/people that so easily throw off (and mock!) the virtues of chastity and modesty, respect and decency, humility, human sexuality, and even respect for human life itself.
ReplyDeleteThe extremists (including celebrity, featured speakers) at any march or demonstration do not define it. The fact that within the last week this became a pro-choice sponsored event and pro-life groups were rejected as sponsors or partners is a shame. That is not right. But I am not tracking the fact that the women who marched are worse than Donald Trump "times a million." Really, Leila? "Times a million?" Okay, so Donald Trump cheated on wife #1 with wife #2. He cheated on wife #2 with wife #3. While married to wife #3 he was recorded on tape describing his efforts to seduce a married woman. While he now claims to be pro-life (after being pro-choice for many years), no one believes him . . . . (I know you, Leila, have tried to fudge his abortion views by saying vague things like "I don't know his heart," when we all know that he claims to be pro-life when he is not). His daughter Ivanka is not pro-life. I don't know about his wife, Melania. She appears to be a lovely person and a wonderful mother, but I have no idea her views on abortion. We also have no idea whether Donald Trump is responsible for or encouraged abortions for his many lovers over the years. I mention his family only because you and others on your blog have vilified Michele Obama regarding her views on abortion, even though she is not the President, and the two previous Republican Presidents (George Bush Sr and Jr) had wives who were pro-choice. So, with a President who happens to be a Republican (because it lines his pockets . . . tax cuts and all), and who pays lip service to true Conservative social values, you are saying the women who marched for equality for women have degraded themselves a million times worse than Trump? I must say, Leila, that's a good one.
ReplyDeleteTo use your famous phrase, "I don't know their hearts." You have no idea what each individual woman was marching for. Many made their travel plans before the march was co-opted by pro-choice groups. So, given that much of this march started with victims of sexual assault, I would not be judging women who are victims of sexual assault marching in solidarity with others in protest of a President who laughs about his money, power and celebrity translating into power to control women sexually. Those women have every right to march on that issue alone. And they have not degraded themselves a million times more than Donald Trump has. Madonna and Ashley Judd do not speak for these women. They speak for themselves.
And finally, can I also say that I was literally NAUSEATED over the GUSHING of you and others over Melania's outfit for the inauguration. She looked lovely. I don't recall all the first ladies before her and their outfits, but I generally think our focus should not be on the fashion choices of spouses and children and instead on the office and how the person in it will lead. I am just not a traditional woman and I am not a fan of traditional gender roles. Not my thing at all and not the way my husband and I live our lives. It is fine for others, but I was sick and tired of discussions of Michele Obama's arms and her clothing. Enough already! Let's talk policy instead.
BTW, I share your concern about the latency period and bringing children to places where they will see shocking things. My own young children saw me open anti-abortion materials in the mail, complete with disgusting photos of aborted fetuses and were horrified by it. I expect people who brought their children to Donald Trump's inauguration were concerned about vulgar signs and other displays. Just like people who brought their children to Obama's inauguration and saw disgusting things there as well. Perhaps you do not recall some of the disgusting "protester" displays at Obama's inauguration? Perhaps you do not recall it as you were despondent at the time and very upset. You might need to check your old blog posts to see what you said in 2012, but I looked it up after the 2016 election (when you were mocking people who were upset about Trump's victory) to see all your supportive rhetoric to the conservatives licking their wounds back in 2012. There was no blog in 2008, so Lord only knows what was said then. But I do recall the horrific things said and written about Obama. You may recall the large poster with the photo of a noose. It said "Hang in there, Obama!" I suppose that is shocking to a young child, and I would not want my tender hearted toddler or pre-schooler to see it. You see, Leila, this horrible, sinful, nasty conduct occurs all the time. It isn't just liberals and Democrats. An elected official in North Carolina recently called Michele Obama an "ape in heels." You yourself have insulted President Obama many, many times. You have not just disputed his policies and decisions, but you have degraded him, mocked him, and called his manhood into question. You say you don't hate any of these politicians, but that just isn't true. We need to respect the office and attempt to support our leader in his attempt to lead, without insulting his manhood, his appearance or his lovely family. Too bad you could not do that for Obama, but you are calling everyone out when they don't do it for Trump.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! You expressed what I was feeling better than I ever could.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leila, for this and all your work! Your constant defense of truth encourages me to speak up amongst the deafening silence of any who might reject modern "feminist" ideology (I'm often saddened at the silence amongst Christians on such important fundamental issues in this time of great confusion). My fb response to the Womens March: Modern feminist thinking might be imploding on you if you: Support a March whose main organizers include the likes of Linda Sarsour (a woman in full support of sharia law, which not only offers an illustrative guide to the actual oppression of women, but also offers grisly punishment protocol for those females who don't adhere to their warped rules) and planned parenthood proponents (the org. that has been caught profiting off of the sale of baby parts and covering up sex trafficking amongst their clients). When your March holds up and applauds celebrities, whose speeches reduce you to vicious, man hating, violence promoting, women without virtue-you're supporting that which you say you're marching against. When your March has sponsors and partners who champion a culture of death, you are cooperating with evil and become a mouthpiece for their mission. You're right, your womanhood is being attacked, but your attacker is not Trump. If you want to know what and who to fight against in this, look to those who want you to suppress or change the very essence of your womanhood. It takes only glimpsing some footage of the Womens March to see the utter downfall of dignity amongst so many of my sisters. I've never felt ashamed to be a woman, but my head hung a bit lower this past Saturday. That March made a mockery of womanhood. My heart sank as I watched many of the women I know and love fall under a cheap, thin veil of deceit as they proudly put on their pussy cat hats and paraded themselves around our nation's capital chanting lies and spewing hate.
ReplyDeleteLisa, that is so well said. Thank you! And thanks for all the other kind comments.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Pro-ACA, thank you for your very strong and thorough comments as well. You have a lot to say, and it's hard for me to cover every point you made, but I will cover the basics.
First, I say "I can't judge a person's soul" about everyone. Good, bad, indifferent. Everyone. And it's true. I have said it a million times, and I will say it a million more. But I can darn well judge the march, and the signs, and the degradation of women that happened there, and I will do so. I can judge that it was, overarchingly, a pro-abortion march. If it looks like a pro-abortion march, walks like a pro-abortion march, and talks like a pro-abortion march, it's probably a pro-abortion march. Oh, and if it's sponsored by pro-abortion groups and excludes pro-life groups. That's another clue.
Can I say that these women degraded themselves in their pussy hats and vagina costumes, carrying vulgar signs that debased and made mockery of the mystery of human sexuality, the gift of the female body, the virtues, the truth? Yes, I can say that. I can say that and it does not mean I have judged their souls. But I have judged that march, and I have judged the actions of the crowd as being an offense to women. Honestly, I felt it as an offense to the purity of the Blessed Mother.
Here's an example: If my daughter showed up at a march and had a "pussy hat" on, had a sign with a vagina on it, 400x larger than life, had vulgar words and photos on it, laughed about it all, rejoiced in it, I would tell her, "My daughter, you have degraded yourself. You have set aside your own human and womanly dignity." Yep, I would have no trouble saying it to my own daughter. Even if she had no sign but merely enjoyed and cheered the rest of the crowd's degrading signs, slogans, and costumes, I would still say, "You have degraded yourself, my daughter."
I don't think that is hard to understand. What happened at the march was degradation of themselves, times a million women across the land. Yes, I stand by it.
The difference between the horrid "noose" sign at an Obama protest? The noose sign was NOT acceptable to conservatives and to the crowds. That person was an evil outlier. You know this, though. There is no analogy to what happened on Saturday and was *celebrated* by all.
As for latency: There is nothing sexual about seeing a dead unborn child, as shocking as that might be to see for a child (though for me, it was just that image that cemented me as pro-life at age 10 or 11). I am not in favor of such exposure to violence for the little ones, but it has nothing to do with the sexual latency period.
Let me post this and get to your other points....
continued, for Pro-ACA:
ReplyDeleteAs for the personal beliefs of Trump and his family.... I don't care at all. I never said he was personally pro-life. I have said (time and time and time and time again) that politics for me is about POLICY. I am happy with his pro-life cabinet picks and advisors. I am sure I will be a thousands times happier with his judicial appointments (and there will be hundreds) than with the rabid pro-choicers that Hillary would have *without doubt* appointed. This is not hard to understand. This is policy. It has nothing to do with Trump's personal stand on anything. I hope that is clear.
As for my attacks on Obama. Please, show me where I mocked Obama. I despise the man's policies and I decry his weak character. That is 100% true. He is a politician, he rules over us, and I am quite okay with calling out weak manhood who would vote to leave a child to die on a cold hospital table after a botched abortion. And guess what? I have also called out Trump's weak character. Did you not read anything I said about the man? Are you selectively reading, because of how much you like Obama? The most popular post I've ever written (sadly and ironically) was "Why Trump Will Get My Vote" -- you can click it, on the sidebar, and read it. I am pretty sure I critiqued the man, and harshly. And if you look just above, I have critiqued Trump even in this very post. So, I'm not sure why you are okay with that, but not okay with a critique of the most anti-Catholic, pro-abortion, pro-gay "marriage" man we have ever had in office? Help me understand.
As for my Facebook page.... you read it, you dislike it, but you also don't make yourself known. Let me tell you, it's hard to have one's name and face out there. It's hard to be slandered and lied about (which has happened to me for two days now on social media), but I will keep speaking. I am not anonymous. My family is not anonymous. You are anonymous, you come here and to my Facebook page (apparently) and you get outraged behind a pseudonym. I don't mind that you are anonymous, because I get that not everyone wants to be "out there", and that is fine, and even wise. But please, if you have a problem with what I am saying on my Facebook page, make yourself known. Don't lurk over there, and then come outraged over here, with nothing I can reference from my very fast-moving fb page.
As for Melania's dress.... oh my gosh. It was gorgeous! I'm no fashion maven, but I am a girl. I loved it! I can gush if I want. Heck, even the CNN ladies were talking about it gushingly! It was a huge topic of conversation, even on the Trump-hating networks. I am sorry you took offense to some fun I had on my own personal Facebook page with many other ladies (and a whole lot of the world). By the way, I loved Jackie Kennedy's style too. I fawn over it, and I am not a Kennedy fan at all. I loved the fashion on Mad Men. So sue me. C'mon, that can't actually be a topic that bugs you? Let's lighten up a bit.
If I have missed a point, I apologize. Let me know.
By the way, are you really suggesting that I don't talk enough POLICY on my fb page or here? Goodness. I talk policy constantly. Not sure what your complaint is. As for "traditional gender roles" -- my husband does the cooking and cleaning. I do a lot of the assembling and electronics. He is still all man, I am still a woman. Who said anything about you having to adhere to strict gender roles, simply because I *loved* seeing that beautiful blue outfit with the blue gloves? It was *classy*. It was *timeless*. She is gorgeous to boot. It was all lovely. Guess what? The ability to appreciate the beautiful is a good thing. Beauty is one of the transcendentals. By the way, I did not like her inaugural gown. Does that make up for my love of her blue ensemble? ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are awesome Leila! Keep speaking the truth! And excellent response to Pro ACA. ����
ReplyDeleteMichelle, thank you! I hope that Pro-ACA comes back to address the points and have a dialogue.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Leila. I didn't watch any coverage, just heard bits and pieces from others talking about it, and this sums up all that was said. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI think this nails it:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theblaze.com/contributions/matt-walsh-lets-not-insult-women-by-calling-that-shameful-nonsense-a-womens-march/
Especially this:
The women I know and love don’t deserve to be represented like that. To attach the qualifier “women’s” to such an asinine display is an insult to the decent, dignified women (the majority, I should add) who would literally rather die than put on a vagina costume and march through the streets chanting for more abortions.
You are brave and good, Leila.
ReplyDeleteYou are kind. I wish it were true. I just have a big mouth. :)
DeleteTrump moves quickly! Reinstates the Mexico City policy!! Hooray!!! Please tell him you are thankful; he will be getting tons of ugly blowback from the feminists.
ReplyDeletehttp://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/abortion/315652-trump-signs-executive-order-reinstating-global-gag-rule-on
Funny thing is when I looked up what the march was about the information I found said it was for those that believe women's rights are human rights. How is abortion about human rights. Women are blessed to carry children...that is their human right. The child in the womb is a human...they are blessed by being created by GOD. Is it not their right to be born? Sex is not a right or a necessity. Just ask those people in the south that lost love ones and EVERYTHING they own to a natural disaster while people were marching for sexual identities or the right to deminish the effects of a reckless sex life. Can we please start caring for each other as God has asked us too? Is it too much to ask? All that money spent to call an administration names could have done so much good for this nation...feed hungry people, clothed the naked, money to the poor. Dot GOV is not our moral compass no matter who lives in the white house. Also someone's past is their past...and we all have one. We are called to be merciful no matter the recipient of that mercy. I pray that our current administration follows Christ teaching because only God has the power to make that happen. Furthermore, we should pray for all those people who marched to become inspired by the holy spirit to put their efforts toward merciful tasks versus being used as a pawn for a political agenda.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leila for posting this. The insanity of these times sickens me but it helps to see that not everyone has lost their minds
ReplyDeletesissybee, you are making way too much sense. People who wear vagina outfits in public generally don't listen to sense. But you are exactly, exactly right.
ReplyDeleteVincent, we are comfort to each other. God is still firmly in control, all will be revealed in the end, and in the meantime, we pray (and fast!) through the insanity that swirls around us. None of this is a surprise to God. We just had the joy to be place on the planet at this time. Let's get to work! :)
Leila, you are the bomb! Thank you for expressing exactly how I feel!
ReplyDeleteWhat drives me nuts about this March is everyone keeps telling me "That's not what I am marching for! How dare you criticize me!!!!"
ReplyDeleteYou point out to them, well this action, this sign, and this speaker all seem to state that the march is about supporting this particular point of view which is why I am objecting to the march. The response is a huff and a "Well, I never! That's not me, so you can't say that about me."
So basically, the march is about whatever people want it to be about so long as it is somehow connected to left-wing policies and politics with a lot of feel good and girl power thrown in? But the march is ALSO not about anything in particular that the individual you are speaking to has not expressly consented to or endorsed?
I hate to say it, that is a girly response. A 5 year old girl's response. (Apologies to the 5 year old girls.)
The really dumb thing is most of the people talking about this are women. (Because the boys are smart enough to grab and beer and slowly walk out of the room.) As women, we KNOW this game. It isn't something new to us. Reminds me of the old saying "You can't con a con."
I would totally post this on the facebook link except, as I already told Leila I am in a massive doghouse right now. Apparently, I am not one of the chosen women free to express herself without consequences.
DeleteActually, it pretty much WAS a Planned Parenthood Parade. Pro-life women were not welcome (pro-abortion was the only stance the organizers said was welcome) and Cecile Richards was a featured speaker. So.. Planned Parenthood Parade.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this, and for taking this stand even though you knew you would be attacked for it! I will offer my Mass tomorrow morning for you.
ReplyDeleteKathy, thank you so much!! Gail, you nailed it. StarFireKK, I am so happy you will be raising a little girl soon. We need good mommies like you! (And you are SO right: "We know the game.")
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vincent, and everyone else!
I am glad I don't know how to post these other pictures I found, of obscene signs little children were holding. I am so sickened by it. How is it not a grave sin to corrupt a child like that? Catholics, we are supposed to ABHOR sin, not laugh and participate in it -- or excuse it by the hundreds of thousands. I have this feeling that so many Catholics really, truly, absolutely do not fear for their souls AT ALL. They feel completely safe. The sin of presumption is a frightening thing. Ask me how I know.
Pro-ACA, where did you go? I think you have done this before... you make a ton of points and accusations, and I answer them carefully, and you never come back. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteYou know, after reading the platform/speakers/mission of the marches (and most recently the Omaha march), it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's simply the Democrat Platform. We are all bewildered by this vile "women's march" that does not speak for women that I know, and it occurred to me that if they simply had billed it as the "Democrat Women's March", they would have cleared up any confusion. That would have been honest. They should have been honest and labeled it as such.
ReplyDeleteIt was a march for Democrats, who are upset with the election results. They were marching for the Democrat Platform.
Period.
Please let me say thank you, from one faithful Catholic to another.
ReplyDeleteHi! Maybe I can provide a different perspective and a bit of balance.
ReplyDeleteI’m linking to a photo: Austin march
These are my students at the Austin march. I teach at a high school that’s about 97% Latino.
See the girl in the middle of the front row with the big glasses? When she was in seventh grade her dad was deported, on the same weekend her sister was supposed to move into the dorm at Texas A&M University. See the girl in the fourth row with the big smile and the hair parted down the middle? She’s the best writer I’ve ever taught. The girl in the bottom right is the captain of the volleyball team, and the girl right above her is in my 2nd period class—I had no idea she was political at all, except in the sense that virtually all of my students are anti-Trump.
As Latinas—many of them Mexican immigrants—these students watched Donald Trump denigrate their ethnicity. They watched him promise to deport their parents. And they watched him promise to repeal DACA, which some of them depend on, without any replacement.
On top of *that*, they’ve had to watch the elevation and validation of a man who has repeatedly demeaned their sex. It’s not just “what Trump said years ago in a recorded video.” It’s repeated and ongoing, stretching from the “Miss Housekeeping” comments through Rosie O’Donnell, Megyn Kelly, and Katy Tur. It’s fat-shaming and body-shaming and ranking women on scales of 1 – 10. It’s walking in on changing contestants at the Miss USA and the Miss Teen USA pageant. It’s two dozen accusations of sexual assault, and it’s Donald Trump saying those accusations couldn’t possibly be true because the accusers aren’t attractive enough.
I’m super proud of these girls for speaking up against that disrespect, and for the way they did it. They’re a better representation of the tone, tenor, and purpose of the march than the impressions you’re taking from TV or the internet.
God bless every one of those ladies, Frank! But I have to tell you, the first thing I saw was the sign above the girls' head, "This pussy grabs back!" Uh..... I can't even imagine taking my students (or my children) to a march where pussies were the theme. I am cringing. Those beautiful girls, slimed by the vulgarity of the left. I remember when my daughter was at her university, just crossing the mall, and the Planned Parenthood girls were passing out vagina-shaped cookies and lollipops, screaming out, "You can lick this pussy!" This is the left today. On display in these marches. You provided me the photo. Unbelievably denigrating to women, no matter WHO is doing it, saying it, parading it. As a woman and a mother, it makes me sick. It made me sick when Trump's audio came out, and it makes me sick to see that sign, which, multiplied by a million, is a debasement of those women, not a victory. Did your students recoil from such signs?
ReplyDeleteI think you may have missed the entire message of my post. If someone denigrates you, you don't respond by denigrating and sliming yourself. If the young women wanted to protest immigration policy, there have been marches and demonstrations for that. This was not an immigration law protest, it was an anti-Trump march, by those who dislike the outcome of this election. To make it even more accurate (sorry for the emphasis):
This was a march for the DEMOCRAT PARTY PLATFORM.
Truth in advertising. It was not a Women's March, it was a Democrat Women's March. It was a Liberal/Leftist Women's March. It was primarily concerned with abortion and the pelvic issues.
If you don't mind linking the Austin March's mission/speakers/schedule, I would be happy to look at that. I looked at the Omaha one. It was essentially the Democrat Platform. I appreciate whatever info you can give.
One more question that I can't get a clear answer to, if you don't mind: Why is there so much outrage and (true) hatred for Trump and his words, when the same group saw Bill Clinton, the rapist and habitual objectifier and user of women, as a great guy, even a hero in their eyes? Help me understand the difference in response. Is it anything other than the fact that the rapist Clinton (and his victim-shaming wife) hold leftist policy views? Thanks!
PS: Is that a sanitary pad that the one girl has on her sign?? Uh.... That's something to be "proud of", to stick a MaxiPad on a sign and march around with it. Wow.... Sorry, what was the message?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how much this culture has changed in her morals and her public decorum. I must be getting old. Jesus can come back any time now! lol
Ha! Okay, so that’s the risk of bragging about teenagers online. Yes, it is a maxi pad. I checked with one of the girls in the picture today (not the one holding the sign, I don’t teach her). We talked about how that reflected on the message of the other sign, “They go low, we go high.”
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I will go to bat every time for those students, and vouch for their goodness—even if they do sometimes make off-color jokes. They’re out there defending their families and friends.
And I disagree that the march slimed or denigrated women. I get it if you think it was a little immature—I think some (but not all) of the humor contributed to the joyful nature of the march. I also think it’s worth pointing out that there were no arrests at any of the major marches, so I’m not sure what your friend means when she says she saw thuggishness and law-breaking.
I hope we can agree that there’s no equivalence between pussy-themed signs and Donald Trump’s audio. The problem with Trump’s audio wasn’t the word “pussy.” It was the words “grab” and “without even asking permission.” He could have said “unmentionables” or “you-know-what” and it would have been just as vile.
Regarding Bill Clinton, anyone who has a problem with Donald Trump but not him is either 1) wrestling with serious cognitive dissonance or 2) a hypocrite. I hope no one with the sexual entitlement issues of either man ever again comes close to a presidential nomination.
Finally, I disagree that that this wasn’t an immigration law protest. The principles of the national march, which the Austin march says it allies with, include planks on immigration rights, civil rights, and violence against communities of color. And, by definition, any general anti-Trump protest is going to be about immigration law, since Donald Trump’s political identity is first and foremost characterized by his immigration stances.
Anyway, thanks for letting me speak my piece, and thanks for saying "God bless every one of those ladies." They really are great kids. Here's the link to the platform of the Washington march, followed by the "About" section of the Austin march:
https://www.womensmarch.com/principles/
https://marchonaustin.com/about/
Honestly, I don't get the joke. I don't get the crude and crass nature of putting maxi pads on a poster. Or any of the other stuff. As I told one man on my Facebook page: If you wore a penis costume and held a sign that said, "Grab my d*ck", I would call the cops.
ReplyDeleteNone of this is cool, sorry.
If you think that Clinton and Trump are the only politicians (or the last) who have sexual entitlement issues (I think rape goes a bit further than that), then you don't know many politicians. It's pretty standard. But why only THIS man protested? (And by the way, he said "they let you" in his recorded private discussion, which means "consensual") I think we know why this man is the one protested.... because he's a Republican ready to challenge every bit of the Democrat Platform.
Again, can we just be honest? Can we call it a Democrat Platform march? Agreed?
https://marchonaustin.com/sponsors/
ReplyDelete^^ Ya gotta love the radical abortion groups espousing "non-violence" (mission statement). Irony of ironies. And come on. The entire list of sponsors are leftist organizations. It's a Democrat March. They are upset that a Republican, whom they (literally) hate, won the election. And now he has spent three days fulfilling his promises like nobody's business. I've never seen anything like it. I'm thrilled so far.
Why “only” Trump? Because he’s been credibly accused of rape, sexual assault, harassment, and serial adultery, and because he lends even more credence to those accusations by regularly verbally disrespecting women. That’s not standard. Barack Obama didn’t do it. Mitt Romney didn’t do it. McCain didn’t do it. John Kerry didn’t do it. Neither Bush did it. Al Gore didn’t do it. Bob Dole didn’t do it. Reagan didn’t do it. Jimmy Carter sure as heck didn’t do it. And any politician in recent decades who has come close (see Anthony Weiner) has had their career destroyed when it came to light. The only comparison from the past 50 years is Bill Clinton.
ReplyDeleteDoes the march’s platform match the Democrats’ platform? In social justice terms, yes, but it also includes some things that hopefully everyone can agree with.
But, Leila, when you say you’re thrilled so far, please tell me you have some reservations. The Bishops, for example, are not thrilled with his moves on immigration:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3DS1b_XgAIfmC5?format=jpg&name=large
And:
http://www.archgh.org/blog/main.asp?Tid=1894&id=39&cat=Cardinal%20DiNardo
The "only" comparison from the past fifty years is Bill Clinton, two-term recent president and left-wing, feminist hero, and his wife, the anointed presidential candidate who not only shamed his rape victims but was happy to bring Bill back to the White House with her (to the applause of the left, who had a collective meltdown when this horrid couple lost). I mean, are you kidding me? That's a pretty glaring, long-standing problem right there... the Clintons and their treachery, esp. the misogyny and rape. John McCain? You really want me to go into his reputation? I am from Arizona. I know how he is. John Edwards. I'm sure there are more that just don't have their stuff recorded, you know? Heck, I am glad I didn't have my past words/actions recorded!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for agreeing that the March was a match to the Democrat Platform.
As for immigration, I hope whatever solution is made that it is humane. My own father was a refugee. There are many facets to the immigration issue, wouldn't you agree? There is this to remind us of the hierarchy of values in the public square. First, from my own Bishop, my shepherd:
Immigration, education, affordable housing, health and welfare, etc., are considered policy issues, about which Catholics are free to disagree. In his booklet on behalf of the bishops, he said:
"On each of these [policy] issues, we should do our best to be informed and to support those proposed solutions that seem most likely to be effective. However, when it comes to direct attacks on innocent human life, being right on all the other issues can never justify a wrong choice on this most serious matter."
Abortion trumps policy issues.
Pope St. John Paul II wrote:
"Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with the maximum determination." (Christifideles Laici, 38)
There is a clear hierarchy. So while I hope and pray that immigration policy is fair and just, I cannot throw my hat in with the vulgar, abortion-loving crowd that took to the streets dressed as genitalia.
I think it bears noting that for those who marched in the women's March for "different reasons" other than abortion...we have to be aware that even if we *intend* a certain thing, we can still cause scandal to those who may not know our personal intentions. Some of those women may not have been marching for abortion but their presence at the March, to me suggests approval of the March itself and everything it stood for (with the exception of those pro life women who went to the March anyway with pro life signs I suppose)
ReplyDeleteMelissa, yes! I absolutely agree with you.
DeleteThank you, Leila, for eloquently writing what I think. You are spot on. Keep up the good work. There are many of us who think exactly like you do. I will keep praying for you.
ReplyDelete(I do speak out when I can! I can't write worth a darn.)
I think you write just fine! :) And, thank you!! It's always good to know that there are LOTS of us out here!!
DeleteLeila-I know no one who "loves" abortion. And almost all of my friends are pro-choice.
ReplyDeletePeople who make the effort to get out of their homes, dress up as vaginas, come together by the hundreds of thousands chanting for abortion.... I guess they just really hate abortion or are neutral? C'mon. This is something they put above just about anything else. This is the one issue that united the vast, vast majority of those women. If they hate the violence of abortion, why do they fight so hard for it and celebrate it constantly? I get that it's indoctrination (we MUST have abortion! We cannot be FREE without abortion!) or it's to assuage a guilty conscience, but they absolutely do want abortion and will fight to the death for it (sadly, it is a death match, and a bloody one).
DeleteLeila, please keep up the courageous witness - God bless you!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, John!
DeleteA belated but poignant reminder that the Lord can use a minor happenstance as an opportunity to evangelize...
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/jj4vrzy
Leila--I'm sure you have heard the phrase "the best of two evils?" NO ONE loves abortion, they are just devoted to the idea that legal abortion should be available. There is a difference.
ReplyDeleteJohanne, can you think of any other evil that is so celebrated and fiercely defended and fought for as abortion? It's an evil that has cheerleaders, has an industry behind it, has greeting cards, and t-shirts, and chanting and a frenzy around it. Celebrities champion it and get applauded. Any other evil you can think of that is treated this way?
DeleteYou miss the point. They are celebrating choice, not abortion itself. I could celebrate one's right to have an appendectomy because I hate to think of a society where they aren't allowed but I certainly wouldn't celebrate appendectomies themselves--who would willingly want to have one?
ReplyDeleteJohanne, but no. They are not celebrating "choice" (we all believe in "choice" -- I love choosing things, and I choose every day, many times). They are celebrating the "right to choose...." And they never fill in the blank but you and I both know exactly what "choice" they are talking about. Let me finish the sentence: "I believe in a woman's right to choose abortion." We are talking about abortion. The killing of the child in the womb. They are celebrating not any "choice", but THAT choice.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I would celebrate the ability to get an appendectomy. What a gift! To be healed of a pathology that could kill me? Yes! I celebrate cures!! There is not a sane person on the planet who is against appendectomies, and if a nation that had never had access to appendectomies before suddenly had access, there would be rejoicing. What a gift is sound medicine and cures!
I would WILLINGLY have an appendectomy -- because it would mean life and health -- and I would celebrate access to it, as would all citizens. Have you ever heard of anyone who called life-saving appendectomies "evil"? It's ridding the body of a great and grave disease and pathology.
Now, if we had to kill an innocent human being to make it so that I could get an appendectomy, then that would cross a moral line for sure.
Hi, Leila!
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a couple of weeks, and this isn't the main topic of your post, but I’m writing back because I remembered you said that you hoped any actions on immigration in the new administration would be humane. At this point I can tell you I have real concerns about that.
A parent from my charter school system was deported last week; my whole school is on edge. Friday night I attended a “Know Your Rights” seminar in our school gym. It was packed with parents who wanted to know what to do if ICE agents knock on their doors, stop their cars, show up at their workplaces. These parents wanted to know how to protect their children in case one day they just don’t come home.
The administration has given every indication that they plan to ramp up the number of deportations. As a result, the parents I saw on Friday were contemplating and planning for something that’s unimaginable to me: the dismantling of their families. There is no humane way for that to happen, especially not on a large scale.
We would all understand if these actions were targeting dangerous criminals, but they’re not. ICE might go out after “criminal” aliens right now, but a) they’re defining “criminal” broadly enough to include people whose only crimes are immigration-related and b) they’re casting a wide net when they’re out on their raids, and bringing in people whom they didn’t initially target. On top of that, the raids they launched in Austin, LA, and other cities last week were extremely public and visible, creating even more terror among immigrant communities.
I know we’ve disagreed a lot, and I know you supported Trump and don’t trust the mainstream media. But I do pray that you and other Republicans who care about families will keep an eye on this issue, and speak out if your conscience tells you to.
Absolutely, Frank, I will speak up if I think there is an injustice arising. I don't think there are any mass deportations going on (Obama himself, as you know, deported about 2 million folks here illegally), and the prioritization that I've heard clarified by the WH seems just to me. The same sort of felonies that would land me in prison are going to land some illegal immigrants back in their home countries. Either way, there is a separation of families, and it's always a tragedy.
ReplyDelete