#JD Vance dangerous

[carolkeiter]

Clearest explanation Current Tech Billionaire Coup | DEMOCRACY IS DONE: THE RISE OF CORPORATE MONARCHY by Shane Almgren

Here is perhaps the most important and clarifying article yet, explaining what is currently happening in our government among tech billionaires in a corporate coup. Almgren explains how these current events…

[ianmelchizadek]

Important article...Dangerous times we're in; please vote *AGAINST* Trump/Vance - especially if you're queer, a woman, or love and care about anyone who is - for the love of all that is decent and sane, help us keep these maniacs out of office.

[lanterns-and-lightmares]

Jason Dean

[deadpresidents]

"Mr. Trump's election demonstrates how American tolerance for the unacceptable is nearly infinite. There are hundreds of absolutely mind-boggling things I could point to from the past decade...But three election in a row, Mr. Trump has been a viable Presidential candidate and our democracy has few guardrails to protect the country from the clear and present danger he and his political appointees will continue to confer upon us. Clearly, Mr. Trump is successful because of his faults, not despite them, because we do not live in a just world...And now Republicans will control the executive branch, the Senate and the House of Representatives. There will be few checks and balances...

...Mr. Trump's voters are granted a level of care and coddling that defies credulity and that is afforded to no other voting bloc. Many of them believe the most ludicrous things: babies being aborted after birth and children going to school as one gender and returning home surgically altered as another gender even though these things simply do not happen. Time and again, we hear the wild lies these voters believe and we act as if they are sharing the same reality as ours, as if they are making informed decisions about legitimate issues. We act as if they get to dictate the terms of political engagement on a foundation of fevered mendacity.

We must refuse to participate in a mass delusion. We must refuse to accept that the ignorance on display is a congenital condition rather than a choice. All of us should refuse to pretend that any of this is normal and that these voters are just woefully misunderstood and that if only the Democrats addressed their economic anxiety, they might vote differently. While they are numerous, that does not make them right.

These are adults, so let us treat them like adults. Let us acknowledge that they want to believe nonsense and conjecture. They want to believe anything that affirms their worldview. They want to celebrate a leader who allows them to nurture their basest beliefs about others. The biggest challenge of our lifetime will be figuring out how to combat the American willingness to embrace flagrant misinformation and bigotry.

As Mr. Trump assembles his cabinet of loyalists and outlines the alarming policies he means to enact, it's hard not to imagine the worst, not out of paranoia but as a means of preparation. The incoming President has clearly articulated that he may dismantle the Department of Education and appears to be giving the wealthiest man in the world unfettered access to the Oval Office. He plans to begin mass deportations immediately and has announced his pick of a Fox News host as the defense secretary -- the list goes on, each promise more appalling than the last.

We would like to believe that many of the ideas on Mr. Trump's demented wish list won't actually come to fruition and that our democracy can once more withstand the new President and the people with whom he surrounds himself. But that is just desperate, wishful thinking. As of yet, there is nothing that will break the iron grip Mr. Trump has on his base, and Vice President-elect JD Vance is young enough to carry the mantle going forward for political cycles to come.

Absolutely anything is possible, and we must acknowledge this, not out of surrender, but as a means of readying ourselves for the impossible fights ahead."

-- Roxane Gay, "Enough", The New York Times, November 17, 2024.

This is one of the best, most spot-on pieces about where we are and what we must prepare ourselves for in the aftermath of Donald Trump's re-election to the Presidency. These gift links will allow you to bypass the NYT paywall and read the entire article, and I urge you to share these links with as many people as you'd like.

[wilwheaton]

“This is a media and Kamala Harris fact check that I wanna clarify and clear up right now … She used two programs to wave a wand and to say, ‘We’re not gonna deport those people here.’ If Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I’m still gonna call them an illegal alien.” That’s Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), talking about the Haitian migrants in the town of Springfield in his home state — the majority of whom are in the country legally. As Vance points out in his remarks, most of the migrants in question are in the U.S. legally through programs like mass parole due to urgent humanitarian issues and/or temporary protective status, a temporary status given to nationals of specifically designated countries that are confronting an ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions. The key word here is legal. Calling them illegal aliens because you want to attack the candidate that’s running against you is not only racist and xenophobic but also an extremely dangerous line to cross. We’ve seen the results of that very racism and xenophobia play out in real time in Springfield for the past week.

Making America Deportable Again

Jeffrey Dahmer Vance is admitting that he’s a liar. He’s admitting that they have no policies or plans to improve your life. He’s admitting that he’s so inexperienced, that Trump’s record is so unpopular and indefensible, they will just make up lies -- that they know are hurting people -- to avoid facing how weak they are.

Make no mistake: Trump and Vance have no plans to help anyone except themselves and their billionaire owners. If they can execute their coup successfully this time, not only will they never leave office, they will obliterate the middle class and the working poor. They will ensure that the most vulnerable among us suffer even more than they already are.

They know that voters know that. They know that, outside of the cult, they have no support. So they amplify a racist lie in an effort to distract and fool voters.

That worked in 2016, and it almost worked in 2020.

It is not working now. We are not going back.

[savage-daughter-of-nikitie]

D. Earl Stephens, retired managing editor of the military's daily newspaper, Stars and Stripes, issues a warning, not only to the average citizen of the U.S. but, I believe, to rank and file military personnel at home and around the world.

He's exhorting them to consider if they will follow the orders of a madman hell bent on destroying the U.S. or follow the U.S. Constitution. I suspect tens of thousands of troops will disobey orders rather than invade Canada (less so with Greenland or Panama, I suspect). Those will be the first shots of the civil war.

I'm posting the entire text of his piece here and will link to the article in comments.

@followers @highlight

---

“It would be helpful if we stopped pretending this terrible chapter in American history won’t close without bloodshed …

It would be helpful if Americans, and our feeble Democratic politicians in particular, stopped implying by their comatose actions that Democracy is some damn American right and has no end date.

America very well might be arriving at hers, because, yes, it really is that bad right now.

Rather than bringing Ping-Pong paddles and groovy, little signs to a fascist hate-fest disguised as a State of the Union speech, it would be helpful if our meek, out-of-touch Democratic politicians at least pretended they understood the perilous moment we are standing in right now.

We are in deep, deep trouble, and now would be a wonderful, necessary time to step in front of your favorite mirror and honestly ask yourself what you are willing to do to fight for our country’s survival.

We are but six-plus weeks into the repulsive, wannabe-king’s second term and the damage he and his party are causing are already at catastrophic levels.

Our air, water, earned benefits, peace, public safety, civil rights, and human rights are all under immediate threat. Worse? This is only the first course of many that will be served by the vindictive, orange madman, and his pathetic party of supplicants.

The insults, the attacks, endless provocations, and thrashing of our Constitution will continue daily. All this carefully planned evil will be aimed at exactly one thing: breaking us.

Everything he is doing is designed to pound us into submission, and he’s having a grand damn doing it.

This was entirely his aim when he and his pet mutt, JD Vance, double-teamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the behest of Boss Putin in the Oval Office on Friday. The idea was to publicly humiliate the man who has done more to defend America’s interests across the globe than any Republican in memory.

Because Zelenskyy has tasted gun powder and breathed the odious smell of death on the battlefield, he wasn't about to be pushed around by some morbidly obese, 78-year-old yacht club bully and his toady, who think swinging a sand wedge to free a golf ball from some bunker is dangerous business.

Zelenskyy punched back and wasn't having it. He told the truth, and didn't back down. The future of his country is on the line right now, and he acted like it.

And therein lies the playbook for dealing with this sadistic bastard — if only the cautious, too-clever Democratic Party and their weak leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, bothered paying attention.

While Rome burns, they dither.

They act as if we have all the time in the world, when time is something that is not guaranteed right now. They seem to somehow have no idea how bad things are about to get, or most certainly will be when elections they seem to be pinning their hopes on roll around next year.

Everything changed on November 5th, but by the looks of it, very little has changed in the Democratic Party.

This country will never be the same, and the sooner we come to grips with that, and start acting accordingly the better.

What would you do if everything you had and everyone you loved was threatened? Would you act like Zelenskyy or Schumer?

One of the big mistakes of Joe Biden’s presidency was this notion that everything was going to be OK, and that his idea of America matched the actual circumstances of America.

If I had a dollar for every time he said this, I’d fold up shop and move to Tahiti:

“We are the United States of America – there's nothing we can't do if we do it together. We just have to remember who we are.”

It was a noble statement and magical thinking that would have worked great pre-2016, when we could still believe without being laughed at that our two parties could work together in a crisis to protect America.

When we were attacked by the terrible human being who is now somehow leading us January 6, 2021, that magical thinking needed to go out the nearest window.

Instead, our Justice Department twiddled its thumbs and allowed the America-attacker to build himself back up, so that WE would have to deal with him AGAIN.

I seethe just thinking about this, but it is where we are right now, and the sooner we all understand this the better.

The clock is ticking. The bomb is in place.

Which brings me back around to my original premise: At some point, he will do something so heinous … so anti-America … so dangerous … that the people who truly love our country will be forced into the streets to take a life-or-death stand. Sadly, this is actually the best-case scenario, because the worst case is we just go quietly into the dark, gloomy night and become an authoritarian country, where we have zero rights or say in how we are governed.

Yesterday under the cover of his blankets, the America-attacker shared this with us:

Now read the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES."

He is telling us what he thinks of America and silly things like the Constitution. Kings don’t pay attention to that kind worthless drivel.

And, really, end of the day, it not him who we have most to fear. It’s the stupid, goddam Republicans who are stubbornly in all of our lives. These are the people who have illustrated there is no known pain or sacrifice to our civil liberties or pocketbooks that they won’t absorb just for the satisfaction of watching some poor kid of color going without something they didn’t think she should have.

So the choice is yours: You can continue thinking there is some magical way out of this, or you can begin to take the threat to everything you hold dear seriously, and ACT accordingly.”

— D. Earl Stephens, author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes.

[carolkeiter]

Clearest explanation of Current Tech Billionaire Coup | DEMOCRACY IS DONE: THE RISE OF CORPORATE MONARCHY by Shane Almgren

Here is perhaps the most important and clarifying article yet, explaining what is currently happening in our government among tech billionaires in a corporate coup. Almgren explains how these current events…

[son-of-drogo]

In case you weren't already voting for Biden to keep Trump out of office, Trump's running mate is JD Vance, a horrible piece of shit.

I'll level with you, Biden sucks ass but if Trump gets back into office, every single marginalized person will be in danger. This election could literally be life or death.

[thestuckylibrary]

This is a red alert dangerous situation. The Fascists are trying to declare themselves above the law. This is completely against the constitution. This is a coup.

[thebreakfastgenie]

I'm not anti-vote or anything, but I think some of the liberals on here greatly overrate how much damage a bunch of bored kids (most of whom probably can't even legally vote) talking shit on social media can actually do to the Democrats. So what if they turn out braindead "Genocide Joe" memes by the thousands per week? No meaningful voter would pay attention to those, and anyone who does never had a vote worth chasing in the first place.

The problem is that it's not just a bunch of bored kids. It feeds a larger social media ecosystem. Remember "cancel culture?" Remember how that became a right wing talking point that conservatives whined about in mainstream settings? That has its roots on tumblr. If you ever doubted that fringe social media movements affect mainstream politics, 2024 should have been the final nail in the coffin. JD Vance has very signifcant (and, frankly, underreported) ties to online far right communities (known as "groypers" to the terminally online) and it absolutely influenced his campaign and now he's bringing those interests to the vice-presidency. Elon Musk (the owner of twitter) and Vivek Ramaswamy want to run a government office named DOGE after a meme. We're sharing the internet with the people in power; we're all playing with live ammo. It's often a ripple effect or butterfly effect, so it's very difficult to predict what memes and posts from "bored kids" will make it to real life politics and how they'll be transformed along the way. Because it's so hard to predict, we need to be aware of the possibility and act with care. "Genocide Joe" memes contributed to a general feeling of dissatisfaction with Biden that, intentionally or not, played into the Trump campaign's "everyone hates Biden" narrative. A similar thing happened with Hillary in 2016.

Elections are also won and lost on the margins. Campaigns spend billons on ground games that persuade a very small percentage of voters, but it's better to persuade that percentage than not to. If you don't know if something is going to make a difference, you act as if it is when the stakes are high. Is the drag from a constant negative social media narrative going to hurt a campaign? Maybe, and either way it's definitely not going to help, so it's better not to have it. 2016 and 2024 were both very close elections.

Liberals also tend to interpret bored kids' posts as statements of action. If someone says they don't want a Democrat to win, will try to stop it, and will tell other people not to vote for that candidate, liberals are going to object to that.

It's usually not "meaningful voters" who decide elections. It's low-information swing voters who make up their minds on the way to the voting booth. These voters are, consciously or unconsciously, often influenced by perceived popular opinion. A lot of people don't have deeply held values that they've spent time examining, but have moral compasses more akin to "if everyone I know thinks this, it must be right." The danger of social media is that is also distorts the meaning of "everyone I know." Your meme about how you hate Joe Biden finds its way into an algorithmically-generated bubble and someone says "gee, it seems like everyone I know hates Joe Biden, I generally trust my social circle, he must be really bad." And it's self-reinforcing. They start sharing it or making similar posts of their own and it spreads to their contacts in their own bubbles.

I don't think the exact mechanisms or limits or this phenomenon are fully understood yet because social media is still too new, but it's very real.

[socialistexan]

Trump choosing JD Vance is a signal of two things:

1) Trump's main focus will be fealty and loyalty to the crown (him), no one has bent over backwards to kiss Trump's ass the past 4-5 years more than Vance. He's going to reward loyalty, ambition, and deference to authroitarianism, which Vance has done in excess.

2) They're going hard-right on social issues. Vance supported a national abortion ban post-Dobbs. He's gone on record saying he is a pro-life absolutist, meaning from moment of conception with no exceptions. He also pushed a national gender affirming care ban which included language which bans care for all trans people, children and adults. Vance has been hard right on reverse marriage equality, being sceptical of civil rights, and pushed rhetoric around Great Replacement Theory.

This is very, very dangerous. We're going head first into fascism with this pick and the fact that Democrats are essentially giving up 4 months before the election.

[globalnewscollective]

Outrage After JD Vance Claims Judges Are Not Allowed to Check Executive Power

What’s Happening?

Vice President JD Vance has ignited a firestorm of controversy after declaring that judges have no right to restrain the president’s agenda. His shocking statement, which directly contradicts the foundation of the U.S. Constitution, signals an alarming shift in the balance of power within the American government. This rhetoric is not just dangerous—it’s a blueprint for authoritarian rule.

Under the Trump administration, Vance has played a pivotal role in pushing for radical judicial reforms that would strip courts of their ability to act as a check on executive power. His statement has been widely condemned as a direct attack on judicial independence and the rule of law. Critics warn that this is yet another step toward dismantling the democratic institutions that keep America from sliding into dictatorship.

Why This Should Terrify You

The idea that judges should not be allowed to check executive power is not just a policy disagreement—it’s a full-scale assault on democracy. Here’s why:

It Destroys the Separation of Powers – The Constitution established three branches of government to prevent tyranny. If the judiciary is neutered, the president becomes an unchecked ruler.

It Sets a Dangerous Precedent – If courts cannot challenge executive overreach, future leaders—regardless of party—could wield absolute power with no accountability.

It Threatens Civil Liberties – The courts have historically played a crucial role in protecting rights, from racial equality to reproductive freedoms. Without judicial oversight, those rights are in jeopardy.

It Emboldens Authoritarianism – History has shown that once leaders eliminate checks on their power, oppression follows. From Hungary to Russia, we’ve seen democracies crumble when the judiciary is stripped of its authority.

Why This Matters to You

If Vance and Trump succeed in this attack on the courts, the consequences will be devastating for every American:

Your rights will be at the mercy of the presidency – Without an independent judiciary, there will be no institution left to challenge unjust laws or government overreach.

Legal protections for marginalized communities could vanish – The courts have historically protected the rights of minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals. A judiciary that cannot challenge executive actions puts those protections at risk.

Elections could become meaningless – If a president has unchecked power, what stops them from undermining free and fair elections?

Dissent could be criminalized – Without judicial review, there would be no legal avenue to challenge oppressive laws that target protesters, journalists, or political opponents.

The Bigger Picture

JD Vance’s comments are not just political rhetoric—they represent an existential threat to American democracy. His claim that judges should not be allowed to check executive power is the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration intends to dismantle the very foundation of the U.S. government.

This is not speculation; it’s happening in real-time. Trump and his allies are systematically reshaping the judiciary, installing loyalists who will not challenge their authority. Vance’s statement is a declaration of their ultimate goal: a presidency that rules without limits.

What Can You Do?

Speak Out Against This Power Grab – Call out JD Vance and Trump’s authoritarian agenda.

Support Judicial Independence – Back organizations that fight to protect the courts from political influence.

Pressure Your Representatives – Demand that Congress push back against any attempts to weaken judicial review.

Stay Informed – Authoritarianism thrives in silence. Share this information and educate others.

Vote for Democracy – Support leaders who respect the rule of law and the separation of powers.

The battle for America’s democracy is happening now. JD Vance’s statement is not just words—it’s a warning. If we don’t act, we risk losing the very freedoms that define this nation.

[yesornopolls]

https://www.tumblr.com/yesornopolls/774488330450731008/opinion-dont-believe-him

Someone can, and should, just, like, unalive him. I don’t understand how there was two attempts and the person failed twice.

So my thoughts here is if it were to happen, it should have occurred before the election. JD Vance wouldn't have won because MAGA would have probably stayed home. I remember seeing poll data where his approval rating was in the negative numbers with them. Like how do you get negative numbers???

I would rather see Trump, who is a lame-duck president and a narcissist, stay alive than someone pull a Mario on him. JD Vance went from being a never-trumper to getting on his knees and doing you know what to Trump.

Vance is an opportunist and that makes him dangerous. He is in deep with the Heritage Foundation and they want to totally dismantle the Constitution. Vance is only 40 years old, and if Trump's death was timed right, he could serve out Trump's term and then get 2 full terms.

Under the 22nd Amendment, an individual is limited to two elected terms as president. However, if someone ascends to the presidency without being elected and serves less than two years of the remaining term, they are eligible to run for two full terms. Conversely, if they serve more than two years of the remaining term, they can only be elected to one additional term.

The Democrats need to get their shit together and unify early under whoever they want to run for President. There is already a strong grassroots movement starting to build for the elections coming in less than 2 years for the House Reps, which would totally halt any legislation the Republicans want to pass.

[misfitwashere]

It would be helpful if we stopped pretending this terrible chapter in American history won’t close without bloodshed …

It would be helpful if Americans, and our feeble Democratic politicians in particular, stopped implying by their comatose actions that Democracy is some damn American right and has no end date.

America very well might be arriving at hers, because, yes, it really is that bad right now.

Rather than bringing Ping-Pong paddles and groovy, little signs to a fascist hate-fest disguised as a State of the Union speech, it would be helpful if our meek, out-of-touch Democratic politicians at least pretended they understood the perilous moment we are standing in right now.

We are in deep, deep trouble, and now would be a wonderful, necessary time to step in front of your favorite mirror and honestly ask yourself what you are willing to do to fight for our country’s survival.

We are but six-plus weeks into the repulsive, wannabe-king’s second term and the damage he and his party are causing are already at catastrophic levels.

Our air, water, earned benefits, peace, public safety, civil rights, and human rights are all under immediate threat. Worse? This is only the first course of many that will be served by the vindictive, orange madman, and his pathetic party of supplicants.

The insults, the attacks, endless provocations, and thrashing of our Constitution will continue daily. All this carefully planned evil will be aimed at exactly one thing: breaking us.

Everything he is doing is designed to pound us into submission, and he’s having a grand damn doing it.

This was entirely his aim when he and his pet mutt, JD Vance, double-teamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the behest of Boss Putin in the Oval Office on Friday. The idea was to publicly humiliate the man who has done more to defend America’s interests across the globe than any Republican in memory.

Because Zelenskyy has tasted gun powder and breathed the odious smell of death on the battlefield, he wasn't about to be pushed around by some morbidly obese, 78-year-old yacht club bully and his toady, who think swinging a sand wedge to free a golf ball from some bunker is dangerous business.

Zelenskyy punched back and wasn't having it. He told the truth, and didn't back down. The future of his country is on the line right now, and he acted like it.

And therein lies the playbook for dealing with this sadistic bastard — if only the cautious, too-clever Democratic Party and their weak leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, bothered paying attention.

While Rome burns, they dither.

They act as if we have all the time in the world, when time is something that is not guaranteed right now. They seem to somehow have no idea how bad things are about to get, or most certainly will be when elections they seem to be pinning their hopes on roll around next year.

Everything changed on November 5th, but by the looks of it, very little has changed in the Democratic Party.

This country will never be the same, and the sooner we come to grips with that, and start acting accordingly the better.

What would you do if everything you had and everyone you loved was threatened? Would you act like Zelenskyy or Schumer?

One of the big mistakes of Joe Biden’s presidency was this notion that everything was going to be OK, and that his idea of America matched the actual circumstances of America.

If I had a dollar for every time he said this, I’d fold up shop and move to Tahiti:

“We are the United States of America – there's nothing we can't do if we do it together. We just have to remember who we are.”

It was a noble statement and magical thinking that would have worked great pre-2016, when we could still believe without being laughed at that our two parties could work together in a crisis to protect America.

When we were attacked by the terrible human being who is now somehow leading us January 6, 2021, that magical thinking needed to go out the nearest window.

Instead, our Justice Department twiddled its thumbs and allowed the America-attacker to build himself back up, so that WE would have to deal with him AGAIN.

I seethe just thinking about this, but it is where we are right now, and the sooner we all understand this the better.

The clock is ticking. The bomb is in place.

Which brings me back around to my original premise: At some point, he will do something so heinous … so anti-America … so dangerous … that the people who truly love our country will be forced into the streets to take a life-or-death stand. Sadly, this is actually the best-case scenario, because the worst case is we just go quietly into the dark, gloomy night and become an authoritarian country, where we have zero rights or say in how we are governed.

Yesterday under the cover of his blankets, the America-attacker shared this with us:

Now read the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES."

He is telling us what he thinks of America and silly things like the Constitution. Kings don’t pay attention to that kind worthless drivel.

And, really, end of the day, it not him who we have most to fear. It’s the stupid, goddam Republicans who are stubbornly in all of our lives. These are the people who have illustrated there is no known pain or sacrifice to our civil liberties or pocketbooks that they won’t absorb just for the satisfaction of watching some poor kid of color going without something they didn’t think she should have.

So the choice is yours: You can continue thinking there is some magical way out of this, or you can begin to take the threat to everything you hold dear seriously, and ACT accordingly.

D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here, and follow him on Bluesky here.

[the-pumpkween]

hate to say it, but I need to talk about these pope posts.

for context, I have 17 years of intensive christian education, including a bachelor's degree, and spent 10 years working in an american lutheran denomination, ecumenical spaces, and i'm deeply familiar with catholicism, academically and personally. what i am going to say here does not mean there are not good, loving, affirming christians or catholics. there are. but the ones in power? that ain't them.

so we're clear, there is no good pope. no pope is going to be the culture changer you hope for. not francis, not chicago style leo, none of them, because in order to get to the rank of cardinal, by necessity you have upheld colonialism, cultural extermination, forced birth policies, "merit-based" poverty relief, sexual abuse, misogyny, and queer persecution. bare minimum. that's why the only candidates for the papacy are old white men.

the papacy is about power, and the history of christian imperialism. and you should be bothered, not comforted, that the new pope is american and was a missionary for much of his career. i've lived with missionaries, worked with them, been friends with them. they are the kindest, cruelest, most compassionate lawful good sort of dangerous there is. they will lovingly stab you in the heart and watch you bleed out, bathing the wound and praising you because this death will save your soul. they have suffered for the truth they believe, which in the case of most christian mission work is that we all must suffer and all must be saved, and salvation comes at a terrible price. the advertising says jesus paid the price but ask any indigenous community and you will hear a very different story. ask anyone living their truth who is then confronted with conservative theology.

silence on certain issues is not approval, particularly not in positions of power. silence is an action against you. queer folx, take note, a christian who is silent about your rights does not believe you should have them. they just hope you won't notice who's tying the noose. pope said jd vance doesn't understand love? fine. do not take that to mean he'll defend the rights of the people being persecuted. not if they are theologically opposed to his beliefs.

I am all for the hot dog memes and the paper formatting jokes. it's history and we should get a laugh, but now, especially if you are queer, if you need access to reproductive rights, if you are part of a non-christian culture, you should above all be wary.

new pope might not like the u.s. leadership, but he has no problem with barring the rights of queer folks and restricting medical care.

beyond the pope himself, no matter what he says or does, the propaganda machine will use an american pope to its advantage in persecuting non-conservative folks.