#oh naaaaaaancy

[contemplatingoutlander]

Monica Hesse is spot on in talking about the additional terror that certain female lawmakers experienced during the Capitol siege. 

“As rioters made their way through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, some went looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi....the mob roamed hallways, searching for her office, and as they did, they called for her. ‘Oh, Nancy,’ one man cried out, three syllables ricocheting off the walls. ‘Oh, Naaaaaaancy.’

[....]

“Oh, Naaaaaaancy. A woman who hears it thinks of a specific kind of danger, and a man who says it thinks of that danger, too. That’s why he says it. To make clear that he is the hunter, and guess what you are?

[....]

“It is hard to imagine there is a man, women or nonbinary individual inside the Capitol who did not fear for their lives that day. But to be a woman in the Capitol then meant fearing for your safety in a specific way.

[....]

“A HuffPost investigation into multiple people arrested on charges connected with their presence in the building revealed that, long before they stormed the Capitol, they had terrorized women. 

[....]

“Mental health experts have recently begun to explore the connection between public acts of violence and misogyny, which is a connection many women already knew existed, and that is why their skin runs cold when they hear someone calling, Oh, Naaaaaaancy.

“Oh, Naaaaaaancy is also self-aware.... It is the sort of affectation a bad man might pick up after too many viewings of “The Shining.” It is what a man stalking a woman thinks a man stalking a woman should say.

“He is performing a role.

“He is reciting a line.

“He is enacting a scene: The woman is hiding in the parking garage. The woman is hiding in the stairwell. The woman is hiding in her office. The woman is the speaker of the House of Representatives. For this scene, that doesn’t matter.

“She’s not a powerful politician right now; she’s Nancy.”

[madamspeaker]

As rioters made their way through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, some went looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. New footage of this was released at Wednesday’s session of the impeachment trial. The mob roamed hallways, searching for her office, and as they did, they called for her. “Oh Nancy,” one man cried out, three syllables ricocheting off the walls. “Oh Naaaaaaancy.”

If you cannot stomach reading an entire column about three syllables, you should stop here.

Oh Naaaaaaancy is a very specific scene from a horror movie. Oh Nancy is what the protagonist hears when she is hiding in a parking garage, or in a stairwell, or crouched under her desk, or pressed flat on the ground in a damp cornfield. Her terror is played out for entertainment, whether that means a narrow escape or a bloody death.

Oh Naaaaaaancy is said in a singsongy voice. It is the same voice that a child would use to say, Come out, come out, wherever you arrrrre in a backyard game of hide-and-seek tag. It is playful. It is sinister. It says, I am planning to take my time, and it will not be pleasant, and it will not end well for you. The men looking for Pelosi in the Capitol were strolling, not running.

The “Nancy” part is intentional. Footage shows us that the rioters were also looking for male lawmakers; they were looking for Vice President Mike Pence. They referred to him as “Pence,” not “Mike.” They yelled his name instead of cooing it. They wanted to show they were angry with him. Her? They wanted to show she was their toy.

Some women — and I won’t say all, but I think it is closer to all than none — have heard their own first names called out in this singsong tone. Maybe a woman heard it when the front door clicked open, announcing the homecoming of the boyfriend who hits her sometimes. Or maybe she heard it intoned with flirtation and menace by the unnerving guest at a party; maybe she was hiding in the pantry at the time, concocting her excuse to leave. Or maybe she heard it while lying in bed, eyes wide open, wishing she hadn’t told the pushy date he could sleep it off on the sofa.

Oh Naaaaaaancy. A woman who hears it thinks of a specific kind of danger, and a man who says it thinks of that danger, too. That’s why he says it.  To make clear that he is the hunter, and guess what you are?

After watching the newly released footage from the Capitol siege — a cornerstone of the House impeachment managers’ case against former president Donald Trump — it is hard to imagine there is a man, women or nonbinary individual inside the Capitol who did not fear for their lives that day. But to be a woman in the Capitol then meant fearing for your safety in a specific way.Mental health experts have recently begun to explore the connection between public acts of violence and misogyny, which is a connection many women already knew existed, and that is why their skin runs cold when they hear someone calling, Oh Naaaaaaancy. ...

Oh Naaaaaaancy is also self-aware. It knows it sounds like a horror movie. It is the sort of affectation a bad man might pick up after too many viewings of “The Shining.” It is what a man stalking a woman thinks a man stalking a woman should say.

He is performing a role.

He is reciting a line.

He is enacting a scene: The woman is hiding in the parking garage. The woman is hiding in the stairwell. The woman is hiding in her office. The woman is the speaker of the House of Representatives. For this scene, that doesn’t matter.

She’s not a powerful politician right now; she’s Nancy.

[msclaritea]

"...It wasn’t some high-minded notion about the election that motivated a lot of these folks. Yes, they all were avid Trump supporters, but, for many of them, Trump was just an authority figure who finally validated their anger and hostility. He was someone who had confirmed and stoked their deep-seated hatred and made them feel good about themselves. He was a soothing presence telling them that it was okay to be a racist and okay to be a misogynist. When he told them it was okay to march on the Capitol, they felt a sense of freedom. They could be exactly the people they always wanted to be, unbound by any constraints.

And that’s exactly how they behaved, Hesse explains.

Oh Naaaaaaancy is said in a singsongy voice. It is the same voice that a child would use to say, Come out, come out, wherever you arrrrre in a backyard game of hide-and-seek tag. It is playful. It is sinister. It says, I am planning to take my time, and it will not be pleasant, and it will not end well for you. The men looking for Pelosi in the Capitol were strolling, not running.

Hesse cites a revealing investigation by Alanna Vagianos, conducted for Huffington Post in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Vagianos looked into the history of several of the prominent faces arrested in connection with the riots, and found that a startling number had something singular in common: “a history of violence against women―ranging from domestic abuse accusations to prison time for sexual battery and criminal confinement.”

By acting out their innermost misogynistic fantasies, the rioters, roaming the halls in search of Speaker Pelosi, revealed their intentions as clear as day: Many intended murder, but some also intended sexual assault. “Nancy” was the name that popped into their head, but it could have been any woman that they met in those hallways. The goal was to terrorize, and if the opportunity arose, well, who could say?

For those who may still not quite understand, Hesse patiently explains what these people were really about:

Oh Naaaaaaancy is also self-aware. It knows it sounds like a horror movie. It is the sort of affectation a bad man might pick up after too many viewings of The Shining. It is what a man stalking a woman thinks a man stalking a woman should say.

Retired Air Force veteran Larry Brock, famously photographed in tactical gear and carrying zip-ties (also known as flexible restraints) was one of several arrested with an ugly history of violence towards women. While in the process of finalizing a divorce, Brock was apparently fond of sending abusive text messages to his then-wife, such as. “Do the right thing and kill yourself already.”

“I have better things to do than speak to a whore”; “Nobody loves you”; “Narcissistic whore.” Her ex-husband, Larry Rendall Brock Jr., had been sending them like clockwork for three years. A court had ordered the couple to communicate through a specialized portal while their contentious divorce was finalized. Larry often used it for threats.

Another man arrested for the riots, 48-year old Guy Reffitt, was also an abuser.

In 2018, police responded to a domestic disturbance at Reffitt’s home during which he and his wife were physically fighting. Reffitt and his wife, Nicole Reffitt, were both drunk, their children were present and he had a gun, according to the police report. At one point, Reffitt pushed his wife onto a bed and started choking her until she almost lost consciousness, the report states..."

And there were more. Many more.

[blueguitar]

Insurrection...

i just want to state here that the worst thing about Trump’s second impeachment is that it once again gave voice to the evil nonsense of the insurrectionists. Yes, i know this is a trial and this is exactly what happens in a trial, but i don’t have to like it. i just read something chilling though about these yahoos who were searching for Nancy Pelosi. (Quoting Monica Hess from the WaPo, here.) “As rioters made their way through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, some went looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. New footage of this was released at Wednesday’s session of the impeachment trial. The mob roamed hallways, searching for her office, and as they did, they called for her. ‘Oh Nancy,’ one man cried out, three syllables ricocheting off the walls. ‘Oh Naaaaaaancy.’ Oh Naaaaaaancy is said in a singsongy voice. It is the same voice that a child would use to say, Come out, come out, wherever you arrrrre in a backyard game of hide-and-seek tag. It is playful. It is sinister. It says, I am planning to take my time, and it will not be pleasant, and it will not end well for you. The men looking for Pelosi in the Capitol were strolling, not running. Oh Naaaaaaancy is also self-aware. It knows it sounds like a horror movie. It is the sort of affectation a bad man might pick up after too many viewings of ‘The Shining”. It is what a man stalking a woman thinks a man stalking a woman should say.” Connect this with the fact that one commonality amongst the insurrectionists is a history of violence against women―ranging from domestic abuse accusations to prison time for sexual battery. Can we just lock these evil fucks away forever?