This post is not about how Republicans, who decry “cancel culture,” are trying to “cancel” Dolly Parton because she supports BLM.

It is about how learning Dolly Parton supports it should maybe make you reconsider. Dolly Parton doesn’t hate white people, the police, ‘Merica, or Jesus. She understands that “Black Lives Matter” doesn’t have an “only” in front of it, which is why she said, “of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”

If you don’t support BLM, it’s likely because you’re believing the Republican racist lies about what it means.

(Or you’re a racist.)

This post is also about how if you’re no longer a fan of Dolly Parton for saying, literally, that white asses aren’t the only ones that matter in this world, you have never been a fan of Dolly Parton.

You may like some of her songs, but you don’t know her.

Dolly Parton HAS ALWAYS BEEN PROGRESSIVE.

Her first movie (for which she memorized the entire script, cause that’s how she thought it works, which makes her even more adorable than she already is) was a #metoo film, decades ahead of its time.

Dolly Parton believes in helping the poor. Her foundation has given away over a million books to poor children, has rebuilt homes lost in natural disasters, and given scholarships to needy children.

She has also been active in animal charities and AIDS work.

Dolly Parton believes in science, which is why she donated a million dollars to our quest for a Covid vaccine.

Dolly Parton supports gay rights–when I last saw her perform, before gay marriage was legal, she made sure the whole audience knew where she stood.

Dolly Parton gives a shit about immigrants. Way back in 1980, her album, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, featured a song about the dehumanization of guest workers and the undocumented, “Deportee.”

That song broke this little girl’s heart.

If you are surprised by Dolly’s support of BLM, you were never her fan in the first place.

Dolly, never go away.
Promise you’ll never go away.

My mother said that Obama was going to take away our rights as white women.

My grandparents wanted a garden, to grow vegetables, to survive the race war Obama was going to start.

Except he didn’t.

He didn’t violate the Constitution. He didn’t take away their guns.

In fact, his attempts to work with the party that (in many cases literally) demonized him frustrated us.

We knew there was no way to work with people who called him a racist for empathizing with Trayvon Martin’s parents.

We are at a crisis point, one that’s long in coming. The same party that told us racism was over is also full of White Supremacists–racists that the party and its leader won’t disavow.

When armed whites forced the Michigan government to stop functioning with their threats of violence, the President applauded. He encouraged an armed rebellion against his own country.

That same President then tear-gassed peaceful protesters this week and has incited lethal violence against them.

I’m watching white people bend themselves into ridiculous positions to write off the BLM movement.

Luckily for them, they’re very limber from all of the practice:

They believe that you can never question the police and somehow that there isn’t a single violent racist one.

If an unarmed black (or brown or “red”) person dies, it’s okay because that person broke the law once when they were a teenager.

If that person dies, it’s because they didn’t follow instructions nicely or fast enough.

Even if the did, it’s still okay if they died, because any time an officer is scared for a second, he gets to kill someone.

We aren’t allowed to have self-defense in these cases. No one can raise their hands to shield themselves or to try to run away or to say they can’t breathe. Any attempt to not to be murdered by the cop will be seen as exactly why the cop gets to kill the person.

After the murder, no one gets to protest.

If they do, they hate America and all cops and veterans and Jesus.

If they do, the Vice President will use tax payer dollars to protest them protesting.

If they do, the President will say they should lose their jobs.

However they choose to protest will be the wrong way.

If there’s even one violent protester, white people get to dismiss the entire movement.

What a relief for them.

No one wants the economy to fail. No one wants to stay under lockdown forever.

I really hate strawman fallacies, especially when it’s my point of view being painted as anti-American.

That’s why I try to empathize with those on the other side. Those who want to reopen everything are varied. Some think the disease is a hoax. Some equate following safety protocols with being a democrat–and they hate democrats. Some believe that this is a massive government power grab. Some go further, believing this is a demonic conspiracy to force a one-world government. Some believe the government can’t ever tell them what to do. Some think we need to establish herd immunity by getting infected (in this plan, the “weak” are sacrificed for the strong). Some are just focused on the economy–at micro and macro levels.

Those of us who want to follow the science on when to reopen aren’t ignoring the economy. We’re angry about how the stimulus money was used, with almost all of the benefits going to the rich. But reopening now won’t fix the economy; it will further hurt the middle and lower class. If your restaurant is open but not enough people are coming, you have no access to emergency help. Your immuno-compromised staff members have to come to work or starve; no unemployment help will be given.

The current administration’s plan is to suspend aid to us and to take away the ACA. There’s no future where we won’t have a recession, but there are ways to mitigate it.

Rich people and corporations pay lower tax rates than I do. How about evening that out? How about not allowing stimulus money to go to corporations and businesses that don’t pay American taxes? How about making sure everyone has access to healthcare? How about a work program? How about making sure whatever stimulus packages we pass actually go to the people who need it? We’re the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Our citizens should not be starving or dying because of our backward belief that the poor and unemployed just made bad choices but that Fortune 500 companies deserve our tax dollars.

We all want to reopen as soon as it’s safe. Fellow citizens, your actions make it harder to believe we’ll be safe. Stop marching with guns. Stop threatening to kill the rest of us. Stop attacking health care workers and store employees. Don’t spit on people or yell at people wearing masks.

If you would put your damn mask on to go shopping, maybe we would agree with you that people should be able to “make a choice” about what stores to go to.

Your choices affect all of us. Show us you could make the right ones.

The reason the current administration doesn’t wear masks is because they and their staff are tested every day. Demand testing.

Fox News says we should return to normal, but it’s ordering its staff to follow social distancing guidelines.

Don’t we all deserve to be just as safe as someone who works at Fox?

Support more testing, support tracking, support aid to workers and families, support PPE, support social distancing.

Maybe some of you do, but that’s not what I’m seeing at your rallies or in your posts.

I’m seeing a false choice–that either we stay inside forever or we all do whatever the fuck we want cause you have guns and some flags, many of which aren’t even American flags.

The middle ground is that we invest a lot in safety, and then we go outside. Can we do that?

I have family members who think the government is overreaching. The government overreaches a lot, but I’m not worried about these lockdown orders or about the hidden conspiracies.

I’m worried about the right-out-there-in-the-open conspiracies.

Like when Trump asks why blue states should get aid.

Or when he touts a dangerous drug because it’s personally profitable for him and his friends.

Or when he says people should stay at home, unless the governor is a democrat, and then he supports armed insurrection.

Or when he says we don’t need testing or tracking.

Or when he says we shouldn’t vote online.

Or when his son-in-law says the election might not happen in November.

Just like you, I really wish my greatest fear was the virus right now.

I’ve already voted via mail-in ballot. This year, Warren is my choice.

Last time, I voted for Bernie in the primaries and then happily for Clinton in the national. Do I agree with Clinton on everything? No. Was she better in every single respect than Trump? Yes.

The person I wanted the whole time, though, was Warren. We line up well, politically. In addition to our shared aspirations, I like that she proposes actual plans to get them done and has a track record of doing the work to make things happen.

All over my social media, I’m seeing debates about who can beat Trump. Will moderates (of both parties) come to a Democratic Socialist, when studies and observational evidence show that most Americans seem not to know what that term means? Will sexists (in both parties) vote for–gasp–a woman?!?

(A woman won the popular vote last time . . .)

I honestly don’t know how this will all play out, mostly because we are so horribly irrational.

Despite everything that’s happened in the last three years, there are still voters who will sit out the election if their favorite person isn’t the nominee. That’s irrational. Despite everything, Trump’s supporters will never, ever defect. Some of them literally think he’s God’s new prophet. They’re irrational (and terrifying). Despite everything, all those “never Trumpers” and “good” Republicans will vote for Trump to avoid having to pay a cent in higher taxes (also known as paying the same rate I do), to avoid enabling people to live longer and healthier lives (even if it lowers their overall out of pocket costs for all of us), to avoid being a member of the party that loses the election. They’re rational, actually, if we acknowledge they’re just assholes.

I have no idea which candidate could actually beat Trump. The world slid off its axis several years ago.

In this primary, I get to vote my conscience.

I want Warren as my President, so badly.

In the general, even if she isn’t my candidate, I’ll vote Democratic. And I’ll still be voting my conscience. Because none of these candidates, not even (shudder) Bloomberg, is as dangerous as Trump.

Dear Readers,
Across the UC, people like me are now working without a contract. The UC came in with an insulting proposal at the last minute (after nine months of us trying to work all this out). They offered a new title for the old guard and a couple of tiny raises for the new people. In return, they would get the right to get rid of us very easily (and without enough notice to find another job), creating a system where our jobs are constantly in turn-over, among other things.
Would UC admin ever sign an agreement saying they would be hired for a quarter or a year in a “self-terminating contract”? Of course not.
So we are rallying this Monday–tomorrow–2/3–at noon, on the steps of MRAK Hall.
Please come show your support.

My union has been trying to get a decent contract since last March. Our current contract expires THIS FRIDAY.

I’ve written already about how the UC system wants to take our offices away. The sad news is that keeping our offices isn’t even in the top three goals for our current contract.

We want better pay (ex: when the tenured faculty vote to give themselves all a raise, we (the colonists who get no votes) must get that raise too. Last time, the tenured people gave themselves 4%–we were given 3%).

We want more job security (the UC system wants to turn us all into adjuncts, who can be fired at whim, with no real warning, no matter the experience, awards, etc.).

We want to stop being told to do unpaid labor, to stop being punished for it when we resist.

If you’re around, you can come see what’s happening and show your support.

All are welcome to attend bargaining 10-5 at Gladys Valley Hall in the Vet Med center. We’ll be in the following rooms:

Wednesday, 1/29  Room 2030
Thursday, 1/30  Room 2071
Friday, 1/31  Room 2030

Be sure to mark your calendar and make plans to attend our Stand Up for Teaching! rally on Monday, February 3. We’ll meet at the steps of Mrak Hall at noon to show UC management that we’re united in fighting for a strong contract that values the work of all lecturers.

If you have questions, please email us at ucaft2023@gmail.com.

Today, my feed showed friends making the point that more people died from gun violence in New Orleans in one day than died in all of Japan in a year.

THIS IS THE ONLY 1ST WORLD COUNTRY IN WHICH SHIT LIKE THIS HAPPENS.

We are also the only country that is going to make it hard for those who survive the shootings to survive the bills afterwards.

At any given mass shooting, there will be some insured people and some uninsured ones.

Under my current insurance, for example, I am paying a couple hundred dollars a month in premium costs (under single payer, I would be paying much less each month in taxes). Some of my tax dollars also go to provide healthcare for the poor, the elderly, the military, the politicians, etc.

On top of that, a victim under a plan like mine would have to pay just under $1000 for the ambulance, $200 to enter the ER, and copays for tests, treatments, and doctors.

And I have good insurance.

Some victims with insurance will have to fight with insurance company. They will have their insurance company telling them they’re paying the whole bill because they didn’t go to the right ER, that they should have somehow gotten a pre-authorization. They will be denied medications, treatments, and care that insurance deems “unnecessary.” A panel of nonexperts will override the doctor, making more money for the insurance company.

Some victims won’t have insurance, because they’re contractors or because they’re between jobs or because they work for a small company or because they work for a giant company that only gives them 34 work hours a week just so the giant company doesn’t have to help pay for healthcare.

Those victims will be charged just a few thousand, if they’re lucky. Others will be charged tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay alive after someone shot them.

Problems with medical bills will affect victims’ credit. Many will go bankrupt.

(A few years ago, I got sent to a collections agency because I refused to pay for the same ambulance ride twice. It took a year and many infuriating phone calls to straighten it all out.)

Some people won’t be able to return to work without intensive physical therapy; if they’re lucky enough to still have insurance, they’ll be paying a copay at every visit. Some won’t be able to return at all.

A few will have disability insurance, though it will take months to see any money from that, months in which the landlord still needs that rent check.

Some will lose their jobs because they become disabled. They’ll have a year or more of paperwork to certify that are unable to work.

If they’re in Southern/Republican states, they will have to wait two more years after being certified disabled to have access to nonER healthcare.

Some people will be lucky enough to be able to work part time, but if they want insurance, they’ll have to look for a full time job. In our country, even when you work several part time jobs, equaling more than 40 hours/week, you’re still not eligible.

If the person who was shot was the primary breadwinner (and thus the person whose insurance policy covered the household), the whole family may lose their insurance in addition to their income.

If another family member has to quit a job to help a mass shooting victim in the struggle to stay alive, that person loses coverage.

THIS IS THE ONLY 1ST WORLD COUNTRY IN WHICH SHIT LIKE THIS HAPPENS.

Here’s what we know: Access to contraception and comprehensive sex ed are what lowers abortion rates.

Banning it usually has the opposite effect, because those doing the banning also oppose contraception and comprehensive sex ed.

In general, the banners also oppose universal healthcare, funding education, raising the minimum wage, and women’s equality in the workplace.

In other words, what they’re doing will cause more unplanned pregnancies.

We will also have more:

*Women forced to be pregnant in a job market that will often lay them off for it
*Women forced to give birth in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the Western world
*Women thrown into poverty
*Children born into poverty
*Women with pregnancy/birth-related problems that will make them ineligible for insurance if they try to get it later
*Women who might be able to get healthcare for their child in some states, the same states who tell them they can’t have it (even though most would agree a household can’t survive when a parent is fighting chronic or potentially life-threatening illnesses)
*Women struggling to support their families with low wages, which have not caught up with inflation
*Women struggling to go to college and to send their child to college, considering tuition is over 1100% higher than it was in the 1970s
*Children struggling to stay alive in a school system where they might be murdered on any given day
*Women struggling to feed their child, as there are actually politicians who say children should be made to feel shame if they need free lunch
*Children struggling to learn in chronically underfunded education systems
*Women who will forever struggle to find firm financial footing, along with their children often trapped in a cycle of poverty
*Women struggling to pay for their child’s daycare (they have to work; they aren’t allowed to be on public assistance to stay home with their child (they will be made to feel guilty for not staying home with their child)), since daycare is sometimes more than a women will get paid

These women will be told that all of their problems are their fault for having a child.

(These same people will say that if poor women don’t have a cellphone, which employers count on them having, all of their money problems will disappear.)

Most women who get abortions are married women who already have children, who are doing what they have to keep their marriage together, to keep their existing children fed. They know the cost of a child in a struggling household. And we can’t tell them to be abstinent.

There is a three-step process to lowering abortion rates:

1. Give access to contraception

2. Provide comprehensive sex ed

3. Work to fix societal problems, so that women can choose to have that child in a world that won’t leave them and their children to starve

It’s been a difficult week here in pre-Gilead.

And it’s only Thursday morning.

I’m tempted to stop watching and reading the news. And I understand why many friends have.

But I’m an Atwoodian.

So when it occurred to me that I should take a “break” from reality for my mental health, a little voice said, “careful, June.”

June/Offred, in The Handmaid’s Tale, was passive, like so many of us are. She was lulled into accepting roadblocks as necessary after a terrorist attack–they became normal. And when the government started attacking women’s rights, she didn’t go to the marches–she tried to distract herself with baking, with her daughter’s lunches. And then they started opening fire on the protestors.

She tried to act too late.

“We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it. Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you’d be boiled to death before you knew it” (74).

Jimmy/Snowman, in Oryx and Crake, is the same, except as a male, he is more protected. He is privileged enough to be obtuse, to not ask, when his friend says sterilizing people without their knowledge is “step one”: “Wait, what’s step 2? And where do these steps lead?”

And then it’s too late.

“How could I have missed it? Snowman thinks. What he was telling me. How could I have been so stupid? No, not stupid. He can’t describe himself, the way he’d been. Not unmarked–events had marked him, he’d had his own scars, his dark emotions. Ignorant, perhaps. Unformed, inchoate. There had been something willed about it though, his ignorance. Or not willed, exactly: structured. He’d grown up in walled spaces, and then he had become one. He had shut things out” (184).

I can’t choose what these narrators do.

I can’t turn off the news and start a loaf of bread. I can’t be lulled by pizza and sex.

My eyes have to stay open, even with the tears.

My voice has to stay loud, even though I’m hoarse.

My heart has to keep beating to fuel this fight, even though I’m weary.

Atwood has written the warning.

I must heed the call.