Tricked--Not Treated
by Redd Phlagg
I
was given the task to write something about the meme above. At first, I
thought it had very little to do with what’s currently going on in
our world, and nothing to do with championing progressive causes,
mostly because it mentioned
a kids’ holiday, Halloween. But the more I considered what the meme was
saying beyond its obvious message—that Americans, on the whole,
rather stuff themselves with candy and party in funky costumes than
meet the basic needs of others—the more I realized my assignment could probe much deeper issues, and many more sensitive topics than you might first suspect.
But
yeah, first off, the illustration is a sad indictment of
the lack of empathy most Americans and Westerners have for their fellow
human beings. We pretty much enjoy telling the rest of the planet,
“You hungry? You need food? Go feed yourselves! Oh, did we let our
military-industrial complex prosper at the expense of your lives and
livelihoods? Destroy your crops and homes? Cremate your schools and hospitals and kill millions? Well, what’s a few
drone bombings among friends?”
And
with friends like these who needs enemies, right?
That’s the rub—Americans have been tricked into thinking they’re
“friends” with just about everyone on the planet, including the
people they
treat with contempt. Americans avoid looking in the mirror to see the “enemies” they
truly are. Americans believe they should receive all the “treats”
or good things in the world even after they realize how they've been tricked by corrupt
capitalists who never had any intention of sharing treats outside their class. Americans act out this lie whenever they mimic this evil elitist behavior
by tricking—or threatening to trick—other peoples on the planet into being
friendly with us so we can screw them over later.
Not to rain on your Halloween festivities, but it
doesn’t work that way in the real
world, Americans. People who manipulate, lie, ignore, or otherwise trick others for their own gain aren't nice people. They're called a-holes.
Nobody
deserves a treat for tricking others—especially if the trickster has
woken up and has observed these evil American behaviors both at
home and abroad. Furthermore, you don’t get a day off from being an
a-hole just because once in a while you donate a few bucks to
somebody’s Facebook charity request.
Uh-uh. It doesn't count. You’re still an a-hole
because you actually think your token act of charity is going to change things for the better for the majority of the
planet’s wretched.
Glad
it made you feel good for about ten seconds to give ten bucks to Feed the Children, but unless you’re out slaving each and
every day to make sure little ones never hunger again, you
don’t get to forget about them and their suffering.
Ever.
So grow
up and grow a pair! Stop bellyaching when someone points out how we’ve destroyed the lives of millions of ordinary human beings by propping up their fascist regimes. Knowing this ain't taking away from your buzz! You take away from your own buzz
because you know deep down you’re selfish for
even daring to think your “right to party hearty” is anywhere on
a par with the rights of others to have enough to eat and to live with
dignity.
Halloween
is the ultimate capitalist lovefest in so many ways. Most of the plastic toys and costumes Americans use to celebrate come from sweatshops in China and other nameless countries full of workers exploited by the capitalists of both the East and the West.
To top it all off, Halloween celebrates the virtue of hoarding: “Look at all the candy I got!”
To top it all off, Halloween celebrates the virtue of hoarding: “Look at all the candy I got!”
It celebrates excess: “I’m
going to pig out on all these Snickers bars tonight until I get
sick!” And for the older crowd: “I’m going to seduce all the
ladies at the costume party in my sexy vampire outfit and then suck the beer
keg dry!”
It celebrates narcissism: “Look at my expensive new
costume! Don’t I look pretty, handsome, scary, trendy, whatever? Look
at me, me, me, nobody but me, and give me more, more, more!”
Yeah, a holiday can’t get more capitalistic and less compassionate than that.
Added
bonus for the neo-libs, you don’t even have to expose your true nature to the world openly during the orgy of Halloween. You get to hide your inner-capitalist behind a
mask or crazy make-up. Really clever! Your inner-warmonger can roam
free as well in the moral darkness created by the Wall Street cult of
greed and DNC corruption.
That Hillary Clinton rubber mask and polyester pantsuit really suit you,
too.
It's an age where many Americans worship an orange clown as chief executive and
give him a pass on his “high crimes and misdemeanors”—since we all want to commit tax fraud and serial groping at least once in our lives, right? The rest of the world shouldn’t expect us to act
like adults and accept blame for our horrible actions or lack of
positive actions. No, we’re eternally spoiled children, living in our
parents’ basement and expecting more treats.
No
trick—if we don’t all stop thinking about our own creature
comforts and stop abusing our natural resources, there won’t be any treats for anyone ever
again. The Halloween candy bag of Earth will run dry just as our rivers suffering
from climate change-driven drought are even now running dry.
Americans need reminders from
time to time like this simple Halloween meme. We’re not alone on this planet. We just ain’t. We must share our hoard of goodies and take care of the planet and all its peoples before it's too late.
BIO: Redd can't abide those people who carried "We'd be having brunch now if Hillary had won!" signs after Trump's election. These self-centered idiots are part of the problem and not the solution. The only solution is to wake up and stay awake and take care of your fellow human beings. Anything else is societal suicide.
***
This is huge – we just released a new update to EWG’s Tap Water Database,
adding in two more years of test results. You can use this
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When we compiled 32 million water records from all 50 states, we
learned a LOT about drinking water in America. Check out our top
findings in this short video.
Once you’ve identified the contaminants of concern in your drinking water, make sure you check out EWG’s Water Filter Guide to find the type of filter that works for you and is certified to remove the contaminants in your tap water.
***
There’s a lot of complicated information floating around about health care -- some of it’s true, some of it’s not, and a whole lot of it can feel too complicated to understand what’s happening and how it affects us.
Well, we just launched a new resource to help fix that!
We want to make sure Health Care Voters like you have the facts you need to make informed decisions and teach your friends and family about the health care issues in America. Too many people don’t understand why health care costs are rising and how to join our fight to make them affordable -- resources like this are essential to changing that.
The GOP will never stop trying to take away our health care. But if everyone knows the facts, then we can fight back with the truth and hold them accountable for their actions in the voting booth.
Thank you for fighting alongside us,
The Health Care Voter Team
***
From Jewish Voice for Peace: AnyVision’s technology is designed by ex-Israeli defense staff and deployed by the Israeli military to surveil Palestinians and destroy any semblance of their privacy.
They are turning the West Bank into a constantly-monitored technological prison – and Microsoft is helping them do it.
AnyVision's facial recognition technology identifies and tracks the faces of people in East Jerusalem. (Source: NBC News)
Microsoft has invested millions in AnyVision, even though their work appears to violate each of Microsoft's own principles of use for facial recognition tech.
Microsoft can’t afford this potential stain on their image – so we’ve put together a site they can’t ignore.
Check it out now, and then add your name to the petition calling on Microsoft to drop AnyVision.
Microsoft has been trying to position itself as an ethical leader in Artificial Intelligence since at least 2018, when it committed to follow “six principles to guide [its] facial recognition work.” The company has vowed to refrain from using facial recognition technology where there are “inadequate safeguards to protect democratic freedoms and human rights.”
Spurred by NBC's investigation and the growing movement opposing the misuse of facial recognition technology, Microsoft said that it will proceed with a third-party audit reviewing AnyVision's board and compliance process. “If we discover any violation of our principles, we will end our relationship,” a spokesman for the corporation said.
We need to bring more pressure NOW and let Microsoft know that tens of thousands of people think that AnyVision’s mass surveillance project goes against their principles.
Check out the new DropAnyVision.org website we've just put together, and then join the 12,000+ people who have already signed the petition.
Thanks for all you do. Let’s win this!
Communications Director
- Why did Microsoft fund an Israeli firm that surveils West Bank Palestinians?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/
all/why-did-microsoft-fund- israeli-firm-surveils-west- bank-palestinians-n1072116
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