Clusterf*cked: The Cruelty is the Point
by C.A. Matthews
Editor's Note: This week we ran into a very interesting person who expresses a very disturbing point-of-view. We asked her what she thought about some recent headlines to get a reading on how she felt about the issues. Her answers might surprise you. Or not.
The Revolution Continues: Thank you for chatting with us today, Nellie Neoliberal. Tell us a little about yourself.
Nellie Neoliberal: I’m just your “typical progressive” who votes “blue no matter who.” I raise money and awareness for Democratic candidates and support liberal causes and fight for equal rights. In my spare time I like to shop, watch The View, and play tennis and golf at our local country club.
TRC: Let’s start with equal rights and some recent news stories. Would you say you’re supportive of trans rights and the right of people of all ages to have access to gender-affirming care?
NN: Of course, you can’t legally discriminate against men who want to play women’s sports in tennis dresses, but I really don’t think they should because it’s just not fair. I can barely return the serve without hitting the net some days. And definitely children shouldn’t be allowed to change their birth gender. That’s barbaric.TRC: Even if the child strongly feels they’ve been misgendered and their mental health professional believes gender-affirming care would be good for them and their parents agree?
NN: What does mental health got to do with it? Next thing you know you’ll be saying the taxpayers should pay for these cosmetic surgeries. I paid for my own face lifts and tummy tucks, by the way, so that’s that. Besides, these parents are just plain abusive.
TRC: Abusive? How so?
NN: The child needs a good shrink and signed up to play football or hockey or something equally rugged so they can discover their true masculinity and get over their cross-dressing fantasy. There’s enough sissies already on the streets.
TRC: Oh...kay. Switching subjects, a federal judge ruled recently that social media platforms should not be forced into censoring or blocking free speech just because the FBI, CIA or other government organizations advises them to do so. What are your feelings on free speech? Do you feel people should be able to post whatever they like online and readers should be able to read it and share it freely with others?
NN: Of course people should be able to post and read whatever they like on the internet, but the government ultimately knows what's best. There’s got to be some parameters to what can or cannot be posted online.
TRC: Explain what you mean by “parameters.”
NN: Well, there’s got to be rules. You can’t go spreading unfounded rumors and making up crazy conspiracy theories without proof. And bad language… There’s enough online already. It's “violence” according to A.O.C.
TRC: So you would allow government agencies to censor whatever they feel is “misinformation”?NN: Who’s talking about censoring? I’m just saying that people shouldn’t be saying things online that make other people uncomfortable.
TRC: Uncomfortable? How exactly?
NN: They shouldn’t be able to say things and point things out about the issues or a candidate that causes doubt in his supporters’ minds. We shouldn’t have our faith shaken by outsiders.
TRC: Outsiders? People who don’t belong to the same group as you belong to? What group do you belong to that needs government censorship protection from outsiders’ opinions?
NN: Blue-no-matter-who voters, of course.
TRC: Oh, you mean people shouldn’t post content that could lead Democratic voters into believing Joe Biden is suffering from dementia, for example. They shouldn’t mention anything about him walking off a stage abruptly, shaking invisible hands, having to be led by the arm around a public venue so he doesn't get lost, or shouting out “God save the queen” for no reason whatsoever?
NN: (Volume and pitch rising.) Joe isn’t senile! He just has a playful sense of humor.TRC: And the hair sniffing behaviors, groping women, making them feel uncomfortable that has been observed and recorded on numerous occasions?
NN: Those are photoshopped videos. I know they look real, but they’re fakes. The people in them are right-wing actors. That’s not our Joe in them.
TRC: They very well could be “right-wing” as you say. You seem very sure about it.
NN: (Sniffing.) I have to be. I’m in charge of membership retention of our local Democratic Women’s Club. Some of them are already insisting they want the DNC to hold primaries and debates with Bobby Kennedy Jr. and that Marianne woman. Some even say they’ll vote for Cornel West because he was a fan of that awful Commie Bernie Sanders.
TRC: Are you saying there’s trouble afoot among the ranks?
NN: (Shrugging.) Nothing a good fundraising party and a stern talking to can’t solve.
TRC: Following along the line of government-sponsored censorship, what about censoring what the public can know about the proxy war in Ukraine? Only recently The New York Times admitted what independent journalists have said all along about the strong Neo-Nazi elements in the Ukrainian army and government. Prior to February 2022 the Azov Battalion and Right Sector were reported about in the mainstream media, but at the start of the hostilities suddenly reporters who reported on these groups were labeled “Putin puppets” or “disinformation spreaders.” What do you say about that?
NN: They were disinformation spreaders. The American public didn’t need to know about the Nazis. It makes them nervous and doubt our motives. That just clouds the whole point of going to war.TRC: And what is the point of giving Ukraine hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and weapons?
NN: To punish Putin, of course! We have to destroy him and the Russian economy before it destroys us.
TRC: Are you saying that Putin is to blame for rising food and gasoline prices and the recent rent price hikes across the US?
NN: (Frowning and crossing her arms.) Say what? Joe Biden is on top of the economy. It’s bigger and better than it’s ever been. Go Bidenomics!
TRC: Do you happen to do your own food shopping?
NN: No. That’s what my housekeeper is for. If she doesn’t get herself deported by running into Ron DeSantis, that is. (Whispering) Hiring illegal aliens is a real bargain. They’re ever so appreciative.
TRC: Uh-huh. In your opinion, is Russia preventing US workers from striking and organizing?
NN: Always about the striking! Always about the unions! You’d think people would be happy just to have a job. Instead, they’re getting all whipped up about wanting a (miming air quotes) “living wage” and better working conditions. So much conspiracy theory getting out there on the internet that isn’t being stopped like it should. American workers have it good. It’s all Russia’s doing.
TRC: Putin and Russia must be destroyed is your contention? At all costs?
NN: Whatever it takes.
TRC: You don’t believe the hundreds of billions of dollars sent to Ukraine so far could have been used more productively at home? Spent on programs to give Americans health care, for instance.
NN: More disinformation and exaggeration. Everyone in the US can get health insurance through their jobs or Obamacare. (Harrumphing.) You’re not one of those Bernie types who thinks Americans have some kind of inborn right to food, housing, and health care, are you? How can businesses make profits if people get things like that for free?
TRC: We’re running short of time, so let’s not go there right now. What do think about the US supplying deadly cluster bombs that have been outlawed in over 110 countries to Ukraine?NN: A cluster-what? Just sounds like something rude to me.
TRC: President Biden announced it this week. Cluster bombs are large shells that contain hundreds to thousands of smaller bomblets. When they’re dropped from the air they can scatter across football field-sized areas. The bomblets often don’t explode until children—thinking they’re toys—pick them up and then they can explode. Many innocent children throughout the world have had their arms and legs blown off by cluster bombs. It's even estimated that civilian rather than military targets are hit by cluster munitions up to 90% of the time.
NN: (Looking uncomfortable.) Never heard of them. Have they been around long?
TRC: Yes, they have. During the secret US war on Laos during the Vietnam War, the military blanketed the country with almost 300 million bomblets. Many didn’t detonate right away. Instead, they killed and injured tens of thousands of Lao people in the decades after the US pulled out of Southeast Asia. NN: (Frowning.) That doesn’t sound like something we’d ever do. Another conspiracy theory that shouldn’t be shared online. Besides, you said they were outlawed. America always does what's right. It follows rules based order.
TRC: What are these rules? Who created them?
NN: I'm not really sure, but President Biden says we follow them, so I believe it.
TRC: Unfortunately, they don't jive with the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) which prohibits the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The US, which has killed more people with cluster bombs than any other country, is not a signatory. During the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, cluster bombs killed and injured hundreds and littered the countryside with deadly unexploded ordnance some of which are still there, bomblets waiting for an innocent bystander to pick up or accidentally step on. The US has also been implicated in the use of cluster munitions through its support for Saudi-led forces in the Yemen conflict.
What are your feelings toward cluster bombs now that you've been informed about their lethality and cruelty?
NN: Oh… (Biting her lip.) That's the whole point of war, isn't it? So what if a few Russkies get their arms blown off? That’s the price you pay for invading another country.
TRC: I'm not sure you understand. Cluster bombs are more than likely to cause more deaths and injuries to Ukrainian civilians than Russian soldiers. These cluster bomblets don't end war—they prolong the killing years after a war ends.
NN: (Shrugging.) Not our problem really once the war is over, now is it?
TRC: Isn't it? In Iraq, the devastation of cluster bombs was compounded by the use of depleted uranium munitions. This led to the people of Fallujah experiencing higher rates of cancer, leukemia, infant mortality, and sexual mutations than those recorded among survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the years after those cities were nuked by American atomic bombs. The US and the UK have said they would supply depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine.
The introduction of cluster bombs and depleted uranium could lead to an escalation of hostilities to the point of nuclear conflict. Do you understand now why these weapons should be outlawed and never delivered to Ukraine?
NN: (Sighing and nervously tapping a finger on her lip.) Dear, oh, dear. Well, I guess that’s the price you pay whenever you ask the US for more weapons, right? That dishy Mr. Zelensky wants more firepower and we deliver… Just like Joe Biden delivers! (Flashing her BIDEN 2024 button and grinning.)
TRC: He certainly does. Thank you for your candid responses, Nellie Neoliberal. You've explained a lot about what’s going wrong in the world today.
Related Articles and Interesting Links:
Ukraine Clusterf*ck - The Grayzone Live https://www.youtube.com/live/5Q4tsJQ4GeU
Biden Defends Decision to Send Cluster Bombs to Ukraine https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/10/biden-defends-decision-to-send-cluster-bombs-to-ukraine/
Cluster Munition Use in Russia-Ukraine War https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/29/cluster-munition-use-russia-ukraine-war
Sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, Washington makes clear it will stop at nothing https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/07/08/oewz-j08.html
US Depleted Uranium to Make Ukraine War Dirtier https://popularresistance.org/us-depleted-uranium-to-make-ukraine-war-dirtier/
Today in War Propaganda https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/today-in-war-propaganda
The Democratic Party isn’t interested in protecting trans folks; only in furthering U.S. imperial violence https://rainershea.substack.com/p/the-democratic-party-isnt-interested
Federal Judge Rules Against Biden Admin Attack on Free Speech
https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/05/louisiana-judge-limits-contact-between-biden-officials-and-social-media-companies/
US Court Victory Against Online Censorship https://popularresistance.org/us-court-victory-against-online-censorship/
Biden Administration appeals the federal ruling on censorship https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.296.0_3.pdf
Establishment Dems Outraged as Court Bans Biden & FBI From Coercing Big Tech Censorship; NYT Defends Illegal Domestic Surveillance | SYSTEM UPDATE #110 https://rumble.com/v2ybni6-system-update-show-110.html
Censorship & Blacklists: Chris Hedges, Stella Assange & Matt Kennard https://youtu.be/k4lgsyo-3SE
Attila the Stockbroker Speaks Out On Corporate Censorship https://open.substack.com/pub/almartinez/p/attila-the-stockbroker-speaks-out
Biden taps Elliott Abrams, champion of death squads, for US diplomacy panel https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/07/08/bwzp-j08.html
World’s Richest Added Average of $14M Per Day to Their Wealth Over Past 6 Months https://truthout.org/articles/worlds-richest-added-average-of-14m-per-day-to-their-wealth-over-past-6-months/
Report: 1,500 Big Oil Lobbyists “Double Agents” for Supposed Climate Champions https://truthout.org/articles/report-1500-big-oil-lobbyists-double-agents-for-supposed-climate-champions/
COVID Hasn’t Disappeared — But Empathy, Care and Solidarity Have https://truthout.org/articles/covid-hasnt-disappeared-but-empathy-care-and-solidarity-have/
Rank-And-File UPS Workers Prepare To Strike And Refuse To Back Down https://popularresistance.org/rank-and-file-ups-workers-prepare-to-strike-and-refuse-to-back-down/
UN Forcefully Hits at US Blockade of Cuba and Prison in Guantanamo https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/05/un-forcefully-hits-at-us-blockade-of-cuba-and-prison-in-guantanamo/
Stop Cop City Is Everywhere https://popularresistance.org/stop-cop-city-is-everywhere/
Patrick Lawrence: We Need to Talk About Nahel https://scheerpost.com/2023/07/06/patrick-lawrence-we-need-to-talk-about-nahel/
Seen on Twitter:
Twitter won't allow this Tweet that shows what cluster bombs really do to human beings to be embeded, but you can see it here:
https://twitter.com/LynnSchore/status/1677775891894796289
