Final Fortnight, Day 8
The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS and the rancid comments from the first (unelected but incredibly powerful and power-hungry) son-in-law Jared Kushner combined yesterday to create toxic bile. That these two events happened on the same day was especially propitious, as they are examples of the rigged system we hope to destroy starting with the election on Nov 3.
Barrett, a highly unqualified judge who has NEVER TRIED A CASE, is now a Supreme Court justice because the party in power refused to follow the rules that THEY CREATED.
They wanted her in the seat because of her position on abortion. She is also expected to undercut or outright destroy the rights of ALL people to get married.
See, it’s NOT just one asshole in charge; it’s everyone around him, everyone he has chosen to rip the seams out of our tenuous societal fabric.
Then this guy. THIS GUY shoots his mouth off and says this bullshit:
“(Trump) wants to help Black people in America, but they have to “want to be successful” for his policies to work . . . policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about, but he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.”
There are so many levels of wrong in what he has said here, and as I was groping for words to describe all the fucked-up-ed-ness of this.
I just kept thinking about how the system is designed to work this way. People like Kushner and Barrett have gotten where they are because the system that’s in place rewards their specific mediocrity; white, inherited wealth, actively participating in the oppression of non-white, non-male people trying to rise through the system that was solely designed to crush them.
Throughout the day, however, I found so many other voices saying what I wanted to say, but they were saying it so much better. Here’s an assortment.
brittany packnett cunningham. @MsPackyetti1d
THREAD
I really hate Jared Kushner is even a thing. We are forced to pay attention to what he says because he exerts influence in spaces that, like most of his colleagues, he is completely unqualified to occupy. But “Black folks don’t want success” is a common narrative. So…
What I will say is the pervasive idea that Black folks just “don’t want to be successful” ignores that: 1. dominant culture insists that success singularly = $ 2. It’s White supremacy doesn’t want “successful” Black folks 3. Black excellence in every industry drives culture.
1. Diasporas cultures, like pretty much all non-white, non-western culture, has broad and varying definitions of “success.” White, western dominant culture made money its ruler. It does not, however, govern all of our values. Dominant culture doesn’t understand this.
2. Black folks reliably occupying the lowest castes racially and economically directly benefits the capitalism and supremacist culture that promotes the Jared’s of the world. JARED doesn’t want Black folks to be successful. He’d lose his throne. Talk about projection LOL.
3. Folks know how powerful Black people are, which is why they work so hard to restrict us politically and economically. Black people drive the culture dominant culture trades in. You don’t get American exceptionalism without Black brilliance.
I’m only saying this to help move conversation forward. ‘Cause Jared means nothing to me beyond the fact that he said the quiet part out loud-and we should tell the truth, because plenty of “good” people think he’s right, and he’s wrong in like 18 different ways.
(By the way, American exceptionalism is some BS-I’m simply listing the things *someone like Jared* values that the backs of Black people gave him.)
(Brittany is ALWAYS brilliant and direct and incisive. Subscribe to her page for thought-provoking insights.)
#AmyConeyBarrett is a mediocre judge who was elevated because she’s a white mother of school-aged children who will do white supremacist patriarchy’s bidding in a country that hates mothers and their school-aged children who are not white.
How hypocritical that in the middle of a pandemic, the administration that’s done so little for mothers of school-aged children, esp Black & women of colour, who are being pumelled by triple work loads, demands that we celebrate a privileged white mother of school-aged children.
How cruel – the ultimate adjective of the Trump era – that the administration that insists we celebrate that Barrett is a mother of school-aged children is the same admin that has ripped apart migrant mothers from their school-aged children in concentration camps at the border.
My new essay looks at why patriarchy promotes mediocre white women like #AmyConeyBarrett to #SCOTUS and Gina Haspel to head of the CIA.
Motherhood is to #AmyConeyBarrett what self-effacement was to Gina Haspel: an attribute that allows patriarchy to safely elevate a woman to an unprecedented position with the understanding that she will not threaten patriarchy but instead do its bidding.
(ED: Mona Eltahawy is one of my modern heroes, in case you’re wondering where I learn some of my language around patriarchy. Her writing on profanity is foundational. She is incredible. I highly recommend subscribing to her newsletter.)
Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego @RubenGallego
THREAD
This how the 1% look at minorities. I was a classmate of Kushner let me tell you what I did to get into Harvard compared to what he did. Yes a thread.
My freshman year of HS. I realized that the only way college was gonna happen was that first I had to do well on my exams. So I started buying used prep exam books and copying exams from the library. The school librarian is a close friend to this day. (Thanks Mrs. Conley)
I was lucky enough to have a job that let me practice my tests in between flipping burgers. (Thank you Steve and Souzy’s) I used that money to pay for extracurriculars that would look good on a college resume. Even went to Greece on exchange.
Not knowing anyone that went to Harvard let along college, I looked up students in the student directory. I called anyone that had a Latino sounding name and left messages. A few returned my calls and helped guide me to get ready to apply for college. Thank you Gus!
Junior year I intensified my practice exams added more AP exams, became Student Council President, had my after school job as well as other extracurriculars.
Senior year! I am might be the only student to apply to Harvard using money orders but did it. Use a friends computer to apply (thank you Kobelt family) Figure our how to do estimated taxes, to do the FAFSA.
I start the interview process. First interview was on the North side of Chicago at 630pm. My mom works to 5pM downtown she won’t make it back in time to drive. I leave school early take the bus to the CTA, take blue line out, take another bus than walk the last mile.
My interviewer hadn’t ever had an applicant take public transportation to see her. Was surprised when I told her I was taking it back home. She was kind enough to drop me off at the CTA stop.
Second interviewer wanted to meet in area with no access to public transportation. School gave me permission to meet him downtown in his office.
Accepted!! I also was lucky to have a supportive Mom and sisters that encouraged me the whole way. They did countless things to make it happen. Thank you familia!
Now let me tell you what Jared did to get in to Harvard. His parents paid millions of dollars to get him there. So I won’t take lectures about who wants to succeed more from a man who couldn’t do it without $$ from his parents.
I’m getting fucking tired of America being pushed around by a white supremacist minority party with mad skills for rigging the game.
Massachusetts senator Ed Markey @SenMarkey1d
Originalism is racist. Originalism is sexist. Originalism is homophobic. Originalism is just a fancy word for discrimination.
Edit: Originalism is the interpretation of the Constitution that Barrett claims to believe in. If she ACTUALLY believes in it, then she should not be allowed to vote (19th Amendment is not part of the original constitution). If she actually believes in originalism, she would have to interpret laws to return Black people to being 3/5 of a human being. It’s a bullshit, lazy, elusive answer for someone who simply wants to destroy minorities and uphold mediocrity.
Kushner is part of the unelected conservative activists destroying my country. He has earned nothing on his own except widespread contempt and loathing for his cruelty and greed. He will go down in history as one of the authors of the demise of America as an ideal.
I know this is all over the place, but part of the effect of having an agent of chaos in charge is the multi-pronged response to the multi-pronged assault.
Here’s some additional reading.
https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2017/11/systemic-racism-education
Meg Currell 
If you like what you see...