Make Some Noise
I’ve been quiet for a while, having told myself that I needed to be. Worried about personal relationships with family and friends, my mental state, and wrestling with how to either engage, or disengage. Is it worth being vocal in the modern age of doom-scrolling, media echo chambers, and flat out lies? Maybe I’ll just keep things to myself, or at most between the few people I know recognize the gravity of what is going on in the world today. Should my attention be elsewhere, keep my eyes on what’s in front of me in my little bubble I can control? Ignorance is bliss right?
The 2024 US Presidential election, as well as the preceding campaign, was nothing short of constant trauma. Ups and downs, one WTF moment after another, all force fed to us through our digital feeds day in and day out. How could anyone think that this was normal, or even pretend to ignore this unrelenting assault of right v left discourse. We all lived through it, with varying degrees of attention and investment. The outcome, for some such as myself, was deflating at a minimum, and a harbinger of the inevitable shitshow headed for us all. Utter shock, but also somehow not surprised, especially looking back to the past 8 years or so.
The heavy weight of dread and disappointment came not from the election’s result, but from the reactions of friends and family celebrating the republican victory. This should not have felt new, or any different from 2016, right? Some voted for the convicted felon, some abstained, and others reluctantly voted for Harris. I was prepared for it all, so I thought, I knew one way or another, people in my life would be happy, pissed, or indifferent.
I was wrong. I was not ready for the selfishness, ignorance, and apathy, or the blatant disregard for real-world consequences. How could they do this?!, What is he so happy about?, Does she know she’s voted against her own self-interest? Nonstop. All day. Every day, for months without end. Every aspect of daily life was a conversation or social exchange away from turning into a full blown political debate. Do other people live with this tension, is it only me?
I know for a fact that many of the MAGA voters in my orbit have not voluntarily read a book, or long-form article since highschool. They certainly did not pay attention to any history, sociology, or global affairs classes. Obviously I can’t loop all MAGAs into this assumption, but I feel pretty good about my odds going up against the anti-vax mom group, or sales bros who can’t stop their grind, or whatever. I know I sound smug as hell here, but until MAGA starts citing, I don’t know, their sources, facts, or historical precedent (outside of a certain German school of thought in the early 1900s) I’ll stand on this hill.
Not to knock the non-MAGA voters who don’t read or give a shit about the aforementioned subjects, I bring this up specifically as a core component, or flaw rather, with the MAGA movement. Sure, there are intellectual conservatives with exponentially more knowledge than I, and who can rationalize their beliefs. But they are not the ones leading the MAGA charge, rather it’s a bunch of disingenuous grifters and dangerous bigots. The podcast bros, the Posobiecs, Loomers, and Steven Millers. If you are reading this and don’t recognize some of those names, well, that’s what I intend to change here.
MAGAs go red in the face screaming that their beliefs, speech, and rights are under attack, yet fail to acknowledge critical truths. They flat out ignore it! Opinions and viral takes stem from events or polices in the past, which I wager they know nothing about, or even care to fact check. That’s for libs now I guess. When you try to counter MAGA with facts or logic, they often deflect with phrases like, 'liberal media,' 'MSM,' 'I didn’t research that,' 'It’s against my religion,' or 'It doesn’t affect me, so I’ll be fine.’ All maddening cop outs I am parried by every single time. It gets really fun with what-aboutisms and straw man arguments too, however those are easier to manage. Remember the glory days of Obama’s tan suit, or that lady’s emails!
In a sane world, all of these deflections would be invalidated or dismissed in public discourse, but, we live in hell. MAGA cop outs are subjective, resistant to facts, and most importantly, fueled by the amplification from right-wing propaganda. Fox News, TPUSA, Daily Wire, PragerU, Breitbart, and OANN are the obvious outlets, however I’d argue right wing proxies such as Joe Rogan or Barstool are just as if not more dangerous. These outlets have sane washed some very dangerous individuals and ideologies, infecting algorithms across all social media outlets. I believe this is a huge reason for the mysterious Biden-Trump voter, or even more perplexing Obama-Trump voter. (If this is you please let let me interview you. I’ll pick up the bar tab)
With social media feeds gassing MAGA up, there is really no upside to thinking critically; nobody else is doing it, and you get that instant gratification of owning the libs! You can do no wrong, for you can never admit you are wrong! I think that is the art of the deal he’s been talking about, right? Just look at everything red-hats say they stand for, then contrast that with what actually occurs:
Save the Children! Except those in poverty, relying on school lunches, assaulted by priests, or even trump himself. (For fuck sake READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS).
Pro Life! Except for life of the mother, rape victims (see above), or those already born. The churches can deal with it right? (see above…)
There should be no taxes! Except I’m going to vote on raising taxes for all but the billionaires and corporations. Also, I think private schools should receive tax dollar funding, but churches should not pay taxes. (you see where this is going right)
I am a Christian who believes in tRaDiTiOnAl family values. Meaning, woman sit down and raise kids, don’t work and earn a living. I need to make sure you can’t leave me when my affair is exposed, or when I put you through a wall for asking me why I was home so late.
The list goes on and on--its exhausting, blatant, bullshit. I haven’t even mentioned Epstein, the Tate brothers, Elon, or Putin yet! Double standards and bigotry, all symptoms of a desire to control their perception of the world from changing. There used to be a time where I might have felt bad, but not anymore. I cannot accept ignorance as an excuse for cruelty, not when everyone is plugged into the internet 24/7. MAGA is full of shit, and they know it.
So my struggle with silence raged. I’ve had family and friends call me an extremist, liar, libtard, know it all, and douchebag. While I may or may not agree with some of those to varying degrees, at the end of the day I take comfort in knowing who I am, and what I stand for. White, middle class, college dropout who has been studying politics as long as I can remember. My dad worked as a CPA for various municipal departments growing up, so local politics was a common dinner topic. I remember getting in arguments over Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in grade school, processing the impact of Columbine, and seeing what 9/11 did to our generation in real time. I attended catholic private school for most of my education, until I was “asked to leave” going into 11th grade. I’ve seen some shit, done some bad, learned how to be better, and will never be perfect.
So I want to try something new, and I’d like you to join me. I have opinions, know some history, and want to hit back. MAGA has an endless supply of talking heads and media streams ranting and raving about how good their life is going to be under fascism. Well, I think it’s time to call them out, make THEM uncomfortable in their skin, make them justify and own their vote, and all of the baggage that comes with it. No more “I just wanted to change things up”, or “votes don’t even matter”. Will they change or admit they are wrong? Probably not, but I intend to make sure they hear us.
Refuse to be quiet. Make some fucking noise.
