Remember Russell Vought's comment: “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. ... We want to put them in trauma.” Vought said this about federal employees, but it seems to apply to anyone who the Trump Administration dislikes: paralyze and destroy them through psychological harm. I imagine that harm is particularly acute for our disabled citizens and for anyone who is vulnerable or who deviates from Trump's "norm." But once we recognize the cruelty as intentionally inflicted, not just fate or bad luck, then we know it is something we can make go away. And we know how we make it go away: by fighting back against the wretched individuals like Vought who are purposely putting our most vulnerable citizens in trauma in order to advance their personal interests.
Let’s talk about death more the more we talk about it the less likely people are to take action to exit. We are bigger and stronger than our collective pain and our collective problems.
I honestly feel that by making the conversation public that there's a chance to reach out to people who are feeling very hopeless and help them realise they are not alone, that people want them to stay here, that there may be other places they can ask for help. Or at least I hope there is
I just pulled his book out of my TBR stack last week and started reading. It’s impossible to read his essays and not lose faith in our collective ability to think rationally as Americans. It’s terrifying, actually.
I think this project is fantastic. I may write you a letter myself!
Remember Russell Vought's comment: “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. ... We want to put them in trauma.” Vought said this about federal employees, but it seems to apply to anyone who the Trump Administration dislikes: paralyze and destroy them through psychological harm. I imagine that harm is particularly acute for our disabled citizens and for anyone who is vulnerable or who deviates from Trump's "norm." But once we recognize the cruelty as intentionally inflicted, not just fate or bad luck, then we know it is something we can make go away. And we know how we make it go away: by fighting back against the wretched individuals like Vought who are purposely putting our most vulnerable citizens in trauma in order to advance their personal interests.
Let’s talk about death more the more we talk about it the less likely people are to take action to exit. We are bigger and stronger than our collective pain and our collective problems.
I honestly feel that by making the conversation public that there's a chance to reach out to people who are feeling very hopeless and help them realise they are not alone, that people want them to stay here, that there may be other places they can ask for help. Or at least I hope there is
Hitler killed 250,000 disabled German citizens (https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-murder-of-people-with-disabilities). Taking away the social services that the disabled rely on is the first step.
Small point…
Credit to Adam Serwer for coining the unfortunate phrase in your title.
He’s not pleased that it became a lived reality for our time either.
Good writer, though. Humble guy.
I just pulled his book out of my TBR stack last week and started reading. It’s impossible to read his essays and not lose faith in our collective ability to think rationally as Americans. It’s terrifying, actually.