That comment you highlighted by A. Kauffmann--that person is a TROLL.
I discovered you on the HCR Letter from an American Substack. I can't get through all the comments each day, but I do recognize a number of names, some of which I seek out. I like to welcome new names, as HCR is very popular and well read, and every person who could read for free but chooses to pay helps grow the community.
And that is scaring the RIGHT. On a podcast from a few weeks back, during the live FB feed, someone must have been reading comments and said "why are there so many trolls here today."
I do not have a FB account, and thus watched the tape on YouTube. Heather immediately responded that she ignores trolls, and that the fact they are popping up indicates they are either bots or paid, and again, they are SCARED.
I don't ignore trolls. Just like fascism, I think they need to be called out and have a light shown on them. HCR has a very long standing troll which I blocked. There was one a few weeks back which was HILARIOUS in it's attempt to insult readers and gin up outrage. I called that one out several days in a roll and it disappeared.
Then Kauffmann showed up. This troll attempts to sound intelligent and drops MAGA "facts" on us. I called it out, and got a pretty funny response: it listed all it's important credentials to me!!! LOL
I'm asking everyone to engage with trolls ONCE. It's best to NOT FEED them, but I make the exception to ONE TIME tell them they aren't fooling you. Then, ignore their responses.
I am not at all surprised that this one is going after you as well.
Ok. The “they” I was referring to are saying the same things. This is the first time I’ve encountered that particular account. I will make edits in order to not feed that account. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I do what HCR and you do...I call the trolls out on the page (Troll Alert!), report and block them once, then ignore them. It's not easy - there are so many of them on Facebook- but I get some satisfaction out of "Doing Something".
Thank you again for a brilliant analysis, Xplissett: "If merit were really the issue, they would have had a panic attack every time a mediocre white man got promoted because he knew the right people, went to the right school, smiled at the right dinner, or looked like the kind of man the room had already decided was leadership. They do not hate affirmative action. They hate affirmative action they cannot personally benefit from."
And so I am making another donation to help your substack thrive, because your voice is so important ... to all of us.
Another stunning essay from a master of metaphor! If Ruth Bader Ginsberg had been sitting at that bar in heaven and had overheard the conversation, she may well have said "Write it!" too, while holding back, in your case, her famous advice, "When thoughtless or unkind words are spoken, best tune it out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one's ability to persuade."
This was a thrilling ride Xavier. Like a beautifully crafted sermon, your writing names the illusions while revealing the truth, all in an irresistible cadence. Brilliant.
As for the ruling that Ketanji Brown Jackson dared to dissent, gutting the Voting Rights Act has reinvigorated the Confederacy. The speed and ruthlessness of GOP lawmakers gerrymandering state after state to remove black, Hispanic and Democrat representation is no accident. It is a horrifying betrayal of all that we hold to be self evident.
It sure feels like they’re cracking Democrat majority districts here in Florida. But, perhaps that’s only the side effect from cracking districts with significant Black representation. I don’t have all the data, but, I can sure feel the vibe and intent.
I was born in another century, a different millennium and what feels like a very different country. I was raised in the outer suburbs (rural lite) of a major city.
Back then, both political parties seemed to control their extremist fringes by simply denying them the oxygen needed to be heard. That said, it didn't mean the snide racial slurs weren't voiced. Over and over and over again.
Not once in my early life did I ever have contact with a black person – until I enlisted in the Air Force in 1964. That was when the awakening began. That was when I began to question where those nasty comments I'd heard all my life come from? Why were so many of my family and friends, who had no contact with Black people so racist?
No baby born into this world is a racist and a hater. We have to be taught to hate and the question I've asked myself my entire life is, how do we break that cycle? How can society intercede in the familial teachings of hate, racism, bigotry and exclusion?
The military taught me how wrong the attitudes of my family and friends were. I raised my daughter to be accepting of others who are different. To embrace DEI. To see others for who they are and not what they are. Today, she is an elementary school teacher in a district largely made up Black, Hispanic and immigrant children.
Most of my family are gopers and racist haters. Were it not for my early military experience, I likely would also be just another one of those bigots that seem to make up half the country.
Please continue doing what you're doing. I only hope you are reaching those who need to hear what you have to say.
Xplissett:
That comment you highlighted by A. Kauffmann--that person is a TROLL.
I discovered you on the HCR Letter from an American Substack. I can't get through all the comments each day, but I do recognize a number of names, some of which I seek out. I like to welcome new names, as HCR is very popular and well read, and every person who could read for free but chooses to pay helps grow the community.
And that is scaring the RIGHT. On a podcast from a few weeks back, during the live FB feed, someone must have been reading comments and said "why are there so many trolls here today."
I do not have a FB account, and thus watched the tape on YouTube. Heather immediately responded that she ignores trolls, and that the fact they are popping up indicates they are either bots or paid, and again, they are SCARED.
I don't ignore trolls. Just like fascism, I think they need to be called out and have a light shown on them. HCR has a very long standing troll which I blocked. There was one a few weeks back which was HILARIOUS in it's attempt to insult readers and gin up outrage. I called that one out several days in a roll and it disappeared.
Then Kauffmann showed up. This troll attempts to sound intelligent and drops MAGA "facts" on us. I called it out, and got a pretty funny response: it listed all it's important credentials to me!!! LOL
I'm asking everyone to engage with trolls ONCE. It's best to NOT FEED them, but I make the exception to ONE TIME tell them they aren't fooling you. Then, ignore their responses.
I am not at all surprised that this one is going after you as well.
Ok. The “they” I was referring to are saying the same things. This is the first time I’ve encountered that particular account. I will make edits in order to not feed that account. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I do what HCR and you do...I call the trolls out on the page (Troll Alert!), report and block them once, then ignore them. It's not easy - there are so many of them on Facebook- but I get some satisfaction out of "Doing Something".
Thank you again for a brilliant analysis, Xplissett: "If merit were really the issue, they would have had a panic attack every time a mediocre white man got promoted because he knew the right people, went to the right school, smiled at the right dinner, or looked like the kind of man the room had already decided was leadership. They do not hate affirmative action. They hate affirmative action they cannot personally benefit from."
And so I am making another donation to help your substack thrive, because your voice is so important ... to all of us.
Another stunning essay from a master of metaphor! If Ruth Bader Ginsberg had been sitting at that bar in heaven and had overheard the conversation, she may well have said "Write it!" too, while holding back, in your case, her famous advice, "When thoughtless or unkind words are spoken, best tune it out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one's ability to persuade."
This was a thrilling ride Xavier. Like a beautifully crafted sermon, your writing names the illusions while revealing the truth, all in an irresistible cadence. Brilliant.
As for the ruling that Ketanji Brown Jackson dared to dissent, gutting the Voting Rights Act has reinvigorated the Confederacy. The speed and ruthlessness of GOP lawmakers gerrymandering state after state to remove black, Hispanic and Democrat representation is no accident. It is a horrifying betrayal of all that we hold to be self evident.
Good comment. I will just dispute one fine item. That is they aren’t touching white Democratic districts, just minority majority Democratic districts.
It sure feels like they’re cracking Democrat majority districts here in Florida. But, perhaps that’s only the side effect from cracking districts with significant Black representation. I don’t have all the data, but, I can sure feel the vibe and intent.
" . . . people decided this work was worth keeping alive." Hey. We aren't chumps. We know great writing when we read it!
Thank you so very much for doing this piece. I see all of the work that you put into this. KUDOS!
I was born in another century, a different millennium and what feels like a very different country. I was raised in the outer suburbs (rural lite) of a major city.
Back then, both political parties seemed to control their extremist fringes by simply denying them the oxygen needed to be heard. That said, it didn't mean the snide racial slurs weren't voiced. Over and over and over again.
Not once in my early life did I ever have contact with a black person – until I enlisted in the Air Force in 1964. That was when the awakening began. That was when I began to question where those nasty comments I'd heard all my life come from? Why were so many of my family and friends, who had no contact with Black people so racist?
No baby born into this world is a racist and a hater. We have to be taught to hate and the question I've asked myself my entire life is, how do we break that cycle? How can society intercede in the familial teachings of hate, racism, bigotry and exclusion?
The military taught me how wrong the attitudes of my family and friends were. I raised my daughter to be accepting of others who are different. To embrace DEI. To see others for who they are and not what they are. Today, she is an elementary school teacher in a district largely made up Black, Hispanic and immigrant children.
Most of my family are gopers and racist haters. Were it not for my early military experience, I likely would also be just another one of those bigots that seem to make up half the country.
Please continue doing what you're doing. I only hope you are reaching those who need to hear what you have to say.
This article caused me to subscribe to your feed. When what you wrote brought me to tears, I knew I needed to do so.
Kudos!
Thank you.🙏