Like Mom & Apple Pie

Just to get this off my chest--how did CNN find these ladies? Because Twitter figured out that they were activists of various shades. It shouldn't even be news to an outlet like CNN that when you see supposed "grassroots" movements spring up all over the country in the way school boards were hit by anti-mask, anti-shutdown, anti-CRT activism, like Tea Party activists swarming townhalls just about ten years ago over the ACA--maybe question what you're looking at?

Because while parents have great reasons to be frustrated lately, their anger is being deliberately shaped with outside help. 

Now, I feel extremely cynical writing about this. I'm the goddamn mirror image of the blonde ladies right there, except I'm more red-headed, and have no kids, and am atheist, and queer. But leaving all that aside, I'm culturally Catholic and damn-near white as nurses' shoes. So maybe I almost understand what kind of mistruths move these folks--but I don't. I can't. Lies are lies, no matter who tells them, and when they further marginalize people, I am not there for it. 

So anyway, back to the mom thing: remember this mom? Yeah, she was probably connected to Republicans too, and stuff, but you know what? McAuliffe could have blunted his "parents shouldn't determine what books" etc. soundbite with an ad with another white mom talking about freedom of speech. We don't have to assume all white moms are one way.

This reminds me a lot of the 2004 "soccer moms to security moms" discussion. I don't even know if it was a real thing and I was alive and politically aware then: people thought it was at the time. And thought they still existed in 2016. 

I don't know. To this day, when I hear "security moms" I think of Purple Heart Mee-maw, who probably married a draft dodger with a very serious case of flat feet and always wanted to brass knuck a hippie. 

So, in a world where white moms includes Lara Trump or whatever, I'm steadfastly unmoved by their momliness. But if appealing to white moms is a thing, I promise you moms more concerned with their paychecks, their rent checks, their costs of living, their costs of daycare, their costs of self-care, their costs of fucking coping in the pandemic/possible post-pandemic and that needs representation, so campaigns should talk to them and instead of answering manufactured concerns, talk to the real ones. 

Because there are going to be some women you just can't reach. But there will be some you can--outside of the bullshit narratives. 

In the meanwhile, journalists should wonder why some people become so available to talk to them just when they want chatters, and vet  and disclaimer accordingly. Otherwise, it's really looks like like poor old media types, like Georgie in his slicker, got caught talking to the sewer clown for some reason.

Why is the media not questioning what's up with the sewer clowns? How they got in the sewer, why are things floating?  Why should you care?  Do you need a balloon today? You are not four years old and you have not lost your paper boat. Good lordt, find proprioception and do a journalism. Yes, everyone.  People just turning up on your doorstep playing "pick me" when you go to do a story is also a part of the story.  We don' t need obvious shill whisperers.  And FWIW I could live without another "we are talking to folks in this rural PA diner". 

Why not talk to Biden folks? They exist. Is it because talking to perhaps, Black or other POC fucks up the narrative? 

I know that would definitely be true in Fox News world. If it is also true in MSM world, it really would belie the idea that the MSM is liberal. But the people who believe it is would fail to be persuaded by little old things like facts. I guess I'm recommending it because it would make things less entirely bad and a total failure. So anyway, MSM should vet people they interview and maybe try for any kind of diversity of opinion at all ever. That would be greeeeaaaatt.