Thanks to @Maude, I've been dwelling all day on this photo and the concept of grifting - who does it and why.
storage.googleapis.com/afs-prod/media/282c1cb580df492580d9f4260899044d/2000.jpeg
This is from July 2021. It's Mike Flynn (a grifter), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Charlene Bollinger (another grifter), and Roger Stone (another grifter).
Given also this weekend's pictures with Elon Musk and Jared Kushner and Nailya Asker-Zade (Putin's Propagandist) at the World Cup Final...
1/2
It's little surprise to me that global democracy and the rule of law are in steep decline around the world.
It really bothers me that I have no fathomable clue how we return to those ideals that, more or less, have served us so well.
Perhaps this is just who we truly are as a people. I'm not naive: we haven't really had these ideals in our own country until Jim Crow 1.0 was legally dismantled (or replaced by Jim Crow 2.0).
It's extremely depressing.
Any glimmers of hope out there?
@mikeharmanos they can only survive because of us. We need to stop being passive losers and get ready for the idea of fighting like Ukranians.
The last elections weren't anywhere near enough...we lost the House for freaking sake. No excuse for that.
So we start with getting people to fight for their right to vote.
@QueenPhillippa @mikeharmanos
I am so glad to see you say it
💛 💙
@mikeharmanos @QueenPhillippa
There is always work. Nothing in this life is free, especially freedom and equality. Lost battle does not mean lost war. Keep faith, unite and fight for what you believe in. Fight can have different faces, keeping yourself and your spirit healthy is also a part of it. Take care of yourself ❤️
@mikeharmanos I am glad to see so many of them arrested, charged, and tried...or at least ruined so they can't wear gun, badge or authority again.
@rakshy @QueenPhillippa Me too. The Ukrainian people are rays of sunshine, much more than a glimmer.
Black lives continue to matter. Most police forces have had to, at a bare minimum, take a hard look in the mirror. 4 men died this year (Amir Locke, Patrick Lyoya, Jayland Walker, and Donovan Lewis). That's 4 too many, and it's much lower than even 2 years ago.
There's so much to overcome.