Dear American friends

[blamebrampton]

What the fucking fuck?

I mean, I know that you are all also saying what the fucking fuck, because we're friends and all, but, fuck …

I am rarely reduced to spluttering profanity, but when you have one state banning abortion one day and another legalising murder the next …

Seriously, if any of you like marsupials, I do recommend Sydney or Melbourne. It's not perfect here, but it's much less grim if you're not a wealthy white man.

You're all going to stay and try to fix things, aren't you? Because you've got that American capability and boundless hope. In which case, GOOD LUCK! I believe in Americans like YOU! And those other fuckers can fuck right off.

Comments

[teas-me.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you this. If I weren't married (because he's never leaving the state, let alone the country) and it wasn't difficult to move to another country and live there for the rest of my life, I totally would.

Things like this make me embarrassed and sad that I'm American. This is not who I am and my country is definitely not representing me (or millions of people like me) to the best of their abilities.

America isn't the great place people seem to think it is. We actually kind of suck when it comes to basic human rights.

But I think I better shut up now before the FBI or the NSA or whatever other flavour of the week National agency finds out and suddenly no one can find me.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Look, we have stupid-arse shit in Australia, too, and you would not believe some of the idiocy that we've trotted out in Britain, so it's not JUST you guys, but …

I think the difference once again comes down to guns. We have stupid people by the bucketload, and sometimes stupid laws, and people who wilfully do stupid things, but you're just SO much less likely to die from it because practically no-one has a gun.

If Zimmerman had had a hi-vis vest and a neighbourhood watch walkie-talkie, there would have been an exchange of rude words and that would have been it. This whole idea of guns protecting is just such crap, they are enormously more likely to be used in domestic assaults, suicides and accidents.

American CAN be a great place: you sometimes do things that inspire the rest of us and make you rightly proud, it's just that the voices of irrationality are so bloody loud and powerful there. I live in hope they will be shouted down more and more in coming years.

And don't worry, they're busy trying to ferret Snowden out of Moscow and Assange out that bloody embassy ;-)

[noeon.livejournal.com]

Exactly. What the fucking fuck?

[femmequixotic]

I think my boundless hope is starting to reach its bounds.

:(

[geneva2010.livejournal.com]

Juries are one thing, but the anti-abortion nightmare is downright depressing.

[excentric397.livejournal.com]

We are not all moronic idiots here. We don't all agree with the disgusting behavior exhibited by many of our elected officials. Unfortunately, however, thinking for oneself has given way to just believing what you are told without question. Repeatedly voting against your own best interests, putting people in office who don't have the slightest interest in doing what's best for the citizens. Hate anyone and everyone who is the slightest bit different, or not as fortunate in circumstances. I am left feeling hopeless and helpless with no idea what to do about any of it. Dig a hole and crawl in, maybe. I actually have opinions about how we got here, and who to blame, but nobody really cares, or is willing to do anything about anything. The new America's motto is, "I've got mine, so screw you. Oh, and I want yours as well." By the way, have you heard what Justin Beiber may or may not have done. This passes for news. Not the country I was raised to believe it was. Not even close. I despair.

[sherryillk.livejournal.com]

I can't say I'm too surprised. I was really hoping they would at least give him manslaughter but it didn't feel like the prosecution was doing too well... :(

I just can't get over the fact that Trayvon Martin was probably just trying to defend himself against a creepy adult that was stalking him and had a gun. T_T I really wonder what would happened if Zimmerman had been the one killed instead of him...

[frances-veritas.livejournal.com]

i feel so sick and hopeless right now actually. man oh man.

[wenchilada.livejournal.com]

Yes ma'am. What the fuck, y'all???

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Quite.

[alisanne.livejournal.com]

What the fucking fuck?

Exactly.

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

There is no consistency when it comes to States Rights. You will always have the red (conservative) states against the blue (liberal) states and never the two shall meet. If you took the whole center of the United States and moved it over, then took the east coast and the west coast and stuck them together, you would have two completely different countries bearing little resemblance to each other.

Truly, we aren't all morons. (Just the ones in power?) IDK, it's pretty embarrassing. There is no consistency. It is hypocritical to make laws that run completely in opposition to each other. I guess to the rest of the world the US just looks to be bipolar!!

[janey-p.livejournal.com]

Truly, we aren't all morons. (Just the ones in power?)

Heh! Summed up like this it seems to cement my theory: Once you're a politician, your brain power decreases rapidly...
Or they're all brainwashed by a master mind in the shadows. ;)

As I'm not familiar with American legislation: What has to happen to undo that abortion law? And how soon could that happen?

Here's to hoping that all the people against it will be able to make a difference somehow, even after it has been passed.
Good luck!

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

It seems as how the Texas conservatives are working hard to make changes in the abortion laws that will make it harder for women to obtain abortions in the state. This explains the whole thing rather well:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-abortion-vote-signals-brewing-legal-fight/2013/07/13/d68a6df6-ebd8-11e2-8023-b7f07811d98e_story.html

With all due respect to my Texas friends, I must point out that Texas is a very wealthy and a very conservative state. It's home to several former presidents and is the largest state in the continental US. That said, the state has always been a bit 'full of itself'. There is always a movement afoot for Texas to secede from the union and become an independent country. These changes in abortion law are in Texas do not come as a surprise, but it is a very sad situation for the women of the state. Perhaps they would like to put women in burkas too?

[janey-p.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the appeal of being conservative. Because what being conservative ultimately means is that you don't want change, that you cling to the past.
But conservatism shouldn't be a human trait, as evolution has shown that a species only survives if it knows how to adapt to changes. And humans have become the dominant species, because they HAVE been great at adapting.
Makes me wonder why we seem to have lost that trait once we became "civilized". Or rather, why those who have lost that trait always are the ones who end up in governing positions...

And on the topic of abortion: Personally, I don't really plan on ever having children, but if I were pregnant, I don't think I'd be able to consider abortion. That still doesn't mean that just because I wouldn't be able to, I'd want others to think the same.
And while I really can't understand women to have an abortion just because "the time isn't right for a baby" (they should have considered that before having sex - they knew the "risks"), I'd hate to see a woman not having the chance to have one, if there are dire circumstances.
I stumbled across a picture over at tumblr (no idea where and when exactly, since I don't have an account there) where a young woman held a poster asking who'd have defeated Voldemort if Lily Potter had had an abortion. I loved the reaction to that picture, because someone countered with something that amounted to "there wouldn't have been a Voldemort in the first place, if his mother had had the option of an abortion". That example simply shows that people SHOULD be allowed to make their own decisions and to have the chance to act on them, too.
If there's no place women can turn to for an abortion I bet they'll find other (illegal and probably far more dangerous) ways to get it done. They just have to be desperate enough. Who wants to be responsible for the possible consequences?

Apart from that: What does the government think will happen if they keep passing laws against the will of so many people? Recent events all over the world show that people are willing to resort to violence if they are pushed too far. Just because the US is an apparently well-off country with only one war (that I know of) on their own ground, doesn't mean they can't suddenly have an uprising at their hands... Things escalate so easily everywhere nowadays.

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

In truth, I believe much like you in regard to abortion. I'm not happy about the whole concept, but it doesn't have the emotional impact for me that it does for so many others. In my mind, it isn't really my decision. I'll leave it to the involved parties to decide. I think there far more pressing issues affecting our lives today.

Number one on the list for me is some kind of universal healthcare. As it now stands, healthcare is paid for by one's employer. So if you are not employed you are out of luck, unless you qualify to be covered on someone else's policy. If you are a woman with little children or have a disability you can get coverage by the state. Otherwise you are not eligible. If you are unemployed you have no help at all. The state will not cover you unless you meet certain criteria, which is getting harder and harder to meet. For example, if one loses their job and cannot find another one soon he is left without healthcare until such time as he finds work. Some work does not provide healthcare, so if he manages to find a part time job he is still unable to get medical care. The whole system is effed up.

Basically, the conservatives believe that if the government funds everything it will bankrupt the country. They want the rich and wealthy to remain rich and wealthy gained off the backs of the poor. There used to be three classes of people, the wealthy, the working class and the poor. The working class gets smaller every year and the poor gets larger. This country should be able to provide basic human rights to their citizens.

[quatrefoil.livejournal.com]

My personal view on abortion is that human life begins at conception and that abortion is the taking of a human life. BUT, I don't believe I have the right to make that decision for any other woman and nor do I believe that anyone else has the right to make that decision for me. For that reason, I support women's right to choose, and I'll support it energetically in the political arena. People who are serious about reducing the numbers of abortions should look at providing real alternatives to women with unwanted pregnancies - alternatives that don't involve poverty and discrimination. And if conservatives are all about the right to life (as opposed, say, to wanting to control women's bodies), they'd all be pacifists, wouldn't they?

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

I would have to agree with everything you say.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what you are talking about, since, unlike you, I don't follow the news, and, honestly, I am not certain I want to know the details, it will likely just make me grateful that I live in Sweden, and I enjoy it enough here on its own merits, I don't need to think less of other places to like this one...

[ashindk.livejournal.com]

I don't really understand the last bit, to be honest. I live right next door to you in Denmark, and I like it enough here to not want to move anywhere else, except maybe Sweden or Norway ;-)
But that doesn't mean that I can't be worried about the state of the rest of the world. It's not thinking less of them, it's just being worried for all the people who are not fortunate enough to live in places like this, or similar.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Good point, I like the way you look at this. Have you always lived in Denmark? I only moved to Sweden 2.5 years ago, and spent a good part of my life living in the US, which may be part of why my first reaction was to not want to know what had happened now, since I feared it would make me think less of the country...

[nathalieweasley.livejournal.com]

What the fucking fuck?
Yes, exactly.

I have become more politically-aware recently (previously I was of the politicians are corrupt/all the legal stuff is crap and sucks but doesn't affect me variety) and these issues are making me sick. I stayed up and watched the entire Wendy Davis filibuster with a friend and it was one of the most inspirational things I've seen, particularly when I'm watching and the Youtube view count reaches over 200,000 on a week night. And then the politicians step back in and organize a new voting. And Ohio quietly passes a new anti-abortion law. And Wisconsin adds measures. As does North Carolina....

And the MURDER case of Trayvon is pissing me off as well. On one hand, no one should have a "trial by media." HOWEVER, a kid was murdered and a man carrying a gun who was recommended not to have the gun AND to not follow the kid KILLS THE KID. It is very difficult to understand a defense of self-defense when ten minutes earlier the killer was in a locked car viewing a pedestrian with no hints that he was armed.

On a side note, I'm planning to move to France after getting my PhD...

[oakstone730.livejournal.com]

It is terrible. I don't understand what is happening in this country.

[ngelinadb.livejournal.com]

I am so depressed right now....

[ashindk.livejournal.com]

What the fucking fuck indeed!
Please fight this! The percentage of voters in the US is abysmal. Please use your democratic rights and vote! And use your voice to make sure that everyone knows that you disagree.
I've sort of given up, and just want to stick my fingers in my ears and sing lalalalala here in my safe scandinavian corner of the world. Unfortunately that won't help the people stuck living in less fortunate places, like the US. I've always wanted to spend a few years as an expat, living there. But not anymore. I'd be scared to death taking my family there. Maybe when the kids are grown and living on their own...

[emmacmf.livejournal.com]

Zimmerman walks away, having ended someone's life, yet last year, Marissa Alexander (also from Florida) got 20 years for shooting a wall when she was trying to ward off her abusive husband. Fuck everything.

And don't even get me started on Republican fuckwits linking liberals to a coathanger site.

[takarai-karin.livejournal.com]

I came form a country where the majority of people have probably never seen a real gun IRL and most probably never will, and this case just baffles me to no end.

Watching Anderson Cooper trying to be his impartial self even infuriated me, and I couldn't watch the trials in details as it's very upsetting.

I hope the American people are doing something about this. John Oliver (Of Jon Stewart's Daily Show fame) did a very interesting report on gun control in Australia that your fellow countrymen applied after a gun massacre to show how the system could honestly work. I feel like every body should watch that.

My thoughts and prayers are for the child's family and friends.

[ozdobe.livejournal.com]

Being Australian, I always thought that "you have the right to vote and we will fine you if you don't" was funny, but over here, where people don't have to vote, guess who votes? The ones with an extreme view. So instead of getting people elected who will contribute to the nation, you get those with extreme platforms who will suck in the voters with their extreme views and ta-da (as someone said) bi-polar USA. At least in OR we have vote by mail so you get a much higher "turnout". I usually vote except the last time (a local election) when I didn't know anyone running and none of them bothered to place a bio in the voting pamphlet (of which I did not get a copy since there were no relevant bios for my area). I also had too many other problems at the time to cope with anything. I think OR does well, we have a democratic govt for the most part and we have brought back a governor who had a brief respite between elections. He is our 35th and 37th governor with 2 consecutive and the current term. I like him - my husband did not. There is hope folks.

[connorblond.livejournal.com]

Fuck indeeded, I agree.

[teganscrush.livejournal.com]

"What the fucking FUCK?" should replace any national saying we have. I just can't even believe where this country has gone. And where we continue to go.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Maybe just don´t flee to Russia right now: http://vintage-ads.livejournal.com/4562648.html

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

WORD.

[valkyrie17.livejournal.com]

You said it.

The US scares the crap out of me right now. I live in Canada, and we are started to see some looney tunes cropping up with the same stupid ideas here.