Harrison Butker: Project 2025's mascot.
that demeaning commencement speech is a GOP feature, not a bug
I really didn’t want to write about this man. I didn’t want to write about how his speech was cringe and extremely offensive to over half the population in America. I didn’t want to watch endless tik-tok videos dissecting this shit box and his mentality towards women and LGTBQ people. I didn’t want to consider his relationship with his mother, who is extremely accomplished… I didn’t want to think maybe his hostility toward professional women stems from that but here we are. What I do know, is that his hostility towards women has everything to do with his religious extremism and hard right wing political beliefs, which may or may not have anything to do with mom. But it is suss.
Regardless, I feel gross for even allowing this massive piece of human garbage to occupy so much of my mental capacity over the last 2 days, but here we are. And after much contemplation and ‘research’ and tik tok video-ing, I finally realized the blatant relevance to his bizarre fundie (fundamentalist religious weirdos) catholic rant that people are failing to pick up on. And that’s what we need to pay attention to. Sorry for the run-on sentence.
First off, no one should be shocked by his speech. I suppose if you live comfortably in a blue state you might be appalled. But here’s the thing- this shit is already happening in red states. Project 2025 is alive and well, even in the state of Kansas, where Benedictine College is located. You know, that midwest state with a Democratic Governor that was the first to codify the right to abortion into the state constitution post Dobbs via ballot measure. What people don’t know, is that the state’s republican super majority just recently overrode the Gov’s veto to enact a highly invasive anti-abortion law. Because if they can’t ban abortion, they sure as hell want to make you feel as much shame and humiliation as possible.
Its the republican way!
After all, Benedictine College is in Kansas, where Republicans just passed a slew of Handmaid’s Tale-esque laws—including one that requires doctors to tell the state why a woman is getting an abortion. Not only are providers forced to ask women if they’ve been raped or abused, they must ask whether their patient wants an abortion because having a baby would “interfere with the woman’s education” or “interfere with the woman’s employment or career.”
If a woman doesn’t want to answer questions about her career versus motherhood priorities, the doctor must report that refusal to the state, too—along with how many times she declined to answer. - Jessica Valenti
One of the things that I’m trying to grapple with is the emotion I feel when I see that so many people are appalled by this awful speech. The fact that it is appalling isn’t the problem. The fact that people have no idea that this agenda is already law in the south and all red states is terrifying. while rolling back women’s rights, GOP state super majorities are simultaneously doing the following vile shit:
rolling back child labor laws
refusing to ban child marriage
forcing raped children to give birth
banning travel for pregnant women
threatening to extradite physicians in pro-choice states
murdering their puppy because they “hated it” thanks Kristi!
These people are the vilest of political creatures I’ve ever seen… and I am a former republican. ew. This party has become the party of dominance and cruelty, and Harrison buttfuck is the poster child for such a disgusting movement. Never will the republican party be a party of inclusion and love. It will always be the party of hate, bigotry, and horrible fucking commencement speeches. See these people for who they are- ghouls that want to take your rights away- and please vote accordingly in November.
And to all my friends threatening a protest vote against Democrats, please understand that….. (fill in the rage blank)
Look. We have the most important election of our lives coming up and Jesus fucking Christ if I have to explain the consequences of a 2nd trump term, you should just give up on life and go live in the woods or something. Dems threatening this election with a protest vote for trump are just playing Russian roulette with democracy and it is so incredibly stupid. I know you want to prove a point, but cutting off your head to spite your face is a bad idea. Pull your head out of your ass and vote blue like your life depends on it, because it does. YOUR LIFE and the lives of everyone surviving you on this rapidly deteriorating planet depends on it.
A righteous rant, 13/10, no notes.
I can’t believe that things’ve come to this point, and, a protest voter’s just as dangerous as not voting at all. All I see on my feed on IG or TikTok’s the same continuous hate and outrage over Gaza/Palestine. People don’t even understand or feel that they’re inclined to think one way over something that’s out of our collective control as people. What’s happening in Palestine’s a nightmare. And as much as people are protesting and dropping their paid intuition based classes for the sake of Palestine totally haven’t a single reality based point on how I can’t ever look at FedEx or Pfizer in any same capacity ever again BECAUSE of the nightmare of an orange Fungus sequel term. I can’t take the idea of living under a “ruler” like that because no one lives or wins under an autocracy. I pity those still upset over Palestine because they know they can use that collective energy to save OUR OWN democratic principles and institutions just as much as wanting there to be a freed Palestine. Just as many times I’ve shed tears over Palestine and the overturning of our rights as we see them I can protest that protest by voting 💙 even if no one else part of my generation will. I still have hope for us daily. Too many people got comfortable in ‘16 and we all had no choice but to see the consequences of our decisions via the literal election of an orange fungus. This never hurts me to say this now, as it’ll never hurt as much as the pain of having to almost lose everyone I knew in my life due to the pandemic and their battles with health issues, but, I’ll just say it: war is dumb and no one wins under any circumstance of a protest vote. I’m still voting 💙 no matter what.