Wednesday's Most Active Threads

Yesterday's most active thread was titled, "The (official) White House account posted an ‘ASMR illegal aliens flight’ video" and was posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. The original poster linked to a video posted on the White House's official X account, describing it as disgusting, disrespectful, and "Horrifyingly cruel". First, because many posters in the thread seemed unsure, the White House labeled the video as "ASMR" which stands for "autonomous sensory meridian response" and is something that is "commonly associated with feelings of relaxation and calmness". The video showed preparations for a migrant deportation flight with a migrant being shackled and additional chains being laid out on the ground. The implication is that shackles and their use are soothing. Many of those responding share the original poster's revulsion of the video. This includes posters who are generally supportive of migrant deportations. There are several layers that must be addressed on a topic such as this. First, it is important to understand that deportations flights from the U.S. have been common for years and have almost entirely been uneventful. However, since the beginning of the second administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, these flights have become controversial for two reasons: 1) the use of military aircraft, and; 2) the well-publicized shackling of the deportees. By highlighting the use of shackles, the White House is not only directly stoking that provocation, but going further to suggest that it takes pleasure from the action. Many posters favor deportation. Many consider shackling potentially dangerous individuals to be a necessary safety measure. But very few understand the compulsion to actually celebrate the shackles and their use. Traditionally in America there is considerable understanding of the need to take actions that can, at least to some, be harmful. This is often described as "making a hard decision" or "doing what is necessary". However, leaders are expected to be reluctant about such things. One of the biggest differences between MAGAs and those of other political tendencies is that MAGAs seem to relish inflicting pain and humiliation on others. It really is a sadistic political movement. As one MAGA poster in the thread writes, "It’s been wonderful watching illegal aliens treated like the criminals and invaders that they are." The Trump administration has claimed that it is prioritizing the deportation of dangerous criminals. However, their record in this regard is actually worse than that of former President Joe Biden. Many, if not most, of those being deported are guilty of nothing more than illegal entry and have not committed subsequent crimes. It is understandable that some might still support their deportation, but to find it — along with their shackling — to be "wonderful"? That suggests a distinct lack of humanity.

Yesterday's next most active thread was the Blake Lively thread about which I have nothing more to say than that. After that was a thread posted in the "Political Discussion" forum and titled, "Would you really leave America if Trump/Musk are scaring you?" For the last several administrations, it has become common for the supporters of the losing party to claim that they will leave the country. While both liberals and conservatives make such suggestions — and some have even gone through with it — for the most part, these threats have turned out to be hyperbole. Conservatives, in particular, seem to enjoy poking fun at liberals about why they have not fled the U.S. No surprise, then, that we are back to liberals promising to leave and conservatives encouraging them to do so. However, anecdotally at least, things seem different now. Cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump and Shadow President Elon Musk present a real threat of authoritarianism and the end to many freedoms that Americans have taken for granted. Moreover, there is a wave of pessimism affecting many Americans who see the country's future as becoming increasingly dismal. Many posters in this thread say that they would leave the country immediately if they had a place to go and could afford it. However, the reality for many of them is that they don't have the means to move and live comfortably elsewhere. A number of others, however, are taking steps to acquire citizenship in other countries to have an option "just in case". Many posters who have roots in other countries say that things are even worse in their home countries and that the situation in the U.S. would have to become a lot more dire before they would move back. Other complications that posters cite are spouses who couldn't move easily, jobs they don't want to leave and couldn't get elsewhere, and children or other family ties. Some posters who could leave say that they prefer to stay and fight and not allow those like Trump and Musk to win. Other posters say that while they probably can't leave themselves, they are taking steps so that their children will have the option. A number of posters are encouraging their children to go to college or university abroad. There is still a feeling among many posters that while things may turn bad in the U.S., they themselves will be in a position to survive it. Therefore, they are less motivated to leave. As one poster succinctly put it, "The ones with the means to leave aren't that worried, and those who are worried enough lack the means to leave." A handful of posters say that they are in the process of leaving and are simply waiting for their paperwork to be processed. On the other hand, a couple of posters who are currently living abroad say that they are returning to the U.S. because they haven't been happy where they are now.

Next was a thread titled, "BCC on lockdown", and posted in the "Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)" forum. The original poster says that she just received texts from her kids at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School saying that the school was on lockdown and she wondered if anyone had any additional information about what was happening. Other posters quickly responded to say that Montgomery County police were on the scene of a "shots fired" incident a couple of blocks from the school and had placed the school on lockdown as a precaution. At first, posters speculated that the incident had taken place at a CVS and might have been an attempted robbery. However, a subsequent clarification from the police explained that there had been a fight in a nearby park. The sounds of gunshots had been reported, but no victim had been found. A video uploaded to social media showed a group of kids involved in a fight, then a sound that sounds like a gunshot, and then the kids running away. The thread quickly transitioned to what might be called standard "MCPS forum crime in schools discourse". This is a pretty well-tried and true ritual in which the usual things are repeated as predictably as lines in a play. There are sarcastic remarks about restorative justice, complaints about the lack of school resource officers (police officers assigned to schools), demands that violent students be kicked out of the school and educated elsewhere, and allegations that the MCPS administration does not care about the safety of students. There is plenty of not-so-subtle racism with a knee-jerk reaction by some posters to blame the fight on Black kids. The video of the fight showed that almost all of the participants, including the kid with the gun, were White. Posters had lots of complaints about how the school communicated as well as the treatment of students who were locked down. Posters devoted tremendous efforts to analyzing the demographics of the school, seemingly determined to place the blame on groups whose characteristics were different from their own kids. Once the dust had settled, posters began debating the punishment that was appropriate. By this point in the thread, I was sort of losing concentration, but I am pretty sure that when posters thought the kids were Black, they were demanding suspensions or even expulsions. But when the kids turned out to be White, the discussion was about whether or not the school should call the kids' parents. Perhaps I am missing a nuance or two, but that's how I understood it.

Next was the thread I discussed yesterday about McLean Youth Soccer changing leagues. After that was a thread posted in the "Schools and Education General Discussion" forum titled, "Should kids clean school bathrooms". The original poster says that she recently came across the suggestion that kids should clean their schools, including the bathrooms, and she wanted to know others' thoughts. She says that her daughter has an aversion to cleaning and that being required to clean at school might have reduced the aversion. Quite a few of those responding are all for kids cleaning schools, or at least classrooms and cafeterias. Some are not sure about bathrooms which they believe need serious cleaning, something they don't seem to think kids can do. Many posters argue that if students were required to clean their schools, they would be more careful about keeping them clean. Other posters contend that students should be learning to clean at home and if they aren't learning such skills, it is a parenting failure. Other posters oppose kids being expected to clean, with one saying, “No, this isn’t China." Posters are divided between those who see cleaning as a skill and those who view cleaning as more of a character-building exercise. The second group, for instance, believes that it helps teach the value of work. But the posters who oppose this idea think that whether cleaning is a skill or a character-building activity, it should be done at home. Some posters go to great lengths to avoid insulting janitors while at the same time making it clear that bathroom-cleaning is not a skill that their kids need to learn. Some posters argue that requiring kids to clean at school would put more burden on teachers and take away from instructional time. Other posters argue that they would be happy to volunteer time to help teach kids to clean because it would motivate kids to become better citizens and, hence, better students. They argue that far from creating more work for teachers, this would end up making teachers' jobs easier. One poster goes even further and accuses posters claiming to be looking out for teachers of actually creating a fake concern and hiding behind teachers when, in fact, the posters are simply poor members of the community. As one poster says, "If you're among the ones who would decline, we already know that. Many parents volunteer hundreds of hours a year to clean up after your precious snowflakes so the teachers don't have to waste their time."