So, I’ve seen this gem shared a few times, and I absolutely could not let this pass by without addressing it. Posts like this, that have almost no factual value, are a major part of the political divide in this country. The blind faith that so many people put in memes on the internet, especially when using them to hurl hateful allegations at others, is disgusting. And so, I am going to address these points one by one, to shed some light on the inaccuracies and/or hypocrisy in the statements.
-Rising gas prices have NOTHING to do with Joe Biden being president. This one is kind of a no-brainer. Gas prices are up, because the price of crude oil is up. The price of crude oil is up for several reasons:
A. Supply and demand. Production was down, but with the COVID vaccine becoming more readily available, the market is on an upward trend. People are making travel plans and doing more things, hence more demand for gas, which hasn’t been produced as quickly due to the pandemic.
B. The deep freeze in Texas shut refineries down in the Gulf. And as is the case with any type of weather emergency, typically hurricanes in the gulf, the market saw not only an increase in demand, but also a lack of supply due to refineries being non-operational.
C. Warm weather. As the spring and summer weather approach, refineries change the blend of gasoline. The “summer blend” is more expensive to produce, and we pretty much always see that reflected in our gas prices.
What is NOT causing the increase? The halt of the production of the Keystone pipeline. The pipeline wasn’t operational yet.
-The airstrikes on Syria were a direct, proportional response to Iranian-backed militias repeatedly dropping rockets on our troops in Iraq. I’m not going to say anything else, because you should just know better. Not to mention, the facts on this subject are easily accessible.
-The perpetuation of the lie that Biden’s decision to halt the pipline production destroyed 11,000 jobs is extremely inaccurate. The decision cost about 1,000 people their jobs, the majority of which were temporary. Now, temporary jobs ARE still jobs, but the statements being put out that Biden destroyed “thousands” of jobs is really misleading. Not to mention, the pipeline situation has been a ping-pong scenario between administrations. Job insecurity is the nature of the beast in that situation.
-Our borders are not “open.” Saying that makes you sound foolish. There are new immigration policies in place intended to offer citizenship to more people. And the building of the wall Trump promised but never achieved was halted. However, the borders are not just open to anyone and everyone. Just…read more.
-If you’re outraged because a toy manufacturer re-branded their product, and a cola company integrated racial sensitivity training, but you’re NOT outraged by the inequity in treatment of the LGBTQ community, or people of color, then just sit down. Your hypocrisy is showing. Not to mention, so many conservatives that are so up in their feelings about “cancel culture,” forget that they were actually the inventors of the concept.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, televangelists and Christian advocates could be seen on television calling people out by name, and claiming they are to blame for the “moral decay” in America. The people they chose to “cancel” included anyone who didn’t agree with the Christian agenda. Church youth groups held book burning bonfires and celebrated ridding the world of “filth.” They tried to cancel Disney for being too “gay-friendly.” They boycotted the Teletubbies because it appeared one of the characters was guy. The Million Moms March group boycotted JC Penney after Ellen Degeneres was named as a spokesperson. Christians called for a boycott of Amy Grant when she got divorced. Even as late as 2018, people are still at it. For instance, when Christian singer Lauren Daigle was ostracized for performing on the Ellen Show.
And worst of all…Christians cancel each other. The amount of “cancel culture” I saw growing up in the church was astounding. One mistake could result in you being shunned for life. So please, Christian America, do not come at “cancel culture” because it has now decided to come for you. It’s “accountability culture,” and your time is here.
-Biden DID rescind a regulation that prevented US foreign aid from being used to perform abortions. And for good reason. Those kind of conditions prevent the efforts of the US to promote women’s health, gender equality, and the effort to prevent gender-based violence. Other parts of the regulations he rescinded prevented the US from addressing other global health issues, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. That is extremely dangerous in the midst of a global pandemic. Policies like the one Biden rescinded restrict women’s access to reproductive healthcare, and also contribute to worldwide poverty. It also contributed to pregnancy-related complications and other health issues, because many clinics were forced to reduce some of those services if they wanted to retain funding for other vital healthcare services.
And, for the 5 millionth time….YOUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS DO NOT GOVERN PEOPLE’S RIGHTS.
-And this last one….You all know DAMN WELL that Trump’s “mean tweets” were the least of his evils. Stop brushing all of his colossal mistakes, racism, misogyny, and blatant disdain for the American people under the rug, in the name of calling yourself a Republican, and a Christian. Nothing I have ever read in the Bible or any teachings of Jesus align with anything Donald Trump ever said or did. Stop fooling yourselves that he was “sent by God” to be our president. The only Americans Trump EVER put first were the ones who were exactly like him. Everyone else was dispensable. And you ALL know it.
In closing, please, people, just do some basic research on political issues before you post nonsensical memes with no factual basis. Reading is your friend. Google is your friend. It is incumbent on everyone, on both sides, to try to spread truth as much as we can. It’s one of the main ways we can begin to heal.
whineandsparkle 