George Takei explains why, despite the fact that it was a Democrat who ordered the internment of Japanese Americans when he was a child, that he continues to be a committed progressive Democrat.
Very well said, George. It's very frustrating hearing "both sides are the same", "Biden is old", "lesser of the evils" blah blah. For all the reasons you stated, we have to continue to support the party who isn't trying to turn this country into an authoritarian state. No candidate or person is perfect, and lots of folks seem to forget that.
“No decent person can vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump,” my uncle sneeringly said to me seven years ago. He’s an atheist libertarian, by the way. He hates Trump but thought Hillary was an equally despicable person—not because she’s hawkish or spoke at Goldman, but because she’s for universal healthcare, which he abhors as socialist. I know it must sound ridiculous to many of those reading this post, but there are a lot of voters in America with his sense of right and wrong. They also have a choice to make when neither side measures up. And their decision isn’t necessarily coming from a place of compassion.
In hindsight, and given what we knew at the time, was it decent to sit that election out or vote third-party rather than voting for Hillary? I don’t think so. And I especially wonder how pregnant women feel about that.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Nothing in life is perfect and nothing is guaranteed. If we want to keep our democracy, we need to continue working for that more perfect union and vote like our democracy depends on it because it does.
I'm sorry Uncle George that you went thru that ! It blows my mind that such an atrocious event could happen but seeing what dumpster did with immigrants , that is , separating parents from their children and locking them in cages and not getting accurate information from them when they were to be reunited is also atrocious ! Now if the douche bag gets in again , he wants to put immigrants into camps , homeless people in camps etc ! And what the fuckers did in Texas with Mrs Cox regarding her pregnancy is evil and cruel ! It seems these asshats have no integrity, empathy or any type of moral compass and actually " get hard-ons" with their cruelty . Impeachment of President Biden with no plausible reasons because the orange menace wants it shows the depths of their depravity ! Putin and Orban must be doing happy dances somewhere ! It blows my mind that people can be so disgusting and putrid to torture a person because of the colour of their skin or who they love and force births on women who for whatever reason cannot have a child ! Obviously, these jerk offs don't believe that a woman can't get pregnant without sperm but , there are no consequences for the sperm donors! WTF !!!! YES , I'm on a tirade here but I'm so sick and tired of these "cumsocks " taking away freedoms and rights of average Americans while doing everything to help the wealthy who do nothing but profit off the backs of minimum pay workers. These millionaires buy repugnants to get their way every single time and it needs to stop ! Kindness is abundantly short to non - existence in the USA and spreading to Canada and across the world and needs to be nipped in the butt Pronto and if not there won't be a world to live in !!
I’ll vote for Biden though I don’t think he is a good candidate but he is,as he says, better than the Fascist alternative of Trump and the MAGA MAGGOT CULT! This country needs to get behind a true leader who will move forward with a real progressive Democratic Socialist Government that will Actually WORK FOR THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA and Not The CAPITALIST CORPORATIONS that are enslaving us!
Thanks to Mr. Takei for sharing his vital story over the years, and now reinforcing the need to keep our wits about us. Biden was not my choice when he ran in the primaries, but you would have had to directly interfere with me to stop me from voting for him. Same is true of 2024. The politics he's up against are extremely formidable. He's done a pretty good job overall. I like to remind people that if Trump was president, he'd be doing photo opps with Netanyahu wearing a hard hat and his stupid red tie while they bulldoze Palestinian homes.
This seems like a good time to drop a link that a few of you requested regarding a story I wrote that is, for now, fiction, about a second Trump presidency. I have tried to respond personally to those who asked for it in comments but I may have missed a few of you, and besides, it's terribly pertinent.
We are truly in a national emergency. With that, I leave you this, and my deepest apologies to George if it opens old wounds:
(Medium "friend" link - you don't need a subscription):
Each time I find myself in great disagreement with President Biden, or with Democratic policy in general, I stop. Imagine if Trump, or any other Republican despot, was in the White House. My greatest resentment of Biden's recent policy is his knee-jerk support of Netanyahu's genocidal policies in Gaza. And the President's silence when Israeli fascists seek to influence not only American foreign policy -- but U.S. domestic policy! The President has recently shifted somewhat, but not enough. Netanyahu and his supporters are as rotten and as dangerous as Putin, Kim Jong Un, and all others of their ilk. Many Americans are afraid to criticize Israel, but I hope that posts such as this one will side with those who, like Jews and non-Jews in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere, do not hesitate to label fascism and genocide as such, no matter their source. Zionism is not immune from criticism, despite the efforts of some Zionists to criminilize any syllable of disfavor.
So well written! This has been a great concern for me as well. I cannot begin to imagine the impact on Palestinians and Israelis who do not support Netanyahu if the orange one is re-elected. Absolutely the opposite of what progressives want. To simplify it, you put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.
Beautiful. We have to look at the whole picture and not make the perfect (never achievable, anyway) the enemy of the good. Joe Biden and his team have managed to do an astounding job, especially considering the mess they inherited. The country is in the best shape we've seen in years and headed in the right direction. We know we can trust him, which is huge.
Very well said, George. It's very frustrating hearing "both sides are the same", "Biden is old", "lesser of the evils" blah blah. For all the reasons you stated, we have to continue to support the party who isn't trying to turn this country into an authoritarian state. No candidate or person is perfect, and lots of folks seem to forget that.
“No decent person can vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump,” my uncle sneeringly said to me seven years ago. He’s an atheist libertarian, by the way. He hates Trump but thought Hillary was an equally despicable person—not because she’s hawkish or spoke at Goldman, but because she’s for universal healthcare, which he abhors as socialist. I know it must sound ridiculous to many of those reading this post, but there are a lot of voters in America with his sense of right and wrong. They also have a choice to make when neither side measures up. And their decision isn’t necessarily coming from a place of compassion.
In hindsight, and given what we knew at the time, was it decent to sit that election out or vote third-party rather than voting for Hillary? I don’t think so. And I especially wonder how pregnant women feel about that.
Thank you for reminding us all that our vote is sometimes our only tool.
I will say it again: George Takei is a National Treasure! Thanks for all you do here at The Big Picture!
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Nothing in life is perfect and nothing is guaranteed. If we want to keep our democracy, we need to continue working for that more perfect union and vote like our democracy depends on it because it does.
I'm sorry Uncle George that you went thru that ! It blows my mind that such an atrocious event could happen but seeing what dumpster did with immigrants , that is , separating parents from their children and locking them in cages and not getting accurate information from them when they were to be reunited is also atrocious ! Now if the douche bag gets in again , he wants to put immigrants into camps , homeless people in camps etc ! And what the fuckers did in Texas with Mrs Cox regarding her pregnancy is evil and cruel ! It seems these asshats have no integrity, empathy or any type of moral compass and actually " get hard-ons" with their cruelty . Impeachment of President Biden with no plausible reasons because the orange menace wants it shows the depths of their depravity ! Putin and Orban must be doing happy dances somewhere ! It blows my mind that people can be so disgusting and putrid to torture a person because of the colour of their skin or who they love and force births on women who for whatever reason cannot have a child ! Obviously, these jerk offs don't believe that a woman can't get pregnant without sperm but , there are no consequences for the sperm donors! WTF !!!! YES , I'm on a tirade here but I'm so sick and tired of these "cumsocks " taking away freedoms and rights of average Americans while doing everything to help the wealthy who do nothing but profit off the backs of minimum pay workers. These millionaires buy repugnants to get their way every single time and it needs to stop ! Kindness is abundantly short to non - existence in the USA and spreading to Canada and across the world and needs to be nipped in the butt Pronto and if not there won't be a world to live in !!
100%. Thank you for writing this.
This needs to be shared widely.
I’ll vote for Biden though I don’t think he is a good candidate but he is,as he says, better than the Fascist alternative of Trump and the MAGA MAGGOT CULT! This country needs to get behind a true leader who will move forward with a real progressive Democratic Socialist Government that will Actually WORK FOR THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA and Not The CAPITALIST CORPORATIONS that are enslaving us!
Thanks to Mr. Takei for sharing his vital story over the years, and now reinforcing the need to keep our wits about us. Biden was not my choice when he ran in the primaries, but you would have had to directly interfere with me to stop me from voting for him. Same is true of 2024. The politics he's up against are extremely formidable. He's done a pretty good job overall. I like to remind people that if Trump was president, he'd be doing photo opps with Netanyahu wearing a hard hat and his stupid red tie while they bulldoze Palestinian homes.
This seems like a good time to drop a link that a few of you requested regarding a story I wrote that is, for now, fiction, about a second Trump presidency. I have tried to respond personally to those who asked for it in comments but I may have missed a few of you, and besides, it's terribly pertinent.
We are truly in a national emergency. With that, I leave you this, and my deepest apologies to George if it opens old wounds:
(Medium "friend" link - you don't need a subscription):
https://medium.com/ruminato/what-would-a-second-trump-term-look-like-e1e5e6e20a7a?sk=17178d5f89fea4e1c882ee866f2b832e
We need to give people a visceral image of what life would look like under a Trump presidency. Thanks for adding to this effort, George and Jay.
Each time I find myself in great disagreement with President Biden, or with Democratic policy in general, I stop. Imagine if Trump, or any other Republican despot, was in the White House. My greatest resentment of Biden's recent policy is his knee-jerk support of Netanyahu's genocidal policies in Gaza. And the President's silence when Israeli fascists seek to influence not only American foreign policy -- but U.S. domestic policy! The President has recently shifted somewhat, but not enough. Netanyahu and his supporters are as rotten and as dangerous as Putin, Kim Jong Un, and all others of their ilk. Many Americans are afraid to criticize Israel, but I hope that posts such as this one will side with those who, like Jews and non-Jews in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere, do not hesitate to label fascism and genocide as such, no matter their source. Zionism is not immune from criticism, despite the efforts of some Zionists to criminilize any syllable of disfavor.
Listening to Fresh Air archive now, July 28, 2014, I remember listening back then and have been wanting to listen again for some time.
The vote is what they fear most. That is why they are trying every means to block the paper ballots. You are indeed an American treasure
Thank you for providing this powerful letter from Mr Takai. I know someone who needs to read this right now and will be influenced by it. I'm sharing.
So well written! This has been a great concern for me as well. I cannot begin to imagine the impact on Palestinians and Israelis who do not support Netanyahu if the orange one is re-elected. Absolutely the opposite of what progressives want. To simplify it, you put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.
Beautiful. We have to look at the whole picture and not make the perfect (never achievable, anyway) the enemy of the good. Joe Biden and his team have managed to do an astounding job, especially considering the mess they inherited. The country is in the best shape we've seen in years and headed in the right direction. We know we can trust him, which is huge.