“The same month the panels were removed, The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, contacted the ABMC for its supposed failure to comply with Trump’s anti-DEI initiatives.”
The heritage foundation is what brought us 2025, a plan for conservatives to permanently take over the government. This is par for the course for them. They're a terrorist organization and should be treated as such.
Lol yeah the plan is in the open. They are getting parts of the VRA removed so they can redistrict. From what I read it will flip 19 seats in the house.
The Dutch, Belgians and French take caretaking of WWII monuments and cemeteries extremely serious. They are cleaned, landscaped and usually have annual memorial services. There are all kinds of excursions for schools and they are open for public for educational purposes.
It was both a blessing and a curse that ww2 never touched US homeland. On the one hand, unchecked endless ability to innovate and industrialize. On the other it was very easy for us to forget what the ideologies of thr mid 20th century cost the world
Maybe I'm wrong but I would think seeing and knowing what happened in Europe due to the war would be even more motivating for us to make sure it never happens again.
I think it did for probably 40-50 years. But now 4-5 generations later we dont have anything left to remember it by. If anything it further entrenched the idea of American Exceptionalism, becasue while WWII decimated the economies and infesteucture of European nations it inflated America's and made much of Europe reliant on American money, power, and influence.
And even during the war American at home didn't have to worry about food, bombs, or invasion. To much of America WWII wasn't that uncomfortable so even the negative things didn't have the staying power that they did in europe
There were a few incidents of WW2 getting to our shores, but the US government covered it up. I was watching an episode about abandoned locations, and one was on the West Coast. The Japanese actually bombed it. The Germans reached the East Coast. The government didn't want the populace to know about it and erased it from most history information.
I'd love to hear more about that. Any documentaries or books youd recommend?
Also the Japanese tried to bomb us with balloons. Got into California(?) And started a forest fire. So it definitely happened but nowhere near the scale of what europe was facing
Not only that, but you guys also got the idea that your fast progress was due to American exceptionalism instead of you guys being the only ones not standing knee deep in rubble. And now that the rest of the world is catching up, you think a level playing field is an insult.
Add the Brits to that. When I was visiting an old cemetery in Scotland, we saw a small fenced area with perfectly trimmed grass and clean headstones, which stood out in stark contrast to the other graves and monuments. When I inquired, I was told that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission tends graves of fallen soldiers wherever in the world they are located.
"No, we're going to keep this out here in perpetuity. To protect it, and as as a reminder of yet another time you just threw away your citizens because they were simply the wrong color."
I never really understood the word 'hate' until these disgusting bigots took power.
They are vile, odious, and repulsive, and I simply can't wait to watch the inevitable trials and convictions when this 'administration' is finally gone.
All things MAGA are a blight and a cancer, and I thank the Dutch for their actions.
Sadly, there is a very real chance they will never pay for their crimes and will continue to stay in power for a very long time.
They are moving very fast, dismantling and removing anything or anyone who is in their way. It's happening so fast that most Americans are struggling to even accept what's happening because they simply can't believe it.
As an atheist, one of the downsides about being an atheist is believing there is no hell and the depressing thought that people like Trump will go their entire lives without ever suffering the consequences of their actions. I would love for karma to be real.
I think this is why most religious groups that believe in karma say that karma can/will be fulfilled in the next life, not necessarily this one. There just isn't enough evidence of good people getting good outcomes.
God a I'm an ex cult memeber (though believed on evil people would be punish... Maga prime example) and fucking preach.
Being out's better for my mental health but when reminded about these evil people, my mental health takes a turn
The I important part is that you are out. Nobody can make you go back. Very happy for you. Im 90% sure my not brother is i. A cult in Washington. The shit he has said about his/ my family tore me up inside and I lost a good friend because he will not talk to anyone he is not allowed to profess his faith in christ to. He only let's his kids visit their grandparents 1 at a time, for 1 week every year. Always put them on a x- country flight by themselves! Starting since they were 7.
I also live in an area effectively controlled by what is essentially a cult but actually some offshoot crazy shit hiding behind a Lutheran title.
I highly recommend Amanda’s Mild Takes Weekly L’s videos and updates (a balm for my soul if I have one), and Knitting Cult Lady on YouTube who is an expert in cults and extremely bad leadership (and has the education as well as experience to back it up).
While I don’t watch them regularly they both help frame things for me in an extremely helpful way.
God a I'm an ex cult memeber (though believed on evil people would be punish... Maga prime example)
Some of us, myself included, would love to see stuff like this and to know the back story, what finally got you turned, etc, were you able to turn the others?
For reference, the cult was Jehovah's Witnesses. it's an interesting tale, kinda. The seeds of doubt happened in 2018 when I'd happen to find r/exjw & like a good little witness I got out of there, thinking full of apostates & bitters folks. But a post had caught my eye with the title about Yahweh being a Canaanite god (despite using Jehovah, they recognise Yahweh as another translation)
I'd start having more doubts at the end of 2019 and then this video was released. https://youtu.be/DECwfQQqRzo?t=2633 At the time stamp it talks about the sediment from a mega tsunami. As soon as I saw that part it was like jigsaw puzzles being so close together ye could see the picture. JW take the bible quite literally. The flood of Noah historically real.
I'm a dinosaur fan, have been all my life despite JW's being creationist. in the Geological record worldwide there is a line, Called the KT boundary. The chicxulub impact, the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Hopefully at this point ye see where I'm going. If a local tsunami can leave evidence locally just like the ash & debris from KT boundary did worldwide. Then where the fuck was the worldwide layer from the flood that covered the earth for god news how many weeks (bible only says it rained 40 days & nights not how long the earth was flooded) Edit: so kinda wrong, ye just have to do some maths
That quickly got the ball rolling as if Noahs flood was a load of shit, what about everything else. How could I trust the Bible if I know one story or however many is complete fiction.
For the next 6 months would look into more things, lurk in r/exjw even look into that Yahweh Canaanite god more. Until July 11th 2020, realized I couldn't believe it anymore.
I may be out but health and other things means I stay at home with very much still Jehovah's Witness family, everyone irl I know is a witness. Thankfully they're all good, especially the family. despite stressful dreams dealing with the faith I'm not suffering horror stories like some post on the ex sub.
Sadly for sake of mental health I've had to give up trying to wake my family up. It's like going around in circles. Plus does seem like a case of they want to believe it. Which does/ doesn't make sense to me. I'd love to believe a good many things I once did but I want to also live in reality. Which is something I've come to realize since being out is my idea of what the witnesses believe in & what they are actually meant to believe can completely different. I mentioned only evil being punished, but what so many witnesses fail to realize is that they're actually taught only jw's & those interested will survive Armageddon
Something I do wonder is, because I essentially put what would lead me to break out, together. If those I told about it, view it as me having been spiritually weak and boy do they love using/ warning against that
I've heard and read the story of Noah's Ark my whole life, and it never occurred to me that it doesn't say how long the world was flooded. Makes sense that it had to be longer than the month and a third it rained, but not once did I think how long that water stood. Not even once.
I also have witness family members and I wanted to ask them some of the things you walked about…and they absolutely believe dinosaurs existed. She reminded me she had a dinosaur theme room for their son!There’s bones and scientific verification of their existence and that’s what they look to for confirmation. Anyways, she also mentioned, we don’t know how long the earth existed before mankind was put on here, so they could’ve lived out their life spans & whatever made them die out, obviously happened a looong time before humans came along. (I also asked about your Armageddon comment, and if there was any indication how LONG the flood may have covered the earth?) And about those who will survive Armageddon she said, since we’re not God, we have no idea who would survive through that. It’s up to him, and only HE knows the time and day and who gets to live through it… kind of like HE did with the Flood in Noah’s day? She said he DID try to give everyone a chance but people thought Noah was crazy. (this is what the Bible says anyways) Oh, and the whole reason I called her was because I thought I remembered that the Bible did specifically give a time frame of how long they stayed floating? Because I remembered reading that in a Bible stories book when I was a kid?? (?I think)) about how they released a bird of the deck of their boat? (I’m really not quoting, I know I sound crazy too!) but that it kept coming back because it could not land…until finally it finally did? Anyways she tried to look it up and read some of Genesis & it does refer to a period of time that passes? I’m not trying to to explain it, but it started in Genesis chapter 8? And I asked Alexa & she mention 30 days times something & I couldn’t really get it, but it’s close to a year I guess? Anyways, I just thought these were interesting things to ask those that believe in creation-because surely it’s silly NOT to believe in dinosaurs!!
If the god of the Bible was real, he would side with this ilk. He was, after all, a genocidal demented narcissist who regulated women's inferiority as well as slavery.
Whatever gnosticism asserts it "knows" via personal experiences, needs to be validated empirically, or it doesn't provide any value to society as a whole.
Gnosticism generally agrees with that perspective, and as a result does not put value in religious institutions. Religious experience only has value to the experiencer and should not be the foundation of a society or culture, lest it be used to control the people. Gnosticism treats religious pursuit as a wholly personal endeavor.
But regardless my point wasn't to proselytize the truth or value of Gnostic theology. My point was simply that the Biblical god being real, but very obviously the villain of the story, is a genuine religious perspective that's been held for as long as (maybe longer than) Christianity itself. "He was, after all, a genocidal demented narcissist who regulated women's inferiority as well as slavery."
Whether it's true or a book of fables I find it interesting and relevant that the "God" modern Christians worship has been plainly seen as the villain of the story for as long as the story has existed.
I have always thought as an atheist it is kind of ironic that the “Christians” would be screwed if heaven and hell was real. There is no chance they wouldn’t be going to hell with how they behave and treat people.
Its up to the people to ensure that justice is served. We can’t forget about all of this when its over. We have to press for consequence. Stephen Miller and Hegseth and Bondi are pretty young. There’s time.
I mean it's it happening this fast because most Americans are "struggling to accept it" or maybe a plurality of Americans actually supports such a change, at least to some degree, and likely ALWAYS supported it, and it was just that they kept that under wraps in polite company until around 2016?
Social media and online echo chambers have certainly had an effect.
Before the internet, it was a lot harder for fascists to discover one another and form communities. Most of them would have been 'that one weird guy' on an otherwise normal street.
Now they can form a virtual street of weird guys and create a foothold to gradually indoctrinate relatively normal people, who in the past would have dismissed them as fringe lunatics, into their paranoid worldview.
The way most social media algorithm work don't help the situation. It just funnels you to an echo chambers then cut off outside interference so that's all you hear repeatedly.
Just like Franco's goons. Just like Pinochet's goons. And so very many more. Also like Trump, they'll have rich prick kids who go on to carry water for their fascist fathers.
When you say they will be in power for a very long time. I will only say that the silver lining is that America cannot economically sustain this level of corruption for a 'very long time'. This is a raid on the American coffers at a time when most people are struggling. I agree that they may cheat and steal power but the country as a whole cannot survive the gluttony of corruption by those in power.
A few things will have to happen:
America invades a resource rich country to sustain the lavish out of control spending and corruption.
Forced labor camps but with current working conditions and pay, some analysts would argue Americans currently work in these environments. So it wouldn't change much.
To enact both of these things you will need extended coordination and planning, plus a lot more resources than we currently have available to their 'soldiers'.
You are correct, but it looks like they are going with the third option. They're literally doing it right now with an economic heist on a giga scale by debasing the US dollar. They will make trillions doing it to continue funding their agenda. This is why Trump is fighting the Fed and wants to switch the current monetary system to a crypto based system, once the US treasury has full control of the currency, nothing can stop them.
They're also so fucking petty.
Like, wtf are they doing removing memorials to black ww2 soldiers? It harms no one and cost no more than any other tiny memorial to maintain, of which the US has tons.
These are the same people who where horrified when Obama got in, at their very core they hate the idea of anyone not white getting any praise or any honours, they are the people who unironically use the phrase “they should know their place”, and who’s “great America” is pre civil rights.
They want to immortalize divisive shitheads like Kharlie Cirk under the guise of patriotism, but disenfranchise soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country (where they were treated as "less-than")?!
Truly vile, disgraceful, and shameful behavior that's completely antithetical to our nation's founding principles.
It’s got nothing to do with opposing “DEI” or whatever, it’s just opposing brown people. They don’t actually have an issue with “immigrants”, just the brown ones. Their ideology is just full blown racism/white supremacy, and they don’t even try to hide it anymore. They used to try to dress it up and dance around the subject, these days it’s masks off. “Trump 2028 | make lynching great again”
Misogynists don’t mind having a symbolic woman as a representation. In fact they will happily have one and point to it to absolve themselves of their misogyny.
The fact a morbidly obese draft dodging child molester is dishonoring people who died for this country is beyond criminal and its beyond disgusting. Hes a felon, they are heros. Shame on anyone who isnt angry over this.
The fact that there are vets who support the “ morbidly obese draft dodging child molester who is dishonoring people who died for this country” is disgusting. 🤢 I remember working the elections and vets were so happy to vote for him. It’s was heart breaking.
Unfortunately, racism is far stronger than patriotism. His support is dramatically less than it was even 9mo ago. It would probably be halved if unrampered Epstein documents were released. Unfortunately, the prostitute he put in charge of the justice department has been doctoring them for almost a year now.
Racism is just a few blocks down from patriotism. The latter can so easily lead to nationalism and a general belief that you are better than those who are not like you. The amount of people who are "not like you" only grows ever bigger the deeper you go.
I would
Never put it on all of the Vets. That’s not what my intention was at all. It is just surprising when many vets would vote for someone who doesn’t acknowledge or believe in the Constitution
US Ambassador Joe Popolo defended the decision to remove the panels. "The exhibitions in Margraten are not there to promote an agenda that criticizes America," he responded on social media.
So he's happy to admit that criticising 1940s racism is criticising current America. Because it's basically the same now as it was then.
Also, he later contradicted this by saying that the panels weren't actually removed, they were just being refurbished. And/or on rotating loan to other museums. All of which is bullshit, ofcourse.
The far right is definitely rising in Europe, but the Republicans are a whole different brand of crazy. I don't even know what to call them anymore. Is there a level beyond far right?
The disgrace isn't just that the memorial was removed. It's that it takes your ally to make you remember and honour those that sacrificed their lives for them.
And FAR worse, that every sacrifice isn't honoured equally.
This is what happens when a racist learns that his particular race no longer exceeds 50% of the total population... Encourage disrespecting non-whites...
The most heart felt “thank you for your service” I got in over 12 years of active duty was from French, Belgian, and Dutch citizens in Normandy during the 75th anniversary of D-Day, random people would walk up and knew the unit I was in, the motto, and when I gave my patch to a man my own age who said my unit liberated his town he almost cried with pride and joy. It’s nice their government respects our veterans and troops. It would be nice if ours would too….
I remember when I was visiting Belleau Wood for the 100 year anniversary of the battle. First and only time I felt like a celebrity. French citizens kept stopping and asking for pictures with me in my uniform, it was surreal.
My grandmother is still alive. She waited for years for the "Americans" to liberate them. A little boy, dressed as an American sailor, would "cry wolf" regularly by shouting "the Americans are there! The Americans are there!"
So of course, when they finally really came, no one believed him!
Anyway, my grandparents were in the occupied zone and witnessed deaths at a too young age. It's not so far in the past.
On a lighter note: my son (4 or 5 at the time) asked my grandmother about the "Big War". We tried to be age appropriate, and only said nazis were really mean people. So he tried to understand: "Really mean? Like... did they shove people?!" Yeah sweety, they did that too.
Yep. They also added signs about other memorial signs that have been removed since Trump came into office, like the ones in U.S. museums.
And they wrote the name of one of the soldiers, Willy F. James Jr., in the field adjacent with haybales so its readable from the air. They organised it with the farmer who owns the land and said it will stay there until the next Google Earth pictures are made.
They also organised a little opening ceremony with family of black soldiers who are buried there. Including a lady from the U.S. who attended via video call.
IMHO the least we could do for those who have served in battle, especially those who are injured, would be to provide food, housing, and healthcare as long as it is needed.
Obviously there would have to be qualifications, like being discharged honorably or medically, and maybe a length of service requirement for those who are not seriously injured in battle.
Of course, the party that does the most performative bullshit when it comes to supporting the troops will be against it because they don't want to pay for a bunch of injured freeloaders.
True story, I was part of the Patch Barracks Ski Club (fyi- Patch Barracks is EUCOM HQ for all USA military with the installation being located in a suburb of Stuttgart, Germany), and we took a wine probe (what Americans call a wine tour) to France and contracted with a local German Travel Agency (called a Reisen Bureau in the German language) for the travel plans.
Upon arrival in France, the two Reisen Bureau busses pulled in front of the French hotel, we checked in, then all met outside and split into groups to go to local restaurants for dinner.
The group I was with has about ten people, so we were sat at a large table at the restaurant that happened to be next to the hotel.
After waiting about 20+ minutes without service and seeing other people being sat and served before us, I stopped a passing waiter and asked (in broken French) why we have not been served yet?
He looked at me confused and asked if we were Americans, I answered yes. He did the classic French head slap and exclaimed, we thought you were German!!! (Because they saw us all arrive in the German busses)
Now we were Ami, and received excellent service and were told how much they loved Americans!
BTW: this was 1992. I have no idea what the prevailing French opinion would now be in this regard....
I just want to point out that the new exhibition for the memorial in Margraten has been given the satirical name "MAGA haten bij Margraten" which roughly translates to "MAGA-hate at Margrate".
We will continue to honour the sacrifices made by American soldiers during the second world war and the part they played in liberating our country from Nazi occupation.
We will continue to ensure the uncensored history is told to present and future generations, including, for example by having locals adopting graves. Thank you for your service.
The United States government and this regime is the worst in the world. I hate Trump and MAGA and hope they all never wake up after going to sleep tonight. Fuck all of you who support this and I hope you all suffer the same way you are making others suffer
That's the thing - It isn't a DEI issue, it's just the right-wingers being... Well, right-wing
They call any non-white, non-heterosexual person with a mental disorder, no matter how slight, a "DEI hire" and "Woke" (btw, any of those things qualify you to be called a "DEI hire", you don't have to collect every single one of those conditions for that title lol)
DEI is just a substitute for the N and F slurs. Literally, you can replace any mention of DEI by them with a slur and 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t change the meaning of their words.
Thats fucking gross, how can they retroactively implement this bullshit? These people died for your country just for you too shit on their graves? America is truly fucked. Shoutout to the Dutch for doing whats right!
The depths to which their hatred drags them... I understand now why they say hate begets hate. how many times do we have to stomp this ideology into the dirt?
The Unknown Soldiers podcast has a pretty great episode about the Harlem Hellfighters who faced similar and probably even more racial issues during World War One.
They just gave these black soldiers away to the French command because they didn’t want to deal with them.
Thanks to the Danish people for recognizing the sacrifices of these brave men ,who gave all in defense of democracy, and against fascist such as our current administration and military leadership
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“The same month the panels were removed, The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, contacted the ABMC for its supposed failure to comply with Trump’s anti-DEI initiatives.”
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2025/11/14/netherlands-wwii-cemetery-removes-displays-honoring-black-soldiers/
Basically the Heritage Foundation put in a complaint and wanted it removed because it didn’t follow the DEI guidelines put in earlier this year.
What an absolutely vile thing to do
That's the Heritage Foundation in a nutshell.
And their brand of "Christianity"
There's no hate like Christian love
Sadly most Christianity is like this
The heritage foundation is what brought us 2025, a plan for conservatives to permanently take over the government. This is par for the course for them. They're a terrorist organization and should be treated as such.
They likely have an plan to rig the upcoming election too.
Lol yeah the plan is in the open. They are getting parts of the VRA removed so they can redistrict. From what I read it will flip 19 seats in the house.
None of it is in secret.
They are aren’t they? A nazi terrorist group….
they are also responsible for Reagan’s garbage policies
This sentence could be said every single day about this administration
That applies to almost all of Trumps policies and executive orders
What epic pieces of shit these HF things are. Absolutely abhorrent.
Heritage foundation should just change their name to hate foundation since they are so vile and racist.
It’s the Make America White Again Foundation - they forgot the history of how this country was founded before Europeans got here.
Whitewash Foundation
They didn't forget it, they simply refuse to acknowledge the truth, but that's on par for people who believe in invisible sky Daddy's.
Incidentally, from the article (emphasis added):
Edit: Abridged the excerpt for conciseness.
They are supported by the Coors foundation. Yeah the Beer company
A sad day when the Dutch are more American than the American government.
The Dutch, Belgians and French take caretaking of WWII monuments and cemeteries extremely serious. They are cleaned, landscaped and usually have annual memorial services. There are all kinds of excursions for schools and they are open for public for educational purposes.
It was both a blessing and a curse that ww2 never touched US homeland. On the one hand, unchecked endless ability to innovate and industrialize. On the other it was very easy for us to forget what the ideologies of thr mid 20th century cost the world
Maybe I'm wrong but I would think seeing and knowing what happened in Europe due to the war would be even more motivating for us to make sure it never happens again.
I think it did for probably 40-50 years. But now 4-5 generations later we dont have anything left to remember it by. If anything it further entrenched the idea of American Exceptionalism, becasue while WWII decimated the economies and infesteucture of European nations it inflated America's and made much of Europe reliant on American money, power, and influence.
And even during the war American at home didn't have to worry about food, bombs, or invasion. To much of America WWII wasn't that uncomfortable so even the negative things didn't have the staying power that they did in europe
There were a few incidents of WW2 getting to our shores, but the US government covered it up. I was watching an episode about abandoned locations, and one was on the West Coast. The Japanese actually bombed it. The Germans reached the East Coast. The government didn't want the populace to know about it and erased it from most history information.
I'd love to hear more about that. Any documentaries or books youd recommend?
Also the Japanese tried to bomb us with balloons. Got into California(?) And started a forest fire. So it definitely happened but nowhere near the scale of what europe was facing
Not only that, but you guys also got the idea that your fast progress was due to American exceptionalism instead of you guys being the only ones not standing knee deep in rubble. And now that the rest of the world is catching up, you think a level playing field is an insult.
Add the Brits to that. When I was visiting an old cemetery in Scotland, we saw a small fenced area with perfectly trimmed grass and clean headstones, which stood out in stark contrast to the other graves and monuments. When I inquired, I was told that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission tends graves of fallen soldiers wherever in the world they are located.
Potential game plan?
"No, we're going to keep this out here in perpetuity. To protect it, and as as a reminder of yet another time you just threw away your citizens because they were simply the wrong color."
It's less about being "American" and more about being respectful.
They aren't, they just are antinazi.
Remember the nazis were inspired by USA for their final solution.
Do note that nowhere in the anti-DEI regulations did they define Diversity, Equity, or Inclusion. It’s all just them being racist assholes
[deleted]
EO? Maximum what?
I think they mean EO = executive order and maximum= maximum fine (or sentence).
People forget that their own jargon is not universal.
EO = executive order.
Ah. This is especially confusing for Dutch people because the EO, here, is a Christian broadcaster (EO = Evangelische Omroep).
Well, an Executive Order (EO) has kind of become a Christian Nationalist broadcast originating from the Oval Office.
I was a trifle discombobulated by that. EO to me is Ethylene Oxide.
I never really understood the word 'hate' until these disgusting bigots took power.
They are vile, odious, and repulsive, and I simply can't wait to watch the inevitable trials and convictions when this 'administration' is finally gone.
All things MAGA are a blight and a cancer, and I thank the Dutch for their actions.
Sadly, there is a very real chance they will never pay for their crimes and will continue to stay in power for a very long time.
They are moving very fast, dismantling and removing anything or anyone who is in their way. It's happening so fast that most Americans are struggling to even accept what's happening because they simply can't believe it.
As an atheist, one of the downsides about being an atheist is believing there is no hell and the depressing thought that people like Trump will go their entire lives without ever suffering the consequences of their actions. I would love for karma to be real.
I’ve seen too much bad shit happen to good people, and good shit happen to bad people, to believe in karma. It’s a nice thought tho.
I think this is why most religious groups that believe in karma say that karma can/will be fulfilled in the next life, not necessarily this one. There just isn't enough evidence of good people getting good outcomes.
Karma is only as real as you make it.
God a I'm an ex cult memeber (though believed on evil people would be punish... Maga prime example) and fucking preach.
Being out's better for my mental health but when reminded about these evil people, my mental health takes a turn
The I important part is that you are out. Nobody can make you go back. Very happy for you. Im 90% sure my not brother is i. A cult in Washington. The shit he has said about his/ my family tore me up inside and I lost a good friend because he will not talk to anyone he is not allowed to profess his faith in christ to. He only let's his kids visit their grandparents 1 at a time, for 1 week every year. Always put them on a x- country flight by themselves! Starting since they were 7.
I also live in an area effectively controlled by what is essentially a cult but actually some offshoot crazy shit hiding behind a Lutheran title.
I highly recommend Amanda’s Mild Takes Weekly L’s videos and updates (a balm for my soul if I have one), and Knitting Cult Lady on YouTube who is an expert in cults and extremely bad leadership (and has the education as well as experience to back it up).
While I don’t watch them regularly they both help frame things for me in an extremely helpful way.
Some of us, myself included, would love to see stuff like this and to know the back story, what finally got you turned, etc, were you able to turn the others?
For reference, the cult was Jehovah's Witnesses. it's an interesting tale, kinda. The seeds of doubt happened in 2018 when I'd happen to find r/exjw & like a good little witness I got out of there, thinking full of apostates & bitters folks. But a post had caught my eye with the title about Yahweh being a Canaanite god (despite using Jehovah, they recognise Yahweh as another translation)
I'd start having more doubts at the end of 2019 and then this video was released. https://youtu.be/DECwfQQqRzo?t=2633 At the time stamp it talks about the sediment from a mega tsunami. As soon as I saw that part it was like jigsaw puzzles being so close together ye could see the picture. JW take the bible quite literally. The flood of Noah historically real.
I'm a dinosaur fan, have been all my life despite JW's being creationist. in the Geological record worldwide there is a line, Called the KT boundary. The chicxulub impact, the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Hopefully at this point ye see where I'm going. If a local tsunami can leave evidence locally just like the ash & debris from KT boundary did worldwide. Then where the fuck was the worldwide layer from the flood that covered the earth for god news how many weeks (bible only says it rained 40 days & nights not how long the earth was flooded) Edit: so kinda wrong, ye just have to do some maths
That quickly got the ball rolling as if Noahs flood was a load of shit, what about everything else. How could I trust the Bible if I know one story or however many is complete fiction.
For the next 6 months would look into more things, lurk in r/exjw even look into that Yahweh Canaanite god more. Until July 11th 2020, realized I couldn't believe it anymore.
I may be out but health and other things means I stay at home with very much still Jehovah's Witness family, everyone irl I know is a witness. Thankfully they're all good, especially the family. despite stressful dreams dealing with the faith I'm not suffering horror stories like some post on the ex sub.
Sadly for sake of mental health I've had to give up trying to wake my family up. It's like going around in circles. Plus does seem like a case of they want to believe it. Which does/ doesn't make sense to me. I'd love to believe a good many things I once did but I want to also live in reality. Which is something I've come to realize since being out is my idea of what the witnesses believe in & what they are actually meant to believe can completely different. I mentioned only evil being punished, but what so many witnesses fail to realize is that they're actually taught only jw's & those interested will survive Armageddon
Something I do wonder is, because I essentially put what would lead me to break out, together. If those I told about it, view it as me having been spiritually weak and boy do they love using/ warning against that
I've heard and read the story of Noah's Ark my whole life, and it never occurred to me that it doesn't say how long the world was flooded. Makes sense that it had to be longer than the month and a third it rained, but not once did I think how long that water stood. Not even once.
I also have witness family members and I wanted to ask them some of the things you walked about…and they absolutely believe dinosaurs existed. She reminded me she had a dinosaur theme room for their son!There’s bones and scientific verification of their existence and that’s what they look to for confirmation. Anyways, she also mentioned, we don’t know how long the earth existed before mankind was put on here, so they could’ve lived out their life spans & whatever made them die out, obviously happened a looong time before humans came along. (I also asked about your Armageddon comment, and if there was any indication how LONG the flood may have covered the earth?) And about those who will survive Armageddon she said, since we’re not God, we have no idea who would survive through that. It’s up to him, and only HE knows the time and day and who gets to live through it… kind of like HE did with the Flood in Noah’s day? She said he DID try to give everyone a chance but people thought Noah was crazy. (this is what the Bible says anyways) Oh, and the whole reason I called her was because I thought I remembered that the Bible did specifically give a time frame of how long they stayed floating? Because I remembered reading that in a Bible stories book when I was a kid?? (?I think)) about how they released a bird of the deck of their boat? (I’m really not quoting, I know I sound crazy too!) but that it kept coming back because it could not land…until finally it finally did? Anyways she tried to look it up and read some of Genesis & it does refer to a period of time that passes? I’m not trying to to explain it, but it started in Genesis chapter 8? And I asked Alexa & she mention 30 days times something & I couldn’t really get it, but it’s close to a year I guess? Anyways, I just thought these were interesting things to ask those that believe in creation-because surely it’s silly NOT to believe in dinosaurs!!
Whether or not you believe in hell, he is creating it for many people. As an atheist, I believe both hell and heaven can exist in this mortal realm.
If the god of the Bible was real, he would side with this ilk. He was, after all, a genocidal demented narcissist who regulated women's inferiority as well as slavery.
Gnosticism has entered the chat.
Whatever gnosticism asserts it "knows" via personal experiences, needs to be validated empirically, or it doesn't provide any value to society as a whole.
Gnosticism generally agrees with that perspective, and as a result does not put value in religious institutions. Religious experience only has value to the experiencer and should not be the foundation of a society or culture, lest it be used to control the people. Gnosticism treats religious pursuit as a wholly personal endeavor.
But regardless my point wasn't to proselytize the truth or value of Gnostic theology. My point was simply that the Biblical god being real, but very obviously the villain of the story, is a genuine religious perspective that's been held for as long as (maybe longer than) Christianity itself. "He was, after all, a genocidal demented narcissist who regulated women's inferiority as well as slavery."
Whether it's true or a book of fables I find it interesting and relevant that the "God" modern Christians worship has been plainly seen as the villain of the story for as long as the story has existed.
I have always thought as an atheist it is kind of ironic that the “Christians” would be screwed if heaven and hell was real. There is no chance they wouldn’t be going to hell with how they behave and treat people.
Its up to the people to ensure that justice is served. We can’t forget about all of this when its over. We have to press for consequence. Stephen Miller and Hegseth and Bondi are pretty young. There’s time.
I mean it's it happening this fast because most Americans are "struggling to accept it" or maybe a plurality of Americans actually supports such a change, at least to some degree, and likely ALWAYS supported it, and it was just that they kept that under wraps in polite company until around 2016?
Social media and online echo chambers have certainly had an effect.
Before the internet, it was a lot harder for fascists to discover one another and form communities. Most of them would have been 'that one weird guy' on an otherwise normal street.
Now they can form a virtual street of weird guys and create a foothold to gradually indoctrinate relatively normal people, who in the past would have dismissed them as fringe lunatics, into their paranoid worldview.
The way most social media algorithm work don't help the situation. It just funnels you to an echo chambers then cut off outside interference so that's all you hear repeatedly.
Just like Franco's goons. Just like Pinochet's goons. And so very many more. Also like Trump, they'll have rich prick kids who go on to carry water for their fascist fathers.
The fascists are in power, only violence would be able to remove them. (Disclaimer: I am not endorsing said violence)
When you say they will be in power for a very long time. I will only say that the silver lining is that America cannot economically sustain this level of corruption for a 'very long time'. This is a raid on the American coffers at a time when most people are struggling. I agree that they may cheat and steal power but the country as a whole cannot survive the gluttony of corruption by those in power.
A few things will have to happen:
To enact both of these things you will need extended coordination and planning, plus a lot more resources than we currently have available to their 'soldiers'.
You are correct, but it looks like they are going with the third option. They're literally doing it right now with an economic heist on a giga scale by debasing the US dollar. They will make trillions doing it to continue funding their agenda. This is why Trump is fighting the Fed and wants to switch the current monetary system to a crypto based system, once the US treasury has full control of the currency, nothing can stop them.
They're also so fucking petty. Like, wtf are they doing removing memorials to black ww2 soldiers? It harms no one and cost no more than any other tiny memorial to maintain, of which the US has tons.
These are the same people who where horrified when Obama got in, at their very core they hate the idea of anyone not white getting any praise or any honours, they are the people who unironically use the phrase “they should know their place”, and who’s “great America” is pre civil rights.
Every aspect of the entire conservatism movement NOW is a detriment to us all.
Like the guys who lost the civil war? The slavemasters who tore a part and sold families?
Or the ones who refused integration and for that matter the entirety of reconstruction?
Or maybe the people that destroyed black Wall Street in Tulsa?
Or watergate?
Or Iran contra?
Or the Iraq war?
When did MAGA of the past ever get held to account?
What trials?
You yanks better start doing something now and stop waiting for superman to fly down and save your lazy asses.
Until you see universal healthcare in the US, you can assume the MAGA shits and those who support them are in control.
It's the single best marker because it shows you people that are so racist that they will kill themselves over giving someone else free healthcare.
Should’ve learned our lessons when we failed to properly punish the South at the end of our civil war, these are the ramifications.
They want to immortalize divisive shitheads like Kharlie Cirk under the guise of patriotism, but disenfranchise soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country (where they were treated as "less-than")?!
Truly vile, disgraceful, and shameful behavior that's completely antithetical to our nation's founding principles.
It’s got nothing to do with opposing “DEI” or whatever, it’s just opposing brown people. They don’t actually have an issue with “immigrants”, just the brown ones. Their ideology is just full blown racism/white supremacy, and they don’t even try to hide it anymore. They used to try to dress it up and dance around the subject, these days it’s masks off. “Trump 2028 | make lynching great again”
It’s got a little misogyny thrown in.
I’m surprised they don’t replace the Statue of Liberty, because having a female represent liberty is too “woke”.
Wow please don’t give them ideas
Maybe that’s why they hate liberty…
She can stay female, just need a few adjustments, bigger boobs, bigger ass, ducklips and a bikini.
And she's kneeling.
Yes, a MAGA makeover...I mean strong christian statue of liberty should be next after our supreme leader's new ballroom.
Plus, remove the torch and convert the raised arm into a full blown NAZI salute.
Misogynists don’t mind having a symbolic woman as a representation. In fact they will happily have one and point to it to absolve themselves of their misogyny.
Plus it looks like she reads.
A little?
And homophobia and transphobia, but strangely enough, they seem to like pedophilia.
I would like to edit that it's not just the brown ones, it's everyone except the white ones.
The fact a morbidly obese draft dodging child molester is dishonoring people who died for this country is beyond criminal and its beyond disgusting. Hes a felon, they are heros. Shame on anyone who isnt angry over this.
The fact that there are vets who support the “ morbidly obese draft dodging child molester who is dishonoring people who died for this country” is disgusting. 🤢 I remember working the elections and vets were so happy to vote for him. It’s was heart breaking.
Unfortunately, racism is far stronger than patriotism. His support is dramatically less than it was even 9mo ago. It would probably be halved if unrampered Epstein documents were released. Unfortunately, the prostitute he put in charge of the justice department has been doctoring them for almost a year now.
Racism is just a few blocks down from patriotism. The latter can so easily lead to nationalism and a general belief that you are better than those who are not like you. The amount of people who are "not like you" only grows ever bigger the deeper you go.
Remember, there is a whooooole subset of people who only joined the military to take out foreigners. Especially after 9-11.
Hey, now, don't put it all on us vets. Some of us are "woke" enough to put the constitution first.
I would Never put it on all of the Vets. That’s not what my intention was at all. It is just surprising when many vets would vote for someone who doesn’t acknowledge or believe in the Constitution
I didn't think you were. I was having a little laugh!
I agree. That's an absolute slap in the face after they made their oath.
Some of them must have thought they were literally saying they'd protect the piece of paper, not what it means.
Not this fucking one. Not any of my friends.
So he's happy to admit that criticising 1940s racism is criticising current America. Because it's basically the same now as it was then.
But we were told that there was no racism before Obama became President. I don’t know what to believe anymore
/s
Also, he later contradicted this by saying that the panels weren't actually removed, they were just being refurbished. And/or on rotating loan to other museums. All of which is bullshit, ofcourse.
Not the same but they're working on it
Here I was worried about the far right rising in Europe, and America showing how much better they just are at everything, including racism and fascism
The far right is definitely rising in Europe, but the Republicans are a whole different brand of crazy. I don't even know what to call them anymore. Is there a level beyond far right?
Over the edge right
Right off the cliff
Far wrong?
The disgrace isn't just that the memorial was removed. It's that it takes your ally to make you remember and honour those that sacrificed their lives for them.
And FAR worse, that every sacrifice isn't honoured equally.
This is what happens when a racist learns that his particular race no longer exceeds 50% of the total population... Encourage disrespecting non-whites...
The most heart felt “thank you for your service” I got in over 12 years of active duty was from French, Belgian, and Dutch citizens in Normandy during the 75th anniversary of D-Day, random people would walk up and knew the unit I was in, the motto, and when I gave my patch to a man my own age who said my unit liberated his town he almost cried with pride and joy. It’s nice their government respects our veterans and troops. It would be nice if ours would too….
I remember when I was visiting Belleau Wood for the 100 year anniversary of the battle. First and only time I felt like a celebrity. French citizens kept stopping and asking for pictures with me in my uniform, it was surreal.
My grandmother is still alive. She waited for years for the "Americans" to liberate them. A little boy, dressed as an American sailor, would "cry wolf" regularly by shouting "the Americans are there! The Americans are there!"
So of course, when they finally really came, no one believed him!
Anyway, my grandparents were in the occupied zone and witnessed deaths at a too young age. It's not so far in the past.
On a lighter note: my son (4 or 5 at the time) asked my grandmother about the "Big War". We tried to be age appropriate, and only said nazis were really mean people. So he tried to understand: "Really mean? Like... did they shove people?!" Yeah sweety, they did that too.
We will never forget the sacrifice that others gave so we may live in peace. No matter where or when.
It wasn't even the government that placed these but a TV program.
Yep. They also added signs about other memorial signs that have been removed since Trump came into office, like the ones in U.S. museums.
And they wrote the name of one of the soldiers, Willy F. James Jr., in the field adjacent with haybales so its readable from the air. They organised it with the farmer who owns the land and said it will stay there until the next Google Earth pictures are made.
They also organised a little opening ceremony with family of black soldiers who are buried there. Including a lady from the U.S. who attended via video call.
All in all I found it quite a moving segment.
IMHO the least we could do for those who have served in battle, especially those who are injured, would be to provide food, housing, and healthcare as long as it is needed.
Obviously there would have to be qualifications, like being discharged honorably or medically, and maybe a length of service requirement for those who are not seriously injured in battle.
Of course, the party that does the most performative bullshit when it comes to supporting the troops will be against it because they don't want to pay for a bunch of injured freeloaders.
True story, I was part of the Patch Barracks Ski Club (fyi- Patch Barracks is EUCOM HQ for all USA military with the installation being located in a suburb of Stuttgart, Germany), and we took a wine probe (what Americans call a wine tour) to France and contracted with a local German Travel Agency (called a Reisen Bureau in the German language) for the travel plans.
Upon arrival in France, the two Reisen Bureau busses pulled in front of the French hotel, we checked in, then all met outside and split into groups to go to local restaurants for dinner.
The group I was with has about ten people, so we were sat at a large table at the restaurant that happened to be next to the hotel.
After waiting about 20+ minutes without service and seeing other people being sat and served before us, I stopped a passing waiter and asked (in broken French) why we have not been served yet?
He looked at me confused and asked if we were Americans, I answered yes. He did the classic French head slap and exclaimed, we thought you were German!!! (Because they saw us all arrive in the German busses)
Now we were Ami, and received excellent service and were told how much they loved Americans!
BTW: this was 1992. I have no idea what the prevailing French opinion would now be in this regard....
I just want to point out that the new exhibition for the memorial in Margraten has been given the satirical name "MAGA haten bij Margraten" which roughly translates to "MAGA-hate at Margrate".
Perspective of someone living in the Netherlands:
We will continue to honour the sacrifices made by American soldiers during the second world war and the part they played in liberating our country from Nazi occupation.
We will continue to ensure the uncensored history is told to present and future generations, including, for example by having locals adopting graves. Thank you for your service.
https://margraten.org/?lang=en
The United States government and this regime is the worst in the world. I hate Trump and MAGA and hope they all never wake up after going to sleep tonight. Fuck all of you who support this and I hope you all suffer the same way you are making others suffer
How is this a DEI issue anyway. Ash to Ash - Dust to Dust. That's all that remains. Good on the Dutch to make thing right.
That's the thing - It isn't a DEI issue, it's just the right-wingers being... Well, right-wing
They call any non-white, non-heterosexual person with a mental disorder, no matter how slight, a "DEI hire" and "Woke" (btw, any of those things qualify you to be called a "DEI hire", you don't have to collect every single one of those conditions for that title lol)
That's just how it is... Pathetic really
DEI is just a substitute for the N and F slurs. Literally, you can replace any mention of DEI by them with a slur and 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t change the meaning of their words.
Thats fucking gross, how can they retroactively implement this bullshit? These people died for your country just for you too shit on their graves? America is truly fucked. Shoutout to the Dutch for doing whats right!
Seems like what the Nazis did to the record of Jewish servicemen in World War One including combat units like the Stormtroopers
The depths to which their hatred drags them... I understand now why they say hate begets hate. how many times do we have to stomp this ideology into the dirt?
The Unknown Soldiers podcast has a pretty great episode about the Harlem Hellfighters who faced similar and probably even more racial issues during World War One.
They just gave these black soldiers away to the French command because they didn’t want to deal with them.
Thanks to the Danish people for recognizing the sacrifices of these brave men ,who gave all in defense of democracy, and against fascist such as our current administration and military leadership
This must be ragebait
Edit:
Maybe not ragebait either, but simply an American trying their hand at geography but Denmark and the Netherlands still aren’t the same.
Start reporting this as the Republican Party has removed a memorial for black WW 2 soldiers. Not a single democrat in the country supports this.