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Waiting for the Last Gasp – Adam Overland

What do I care?

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Adam Overland

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Why did you vote the way that you did and how will the outcome of this race affect you? 

I believe, in the wealthiest nation on earth, that all Americans should have healthcare.

But I have healthcare, so what do I care?

I think that if you work a full-time job you should be able to afford living. 

But I have a good paying full-time job, so what do I care?

I think a woman should have the right to govern her own body. 

But I am not a woman, so what do I care? 

I think the more love there is in the world, the better, and who someone chooses to love is up to them. 

But I am not in love, so what do I care? 

I believe that people should not be looked at suspiciously by their neighbors, or questioned by police during a traffic stop about their citizenship, or rounded up and deported if they’re abiding by our laws.

But I’m not an immigrant (not for generations, anyway), so what do I care?  

I believe people who walk thousands of miles through jungles and mountains to escape terrible violence and poverty to come to America are already Americans. 

But I didn’t walk thousands of miles for America. I woke up here, so what do I care?

I think we should do what we can to help people who might die or become homeless or lose their loved ones in an invader’s unjust war. 

But I’m not Ukrainian, so what do I care?

I don’t think the respect we give someone should be based on whether they have a penis, vagina, both, or none of the above. 

But I have a (large) penis, so what do I care?

I think the beauty of this planet is worth respecting and protecting more so than profiting.

But I will be dead before the worst of it, so what do I care? 

I believe that racism and bigotry should not be given a platform.

But I’m white, and things have always been pretty good for me, so what do I care?

~Keep caring, everyone, and carry on. Sorry about the dick joke. I had to. -Adam

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18 responses to “What do I care?”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Perfect!!

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  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Adam

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  3. Pieces to Peace Avatar
    Pieces to Peace

    You may have some of these points a bit backward. Minorities of all types and women (many of them highly educated, unlike most media outlets would have you believe) showed support for Trump. Sexism and racism is not something that the REPUBLICANS used in this election.

    Also, if you are unhappy with the current state of healthcare (or anything else, for that matter), all you have to do is remember which party has been holding the reigns over the past 4 years.

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    1. Adam Overland Avatar
      Adam Overland

      Thanks for the comments and kind words and glad to have you reading. My overall point was that people will often vote for their short-term self interest rather than considering long-term effects, not just that white men only voted for Trump. Regarding one of your points, four years is not a long time for change, so whether I’m unhappy after 4 years of the current admin, I could ask of you the same for Trump’s previous 4 years. He campaigned on relatively similar issues the first time around. If he “fixed” anything, it didn’t last long, and while it’s easy to say the next admin broke it again, that’s not much of a fix. Whereas through policies like the ACA (which Trump tried to repeal), we’ve actually covered millions more people through affordable health care. And I have to really disagree that Republicans didn’t run on racism. Haitians eating cats and dogs in Ohio? Racism. Immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country.” Racism. There’s dozens of other examples. Trump’s defense of Charlottesville white nationalists in 2017 was the one of the most obvious dog whistles I’ve seen in my lifetime and an absolutely unforgivable disgrace. Whether or not Black people or other people of color voted for Trump doesn’t prove otherwise. It only shows that people have always done what they do: blow up the bridge once it’s been crossed.

      Liked by 2 people

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  4. Pieces to Peace Avatar
    Pieces to Peace

    Regardless of my different viewpoint, I enjoy reading your posts. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Adam you are exactly on point. The Trumpist reply person has closed their eyes to truth.

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    1. Pieces to Peace Avatar
      Pieces to Peace

      I am Libertarian.

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  6. Pieces to Peace Avatar
    Pieces to Peace

    I was curious yesterday about which candidate ended up winning the Springfield, OH district. The majority of voters in that area voted for Trump. There were probably a great number of issues here other than blatant racism or the pet-eating myth you were shown on whatever news station you watch. (The pet-eating myth was started inadvertantely by a resident on facebook, I believe, and so Trump obviously had not yet been brought up to speed on the facts of that particular matter when he made that statement.)

    I understand that I will never be able to convince you that the Democrats, being the side actually calling “racism” and “sexism” against their opponents, are truly the ones adopting forms of racism and sexism in the way they targeted their desired audience: women (since Kamala is female) and minorities (since Kamala is considered a minority). They were banking on those same groups falling in line and voting PRIMARILY OUT OF CONSIDERATION OF THE RACE/SEX of the candidate! But, to their shock and chagrin, Americans have now proven that they will refuse to vote for someone simply because they fall into a certain demographic. Instead, Americans basically ignored the candidates’ race/sex and voted for whom they thought would actually do better at the job.

    And even the latino community gave an overwhelming amount of support to Trump. So, I am pretty sure I can safely say that they were not racist against illegal immigration, at minimum. If the latino population can vote against illegal immigration and not be racist, why can’t I vote against illegal immigration and not be racist?

    But, just as you could never convince me that I am racist/sexist because I DID NOT vote for the female minority and I am NOT pro-open-border, I will equally not be able to convince you that the people that DO vote for the female minority because she is a female minority are actually the ones with the race/sex problem.

    Agree to disagree? 😆

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    1. rebelgroovye72499019e Avatar
      rebelgroovye72499019e

      Perhaps what you are saying about American voters would have merit if the white male candidate had actual qualifications for the job while the woman/minority candidate had none, and people voted for the woman/minority candidate anyway. Yet the opposite is true.

      America has proven they don’t care about qualifications, they don’t care (understand?) about what science tells us, they don’t care (trust?) what Nobel prize winning economists tell us, etc. They believe what they want to believe and they, willfully, don’t want to be open to even considering otherwise.

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      1. Pieces to Peace Avatar
        Pieces to Peace

        Well, it seems to me that the white male candidate has already had 4 SUCCESSFUL years doing the same job, while the woman minority candidate has been only a sidekick to someone else during a 4 year term of ball dropping. So, there goes your 1st point.

        When it comes to science, it seems as if the democrats could seriously brush up on their biology. And that is all I have to say about that. If you are discussing the planet, I am 100% positive every single celebrity that backed Kamala has a carbon footprint minimally 100 times the size of any republican voter. Maybe you should send those celebrities a message next.

        As to your final sentence, those same words could just as easily be used to describe the mentality of many liberals.

        There are so many other points/facts I could bring up. However, it would obviously be a waste of energy, and so I will refrain from doing so. There must be SOME mysterious reason that one candidate received 312 electoral votes while the other received a measly 226. Maybe it would be worth it for you to think a bit more about what those reasons could possibly be, and then reply with some thoughts about that.

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        1. rebelgroovye72499019e Avatar
          rebelgroovye72499019e

          We’ll very much have to agree to disagree on the successful four years part (where Trump didn’t build a wall, didn’t drain a swamp, had a revolving door of –his own!– cabinet appointees, mishandled a global crisis, … and then got voted out).

          Harris was Attorney General AND a Senator. She has worked in law and government for over 30 years and has a full understanding of our political system. You can tell me you don’t believe in politicians (clearly Americans do not), but you cannot say with honesty that she was not qualified by any of the traditional standards.

          I know plenty of Trump voters, within my own family, and I know why they voted they way that they did. Yes, they also believe boys are boys and girls are girls… even though science proves there is much more nuance to gender and biological sex. Yes, they also have disdain for celebrities. (I do, too, and wish there were stronger regulations to keep anyone and any company from unnecessary harm of our environment.) I understand why they voted the way they voted, but I wish they’d dig a little deeper and think beyond themselves and their bubble – which is the point of Adam’s poem.

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          1. Pieces to Peace Avatar
            Pieces to Peace

            Well, then, I guess we ALL must be equally guilty of having our own bubble. I guess that’s the thing about bubbles: one never can quite tell when they are encapsulated by one of them. If you maintain that an entire 50%+ of America is in its own bubble, then I’m sure it must be equally true for the other side as well. 😉

            And I truly did enjoy the poem.

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  7. Adam Overland Avatar
    Adam Overland

    We definitely disagree 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Pieces to Peace Avatar
      Pieces to Peace

      And we both can enjoy the freedom of expressing our opinions peacefully and amicably! Thank you for replying respectfully!

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  8. HumorIs - Adam Overland Avatar
    HumorIs – Adam Overland

    We definitely disagree 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. upalag555 Avatar
    upalag555

    Well stated. It reminded me of the quote,

    “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist” is from the poem “First They Came” by Pastor Martin Niemöller. The poem continues, “Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me”.

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  10. Adam Overland Avatar
    Adam Overland

    Yes, that was in the back of my mind for sure when I wrote it. Good observation. Thanks for the follow, too.

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  11. HumorIs - Adam Overland Avatar
    HumorIs – Adam Overland

    Yes, that was in the back of my mind for sure when I wrote it. Good observation. Thanks for the follow, too.

    Like

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Take a break from the chaos and read about my life to feel better about your own.
adam overland in front of a painting of a white squirrel

Hi. I’m Adam Overland, a writer based in Minneapolis. These are the meanderings of my muddled mind. I’ve written humor columns for various print publications, so naturally that’s dead and here I am, waiting for the last gasp.

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