On inauguration day, I decided to meet up with some fellow progressive friends and get plastered. One friend sported a satirical Trump t-shirt I designed for her, while I wore one which said, "Thanks Obama."
At this particular bar, we bumped into a middle-aged man who was proudly wearing a Trump/Pence shirt. When I first walked past him, he tapped my shoulder and said something along the lines of, "How's your cell phone? Now that Obama's not president, it's probably not working too well, is it?" He then laughed, I shook my head, and walked away. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but after thinking on matters, I figured he was probably referring to the debunked conspiracy that the Obama administration created a program which gave away free cell phones to poor people, because, you know, free cell phones equals votes, even when a third term isn't possible.
Later in the evening, after talking with some friends of mine near the Trumpsters' table, the cell phone-conspiracy-believer's wife tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, "What do you have to thank Obama for?"
I had been in the process of saying hi to a few friends I hadn't spoken to in a while and about to head back to the table at which I was sitting, so I was really in no mood to delve into a deep discussion with this person, but after I paused for a moment and she said, "You can't think of anything, can you?" I decided I had to say something, so I replied with this:
"Well, if it weren't for the Affordable Care Act, chances are I'd be dead right now. I had been denied healthcare for many years due to pre-existing conditions, but after the ACA was fully implemented, this was no longer the case."
She looked shocked at first, but also with a bit of skepticism, so she asked for specifics, and I told her about my bouts with epilepsy, a brain tumor, and surgery to remove the tumor, along with other health ordeals. At this point, she seemed really stunned, a conservative friend of her's said, "Well, I'd say that's a pretty good reason," before the lady chimed in with something which made as little sense as a man winning the presidency after earning 3 million fewer votes. So I simply elaborated on my health issues throughout the years and my troubles acquiring health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Her conservative friend again said, "Well, I'd say that's a very good reason," the lady quietly responded, "Yes, it is," but couldn't let things go right there. No, she had to try and feel like, regardless of my good response to her main question, her beliefs were centered around morality, while mine were still disjoined in a sense. So she asked me, "So, when you were having problems getting healthcare and everything, what were your feelings on illegal immigrants getting healthcare?" This is one of the main scare tactics of far-right conservatives when it comes to the Affordable Care Act - it covers "illegal" immigrants, but no matter how much they want to believe it, that conspiracy has been debunked more times than Gene Simmons has gotten laid after a Kiss concert. I wanted to get back to hanging out with my friends, so I just said, "I just wish people the best when it comes to their health, regardless of who they are. I'm not going to scapegoat a particular demographic for my health ordeals or issues accessing health insurance. Whenever we attempt to scapegoat one demographic, we're typically feeling a sense of insecurity and missing the larger picture." It was at this point a conservative friend of mine called me over, as he could see the Trump/Pence-shirt-sporter's wife was starting to annoy me. It was also at this point that this woman's conservative friend got angry, called her friend's "illegal immigrant" question irrelevant and pointless, and stormed off to another table. The "wife" then came over and said, "I was just asking a good question. Wasn't it a good question?" I paused, and said, "It was interesting," before a couple of us laughed and I said I had to get back to playing cards with my friends.
At the end of the night, I had to chuckle at this sequence of events, yet three days later, I have to breathe a heavy sigh, as, if I had to describe the discussion in one headline, what would it be?
"Sick young man's life put in jeopardy due to people's belief in debunked conspiracy theories"
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/cellphone.asp
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jul/09/chain-email/illegal-immigrants-are-covered-under-health-care-l/
At this particular bar, we bumped into a middle-aged man who was proudly wearing a Trump/Pence shirt. When I first walked past him, he tapped my shoulder and said something along the lines of, "How's your cell phone? Now that Obama's not president, it's probably not working too well, is it?" He then laughed, I shook my head, and walked away. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but after thinking on matters, I figured he was probably referring to the debunked conspiracy that the Obama administration created a program which gave away free cell phones to poor people, because, you know, free cell phones equals votes, even when a third term isn't possible.
Later in the evening, after talking with some friends of mine near the Trumpsters' table, the cell phone-conspiracy-believer's wife tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, "What do you have to thank Obama for?"
I had been in the process of saying hi to a few friends I hadn't spoken to in a while and about to head back to the table at which I was sitting, so I was really in no mood to delve into a deep discussion with this person, but after I paused for a moment and she said, "You can't think of anything, can you?" I decided I had to say something, so I replied with this:
"Well, if it weren't for the Affordable Care Act, chances are I'd be dead right now. I had been denied healthcare for many years due to pre-existing conditions, but after the ACA was fully implemented, this was no longer the case."
She looked shocked at first, but also with a bit of skepticism, so she asked for specifics, and I told her about my bouts with epilepsy, a brain tumor, and surgery to remove the tumor, along with other health ordeals. At this point, she seemed really stunned, a conservative friend of her's said, "Well, I'd say that's a pretty good reason," before the lady chimed in with something which made as little sense as a man winning the presidency after earning 3 million fewer votes. So I simply elaborated on my health issues throughout the years and my troubles acquiring health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. Her conservative friend again said, "Well, I'd say that's a very good reason," the lady quietly responded, "Yes, it is," but couldn't let things go right there. No, she had to try and feel like, regardless of my good response to her main question, her beliefs were centered around morality, while mine were still disjoined in a sense. So she asked me, "So, when you were having problems getting healthcare and everything, what were your feelings on illegal immigrants getting healthcare?" This is one of the main scare tactics of far-right conservatives when it comes to the Affordable Care Act - it covers "illegal" immigrants, but no matter how much they want to believe it, that conspiracy has been debunked more times than Gene Simmons has gotten laid after a Kiss concert. I wanted to get back to hanging out with my friends, so I just said, "I just wish people the best when it comes to their health, regardless of who they are. I'm not going to scapegoat a particular demographic for my health ordeals or issues accessing health insurance. Whenever we attempt to scapegoat one demographic, we're typically feeling a sense of insecurity and missing the larger picture." It was at this point a conservative friend of mine called me over, as he could see the Trump/Pence-shirt-sporter's wife was starting to annoy me. It was also at this point that this woman's conservative friend got angry, called her friend's "illegal immigrant" question irrelevant and pointless, and stormed off to another table. The "wife" then came over and said, "I was just asking a good question. Wasn't it a good question?" I paused, and said, "It was interesting," before a couple of us laughed and I said I had to get back to playing cards with my friends.
At the end of the night, I had to chuckle at this sequence of events, yet three days later, I have to breathe a heavy sigh, as, if I had to describe the discussion in one headline, what would it be?
"Sick young man's life put in jeopardy due to people's belief in debunked conspiracy theories"
http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/cellphone.asp
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jul/09/chain-email/illegal-immigrants-are-covered-under-health-care-l/
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