Meryl Streep won the Golden Globes Lifetime Achievement Award last night. Her acceptance speech was powerful. (Please note that she emphasizes the fact that she went to the public schools of New Jersey.)
She said:
Please sit down. Thank you. I love you all. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve lost my voice in screaming and lamentation this weekend. And I have lost my mind sometime earlier this year, so I have to read.
Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said: You and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press.
But who are we, and what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places. I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey. Viola was born in a sharecropper’s cabin in South Carolina, came up in Central Falls, Rhode Island; Sarah Paulson was born in Florida, raised by a single mom in Brooklyn. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids in Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy. And Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised in London — no, in Ireland I do believe, and she’s here nominated for playing a girl in small-town Virginia.
Ryan Gosling, like all of the nicest people, is Canadian, and Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, and is here playing an Indian raised in Tasmania. So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick them all out you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.
They gave me three seconds to say this, so: An actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us, and let you feel what that feels like. And there were many, many, many powerful performances this year that did exactly that. Breathtaking, compassionate work.
But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good; there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can’t get it out of my head, because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose. O.K., go on with it.
O.K., this brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in the Constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, because we’re gonna need them going forward, and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.
One more thing: Once, when I was standing around on the set one day, whining about something — you know we were gonna work through supper or the long hours or whatever, Tommy Lee Jones said to me, “Isn’t it such a privilege, Meryl, just to be an actor?” Yeah, it is, and we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy. We should all be proud of the work Hollywood honors here tonight.
As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wise and moving.
Thank you, Meryl, for speaking on this topic. May others speak up and as articulately.
Yes, she is truly a great & humble woman. As an ATR; I have the opportunity to travel from one school to another, without a home. Fortunate enough to be exposed to various educational cultures; some good & many not so good. Passionate, I always do my best to make a difference in the lives of children. Fortunately, I met (her) Meryl Streep’s, brother at The Beacon High school where he briefly supervised me & worked as an Assistant Principal & basketball coach. He too was a good person, a humble man who worked hard in the service of our youth. He has since retired. However, I was amazed by his dedication to public service as member of “wealthy family” (brother of an academy award winning actress). He treated me with great dignity & respect. Appreciated the great contribution that I made as an ATR and never belittled the position or my contribution to Education. I felt uplifted. Yet, I knew that that is the place where I belonged; a human being & teacher. Many on the other hand look down on ATR’s with a condescending perception of their own superiority; that one must be inferior given ATR status & my black skin which gives them further confirmation that I am the invisible man. My mom with her third grade education raided me the oldest of her eight children to believe that; People don’t define me. As James Baldwin says, I never view myself from the position of a victim. The victim by definition can have no view point or opinion. Those that victimized the victim; they too are caught up in a delusion of their power which chains them within the same prison they attempt to
Keep/place the victim. The Streep family are honorable people. As Meryl Streep offered when powerful people like Donald Trump use their position to ridicule or belittle others we all lose. We become trapped in a vicious cycle of violence and human decadence – moral & social decline- forever spiraling downward until it destroys us all.
Thank you, Everett. Good luck on getting out of the ATR pool. No one deserves to be turned into a floating teacher without assignment.
In case anyone does now know to what Meryl Streep is referring, he’s the scoop:
1) Back in Fall 2015, during the presidential campaign, Donald Trump made a speech where Trump mocked the neuro-muscular disability of a certain reporter — the reporter’s arms wave and shake involuntarily and intermittently, and the reporter’s facial muscles contort his expression involuntarily and intermittently.
In this video just below, Trump brought up the reporter during this speech then proceeded to clearly ridicule and mimic those involuntary movements that arise from this reporter’s disability:
(at about 00:17)
(at about 00:17)
2) When called on it, Trump denied any such mocking because … well … he’d never met this reporter, so Trump, at the time of the speech, was unaware the reporter suffered from this or any disability. Instead, Trump claimed, his own face and arm movements were just Trump wildly emoting, and not specific to any disability on the reporter’s part.
3) it was later verified that Trump had met and talked with the reporter at least a dozen times — several of those times at length — so Trump most certainly had witnessed the face and arm movements that he later mocked (SEE THE VIDEO ABOVE … again, at 00:17)
Here’s Meryl Streep opining on this:
MERYL STREEP:
( 02:45 – 4:52 )
( 02:45 – 4:52 )
MERYL STREEP:
” .. but there WAS one performance this year that STUNNED me — it … it sank its HOOKS in my HEART … not because it was GOOD. It was … there was nothing GOOD about it. But it was EFFECTIVE, and it did its JOB. It made its intended audience LAUGH and show their TEETH. It was that moment where the person asking to sit in the MOST respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter — someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity .. to fight back. It … it kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can’t get it out of head because it wasn’t in a movie; it was real life.
“And this instinct to … HUMILIATE, when it’s modeled by someone in the public … platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.
“Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence, and when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all LOSE.
” … ”
“Okay this brings me to the press.
“We NEED the PRINCIPLED PRESS to hold power to ACCOUNT, to call them on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why… that’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our Constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press, and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the Committee to Protect Journalists, because we’re gonna need them going forward, and they’ll need US to safeguard the truth.”
Thank you for the videos and information that went with them. I sent it to friends in the US, Canada, Malaysia and Australia. I believe that the world needs learn about and resist our new ‘leader’.
How truly sad that such a mentally degenerate person will have so much power.
Around half of the US believe he is going to help them obtain a better way of life. Nobody who makes fun of the disabled will help those in need.
Thanks for the vids, Jack.
Those working class folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, etc. who voted for Trump over Hillary … they got played. They all got SO played.
To all those Trump-lovers who are those who are not surviving on minimum wage, or who are barely surviving on minimum wage, well your hero’s putting people in his cabinet whose openly stated and first goal is to … wait for it … ABOLISH THE MINIMUM WAGE!!! That’s right. While you were supporting him, and cheering him, and voting for him, he and his buddies thought that you minimum wage folks were overpaid slobs living the high life, undeserving of even the minimal salary you have bringing home. (Hillary would have not just kept, but raised the minimum wage.)
To all those Trump-lovers whose families, prior to Obamacare, had never had health care coverage in your family’s history — hundreds of years of crossing your fingers and hoping you and/or your loved ones don’t get seriously sick or injured, and then going bankrupt if and when you did — well, your hero now says he’s going to take that away from you and cancel Obamacare (whatever its faults, it did insure tens of millions of previously uninsured folks.) … and he’s openly stated that he has nothing to replace it with, and instead, will go back to the old system that worked so well. (Hillary would not only have kept Obamacare, but would have worked to improve it.)
All those working class folks at those rallies cheered him on, thinking, “Yeah, man! He’s got our backs!” Oh, Trump’s got your backs alright, and now he’s about to stick knives in to all of them.
I see a lot of homeless tents around Los Angeles, and talk to the folks living in them. These folks were people who, at an earlier point, were barely making it, but fell through an increasingly fraying government and social safety net — which includes minimum wage and government health care. When Trump’s done, there won’t even be such a net that can fray, and I shudder at the number of these tents that will multiply .. two-fold, five-fold …
But all the foreigners mentioned are in the country legally…
It is interesting how trump is referred to, but never by name. It is also interesting that his function as a role model is mentioned and attacked – rightly so. But more people look at Hollywood as role models than presidents, and look where those role models got us.
The press is also mentioned. Kinda mixed on that one. The press SHOULD be objective, but has lost that quite some time ago.
NBC affiliate in this area has an interesting slogan: “where we show you the news, and tell you what it means…”
Through the eyes of biased reporters, of course. Doesn’t matter the flavor.
How do YOU know that, “these foreigners are in the country legally?”
Because the companies that hire them would be in trouble if they were not legal.
Those people are highly visible. Unlike field workers, hotel staff etc.
” But more people look at Hollywood as role models than presidents, and look where those role models got us.”
It’s not an actors’ job to serve the people, while the the president is supposed to be the greatest servant. So now this guy, whose name we hide in order not to promote him in any way, comes and barks into the microphone “people in the press are stupid, absolute scum, lying, world’s most dishonest, sleazy, whimpy ”
Presidents have not made millions upon millions being consistent bad role models.
I know – minority point of view…
But it’s like the police speeding without a cause. You know you should not be speeding, but hey, the police does it, so I should too.
As mentioned, people see a president way less as a role model that Hollywood stars and musicians. After all, how many people have you heard saying, I want to be just like bill Clinton or George bush?
Rudy,
I would be proud to be like Hillary. So there!
The case of the speeding police is relevant only when comparing with Trump: both misbehave on the job. Trump shows the skills and self control of a preppy teenager in human relations.
I really don’t see the relevance of how actors and actresses behave in their private lives to the basic requirements from a president.
Of course…
The issue was functioning as role models.
BTW – Hillary never was president, so would not fit the conversation, either.
Rudy,
I know you don’t like Hillary but she is a wonderful role model for young girls everywhere. Since you are not a young girl, you wouldn’t understand.
I teach teenagers, Diane. And I ask them what they would have done in some of the circumstances Clinton found herself in (Stealing credit for work not done, blaming her staff for her personal failings).
We looked at her claim about health care for children. I asked them to research. They found out that it was Senator Kennedy who fought that fight – not Ms. Clinton.
We looked at the issue with the use of a personal email server (Please note: The SERVER was the problem, not the use of a personal account. There is a world of difference!). How she was briefed by State department staff. How she responded… and blamed her staff for her failing.
None of the young women were excited about that. Some of them said that the pressure to vote for her because she was a woman was wrong. The gender should not make any difference.
So, I have a pretty good idea what young women think about Ms. Clinton…
the discriminatory statement , by the way, “Since you are not a young girl, you wouldn’t understand.” is pretty strange coming from you. What would your response be, “Well, you are not a young man, so you wouldn’t understand” Or “You are white, so you would’t understand what black people feel…” (O wait, you used that already!)
Rudy,
I know Hillary Clinton. I met her first in 1984, when Bill was governor. I have met her on several occasions since then and have had opportunities to converse with her at length. Your portrait of her is a lie. If you dig hard enough, you can indict anyone. Yes, you can say I am not to be trusted because I was part of three conservative think tanks; because I worked as Assistant Secretary of Education in the first Bush administration; because I supported NCLB. I am not perfect. I suppose you are.
Hillary is about one million times more qualified to be president than Trump. She is a fine person, and a great role model for young and old women. Sometimes I think you write here 25 times a day just to annoy me.
What Rudy is doing is repeating false equivalences as if they were fair and balanced opinions
Fact is, he is a liar & leader of USA arguably the most powerful nation in the history of mankind. Donald Trump is very compulsive. If he does not want to be associated with a particular act then he should not do it, unfortunately, he misbehaves then try’s to lie about it and/or blame others for his conduct. Therefore, he is unfit to lead our nation. Picture this, a man with great powers that is always in the public eye and watched by the international world just lying for days. Trump voters beware. America will suffer for the next four years but then maybe not. Let’s hope the GOP as a grander plan and is using him as a clownish distraction. America come January 20, 2017, get teddy for the greatest threat to America’s safety and national security. Keep your eyes on the GOP
“Let’s hope the GOP (h)as a grander plan and is using him as a clownish distraction.”
Grander plan? hahaha.
“unfortunately, he misbehaves then try’s to lie about it and/or blame others for his conduct…”
In that case, neither of the Clintons should be president. If that one of the “measurements” you use… Clinton lied about his relationships before he was elected, and continued as president. And please, don’t try to make that “innocent…” If you make this a point with trump, is should have been for Bill C.
Hillary lied about a number of things, and apart from that, blamed her staff for her personal failings. Again, if you make this a point, it does not matter which party.
I can keep my thinking consistent. I have reasons why I did not vote for either trump or Clinton. They are not measured by different rules. What you think applies to one, HAS to apply for the other. No mitigating circumstances.
A number of people hold Sessions accountable for things he supposedly said THIRTY years ago. If that really is the way you want to measure things, dr. Ravitch should be told that she has no right to take her current position. After all, THIRTY years ago she argued a different point…
Fire the Clemson coach. After all, in the interview after the game he referred to his players as “boys…” Did you see how many of the Clemson players are black? How dare he use the word, “boys…” (Which, by the way, is one of the grudges held against Sessions).
“What you think applies to one, HAS to apply for the other.”
How about “Trump is dumb”?
We are not talking about mental capabilities. We were talking about behavior and actions.
“Let’s hope the GOP as a grander plan and is using him as a clownish distraction”
Well said. I’m pretty sure they’ve considered that and will use it to their advantage. The main question is just how “grander” of a plan we’re talking about, here.
Trump confidants serving as presidential advisers could face tangle of potential conflicts…Washington Post
http://wapo.st/2j6yeAN?tid=ss_mail
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will have the ear of President-elect Donald Trump as an adviser focused on cutting government regulations. But Icahn also stands to benefit if his advice is taken: It could make the energy companies and others in which he has a stake more profitable….
Trump’s presidency also stands to be particularly good for Icahn. He has long railed against regulation from Washington, most recently in the energy sector. Now he is being tasked by Trump to help him slash government regulations in the newly created role of special adviser for regulatory reform.
Trump’s transition team emphasized that the title comes with no official duties and no salary — and is therefore not subject to federal disclosure requirements or conflict of interest laws.
………
I can see the $$$ signs in every member of Trump’s family, every friend, every appointee and every shadow-cabinet member. Greed drives everyone of them. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” only works if you are extremely wealthy.
“take your broken heart, make it into art.”
Sounds eternal—and hence viral.
He also lied about it when he was called on it. He’s 70 years old and he lies easily and repeatedly- the man lies publicly almost daily- that isn’t going to change.
You can’t believe a word the President says. There’s a coin flip chance it’s a lie. The rudeness and casual cruelty are one thing- maybe people admire that, I don’t know- but how can they support someone who lies so much? How can anyone trust him, on anything?
It’ll spread throughout that administration, too. If the boss doesn’t tell the truth everyone under him has to lie too or they’ll be contradicting him constantly. They’re already doing it. They better get used to it- they’ll be doing it a lot.
Chiara,
Right. The fish rots from the head.
Trump’s advisors such as Roger Stone & Steve Bannon are serial liars. Stone was birthed out of the Nixon administration (nuff said?) Bannon was deemed the most dangerous operative in America by Bloomberg News in this 2015 article
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2015-steve-bannon/
I would say as of Jan 20 he’ll be the most dangerous operative in the world.
Bannon counters lies with more lies & creates just enough confusion to turns facts into doubt. We live in dangerous times that will take strength of mind & heart to resist.
Of Course the morning take on cable news is, she energized his base.
Wrong he and his base have to be called out for what they are.
Time to take the gloves off with friends and relatives as well. Lets be honest how many voted for him on principle and what principle would that be.
The funny part many of his supporters are going to get screwed.
So now we are supposed to remain silent because of his base? Not me. What did he tweet this morning? The whole world is watching.
Wow…just wow…Meryl…with so much suppirt for the disabled…NOT ONE mention of the poor disabled boy that actually WAS just kidnapped and tortured and made to drink toilet water for 2 days by 4 African American truly hate-filled racists and anti-white criminals!?! Where is the outrage from Hollywood, activists, MSM, liberals for that young man? We all know the answer, right! The ignorance, arrogance and bias just never ends. I did not watch the one-track minded globes spouting disunity and false narratives, but I can assure you…they are more than disconnected from the real lives of mainstream Americans as they bask in their abundant, extravagant and luxurious lifestyles in their gated and walled mansions, well secured with armed body guards as their children attend safe private schools high up in the Hollywood Hills! With a special needs son of my own…I am truly offended of the LACK of empathy from Meryl and them all for ignoring the abhorant and reprehensible acts of violence and hate committed against the innocent disabled boy this week by truly hateful racists! It was on video documentated and posted for all the attendees to witness, so no debate on the criminals’ intentions on this one! Only praying these 4 thugs get what they dished out! A very long miserable stay behind bars away from society and pray that young man, and his family, are able to recover mentally, physically and emotionally from these savages’ heinous actions! So much for Hollywood!? Very disappointing! Stick to entertaining! No more Fake News! God Bless America!
Those four teenagers did something heinous and despicable but (1) they do not represent the United States and (2) they have been charged with hate crimes and justice will be served unlike the countless times when blacks are the victims.
And by the way, the president-elect went to private elite schools as did his children.
“… they have been charged with hate crimes and justice will be served unlike the countless times when blacks are the victims…”
“Countless” – Really? Numbers? Examples of the “countless?” I KNOW that SOMETIMES justice is not served.
On the other hand, what about the riots in Ferguson, which were based on wrong assumptions? Or any other time such riots take place? Why is nobody speaking for the innocent business owners and townspeople whose properties get damaged? And those costs run into the billions a year!
Just wondering…
Rudy,
You have a heart of stone.
Riight. I worry about innocent people who’s businesses and homes and cars are ruined because some decide to take the law into their own hands.
I believe in FACTUAL news, not sensationalism.
I believe that accountability is for ALL people, which include black, yellow, red and whatever other color, religion or sexual identity.
I am tired of making exceptions for people, whether they be the president or the trash collector. There is a constant stream of excused for some groups. “Well, yes, black on black violence is bad, but…” ANY violence is bad. FACTUALLY, more black deaths are caused by black on black violence (Check Chicago, for example). But we do not get into the same uproar for those deaths.
When white people kill white people, it is evil. No more, no less than any other kind of violence.
Selective choice of what violence to condemn creates the perception that other violence is not as bad and can be excused for perceived historical reasons etc.
Rudy Schellekens
This is why Blacks riot Rudy . Crime has been dropping in NYC for well over 2 decades. Shootings and Murders are down every year since they stopped violating the rights of a million men and boys in NYC s urban “GHETTOS”. You say Ferguson I saw that differently . I say Staten Island and hundreds of other incidents where people of color are not treated as White people would be. Right down to drug addiction now that it has reached white rural and suburban America suddenly becoming a mental health issue .
You want to know why Black people riot watch the video all the way to the end . Notice how the officer treated the young white college girl at the start.
By some miracle, Rudy should turn black for a week, then return to tell us how it affected his view of the world.
I think I can handle that.
But that barb does not deal with the topic at hand, does it? A lot of violence is “excused” through the, “Well, but historically…” glasses.
STOP! For once, call people for accountability where needed.Your continual ignoring of what causes trouble (I.E. Personal responsibility) is killing this society.
It’s always the other person’s fault. Baloney! When you treat me like you do, I have two options: I can ignore it, or I can become like you – derisive, denigrating and verbally abusive.
I choose not to. I cannot blame YOU for my behavior. Only ONE person is responsible for my behavior, no matter what the historical excuses might be – ME. Finding excuses for my behavior is kindergarten behavior. “He hit me first…”
When four people decided to kidnap and torture a fifth, it does not matter what color they are. Hiding behind the color of my skin is ridiculous – no matter what the color is.
I grew up with kids from India, Suriname, Africa, South Africa, South America, the U.S. – and no one thought anything about the other kid’s color.
Are you serious? What about this kid and what HE did to a black disabled student? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/20/idaho-football-coat-hanger-rape-teammate-john-rk-howard
A miscarriage of justice. “But during Friday’s hearing, the prosecutor, deputy attorney general Casey Hemmer, played down both the racial and sexual aspects of the crime, according to the Twin Falls Times-News.
Hemmer told the judge that the crime was not a sex crime and that Howard should not be treated as a sex offender, the paper reported. He also stated that his office did not believe that the crime was racially motivated.”
Same as with the white Stanford student who raped a white girl. The prosecuter is not doing his job right – or we do not know all the facts.
Had argument with local county attorney after a child rapist got off with a slap in the wrist. There were facts the public did not know about that caused the seemingly strange verdict.
But the color should not matter. The crime should not change because of color. Now you have to use the hate crime argument in a way it was not intended.
I did not notice that the four assailants were ruining for the highest office in the land .
But you may be on to something, you are comparing the actions of a man running for the highest office in the land to the actions of four depraved sadistic felons . I think you may be right .
Donald Trump is a depraved accused felon . Accused in federal court of child rape. Does not pay taxes, has been sued for defrauding people numerous times. Has cheated on everyone of the women he married
including his current trophy wife. Has assaulted numerous women .
Is a demagogue and a narcissist. Is a serial liar who would make Orwell’s head spin. On second thought maybe Orwell saw this coming.
But you are right in your conclusion
God Bless America . Because we may need an act of god to save our nation.
Thank you, Joel.
Open minded,
Your rant against Meryl Streep is unwarranted , unfair, and obscene. She is a very talented actress getting an award for her many years as a talented actress. She didn’t say anything to offend you. Attacking her for what she didn’t say suggests that you are not at all open minded.
not condoning the actions of those 4, but it looks like they were also in special needs programs. they have been arrested & will have to answer for their crimes in a court of law… the difference between the behavior of an old man who is powerful & should represent this country at its best vs. the behavior of challenged younger individuals doesn’t even compare… & if you can’t see the difference, then i am truly offended at your lack of empathy as well…
So “Openminded” is intended to be ironic.
Openminded: she could have talked about many acts that have upended the lives of others. She chose one that, if Trump is serious, could effect the lives of millions. Would you be ok with her not “sticking to entertaining” if she’d added your incident of choice?
Just what “fake news” are you talking about? I’m as burnt out on it as you are, but what she’s pointing to is actually documented for all to see on his taped speech(es).
Gitapik, some people are so “open minded” that their brains fall out.
Lol. It’s hard to find an open mind.
I’m catching a similar attitude towards Meryl as I saw with Hillary, both in some of the posts here and in conversations at my job: Upper class, white, privileged, and out of touch with the realities of life in the “real world”.
Only now we add the, “just an actor” flavor to the mix. “Hey! I just want you to entertain me! I wanna have fun! Don’t expect me to listen to what you actually think!”
Ahhh…but, the Donald! Now there’s a man of the people. He knows what it’s like to struggle and you can bet that he’s plenty smart enough to know what’s right and wrong with the world. He told me so and…well…he’s a businessman!
I remember when Brando got flogged for boycotting the Oscar. He knew he’d win best actor for “The Godfather” and decided to make a point about Hollywood’s treatment and representation of Native Americans and minorities in the USA, in general.
Great quote:
“I felt there was an opportunity. Since the American Indian hasn’t been able to have his voice heard anywhere in the history of the United States, I thought it was a marvelous opportunity to voice his opinion to 85 million people. I felt that he had a right to, in view of what Hollywood has done to him.”
That action helped to make some changes in Hollywood. It definitely raised an awareness. Kudos to Marlon and to Meryl for having the courage and seizing the moment.
“NOT ONE mention of the poor disabled boy that actually WAS just kidnapped and tortured and made to drink toilet water for 2 days by 4 African American truly hate-filled racists and anti-white criminals!?! ”
What does this have to do with Streep’s speech? Whenever you talk about, say, disabled people, do you need to first consider all the horrible things that happened in this country, rank the events, and then describe them all, starting with the most shocking one? What’s the morale you are trying to teach us here?
Point well taken and wonderfully made!
Hollywood is vilified? You mean the Hollywood that packs movie theaters every weekend of the year, raking in hundreds of millions per film? You mean the Hollywood whose cast members live in gated mansions and drive cars that cost more than my house (and probably my neighbor’s combined)? The same Hollywood that pumps out blockbuster films about minorities which are written, directed, produced and acted by white people? Excuse me while I dry my tears – I’m going to short-circuit my keyboard.
The press is vilified? You mean the same press that breathlessly brings us every latest “outrage” of The Donald (thereby giving him free press), while utterly ignoring the poverty in our own country and the destruction we are wreaking on other countries? Golly gee, I’m going to dehydrate from weeping so much!
“We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call him on the carpet for every outrage.” [Emphasis added]
So, wait, The Donald is the sole representative of “power”? He’s the only one who needs to be held to account? Ay ay ay!
“Which side are you on Dienne” “Which side are you on ”
As the clock gets reset to the early 1920’s Your crying about the centers of power in the country will seem trivial.
It is a time in history that you should study . As well as the 1930’s
Among the highlights Union membership dropped from 19% to 3% . You want to talk truth to power ?
The man taking the highest office in the land is far more despicable than any who have come before him . If you want to look for parallels you might want to look at 1930s Europe .
He is a classical fascist.
So again Deinne ,there is no moral equivalence here .
“which side are you on”
“So, wait, The Donald is the sole representative of “power”? He’s the only one who needs to be held to account? Ay ay ay!”
That’s a simplification of the issue. He will be the President of the United States and many of the issues that he ran on during the campaign were based on slander, distortions of the truth, and outright lies. He will hold the single most powerful governmental office in the world.
How can someone address every facet of wrong in the world during a short speech? She keyed in on Trump’s mockery of a person’s disability and racist remarks/policies. She expressed concern that this kind of behavior, displayed by such a powerful figure, will spread now that it’s deemed to be “ok”.
You don’t have to worry. Obama signed an unconstitutional propaganda law conveniently on Dec. 23 (can’t let the sheeple know) intended to limit Americans exposure to what the U.S. government deems “propaganda” news from foreign governments. Their target is Russia Today. The government disseminates more propaganda through CNN, the WaPo, NYT. The Russian hysteria is ridiculous and dangerous. We no longer have a free and open society.
RaisetheBar,
If Obama signed an “unconstitutional law” on Dec 23, then it must have been passed by Congress unnoticed. If it is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court will overturn it. If it was an executive other, rest assured, Trump will reverse it. Trump reads Russia Today every day.
The National Defense act .
Essentially the military budget . Yes passed by the congress Senate vote 85 – 13 -2
Of course those that voted against it , including Harry Reed ,Warren ,Sanders … Objected to what lower the bar is talking about.
So yes the president was going to do what veto the defense budget.
If the objection is to unconstitutional legislative provisions .
YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET.
AS FOR THE COURT . OH BOY !!!!!!!
“Trump reads Russia Today every day.” Only after it’s been condensed into 140 characters vetted by Pence and his children. Short!
Screaming and lamentation, I can definitely relate to those reactions to our latest national tragedy. As if Trump isn’t bad enough, we have his horrible appointees and a far right wingnut controlled Congress and a soon to be far right wingnut controlled SCOTUS. The screaming and lamentation has just begun to begin.
Dear Ms. Streep:
I thank you deeply for your impassioned speech last night. It was needed and beautifully presented.
I appreciate that you mentioned that you graduated from public schools.
I would ask one thing, however. I know you mentioned that Hollywood and the media are the most vilified professions right now. Perhaps you are right. However, there is ANOTHER profession just as vilified–public education teaching. We teachers are being blamed for the problems of the world. We are told we are so bad that we are a “national security risk.” We are told that the economic collapse of 2008 was our fault. We are told that the death of Eric Garner in New York can be laid at our feet. We have been told that we are sub-par since 1983’s “A Nation at Risk.” I could go on.
Yet, we go into classrooms every day that are filthy and falling apart. We teach overcrowded classes that have students with a wide variety of needs that we strive to fulfill. We love every kid and we work countless hours to reach every kid. We provide supplies, food, clothing, for kids. We aren’t perfect, but the vast majority of us try every day.
Unlike Hollywood and the media, we never have the kind of platform to speak out that you so beautifully displayed last night. The only time teachers are in the news is when some teacher does some awful thing, which then makes all teachers guilty by association. Once in a great while, one of us may get in the news for something really heroic, but that is infrequent and usually brushed under the carpet as soon as possible.
Could you, and others with the platform that you have, PLEASE speak out for teachers? We speak out, but our platform is tiny, and we are told that we are “selfish,” and, “not in it for the kids” when we try to speak out. This week, the Department of Education will be filled by a woman who destroys us and our profession at every turn, whose supporters denigrate our professionalism and destroy our lives’ work.
PLEASE, speak for us, too.
Thank you.
A tired teacher from the west.
Excellent.
Nicely said.
Thank you.
Fragile minded Trump cannot take criticism. What will happen when the public turns more against him or some foreign leader disputes his actions? What will allow his cabinet and shadow government people to speak freely since keeping their positions depends upon his whim? They’ll learn early never to oppose his thinking.
Here is Trump’s response on Twitter to Meryl Streep’s comments:
Later Monday morning, Mr. Trump, in a series of tweets, called Ms. Streep “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood,” and “a Hillary flunky who lost big.” He also reiterated his argument that he had not mocked the reporter “but simply showed him ‘groveling.’ ”
WOW, some of the comments are scary. Do some really think minority pres.-elect t—-, the angry and petulant two-year-old, considers anything or anyone else except his pocketbook and himself? OY! I have other names for THAT person with the small hands, but will resist the tempatation to write them down.
I cannot believe that there are people who think that awful person soon to take office will make this country great. DUH. He will make his pocketbook and those of his select friends even bigger while the rest of us are his playbook like in the Hunger Games.
comments here are scary, and the hashtag #MerylStreep has even more terrifying comments, one that said she was on his death list (i reported that one)…. is there no ability to understand the depth, on a metaphorical level, of what she said? silly me, i keep thinking those of us still standing with compassion and innate knowledge of right and wrong are in the majority…
One of my co-workers is white, living on a middle class income. We spoke at length before the election and she ended up voting for Hillary. Not because she liked her but because she has seen Trump in action (a close friend who he stiffed for hundreds of thousands of dollars).
But she told me this morning that she shut the TV off when she realized Meryl’s speech was about politics.
Her take was that Meryl is a very rich, “pampered” actor who has no business putting out her views of the political world in a public forum when people are tuning in for an enjoyable night of viewing.
My co-worker and I always speak honestly, so I mentioned that we’re going to need more high profile people to speak up as often as possible in the next four years. Regardless of her profession and social class, Meryl spoke truth to power.
Ms. Streep was very selective in her speech. In an industry that is troubled by the exact same kind of people she is condemning trump for, it would have been better for her to “clean house” within her own industry.
To fight for equal rights within her own industry…
To look at the number of cheating partners. how many sleep with whom etc.
Equal rights
As said before, more people take their role models from Ms. Streep’s industry than from a president.
Rudy,
That comment is one of your most egregious examples of false equivalence.
She spoke of the man who will be “president” mocking a disabled reporter and you tell her to clean up the movie industry before she dare criticize our liar-in-chief?
You have an odd sense of values
I got teary eyed when I saw this video. It was sent to me by a friend who lives outside Toronto, Canada. This man puts trust in the American people. How absolutely beautiful that people responded back to him.
I Trust You | KarmaTube
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=7385
Karim Sulayman is an Arab-American tenor from Chicago. Ten days after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Sulayman teamed up with filmmaker Meredith Kaufman Younger to perform a trust experiment. Watch this silent video (set to Sulayman singing Sinead O’Connor’s “In this Heart”) as Sulayman stands blindfolded outside Trump International Hotel in Central Park West in New York City and asks strangers to trust him.
Brought tears to my eyes too. But as Karim wrote, “I am very scared” too. There is this very unhealthy churning just below the surface.
This was just announced:
NYT headlline: Unsubstantiated Report Has Compromising Information on Trump, Intelligence Chiefs Say
The chiefs of America’s intelligence agencies last week presented President Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump with a summary of unsubstantiated reports that Russia had collected compromising and salacious personal information about Mr. Trump, two officials with knowledge of the briefing said.
The summary is based on memos generated by political operatives seeking to derail Mr. Trump’s candidacy. Details of the reports began circulating in the fall and were widely known among journalists and politicians in Washington.…