There is an idea, rooted squarely in toxic masculinity, that empathy is weak. This is a misunderstanding of what empathy is.

Empathy is actually really something only very strong ppl can manage. And it is supposed to come with boundaries, good ones, to maintain consequences.

Anyone with empathy knows that empathy does not preclude real life consequences for bad behavior. It is not letting go of those consequences "to be nice." Empathy, in fact, is often not "nice" but unyielding in very particular ways.

It's just that women are trained more often to deal with these particular feelings, including meting out consequences for children, and so, they are more likely to understand what empathy really means.

Being empathetic is not sitting around weeping at sad movies or petting kittens and wearing soft sweaters. You can do all those things and still be uncaring abt what happens to other ppl or what happens in your community.

Being empathetic means knowing/feeling that pain of other ppl but part of it, correctly applied, is still holding ppl accountable for their actions. For example, my child was reading a book during class. Her punishment was loss of privacy, a loss of screentime for several days.

She also had to clean the bathroom. I did not scream at her. I understood her sadness at not talking to friends. But I did not yield on the consequences because I know, because of empathy, that she needed those boundaries. They made her feel secure even as she hated consequences.

The whole "Dems are weak" thing is rooted in toxic masculinity, wherein Dems are associated with empathy, seen as "weak" and "feminine." Republicans, who bask in toxic masculinity, do violent and cruel things and they are seen as "stronger" but IN REALITY, being cruel is weak.

Being violent shows weakness. Lying shows weakness. Attacking people by attacking their character shows weakness. (And I have succumbed to this weakness many times.) Sidestepping rule of law is weakening society and a weakening of a country. They have created a weak country.

We were seen as strong during the Obama years. We are now seen as weak uneducated lying embarrassing fools no one respects.

I REFUSE TO BECOME A REPUBLICAN TO DEFEAT THEM. Because then they win. I refuse to give up the fight I have every day to be a decent human.

My child is studying WWII right now in her history class. We looked at the woman in this series of photographs from the blitz, drinking tea. This is who we want to be right now. This is what I'm talking abt. This is who we have to be. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4587772/Blitz-revealed-defiant-cheery-photos.html