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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Jessica Valenti

The week in patriarchy: don't buy Trump lies that he has a heart for Syria

If I only had a heart.
If I only had a heart. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/EPA

This week, do me a favor. In the wake of our president ordering a missile strike on Syria – let’s not say he did it because of his “heart”. I mean, really. This is a man who said last year about Syrian children, “I can look in their faces and say ‘You can’t come.’ I’ll look them in the face.” So spare us all the disgusting narrative that Trump is a changed man because of the suffering of children. Unless we’re willing – as we should be – to open our borders to Syrian refugees, heart has nothing to do with America’s actions.

Glass half full

It’s hard to find much to be grateful for this week, honestly. It’s one of those times when even trying to look on the bright side feels a bit selfish in the face of so much suffering. Still, if we want to wake up another day to fight for the right thing – we need a shred of optimism. For me, right now, it’s these young people in Kansas whose student journalism led to the resignation of their school principal.

What I’m RTing

Who I’m reading

Rebecca Traister on Trump’s defense of Bill O’Reilly; Steven Thrasher on how to move LGBT rights forward; and this fascinating goodbye to a controversial but American institution – Ringling Bros Circus.

What I’m writing

Conservatives are still reeling from the Mike Pence dinner rule fallout, some have even doubled down – saying men and women can’t be friends at all. The real reason they can’t see women as friends? They don’t see us as people.

How outraged I am

On a scale of one to 10, the now-defunct Pepsi ad had me at about an eight. Not a full 10 because the offensiveness was nearly comical.

How I’m making it through this week

KITTENS. A quick trip to a “cat cafe” in Brooklyn did the trick.

Sign up for The week in patriarchy, Jessica Valenti’s weekly email newsletter, which tracks what’s happening in the world of feminism and sexism, from politics to pop culture.

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