No matter whether someone has an opinion about subscription increases with Netflix or the impacts of Trump butchering regulations to control drug prices, bullying is not right. There are adult ways to handle any discussion, and I use my pen to discuss this.
THE OTHER DAY
The other day, I saw a bullying attack by two people who go by the handle “@openyourojos.” When I Googled that, I was directed to Mr. Musk’s X. I have previously cancelled my account with X and will not even visit the site to get closer to @openyourojos. Some of us have principles we hold dearly to.
What caught my attention was their comment to Ben at Meidas Touch, “You are an Idiot.” They disagreed with Ben’s comment and decided it was just fine to bully the Messenger. When that happens, I believe the bully has no valid comeback, so they attack the messenger.
WHAT IF I WAS A BULLY?
That is an interesting question. My friends do not consider me one, and I have effectively removed the word “you” from any of my conversations. Politicians find it difficult to walk back what they say, and I would too if I did not hold to not bullying.
If I did not have a strain of empathy, I might suggest that the two people who are @openyourojos could be described in derogatory terms. They say a picture is as good as a thousand words, which leaves them wide open to anyone suggesting their moral character.
OH, I REMEMBER
@openyourojos called Ben an idiot because he suggested that Trump caused Netflix to raise prices. Ben does not have any proof that Trump was the reason, nor do the women of @olpenyourojos have evidence that Trump was not the reason.
I could spend much time writing about what I believe both did wrong, but that is not the point. The point is the bullying and how @openyourojos found it entirely appropriate to bully by attacking the messenger they disagreed with.
This is not the best way to have an adult conversation, so I would ask @openyourojos to consider the following facts.
TRUMP’S FIRST DAY
One of the nearly 200 executive orders President Donald Trump signed on Tuesday reversed several critical policies that President Biden had implemented. Among those was eliminating the lowering of drug costs for Americans. With the stroke of his pen, Trump removed a $2 price cap on certain generic drugs, eliminated a provision that would improve access to high-cost therapies for Medicaid recipients, and ended an effort to expedite the evidence-gathering process for new drugs.
To put it simply, President Trump just opened the door for drug prices to skyrocket by not continuing Biden’s plans focused on reducing drug costs,
With Trump’s stroke of the pen, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries will face high expenses for prescription drugs and limited access to important—sometimes life-saving — prescriptions.
THE TYPICAL COMEBACK - WEAPONIZATION
I will not even begin to discuss the question of whether anyone would invite a liar, a felon, and a rapist to have coffee in their kitchen? I think not, but then the usual deflection is that the DOJ and the political process were weaponized against Trump. If that were the case, there would have been tremendous collusion. Think of this:
Grand Juries
Grand jurors are randomly selected from lists of registered voters or other eligible individuals.
They are not screened for bias but for felony status, language proficiency, and other eligibility factors.
Grand Juries contain between twelve and twenty-three people.
Judges
Judges are selected randomly.
Judges know that any errors, bias, or other actions the accused faces can be appealed.
The court is only the second step in the legal process offered to everyone in the USA.
Selecting the Jury
The selection of a jury is a random process.
The lawyers for the accused and the prosecution can question the jurors and remove those they dislike.
This process leads to the lawyers' agreement on who will be the jurors.
The “Day” in Court
Both sides get to present witnesses and evidence. The judge is the arbiter, and any decision the judge makes can be appealed to a higher court right up to the Supreme Court.
The lawyers from each side can object as they see fit.
The Jury
The Jury listens to all the evidence, and up to twelve of them must come to a unanimous decision for an accused to be convicted.
AFTER THE DECISION
A defendant can appeal any decision to a higher court, typically through two higher levels and the Supreme Court, the last stop.
The process gives the defendant up to five steps with hundreds of people involved to prove their innocence.
HOW IS THIS PROCESS COMPROMISED?
I cannot even fathom how this process could be weaponized. To weaponize it, hundreds of people would have to be involved, and the lawyers for the accused would have to be excluded or part of it. If that were the case, does anyone not think the public would find out? Ultimately, the argument becomes moot as the defendant can take the case through the appeal steps everyone is afforded.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR TRUMP’S ACTIONS?
This is payback. Millions of dollars have flowed from the pharmaceutical industry to support Trump, and Trump has fostered a culture in which special interests and big donors can advance their interests at the expense of all of the people in the lower and middle classes. This is not hyperbole; it is fact.
THE IMPACT
@openyourojos cannot attack me as an idiot because the facts are the facts. And so much for President Trump’s reigning in inflation by opening the doors for drug companies to significantly raise their prices. For millions of Americans, the price of their medicines became more expensive.
But for Trump, it will mean more money in his pocket while people struggle to get the medicine they require to treat their disease or possibly save their lives. But sadly, that is what America voted for.
@openyourojos, I hope I have opened your eyes, maybe even a little bit.
Best wishes...
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