Republicans of MN! (I know you're on here) What do you think about Gilead?

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

For those not familiar, Gilead is the futuristic society depicted in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

The main thing that characterises Gilead is that it's really big on Law and Order. Crime rates are very low, and a lot of offences are punished by the death penalty, including abortion (that's the other thing - they're very, very pro-life).

As a society they're all about Christian values, leaning more towards the Old Testament. Education is structured around the bible, and it underpins their whole way of life.

Another thing about Gilead is that it championed a return to traditional gender roles, with women as homemakers and primary childcarers. Definitely no feminism! The man is the head of the household, and his word is law. A number of the women in Gilead were in favour of this change and played a strong part in bringing any naysayers up to speed, arguing that the pressure on modern women to 'have it all' (career, children, the vote etc) was actually quite damaging.

What else. Well, hard borders, probably the hardest of any country in the world. Little or no immigration, certainly. Really strong economy - the best!

As with any society, there are downsides to Gilead, although they only really affect those who don't play ball, or don't make any effort to fit in. Basically, if you adhere to Christian values, and are loyal to Gilead's leaders, you'll be fine.

So, what are your thoughts on all this? I ask because, what with all the Trump threads, I'm learning a lot about how his supporters think and I'm genuinely interested to know how deeply you hold these beliefs and values.

YABU = I'm a proud Republican and I'd certainly give it a go!
YANBU = Call me a snowflake, but something about this sounds iffy.

(The rest of you fuckers BEHAVE, OK? Don't scare them off. I'm genuinely trying to learn a bit more about what's going on over there.)

Under his eye...

👀

Balls. Forgot it's the middle of the night over there, I'll have to bump it this evening.

Don’t forget young girls aren’t taught to read! And are raised to be subservient to men and sex is for childbearing alone. Oh and you passively allow other women to be raped so you can steal their babies!

Ignore @OrangeSlices998, that's Fake News. Aunts in Gilead are absolutely allowed to read, and it's not rape when the purpose is procreation.

Of course sex is for childbearing alone, what else would it be for?

Its not a violation of their human rights, it is redemption through service. What could be more loving and kind than allowing someone to become redeemed? The devil makes work for idle hands and uteruses. Uteri? Uterus'?

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

Ignore *@OrangeSlices998*, that's Fake News. Aunts in Gilead are absolutely allowed to read, and it's not rape when the purpose is procreation.

Of course sex is for childbearing alone, what else would it be for?

Are you being sarcastic? If you’ve read/watched the handmaids take and you don’t think what happens to them handmaids is rape you need to reread it.

@Missandra would you mind re-reading the OP a bit more carefully?

@Gancanny gets it 👍

As a female, I don’t think there’s any aspect of Gilead that is positive. If I were a man, I reckon there’s a few aspects I could get on board with, even if I didn’t admit it.

Are you being sarcastic?

No. No sarcasm here AT ALL....

@Gancanny do we know if women in Gilead are taught to read subtext?

@Missandra to clarify further - the laws in Gilead are different, and I'm talking about the law from their point of view. In case that helps...

Pence would be 100% in favour of Gilead!

Red suits me but I don’t want to wear a bonnet or have my mouth wired shut.

Us wimmin need saving from ourselves really - thank God for good Christian men prepared to step up to the challenge

Colour coded clothing would help ensure there's a place for everybody and everybody knows their place.

@Tellmetruth4

Pence would be 100% in favour of Gilead!

That's what inspired the thread! It struck me that Pence has the hollow eyes and pallor of someone who's been watching Handmaid's Tale on a loop and wanking himself dry ever since it came out. Trump OTOH strikes me as more a Panem kind of guy.

@Tellmetruth4 see, you're thinking the Old way. When faced with too much choice, women just become strident and demanding.

@ghostyslovesheets and @Zilla1 spot on.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan apologies, I misread the tone of you OP.

I could never live happily in a society where children are taken forcibly from their mothers.
That. Is. Sickening.

@Missandra

Are you being sarcastic? If you’ve read/watched the handmaids take and you don’t think what happens to them handmaids is rape you need to reread it.

You know, if you go into settings, you can check a box so that lighthearted or ironic posts will be highlighted for you?

@Missandra no worries, my follow up post was worded ambiguously, to be fair.

I've many Republican family members, and grew up in an Evangelical part of the Southeast Midwest. I do not adhere to any political platform, neither the centre-right Democrats or the farther right Republicans, but I'll take a swing in the humourless overly literal American way as I'll never beat a Brit for sarcasm.

While I'm sure they exist, I've not met anyone even the uncle who think Trump is the most putupon President ever who views The Handmaid's Tale as a guide to where they want the US to be.

I have a cousin who raises funds and has volunteered for a pro-life Evangelical organization that supports low-income mothers as a way to reduce abortions. I strongly disagree with the reasoning, but her methods aren't really an issue for me. I've no idea how she votes. I'd hope that she has enough religious ideology in her life that adhering to a political one would be a waste of her time.

Even with several family members in the pulpit, election politics has never been a topic of conversation beyond the odd uncle who rants of Facebook that has become a staple of American living across political parties - from the Trump supporters to those who think voting at all is validating a corrupt system to those who think 'turning in the social security cards' can get them out of paying taxes (no, I don't get how they were convinced of this, but I do have kin who went to jail for it).

There are also atheist Republicans and Republicans of a wide variety of religious backgrounds. There are Republicans who have stood with BLM protesters, including former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. There are devout Evangelicals who are anti-abortion who are and always vote Democrats.

With over 30 million people in each party (closer to 45mil for Democrats), before getting into the people not registered but always vote one way, there is a wide variety of opinions on what each 'should' mean and much like the UK, few dig into the details of the party platform and how things go for the local and state candidates often affects votes far more than any policy their respective committees come up with. The various states that have tries 'heartbeat' laws, yeah, there are some that want that, but in general those are mainly marketing manuvers for looking good to certain voting blocks, which is possible worse ethically, than what members as a whole - or states that go that colour in an election year - really think.