Rise of Moms for Liberty in the USA

[TheABC]

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in politics, but this group assembled in just 30 months and they look set to influence the GOP primaries. It's very much a product of the USA (anti-woke and anti-masking, etc), but it also shows what happens when a bunch of motivated, pissed-off women started organizing properly.

https://www.thefp.com/p/whos-afraid-of-moms-for-liberty?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Whilst I don't agree with many of their aims, what I find interesting were the same tactics and insults being used to shut them down, as we see over here - GCs get reported for hate crimes, they got reported for domestic terrorism.

The Moms for Liberty website is straight forward and worth checking out. This is their mission statement:

" Moms for Liberty is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. "

The website, videos feature moms speaking at school board meetings, engaging in the political process.

Feminism focuses on women. This organization focuses on parents and children.

Both have a part to play. Mama bears have awakened.

Their tactics are clearly stated on the website and are things anyone is entitled to do in a democracy.

Yes, people seem to forget that this material wasn't included in published versions of the book until quite recently. Her family had redacted out certain things which they felt were too personal and would have been disrespectful. They were private writings, not ever intended to be read by the public.

As far as I know scholars have long had access to the whole thing.

If you go to their website you can see that one of their board members is black. I don't know about the racial make-up of their rank and file, but I'd guess that that objecting to "queer theory" in schools isn't entirely confined to white people.

One of them quoted hitler and then got defended. They're appalling. There was a recent tweet addressed to "Jews and Americans". And they're making MORE people support trans issues in some areas, for all they're picking up votes elsewhere. All they're doing is polarising everything more.

also, parental rights has too much of a loaded history in America, harkening back to the parental right not to have your children go to school with Black children.

So are those who oppose this group of the opinion that everyone who asserts that parents have rights is a racist?

No, that's a strawman.

what Moms for Liberty is doing with parents rights is racist and taps into a racist history of the concept in the USA. It doesn't follow that all talk about parents' rights is racist, but when you're also complaining that teaching about Ruby Bridges shouldn't happen because it makes white children feel bad, we're in different territory.

@StephanieSuperpowers no [yawn] obviously not. But I can choose who I associate with and this bunch of extremists are basing their view of trans people on foundations I profoundly disagree with. I believe in children's rights and parental responsibilities, not 'parents rights' as this group see it. I also know that my son would be regarded as Jewish and therefore somehow lesser by this lot (even though ironically he wouldn't be Jewish enough for most other purposes). They're vile. That doesn't mean people who agree with them on one publicised statement are vile.

@DifficultBloodyWoman

But politics are tactics are entwined. Organisations which shut down debate with extremist ideology are to be wary of not applauded. One stated aim is to remove information on sexuality from school libraries, that includes all novels including a gay character. They want teachers to be forced to hide their sexuality if gay and I've even state one of their spokespeople say that don't think gay people should be teachers. Don't be fooled this is about gender neutral bathrooms. I don't think you will get anyone in the U.K. or Europe disagreeing that the USA is wrong on woke ideology in some cases etc why are they allowing surgery on under 18's??? But this group are about far more. Schools don't do surgery...

Then, if you don't believe that everyone who shares one view with these people is vile, what is the point of raising an issue that isn't relevant to the majority of posters on this site? Most people here aren't American and the assumptions underpinning anything in America aren't particularly relevant, except to bring out the old "look who you're agreeing with! Change your views or be among the worst people!".

She used the Hitler quote to warn about what transactivists were doing.

The kind of men who vehemently oppose many feminists/feminist groups probably agree with a lot of these women’s points. That probably helps them a great deal

So now we're also defending using Hitler quotes if we agree with the reason? It was inflammatory. And then someone got up on stage at the conference and said she stood with that person. It's really not very difficult to not quote Hitler.

my position is that I think the trans issue is simply another tack to blend into their right wing views. If you're asking why they're successful, it's because they've woven gender issues (which for them isn't just trans, but all LGBT, and feminism too) and racial issues into an entire world view. That's how they sold people on all of it. I don't support it because I am in the USA, I am watching when the Moms for Liberty people get elected to school boards, and i'm seeing what they are doing and the effect they are having on education.

Just adding pertinent information.

Wrong quote. Just adding pertinent information.

I mean it really depends what the quote was and how it was used doesn’t it? Context is everything. MRAs were recently ecstatic when a woman at a LWS event used the concept of “the big lie” (a term coined by hitler and used in Mein Kampf) and applied it to trans ideology. This woman was clearly not Nazi adjacent. This is a term / concept that is in common usage by people across the political spectrum.

AP has some pertinent info.

keep in mind that the chapter apologised... and then it got defended at the M4L conference.

https://apnews.com/article/moms-for-liberty-adolf-hitler-newsletter-quote-bcce698e901b9e782970030ccd710512#

I don't know anything about them or their views, but I feel compelled to point something out to those saying that their being right wing makes it harder to get through to lefties...

You can be the most die hard lefty in the entire solar system and as soon as you say the mildest GC thing e.g., 'maybe we shouldn't cut teen girls' tits off because they're struggling with puberty' or 'perhaps we shouldn't allow 15 stone, 6ft 3 men in women's sports or rapists in women's prisons' you are deemed no longer of the left. You are now of the right and you are the enemy.

I'm not sure what the answer is but if you're waiting for someone left wing enough for those lefty Americans, you're in for a long wait.

Tldr: no one is left wing enough to get the message through to "left wing" zealots

The first version of the newsletter included the quote, “He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future,” and cited Hitler. While the origin of the quote is not entirely clear, it has been attributed in numerous historical texts to a 1935 rally speech by the Nazi leader.

Isn't this just a version of Aristotle's “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.”? It's an age old concept. Authoritarian governments on the political Right AND Left are known to to use education as a way to control the thinking of the next generation. There is a legitimate debate to be had around education and how much power and control you give to the state in relation to the education (or indoctrination) of your children. Genderists are all over twitter / tiktok beside themselves with glee that they can use their access to other people's children to disseminate ideas around gender ideology.

Re: The Hitler Quote

The original pages of the newsletter, which were posted on the group's Facebook page Wednesday night, showed below The Parent Brigade's masthead a quote Hitler used at a Nazi rally in 1935: "He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future."

Late Wednesday night, after IndyStar initially published this story, the front page of the newsletter was updated to include what was described as "context" for the Hitler quote.

"The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert," the update says. "If the government has control over our children today, they control our country's future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government."
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2023/06/21/moms-for-liberty-hamilton-county-indiana-quotes-hitler-in-newsletter/70344659007/

It was a mistake to use a quote from Hitler, obviously.

But what was the context?

The context was not that MoL follow Hitler. It was the opposite.

The context was that TRAs and some left wing Liberals follow Hitler in their authoritarian methods.

So now we're also defending using Hitler quotes if we agree with the reason?

Um, yes?

Or are you going to argue we shouldn't teach about the Second World War and fascism?

"You can teach about Hitler, but never show anything the Nazis actually said or did." Great plan.

How does this tally with your faux indignation about "complaining that teaching about Ruby Bridges shouldn't happen because it makes white children feel bad"?

It's almost as if you don't have a coherent philosophy and are just throwing stuff out there.

Faux indignation? Really?

meanwhile you're focusing on the Hitler quote, and not addressing anything else M4L stands for. it's almost like you want to defend this group because you align in one small point. Here's my philosophy: there is a fundamental, unbridgeable gap between my views and M4L's. I cannot separate their views on gender from their homophobia and their racism. (And no, having a nonwhite board member is not an all purpose shield against racism, any more than women can't ever be sexist.)

M4L didn't get started because of gender ideology. The impetus was COVID. It then sucked up every right wing talking point in its wake.

Here is a good example of the type of thing that parents are concerned about. I'm am always confused by the argument that if politically right parents complain and campaign about stuff like this it causes a problem for those on the left or that those on the political right are using this type of thing as a wedge issue or to stoke a culture war. Is is not possible that these mums just don't want their children to be politically indoctrinated in schools? On race, on gender, on religion?

https://twitter.com/Urqhuart6/status/1679914168634179665

Meanwhile you're focusing on the Hitler quote, and not addressing anything else M4L stands for.

You brought up the Hitler quote to undermine what MfL stand for 😂

I have three children (two now really as oldest just graduated) in a large, liberal school district. I have never seen anything remotely like that. I want sources that this actually happened and where and when. Because anyone can post anything on Twitter.

and yes: people have been caught faking examples of things being taught at school.