NOTE: See the UPDATE below.
While Senator Katie Britt has gotten a lot of flak for her performance (and it was a performance), something else was going on. People have commented on her presentation — they way she emoted, the way she sounded, ‘the woman in the kitchen talking about her kids’ context.
Tom Sullivan at Digby’s Place picked up on some videos that make her performance even creepier when you understand where she is coming from, and what she is messaging. Sullivan found several videos that contrast the way she speaks normally with the way she spoke that night. This video from Jess Piper explains exactly what kind of dog whistle Britt was blowing — the Fundie Baby Voice:
Piper plays several video clips from other women beside Britt to show what it sounds like, and then explains what it means to people who recognize it.
“...I was born and raised an evangelical, a fundamentalist. That is called the fundie baby voice. It means you’re submissive. It means you’re a good woman. It means you’re kind and you support your husband. The better you are at the baby voice, the better woman you are.”
Sullivan has several other clips that compare and contrast how Britt speaks when she’s not playing the role of the ideal fundie woman with her act the other night. Here’s one.
We now know Britt is also a liar. Digby links to a report that has found her tearful, angry report blaming Biden’s policies for a horrendous sexual ordeal is taken completely out of context to create a false impression. The incident was real — but it didn’t happen in America. It happened years ago in Mexico — while George W. Bush was President. Britt framed it to make it sound like it happened in America on Biden’s watch. Jonathan Katz did some digging and found where it had come from.
The rest of the media is picking up on it — but will it get any traction several days after the initial coverage of her response? (sepiasiren has a discussion of what’s going on.)
It was a given that Saturday Night Live would attempt to parody Britt’s speech (Scarlett Johansson does an incredible job of mimicry). But between the cheap shots at Biden in the SOTU parody the Cold Open starts with and how much of what Johansson has to say starting at about 2 and half minutes, the reality is getting way beyond parody at this point.
To quote Dr. Emilio Lizardo, “Laugh-a while you can, monkey boy.”
Everyone is drawing parallels with “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the way women have been reduced to breeder slaves in it. The abuse of women under patriarchal religions/governments isn’t a bug — it’s a feature, as repeated sex scandals involving assorted churches and sects demonstrate on what seems a daily basis. [UPDATE: See this story at Daily Kos, from Pro Publica: Liberty University hit with record fines for not handling sexual assault complaints, other crimes]
For those of us of a certain age, Robert A. Heinlein gave a taste of a future America as a theocracy in “Revolt in 2100”. An evangelical preacher, Nehemiah Scudder, backed by money and a media empire, founded a theocratic, isolationist state that trashed the constitution and replaced it with a ruling priesthood. Heinlein sets the stage with stories leading up to the establishment of the theocracy, and the aftermath as part of his future history series of connected stories and novels.
Some have dismissed it as not being among his better work, but it nonetheless has elements in it that shouldn’t be ignored. The annual ‘miracle’ in which Scudder reappears to give the equivalent of a SOTU address to the faithful, seeming to incarnate in physical form around the current ruling Prophet, is a lot more plausible in these days of C.G.I. and A.I.
The uncomfortable truth is that there are those among us who are working to turn America into a theocracy. They are in places you might not suspect, and not all of them are out in the open. There’s “the Family” and “the Seven Mountains” movement. One of the warning signs that you are dealing with one of these groups is their belief that America is a dystopian hellhole sunk in moral decay, a country that has abandoned ‘morality’ and spiritual ‘values’. The fact that they have embraced a man with the character of Donald Trump as a leader shows you just how full of sh*t they are.
And now there’s this.
Think Britt was bad? Try this:
While we are on the subject of Fundies and their wicked ways, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has a report from Josh Kovensky: Inside A Secret Society Of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping For A ‘National Divorce’.
If you have never heard of the Society for American Civic Renewal (the acronym is pronounced “sacker” by its members), it’s because they’ve been trying to stay under the radar. Now that they are getting uncovered, they are attempting to manage the news coming out about them.
They are working to fundamentally (pun not intended — they’re serious ) reshape America to their vision. It sounds like a classic conspiracy theory — a bunch of rich white men on a mission from God? Really?
The thing is, there’s something about people who have managed to accumulate wealth, whether in business or by other means (like inheritance) that practically breeds hubris. The prosperity gospel preaches that wealth is a sign that God has especially favored you, and you are privileged to rule over others by virtue of that wealth.
Kovensky has been able to unearth some details on what SACR is about.
What is it? Among other things…
...The men TPM has identified as behind this group — and they are all men — have a few things in common. They’re all a certain kind of devout Christian traditionalist. They are white. They have means, financial and social, and are engaged in politics.
...The members identified by TPM don’t necessarily fit the profile of the disaffected, disgruntled loner or the amped-up, testosterone-fueled militia types often found on the paranoid right-wing fringe. TPM’s reporting has identified as SACR members the president of the influential, Trump-aligned Claremont Institute, Harvard Law grads, and leading businessmen in communities scattered across America.
...Group members hold a distinct vision of America as a latter-day ancient Rome: a crumbling, decadent empire that could soon be replaced by a Christian theocracy. To join, the group demands faithfulness, virtue, and “alignment,” which it describes as “deference to and acceptance of the wisdom of our American and European Christian forebears in the political realm, a traditional understanding of patriarchal leadership in the household, and acceptance of traditional Natural Law in ethics more broadly.” More practically, members must be able to contribute either influence, capability, or wealth in helping SACR further its goals.
(If Ross Douthat isn’t a secret member, it’s not because he doesn’t seem to be pushing the same kind of tripe. Decadence is one of his favorite bug bears.)
Marshall links to an earlier report by the Guardian — US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network — but TPM has been able to uncover much more about the group and who is in it since the Guardian article appeared 6 months ago. Supporting TPM is vital — especially when you see how well the msm is doing.
There is some really dangerous stuff coming together out there. The wall between church and state really needs to have razor wire on top of it these days, and possibly landmines on the approaches. If these people succeed, America as a democracy won’t have a prayer.
It’s later than we think, and not just because we moved the clocks ahead.
UPDATE: 3-10-24 3:30 ET
A comment from RatofNihm (whose username possibly references this movie), had a comment of interest:
I have multiple friends I’ve grown up with who are now mental health professionals (one is an HR counselor for a Wall St firm, one is a substance abuse counselor for ppl with $$ and the 3rd works in an actual facility with longterm patients)… They have all indicated to me before that adults who talk in a child-like tone typically faced some sort of trauma at one point or another, especially physical or sexual abuse in their childhood. You only ever hear the tone of their real voice when they are caught off guard or are under duress. I have known a handful of people over the years who talk like that and are not RW fundies, and yep every one of them went through some kind of abusive situation when they were kids. My wife’s sister and cousin, one of my cousins, an ex of mine, etc. And they’re al f-ed in the head as adults.
It reminded me of a passing reference to a podcast contest on NPR. A sample from one finalist had gotten my attention.
The comment from RatofNihm led me to speculate that being raised as a Fundie means a lot of childhood trauma. The podcast Breaking from the Bible Belt would appear to confirm that possibility. It’s only 8 minutes long, but it paints a picture of how people blindly following their faith are doing real harm.
Breaking from the Bible Belt tells the story of a college-age woman deconstructing her conservative childhood faith, Church of Christ, in Springfield, Missouri. She shares what she used to believe and the struggle to articulate what she actually believes, as she feels like her new beliefs could estrange her from her family.
We also hear from Christie Love, the former pastor at The Connecting Grounds, one of the few progressive Christian churches in Springfield. She is finishing her Doctorate of Ministry this Spring and researched religious trauma. She surveyed over five hundred Springfield residents for the research. She talks about this research in the context of someone who loves the church.
“Religious Trauma” sounds matter of fact for what is effectively institutional child abuse. (Pity it’s not covered by the Affordable Care Act or openly recognized for what it is.) It explains a lot about the Right, Evangelicals, and other conservative Christians locked in an unholy embrace on the road to turn America into a fascist theocracy.
* Lewis may not have actually said these words, but the consensus is he would not disagree.
