Oui Shall Overcome
Inspiration from the Paris Metro
***Please take out a membership to support the light of truth.***
There are not enough hours in the day to investigate and report on the hot Russian trash trying to destroy democracies globally.
My aim with Bette Dangerous, my RADICALIZED Truth Survives podcast with co-hosts Jim Stewartson and High Fidelity, and the independent projects I support to benefit Ukraine, is to help bring clarity to The Great Propaganda Wars so we can each fight more efficiently and with greater impact.
With each expert interview we grow more powerful.
And yet, I always try to pause and acknowledge the beauty.
In Paris on Saturday, an international community came together to raise their voices against fascism in America. Try to watch this highlight clip without getting misty, I dare you:
You see, it’s not just the US that’s in peril — this is a global fight for human rights and human dignity.
Russia can’t build tanks but it can f**k people on the internet. And its spends billions annually doing just that — paying domestic traitors to get you to relinquish your democratic freedoms. It has no choice.
If the Russian people ever snap out of their game show haze, they’ll discover their democratic neighbor is actually fighting on behalf of global decency.
Get A Grip
When I’m in Paris, I ride the Metro, usually standing to save seats for others. That requires me to grip the vertical handrail in the center of each car.
Through watery eyes, I look at the hands — young and old, black, brown, and white, all holding on for safety, making room for more hands as people enter the train.
On a busy day, hands touch each other.
I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen — so beautiful I’m teaching myself to paint so one day I can capture what I see in my mind’s eye.
If I were President Macron, I would commission France’s greatest artists to create a series of these images — and spread that goodwill throughout the land as a reminder that a diverse nation is a strong nation. I learn French from people from Ghana and Senegal and Algeria — all Parisians. My favorite late-night eatery serves Tunisian street food.
Diversity was America’s super power, and we didn’t fight hard enough for it. Diversity made us great.
We let creeps and stooges decry the ‘other’ — we allowed that, we didn’t push back hard enough when we knew it was fascist rhetoric.
It’s not the immigrants or trans people who are a problem, it never was — it’s the fascist billionaires and Russian-linked traitors who are our problem. Full stop.
We need to be protecting our immigrants and trans communities, enveloping them with love and support, and making empathy great again.
My NAFO friend reminds me: “America was already great — you had the best cars, the best films, the best food. You had some dodgy wars, but who doesn’t? You didn’t need to be made great, again. You already were great. We loved you.”
A friend of mine in Ukraine on the frontline says the Ukrainian people will defeat Russia and Americans will flock to Ukraine to live in a democracy.
Today in Ukraine, a gay couple savors a huge court victory — their union was recognized as legal despite US-funded right-wing attacks.
They are a democracy on the rise — a beacon of light in a world facing darkness.
I do not sell hope on these pages — hope is a nice thing, but it’s action that saves democracies.
What my friends on the frontline in Ukraine are doing is taking action. What we do as a community when we support Ukraine is an action. When we show up and protest, when we inform others how propaganda works, when we have small conversations meeting people where they are at, that’s all action.
When we support community members under assault, that’s action.
When we make room on the rail for another hand on the train, that’s action.
Love is action.
****
****
Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members.
I expose the corruption of billionaire fascists, while relying on memberships for support.
Thank you in advance for considering the following:
Share my reporting with allies
Buying my ebooks
A private link to an annual membership discount for older adults, those on fixed incomes or drawing disability, as well as activists and members of the media is available upon request at bettedangerous/gmail. 🥹
More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
🤍
Begin each day with a grateful heart.
🤍
Merci! 💙🤍❤️👍🔥🌻🔥🇺🇦🔥🌻🔥🇬🇧💝💝