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In 5 fiery tweets, Maxine Waters explains how Trump's been terrible for black people.

Standing in front of a sea of mostly white supporters at an August 2016 campaign rally in Michigan, Trump argued that life in America is so horrific for black Americans, they might as well change things up and vote Republican.

“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?"

Trump speaking to supporters in Michigan in August 2016. Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images.


Let's look past the inaccuracies and oversimplifications in his statement for a moment (most black people are not living in poverty, that 58% figure is wildly off the mark, and the assumption that every predominantly black school is "no good" is, at best, incredibly offensive), and take his assessment at face value.

What would black Americans have to lose under President Trump?

Many of us knew the answer, of course: a lot. Reporters and activists jumped on Trump's condescending remarks, pointing out that black voters would, in fact, be harmed by several key points of the then-candidate's policy agenda.

Six months into Trump's term, Rep. Maxine Waters of California hasn't forgotten Trump's now-infamous question.

And she's helping us understand just how much damage has already been done.

Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images.

In a fiery five-tweet response, Waters recalled the president's remarks from last year and lambasted what's happened since.

In her first tweet, Waters pointed out that Trumpcare would have a devastating effect on black Americans (fact check: true), that the president's massive budget cuts would slash housing assistance to low-income communities of color (fact check: true), and that his more recent attacks on universities' affirmative action policies would make college less accessible for black students (fact check: true).

Then she went in on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, calling him "a threat to our democracy."

With the power of the federal government at his disposal, Sessions has dismissed reports of police brutality, is working to stomp out the growing national consensus that our criminal justice system needs reforming, and voted against expanding protections under the Violence Against Women Act — all moves that disproportionately harm black Americans.

As Waters pointed out, we should have listened to Coretta Scott King when she warned us about him in 1986.

"Trump wants to fire Sessions [because] he can't count on his protection," Waters concluded in her final tweet, referring to Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation. "[Sessions] should be fired for his racist agenda — but that's why Trump chose him."

So, what do black voters have to lose, according to Waters?

Apparently, quite a lot.

"At the end of four years, I guarantee you," Trump said during that 2016 speech in Michigan, "I will get over 95% of the African-American vote. I promise you.”

Considering Trump's approval rating among black Americans remains laughably poor, I wouldn't hold my breath through 2020.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

Let's talk about what makes people read articles.

The adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," refers to the media's tendency to headline stories involving death or violence, but it can also be used to point to people's negativity bias. Simply put, people tend to pay more attention to negative news stories than positive ones.

A new study seems to reinforce this idea. And much to our surprise, it's centered on headlines used in Upworthy stories.

Using a public archive of Upworthy headlines and traffic data from 2012 to 2015, two separate teams of researchers analyzed whether people's click tendencies changed with negative or positive words in headlines. In those olden days of Upworthy, a handful of headlines for a single story were tested on the website to see which one would receive the most clicks. The research teams analyzed those results and found that negative words in headlines led to more people clicking on a story (2.3% more), and positive words in headlines led to fewer clicks (1.0% fewer). They also found a preference for headlines that express sadness over those that express joy, fear or anger.

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Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

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Samantha Moriá Reynolds's advice on sick children.

It's cold and flu seasons, folks. During this time of year, we're all on a mission to avoid the demon viruses that threaten to invade our bodies and wage Armageddon on our immune systems.

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A doctor specializing in child development shares 5 of her most surprising parenting tips

"How To Discipline Your Child So They Actually Learn" is one of her more popular videos.

via drkristynsommer / TikTok

Parenting is the most important job that most people will ever have in life. Your decisions as a parent will be some of the most important determining factors in whether your child becomes a happy and productive adult or not. It's a huge responsibility.

Parenting is a difficult and important undertaking, but many parents simply repeat the same strategies used by their parents. How often do we hear people rationalize their decisions by saying, "That's what my parents did and I came out ok."

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RuPaul's Drag Race 'Footloose' parody gets high praise from Kevin Bacon himself

When the OG Ren McCormack approves, you know you're in for something good.

RuPaul's Drag Race/Youtube, Wikipedia

Loosey LaDuca performing as Heaven Bacon for "Wigloose: A Rusical"

Fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are well acquainted with the “Rusical” segment, but in case this word seems like something out of Dr. Seuss, here’s a brief explainer: A Rusical is a challenge on the show where contestants put on a live parody drag musical. Since debuting in Season 6, the Rusical has become a beloved staple of the series, with some of the most popular titles being “Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical,” “HERstory of the World” and “Moulin Ru: The Rusical.”

For Episode 12, the queens drew inspiration from the 1984 movie “Footloose” to tell a story about a small town that prohibits drag rather than dancing. The performance got a sweet seal of approval from the OG Ren McCormack himself.
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