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[–] 163 points 2 years ago* (14 children)

Is she repentant or proud. If the former that's definitely worth some respect. If the latter, well at least it's honesty.

  • Having a moment to finally read the article. Seems she's repentant. So that's definitely some respect.
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  • [–] 130 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Either way she's got more backbone than most GOP fucks.

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Definitely. It's still good to see and acknowledge on the rare occasion it happens. To help remind ourselves that no matter how divided we seem. No matter the atrocities they enable/justify because of propaganda. If you break the propaganda they'd be likely allies. It puts things back in perspective.

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  • [–] [S] 37 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I am a massive critic of 12-step programs, but she credits it for getting her out of the MAGA cult and admitting that what she did was wrong, so they do have some value.

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  • [–] 77 points 2 years ago (8 children)

    Repentant. In the interview, she said that at some point people on Twitter opened her eyes and she realized that she was in a cult. She thinks she belongs in jail.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Maybe its the level of stubborn shithead that I'm used to dealing with, but its hard for me to comprehend someone capable of the self reflection she shows falling for Trumpian bullshit in the first place.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    Anyone can be ushered into a cult if their channels of information are limited, especially in this increasingly isolated world. Something related I'd estimate is true of most people, regardless of affiliation, is that they can be viciously loyal to communities they strongly identify with.

    When chances arise that they might be receptive to it, the right person/people can reach out to misled folks like her. Condescending or patronizing them will just push them away. Should be obvious no one is going to listen to people they perceive as not recognizing their dignity as a human being.

    Probably the only ones among that crowd that are truly impossible to reach would be the subset that are as narcissistic as Trump himself and see themselves in him-- the ones who do fully get what Trump is doing, and like it. Many of them are likely in hate groups or working in positions of authority because they want to power trip over others. The rest are just ordinary people who were brought up in a way that made an opening for them to be duped.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Prison*

    Jail is where you go before you're convicted

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  • [–] 99 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    This is what a real American looks like. Someone who can admit when they're wrong, learn, and do the right thing.

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  • [–] 37 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I think you mean 'grownup' this is what adults are SUPPOSED to do, but it's still profound to see in action. Good on her I say.

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  • [–] 74 points 2 years ago

    ironically as the only person who seems to take responsibility and show regret, she's the one most deserving of a pardon. but hey the American justice system has never been about rehabilitation; only about which team you're on.

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  • [–] 67 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    The world is getting weirder by the minute. Convicts rejecting a presidential pardon on moral grounds? And people who participated in an attempted coup to boot? That's unheard of!

    If something this weird doesn't tell you the republic is on the verge of complete and irreversible dysfunction, I don't know what does.

    That woman restores a bit of faith in humanity in me though.

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  • [–] 45 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Giant ovaries on this woman

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  • [–] 39 points 2 years ago

    At least there are still some people out there that can do bad and then at least learn

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago

    It appears common sense succeeded and Pam should receive a full pardon in Jan 2029.

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago* (52 children)

    12 steppers really do have a religious response to things. I guess that's one of the few ways to fundamentally change your outlook on the world. Be nice if it wasn't an actual religious program though. And that was the key for both that rejected the pardons: they were 12 steppers.

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  • [–] [S] 13 points 2 years ago (47 children)

    Unfortunately, it was formed from a prayer group, and as much as some of my fellow atheists have told me that you can be an atheist and a 12-stepper (and maybe they can deal with the cognitive dissonance), there is just no legitimately non-religious interpretation of step 11. The whole "anything can be your higher power" concept I've been told by those atheists simply cannot conform to step 11:

    Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

    You substitute "God" with pretty much anything non-deistic and that sentence simply does not rationally work.

    I've always suspected that the biggest reason 12-step programs like AA do work for some people is that it's a form of group therapy.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    You can substitute for the universe, the program and people in it, or nature and I'd say it still works. Just how you frame prayer or meditation. One of the definitions of prayer is a solemn request. The purpose of having "God" in the 12 steps is to have a belief in something "greater" than yourself. To me the group of alcoholics who got me sober is something "greater" than myself because I truly couldn't do it alone. The prayer and meditation can just be used almost as a manifesting of intention. If I pray that I be more tolerant patient and kind to those around me, than that's more likely to be on my mind whether I'm intentionally sending that prayer to a deity, the universe, nature, or the idea of the group as a whole. I say this as a 12 stepper myself that is non religious. That being said a lot of people use God or a deity as a higher power, but just saying it's certainly not a requirement.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    No. You can't. Because those make no sense when you rewrite it.

    Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the universe as we understood it, praying only for knowledge of its will for us and the power to carry that out.

    The universe only has a will if you're not an atheist.

    Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the program and people in it as we understood them, praying only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that out.

    This only makes sense if you think praying to a group will make them force you to do something. Which is nonsense.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    If you want to detach step 11 from it's Christian roots, you cannot just substitute "God" in its wording. That yields nonsense, as you are stating correctly.

    The aim of Step 11 is "knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." In non–religious terms I would call this aim "committment".

    The means of Step 11 to achieve commitment is spirituality, spirituality being a set of basic convictions that provides meaning, purpose and a sense of belonging.

    A "neutral" Meta—Step 11 might be worded something like:

    "We consciously develop a healthy spiritual basis for our live, gaining motivation and comittment through it."

    As any religion, philosophy, ideology or other system of basic convictions can provide this spiritual basis for an individual, the formulation of a more concrete and helpful Step 11 will differ between e.g. communists, buddhists, naturists and epicureans.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (19 children)

    It's simpler than all that. Satanists would say God is just You, or some version of yourself that is all the things you wish you could be. The fact that you are there praying means you have a good idea of what needs to change, and are searching for the strength within yourself.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (18 children)

    As I said, that makes it irrational. People like you say that, but when it actually comes to rewriting it, it makes no sense at all:

    Sought through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with me as I understand myself, praying only for knowledge of my will for me and the power to carry that out.

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  • [+] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)
  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    Honestly out of all 12 steps it's the first step that actually hits the hardest.

    "We admitted we were powerless over alchohol (although you could substitute alcohol for anything really)—that our lives had become unmanageable."

    As my shrink used to say "the hardest part of overcoming a problem or mistake is admitting you have a problem/made a mistake."

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    This article is too short. Give this woman a bigger platform.

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