If you have Netflix, give it a view.
“A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way, and even if they are of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts, and welcome them into our tent. Because we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.”
Fran Drescher’s was great too.
I know I’m going to sound like an asshole for saying this but at this moment I say fuck empathy. By a big margin they voted for this shit - let them eat it. Some people have to learn the hard way. Welcome to Facism bitches!
Thanks Maggie. I did not even know SAG was on Netflix. I am going to watch it now. And we are going to need a really big tent.
I get the anger and frustration—watching people vote against their own interests and enable fascism is infuriating. But rejecting empathy outright and saying “let them suffer” is not the way forward. That kind of dehumanization doesn’t just mirror what white supremacists and Christian nationalists do—it actively strengthens their power.
Authoritarians thrive on division. They want people to feel isolated, resentful, and hopeless. They want us to believe that solidarity is impossible and that cruelty is the only answer. When we embrace that same logic from the other side, we’re playing right into their hands.
Empathy doesn’t mean excusing people’s choices or pretending there are no consequences—it means understanding the conditions that led them here so we can dismantle them. It means recognizing that systems of propaganda, economic precarity, and fear have shaped people’s behavior, and that some of them can be pulled out of that spiral. If we refuse to engage at all, we leave them to be radicalized even further.
The question isn’t whether we “owe” them empathy. The question is: Does abandoning it help us win? History shows that movements that center strategic empathy—not appeasement, but pathways to transformation—are the ones that actually succeed in breaking cycles of authoritarianism.
Let’s not throw away one of our most powerful tools just because anger feels satisfying in the moment.
As a person I am empathetic. I’m 43. I’ve been in situations where I needed someone else’s empathy and I know the value of it. I’m not going to be starting bullshit arguments with people in Maga, I gave that up after the first Trump administration. We shouldn’t be shy at saying “Trump is doing what he told you he was going to do. Experts told you what the consequences would be but you didn’t believe them. The history and economics classes you slept through in school actually matter.” We cannot be tolerant of wilful ignorance any longer. It’s reckless.
Her full Acceptance Speech:
Thank you for finding it!
I get what you’re saying, and in many ways, I agree. I look at it instead as a call for people who so easily toss aside others to understand that we need empathy. For those who are bigots and those who are willing to toss others aside to create common ground with bigots, we need to instead include everyone in our fight for justice and equity. This is not the time to pander and shirk our ideals to try to placate the fascists. We need to stand firm for progressive policies and not waiver. When we try to meet closer to the middle, the fascists won’t budge, and they will win. The only way to combat King Donald and his Crooked Court is to not use the White Supremacists playbook by giving an inch so they can take a mile. Fascistic governments are not conquered by compromise; they are toppled by people united not in what is best for some or even best for most; they are toppled by people united in what is best for all. There will be some we can reach and others we cannot, and I will not waste my time on those we cannot–it is time well spent to talk with those who can. We must fight and not waiver on our progressive ideals and leave no one behind to get ahead.
I cant read all of this but i watched Jane Fondas speach because itvwas recommended here. It was beautiful.
Totally agree, now’s not the time for purity tests or gatekeeping. People are scared, frustrated, and just trying to survive what’s ahead. A lot of folks who might not have seen things the same way before are waking up to how upside-down everything feels. If we lead with empathy and keep the door open, we can actually build something stronger, not just the same old echo chamber. At the end of the day, people care about safety, freedom, and having a shot at a decent life. That’s bigger than any party line. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we do need to stand together where it counts.