Welcome to our glossary of terms! If there are words you see used time and again, but you aren’t sure what they mean, we’ve got you covered. If we’re missing something, let us know!
Biological Sex – also sex at birth; whether you were born with male or female reproductive organs. Not to be confused with Gender Identity – socially constructed roles and behaviors in relation to expectations of masculinity or femininity. (Further Reading: Embryo Project Encyclopedia)
Bootstraps – also “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps”; an impossible feat; the expectation that everyone should be able to achieve the same level of success with hard work, but not comprehending that not every person is equipped equally to achieve. (Further Reading: Useless Etymology)
Christofascist – a segment of Christians who think the country should be governed according to their hateful beliefs; Christians who think anyone with different beliefs, values and/or sexuality than them is living a “degenerate lifestyle”; Christians who seek to implement an authoritarian regime that strips other citizens of their individual rights and freedoms; the antithesis of Jesus Christ. (Further Reading: Commonweal Magazine)
DEI Hire – an insult aimed at non-white professionals, especially in government, by under-qualified white people; the new n-word; used by angry racists. (Further Reading: The Seattle Times)
Extremist – a fanatic who wants to overhaul systems, usually by violating separation of church and state, without care for individual rights and freedoms. (Further Reading: Anti-Defamation League)
GOP – Genital Obsessed Party. (Further Reading: Any Nebraska GOP, member’s and/or candidate’s social media)
Hate Group – organized group of people who dislike anyone who is non-Christian, non-White, or LGBTQIA; often fragile, fearful, uneducated, and/or prone to conspiracy theories. (Further Reading: Why They Join)
Indoctrination – teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. (Further Reading: Sojourners)
Parental Rights – a dog whistle; code for white race politics; generally used by Moms for Liberty and their school board candidates, Liz Davids, Lisa Schonhoff, Linda Vermooten, and their fellow Christofascists, to mislead and prey on parents to secure votes. (Further Reading: Truthout.org)
Pedophile – also “chimo”; used by people projecting their own crimes or excusing those very same crimes as committed by churches and politicians upon others. (Further Reading: Donald Trump and First Baptist Church in Plattsmouth, Nebraska via River Country News and WOWT).
Woke – alertness to racial prejudice and discrimination; people who advocate for basic human rights and equality, ideas that upset fragile Christofascists. (Further Reading: Wikipedia)