Death, taxes and screaming about Megan Rapinoe.
It’s bad enough for the right that the most recognizable member of the USWNT is a proud, purple-haired lesbian feminist, who intentionally made herself a visible target during the team’s fight for equal pay . Now Rapinoe went off and made a joke about how God didn’t exist because she injured her Achilles in her career finale and had to leave the game just minutes after it started.
“I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, that’s proof that there isn’t one,” Rapinoe said. ” That’s fucked up. It’s just fucked up. Six minutes later and I still have my Achilles.
The horror of an athlete who accepts the end of his career by making an offhand joke about God. How will the nation recover?
I’m being hyperbolic, but the comments from conservatives, who consider Rapinoe to be right up there with Eve (Adam and) and Hillary Clinton in the Mount Rushmore of evil women destroying the fabric of America.
“In a world full of Megan Rapinoe (sic), be a CJ Stroud,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter), referencing Stroud’s comments about his religion after Sunday’s game. “Megan Rapinoe is angry at God because she is an anti-American (sic) loser who made mistakes and is angry at herself? Seems logical coming from an illogical liberal,” wrote another. “Not only does Megan Rapinoe’s injury prove that there is a God, it also proves that he has a sense of humor,” said another. And my favorite: “There is definitely “proof” that karma exists. Try kneeling now! (American flag emoji) Sorry, I really despise this witch.
And there are thousands of other comments like these.
First of all, Rapinoe’s comment was a joke and it’s telling that if you go through the tweets of most people talking about it, they have no problem making jokes about women, the LGBTQ+ community and people of color, but GOD FORBID you joke about this. something they care deeply about. This is heresy. Let’s burn Rapinoe at the stake. (As an aside, about three in ten Americans are now “without religious affiliation” and nearly 10 percent of Americans identify as atheist or agnostic.)
For everything she accomplished on the field – an Olympic gold medal, two World Cups, three CONCACAF Women’s Championships, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and an engagement to Sue Bird, just to highlight a few accomplishments – Perhaps Rapinoe’s greatest achievement will be what she accomplishes off the field. She’s championed LGBTQ+ rights, equal pay for equal work, holding police accountable for brutality, and reproductive rights — making the conservative right really, really angry in the process. She bothers them so much that even Donald Trump took hits At her place. Rapinoe is very existence reduces them to moaning and screaming banshees. Because nothing is more important to the religious right than ensuring that women, even gay women, stay in their boxes. This is what the “debate” about reproductive rights is about, this is what the “debate” about equal pay is, this is what the “debate” is about » on childcare.
Megan Rapinoe doesn’t care what you say about her. Megan Rapinoe doesn’t mind at all that you don’t like her or that she offended your delicate sensibilities with her off-the-cuff joke about God. Megan Rapinoe laughs at your anger because she rightly recognizes how stupid it is to get angry over a joke that has absolutely nothing to do with you.
And while all of this is hilarious to watch, here are the real reasons why Rapinoe is such a target for the right. Megan Rapinoe won’t make herself smaller. Megan Rapinoe will not hide from the light or be ashamed to change what she believes is right. Megan Rapinoe won’t make herself smaller or take up less space. Megan Rapinoe will fight for the America she was told about, but never got to live in. Megan Rapinoe will remind you repeatedly that the people the right wants to ignore exist and deserve to be treated the same as everyone else. Megan Rapinoe will not conform to what the right wants her to be. She won’t lower her voice. Megan Rapinoe is unapologetically herself.
As a Gen X woman, I know what it’s like to grow up wearing “Girl Power” t-shirts and being told “anything boys can do, girls can do better!” “But then you grow up and you realize that a lot of the world doesn’t really agree with that idea. That you’re supposed to take your place in the hierarchy, not make waves, and not challenge the system that’s holding you back. Megan Rapinoe is not the first gay woman to stand up for the marginalized, but she is the latest and most visible. And there’s something about the combination of being a talkative woman and a lesbian and therefore very Megan Rapinoe about all that, it sends the right meow overboard. That’s what I like best about her.
If you don’t already love Megan Rapinoe, trust me, your daughter will.