Brava, Olivia Julianna!

What's an antonym for pantheon? I saw 'den of iniquity' burble up from a google. I'm thinking rogues gallery, but that may be a tad too jaunty (think David Niven in a caper movie). Maybe just bad actors?

Anyway, in my Congressional anti-pantheon, Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is, at least for the moment, holding pride of place.

God knows the competition is plenty steep: Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Paul Gosar (R-AZ). What a crew!

Matt Gaetz has come to the fore of late because of his attack in general on women who support reproductive rights, and his attack in particular on Olivia Julianna, a young activist who's half his age.

In addressing a Turning Point USA gathering, Gaetz resorted to using a frequent right-wing meme: that liberal/progressive women are unattractive. (Not to go all looks-ist here, but those deploying this meme seem never to have taken a close look at the typical MAGA rally crowd.) 

“Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he told the crowd of young conservatives... “I’m thinking, march? You look like you’ve got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade.” (Source: Teen Vogue)

Olivia Julianna called Gaetz out on Twitter: 

“Its come to my attention that Matt Gaetz—alleged pedophile—has said that it’s always the ‘odious.. 5’2 350 pound’ women that ‘nobody wants to impregnate’ who rally for abortion,” Texas activist Olivia Julianna tweeted. “I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place.”

This esteemed member of Congress responded by posting a picture of Olivia, implicitly body shaming her. 

And when asked by a reporter whether it was Gaetz' intention to suggest that women who attended abortion rallies are all ugly and overweight, he answered "Yes." And what would he tell those who might be offended by his comments. "Be offended."

(By the way, I've been to abortion rallies and the women aren't any uglier and more overweight than you'll find anywhere. And if we are, so fucking what.)

Anyway, Olivia Julianna says that she was "shocked" that a member of Congress would single her out in such a crude way. (She must not have been all that familiar with Matt Gaetz.) But she wasn't upset. 

Instead, she saw an opportunity to raise funds for Gen Z for Change, an organization dedicated to this purpose:

We leverage the power of social media to educate our generation, encourage and mobilize civic participation, shift the political debate, and enact change.

That's Olivia, who's the organization's political strategist, in the center of the picture. Yes, she's a bit zaftig - but so fucking what? She's perfectly fine looking, and seems comfortable in her own skin.

She's also pretty damned good at what she does.

Olivia decided to direct donations to Gen-Z for Choice, looking for money to:

Assist in this mission by donating to nationwide abortion funds here, ensuring access to critical reproductive health care. This fund splits all donations evenly among 50 local abortion funds across the United States.

As of last Saturday morning, the donation amount was closing in on $2M.

Never underestimate Gen Z!

Brava, Olivia Julianna. (Suck it, Matt Gaetz.)