Margaret Atwood on the truth in The Handmaid's Tale

[@humanbeing3337]

Referring to the puritans escaping England - they left to get “Religious freedom for themselves, but not for anybody else” ~Margaret Atwood. Brilliant insight !

[@waynesmith3767]

Hardly a new insight but always good to be reminded of the importance of the Puritan influence on American life.

[@humanbeing3337]

@@waynesmith3767 nothing is new. Crucial to remember the history *not* told by the winners, especially at this specific moment in time.

[@ronee1959]

Margaret, please educate yourself on Scientology. Forced abortions, enslavement, fair game. The lead actress and producer is a member of this cult.

[@rrickarr]

They never taught that in history class!

[@Yosemiteb]

@@humanbeing3337 yes!!!!!!!!

[@Lorenzopickle]

I am a 75 year old man ,father, grandfather,great grandfather I am grateful to be on earth with the work of Margaret Atwood

[@PatriciaDonovan-g9m]

May she live forever.

[@giovanna722]

Myself, as well.

[@maribethjones2105]

She speaks so eloquently, with a vivid imagination. She recognizes this monster at the door of democracy. I feel better knowing that.

[@vipermad358]

I wish you'd had fewer children, for all our sakes.

[@maijaliepa119]

@@maribethjones2105 🙋‍♀️well said … Thank You

[@incorrigiblycuriousD61]

Amazing woman. She's a historian, not a fictional writer. "It can't happen here" is nonsense.

[@noeraldinkabam]

It is happening on every continent but Antartica.

[@carolinebennett5615]

I assume you mean to credit her meticulous research. I agree. But she writes fiction rather than history. I have a bookcase full of it😀

[@kanjacat]

​@@noeraldinkabamcan I move there?

[@patbv66]

No. Women 's right are at risk all over the world,

[@phaedrussmith1949]

I think what she writes is literature.

[@MelissaWilkins-z1k]

Not just the Handmaid's Tale but Oryx & Crake, and so on. Margaret Atwood has often been called an alarmist, yet here we are, looking issues of human rights, whether women's or food/agriculture, etc. in the face. She may have been called a "prophetess" in the past but in reality, she has looked closely at the trends, in politics, in marketing, in anything she writes about and sends out the warning, yet sadly so many are too blind to see. I admire her in her greatly (edited to correct a spelling error)

[@rrickarr]

So true!

[@jrojala]

People who point to abuse inherent in the system are usually called alarmists

[@gabriellerose3839]

Read The Heart Goes Last…..scary

[@rebeccataravonschleinitz]

I could not agree more. Let's add Madadam to that list.

[@Weirdkauz]

Absolutely

[@kayew5492]

I read The Handmaid's Tale in the early 90s as part of my A level. I was taking the exam as an external student, with no supervision, just me and a pile of books. I was also living in Saudi Arabia, with an abusive husband. It hit me like a slap in the face and made me see how bad things had become. I love the way she plays with language, and the unflinching realism she brings to hypothetical scenarios that could be just around the corner unless we pull back in time, alongside her exquisitely sensual and vivid descriptive passages. This book changed my life, quite possibly, it saved my life. I am forever filled with awe and gratitude for this and all of her work.

[@sarahcourtney8066]

Sounds like you escaped the abusive husband, I hope your life is going well ❤

[@tonirodriguez6649]

Wow, it's incredible how a person can point to one thing that totally changed the trajectory of their life. Love & blessings 🙏

[@yrp237]

Thanks for sharing your story.

[@Lazy_Fish_Keeper]

I'm glad you are still here Kaye!

[@YogonKalisto]

the power of a story is not a little thing. if it could happen to you, could it happen to an entire nation?

[@oldpossum57]

Nobel prize Committee, take note. Atwood’s birthday is mid November.The Nobel would be a thoughtful (if overdue) gift.

[@markberryhill2715]

We don't get Nobel prizes as birthday gifts silly 😜😉

[@oldpossum57]

@@markberryhill2715 My understanding is that the Nobel in Literature is awarded for a lifetime of achievement in letters. I confess my frame of reference is the West. Within that frame of reference, I can’t think of a more important author. Also, it might remind Americans of why it is important to vote.

[@suekennedy1595]

Yes yes yes

[@audreywitko1445]

@@markberryhill2715 There’s a first time for everything. Why not now?

[@fernandaa7334]

I can't believe that she doesn't have one yet

[@smudgey1kenobey]

Around 1970 I was in college in Windsor, Ontario and my dad was picking me up at school. I waited by the large windows of a lounge where an author was reading aloud and chatting with a small group of students. When dad pulled up, I ran out and asked him to park the car. “This author’s really good!” He did, and that’s how we first heard Margaret Atwood. I was amazed by her then, I’m amazed by her now.

[@elizabethcarrington5819]

That’s so awesome ❤️😊

[@letolethe3344]

Her analysis is truthful, timely, courageous, and sharp.

[@april5666]

And it was published in 1985 -- so prescient! We are not going back -- don't be fooled by cherrypicking the right does with supposed "strictly textual readings" of the constitution and harkening back to laws from the 19th century -- only when it suits their ends most of the rest of the time they ignore the strict textual reading, as in the SC's ridiculous immunity ruling tailored to help Trump with his court cases.

[@d.virgallito3490]

Thank you Margaret, I watched my mother, and she was pregnant 13 times, 8 surviving children. She waited until 1974 to file a divorce from an abusive spouse, I think it was because she could now get her own bank account? My father beat her up 1 time for taking birth control only gap in her pregnancies, was this 2 year period after my birth, then almost to the day, her last baby was born, my sister. We as a country were in a severe crises with Russia. I am sure being a nurse, my mother saw that it wasn't a good time for more children and she was worn out. Cuban missile crises dating. Women today don't seem to truly understand what her and other before her went through. Even obtaining the right to vote. She died at 83.

[@bobbid9168]

She sounds like she led an exhausting life. I'm glad you are here to speak for her.

[@SissyAustin]

One of my Grandmothers gave birth to 7 live children and 7 stillborn children. She died at 51, and ĺooked like she was in her late 70's. I don't know if she miscarried any children. She died before I was born, I never met her, but I have always felt so bad for her. She actually marched for Women to have the right to vote. I fear if Trump goes back in and implements Project 2025, we will lose that right.

[@catherineblair550]

This is happening. Abusive men are forcing their partners to get pregnant.

[@brunoqnzbk7891]

​@SissyAustin Pregnancy ages women's cells 11 years. It's worse than smoking and obesity. No thanks. Childfree.

[@RUFFDRAFTCA]

My mother had an abortion in the 70s. Barely 16 & she was coerced into an abusive marriage with an older man- by her own parents, like they were selling a sow at market. She immediately had to move far away to become an army wife- completely, socially & financially isolated when the abuse started. Its so uniquely awful and yet such a common story. That ability to access reproductive healthcare saved her, allowed her to escape. Some people react to this type of story with disgust- like "well what if she'd aborted you?!". When i was old enough, my mom and i talked about everything in depth, and she said- though the choice was painful, it was what allowed her to live on and eventually have me. I cant even hold anger for my grandparents, as the weight of generational trauma drove their choices too. My great grandmother had to leave my grandma with relatives as a girl, to protect her while trying to escape an abusive spouse. She never returned. Those relatives were all too happy to 'unload her' quickly. She was 14 when she married my grandpa, who was 18, had my mom by 15 then siblings. She was property, & knew no other life, so thought she was protecting her daughters by essentially arranging teen marriages. Im genX, and had so many more choices as an adult, but also lived through so much with my mother & grandmother that the newness (& fragility) of those choices & rights was always clear. For a while it seemed like younger women were getting more detached from that history, complacent politically, but that has all dramatically changed thanks to Trump... certainly the only thing anyone could ever "thank" him for. Young women & girls today carry the weight of so many generations of abuse & trauma, wether they understand it yet or not. I hope they will grow up strong and carry the responsibility to study that history- within their own families and our collective history as women- and pass it on to the next generation... teach the girls AND the boys this time.

[@debracarlson5511]

I am in my 70's. I remember when adult women, my mother was one of them, needed a man to sign-off on having a credit cardit. I remember when women and girls could not play sports. I could go on, but "Let's not go back."

[@firstlast-gn5bo]

I remember too, Debra. We WONT go back.

[@mattellemorgan2710]

I love seeing girls wrestle & play baseball & football. Wish I had, had that chance. I would have been in the Olympics! I loved all those sports. It's like the taliban trying to take rights from women but it's here!

[@tonikelm4461]

I remember as a young adult not being able to get a credit card or purchase a car without make co-signer

[@hydratejsn]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Women and girls can only benefit from knowing this.

[@SongDog9]

I tried to get a credit card in my name and the bank told me to have my husband apply for me.

[@Enkarashaddam]

The Republic of Gilead is sadly much closer to us than we think

[@TinaBUTCHER-ph1ph]

Project Gilead 2025, Commanders Vance and Trump

[@vestcoat]

Gilead is upon us NOW! Margaret portrays this with such clarity in The Handmaid’s Tale.

[@fourroadsnorth2723]

@@TinaBUTCHER-ph1ph Frighteningly true.

[@susiea1419]

It will be if you can’t get Trump out. Very worrying

[@danarzechula3769]

Fight!!

[@MellowWind]

It's such a relief, always, to hear voices such as Margaret's. I'm SO tired of this dumbed down culture, esp. in music, film, tv, social media.

[@kalayne6713]

As an Australian, it has been distressing to watch the dumbing down of America over the past 6 decades. Once a place where dreams came true, America is now the stuff of nightmares. Biden has done his best to reset the trajectory, and I hope that November will change the future of the United States for a good while, at least until the threat of trump is dead and buried. Margaret's books have always been provocative and prophetic. She is a warrior woman, brave and strong. Like Kamala. Vote 💙

[@kasondaleigh]

It is exhausting dealing with stupidity.

[@71suns]

​@@kasondaleighI'm so tired....so very very tired. 😢

[@dawnolynyk]

@@kalayne6713 will definitely take the time to read and understand the irony. Sounds as though this lady is a true historian 💖👍

[@changeshifter4852]

​@@kalayne6713 As a Canadian, I experienced this first hand. I accepted a scholarship to a journalism program at an American college. Came home to stay in December because grade 11 in Canada was more difficult and being there useless. That was 1987.

[@naomihatfield3015]

I was in college when the book was released, and it TERRIFIED me at the time, I was paranoid about my male co-workers for three weeks afterwards, wondering which of them would go along with it and which would fight for us. In retrospect, I should have stayed terrified, and been louder. Now I have a daughter to fight for. Thank you, Ms. Atwood.

[@wombat.6652]

Yes. Exactly.

[@obscurum6]

If only more women looked around and thought about that.

[@wombat.6652]

@@obscurum6 If only more men looked around and thought about how much they will lose too.

[@obscurum6]

@@wombat.6652 What do you think men will lose?

[@wombat.6652]

@@obscurum6 ? in the world like the handmaid's tale? Men are forced into very rigid rules of living, yes they some appear to have power. But if they step out of line, they too get punished. They lose the trust of any and all women. Humanity loses all the brilliant things people can do when we all have the ability to be the best we can be. Think of all that women have contributed to science, art, culture. I will let you look up the "hidden" women in all fields. Men lose connections with their own children too.

[@uwsgrrrl9981]

In 2015, a friend from Germany who had been living in the US for 30 years said it could happen here. I was furious & told her never would that happen in the US. Now, 2024, I fear what’s going on now. Taking away rights from women, scary. A VP candidate who believes women should have more babies & stay home. A Presidential candidate that reminds me of the book ‘1984’ doublespeak.

[@johnransom1146]

And Germany is once again electing fascists

[@amialal4510]

@@johnransom1146 Fascists? You must be mixing up communist tyrants that are destroying your country with 'fascists'.

[@Angela-382]

​@@johnransom1146 much of Europe is.

[@paulinemclean375]

Ron DeSantis is sending election police , in Florida, door to door ,questioning ( intimidating) voters to see if they signed a petition asking for an amendment to his six week abortion ban. Handmaid’s Tale a possibility? Don’t kid yourself; in Florida it’s already here. I’m sure it’s one of those books banned in schools there.

[@Betleyman7853]

Don't forget Project 2025.

[@QueenRaven911]

As a Canadian, Margaret Atwood is our national effing treasure. Her stories, though fictional, really hit it differently in this day and age.

[@Cat-bg2ge]

Fictional?

[@marleneverhage1048]

@@Cat-bg2geprophetic??

[@kgs2280]

@@marleneverhage1048If you lived in the United States you’d see exactly why its prophetic. First they overturned a constitutional law here legalizing abortion, which had been on the books for almost 50 years (49 to be exact), and now women are dying. Now some lawmakers are proposing overturning no-fault divorces, which have also been around for about 50 years in some states, which will, once again, essentially make women prisoners to their husbands. And now, at least one pastor is talking about taking away women’s right to vote! Some like to say that, “oh, that’ll never happen”, but we said the same thing about the abortion ban, and it did happen. I was happy to hear Ms. Atwood use the word “blueprint” regarding The Handmaid’s Tale, because I’ve been saying, at least in the U.S., that liberals read and/or saw the book/movie as a warning whereas the ultra-conservatives read/saw it as a blueprint, and the conservative men all see themselves as Commanders. In the last 10-15 years we have seen a virtual explosion in the spread of Evangelicalism, and they do love power, and having control of the levers of the government, which to some extent they have achieved, because they are now in the majority in the Supreme Court, and they had a President for four years who toadied to them (strictly in order to get their vote, which worked spectacularly for him, but pretty badly for women). Now they’re running with that and trying to expand that anti-woman power to other laws. Also, sadly, there has been a huge growth of misogynistic rhetoric in men’s groups online, because the men are feeling disenfranchised because of the top-down effects of the economy where the wealthiest people are gaining control of most of the wealth in the country at the expense of the “regular” people, and the economy is getting more difficult for them, so they “naturally” want to blame women for all their problems. However, I think they’re (the men [and a number of women] as well as the “menz” online) are going to be rather surprised at the quantity of pushback they’re going to get from the women of the country. As Kamala Harris said, “We are NOT going back!”

[@bernadettesandoval3990]

She's a hack. Always has been and always will be. She is the feminist equivalent of Danielle Steele.

[@tchambard]

💙WE’RE NOT GOING BACK💙

[@rworded1]

We already have.

[@stephengibbs8342]

♥

[@MissRed92837]

We still need to VOTE 💙❗️

[@rworded1]

@@MissRed92837 Agreed. I will be voting for Jill Stein, the only candidate willing to do something about Jen O'cide in Pal E. Stine.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

@@rworded1but not the Jen o cide in Israel by Pales tine?!

[@erykaton170]

One of the first articles I read this morning was about North Korea harshly punishing doctors and women, for prescribing and using contraception, and performing abortions. There is a reason that many authoritarian regimes, and the authoritarian impulses on the American right, are trying to deny women birth control and access to safe abortion. They want to force women to have more children, against their will, to bolster floundering birth rates. Why? Their excuse is economics and national security. That it happens to match their right wing fever dreams of subordinating half the population is purely coincidental. There are, of course, less punitive ways to increase birth rates. Increasing child tax credits, family/maternity/paternity leave, free/low cost child care, affordable education, wage increases so people can afford to have children, would all be encouragements to have families, but those policies are anathema to the right, because they have railed against them as "big government". Notice they don't have a problem with big government when it is intruding into the doctor's office or the bedroom, or sticking their nose into equity programs and LGBTQ+ acceptance .

[@susanlovesjava4961]

Why should people without kids fund someone else's kids?

[@erykaton170]

@@susanlovesjava4961 Hate to break it to you, but you already do. Just like you fund roads you'll never drive on, airports you'll never visit, ports you'll never access, emergency services you'll never use, and schools you'll never attend. All of those things make this country as successful as it is. It's freaking weird that you'd rather allow the subjugation of half the population(including yourself possibly), force millions of additional families into poverty (and onto government programs like welfare, Medicaid and lifelong disability dependents**banning abortions will lead to increases in children born with crippling abnormalities, and more disabled/dead mothers who could have been spared ) rather than build stronger, more stable, self sufficient families (that will be less likely to need any long term government assistance). So you will pay either way, but a couple of years of pre-K, and 6 months of family leave is better than a lifetime of government dependency.

[@StudiosDelirium]

@@susanlovesjava4961wow

[@erykaton170]

@@susanlovesjava4961 You already do.

[@ravenbelote1801]

@@susanlovesjava4961 Yes, you already do. You help fund schools, and programs for schools. Why do you act as if its only your money? All those who can in our country are chipping in to help fund our public services... from schools, to road maintenance, to airports, to firehouses, etc... there's not much our taxes don't fund. It all helps to keep our country running smoothly as possible.

[@kasondaleigh]

Excellent interview. Frightening reality.

[@mickelodiansurname9578]

I'm Irish, and the 80's was a time here with the Church pretty much in full control of the state anyway. When I read this back then I still had the same idea Margaret voiced there "Well surely not here, I mean its 1983 for hells sake!" yet at that time Ireland was already a nation that was a hairs breath from The Handmaids Tale... no contraception, no abortion, no divorce... a list of Catholic doctrine was then and is now still is our constitution. Our constitution 'literally' says women work in the home and men have essentially more rights. Now here in 2024 40 years later the churches are empty, and they lost their power completely despite desperately trying to hold on to control of the education system. Don't ever say "Well surely not here!" thats an open invitation to theocracy.

[@kitskivich]

Well said, @mickelodiansurname9578!

[@Matrixvsreality]

Have you ever seen The Magdalene Sisters? It's a fantastic drama and wow there were certainly some beyond tough times in Ireland.

[@mickelodiansurname9578]

@@Matrixvsreality I seen it up close and personal since I was born in a mother and baby home in Ireland!

[@madamecurious]

@@mickelodiansurname9578 , interesting!! Thank you for posting this.

[@PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr]

​@@mickelodiansurname9578 Wow. Please be good to yourself.

[@caroletomlinson5480]

AND, as soon as the Puritans got settled, they charged the next wave of immigrants for food and land. Greed from the beginning.

[@cultureal9544]

😢 good point

[@vickywitton1008]

Greed was supposed to one of the deadly sins but it never stopped church leaders

[@saschamayer4050]

And it really was a hard life for the first settlers. A lot of them died Only the ones with the most greed and the least amount of compassion survived.

[@PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr]

​@@vickywitton1008 It still hasn't. Notice which churches are the most charitable during the next hurricane.

[@AlbertPaysonTerhune]

Puritans weren't immigrants in 1630, they were settlers, colonists.

[@blackcat-dh8st]

"We are in a different show" I live in Texas and am witnessing first hand the right of basic women's healthcare being stripped away. This effects woman of all ages. Being 54 and in menopause, I began bleeding heavily. So heavy, I needed towels to stop me from dripping on the floor. (sorry about the graphic discription) My doctor told me to go to the ER, which I did. The frist question the E.R. asked me before anything... including my name was if I was pregnant. I then told them my situation and they took a pregnancy test and ultrasound to confirm I wasnt pregnant, only then did they begin treating me.(2 hours later) I needed a blood transfusion and afterwards I was put on a dosage of birth control pills to control the bleeding. It was then I realized that as a woman, I no longer had the right to healthcare. My health was being controlled by the Texas Government.

[@tinadavy3990]

They test any woman bleeding to see what they are dealing with ... normal protocol . ????

[@leahashcroft9547]

Thank you for sharing your story. There are a lot of stories coming out of Texas now - pregnant women, women miscarrying, some needing abortion, also pre and post menopausal women, Doctors are too scared to provide care.

[@blueamenaa749]

Hi from france. I'm so so sorry. 😢 You all deserve better. Lots of hugs.

[@isabellewhite3505]

UK: An awful experience. I sincerely hope the elections next week in the US go in the right direction. It really should never, ever be as close as it is

[@qotu01]

SO, SO sorry you had to go through that. Love from a former RN & CNM in Australia x

[@HelenCamile63]

“Speculative fiction”. I appreciate that description. I have so much respect for this woman and I’m grateful for her foresight and talent and courage in bringing these issues to light in a way the MSM news doesn’t. I read HT in the 80’s, watched it when it first aired, then watched it again recently. It blows my mind how much it reflects what has happened in the world and what’s happening in the U.S. now. I’m so glad I never had children. 💙🇺🇸💪

[@sandal_thong8631]

When I hear about people not wanting to have kids, I think of the fanatics who use women as livestock and have 6 or more kids with them. If they successfully indoctrinate the kids in their beliefs then that's a lot more fanatics to vote for things they want a generation later. There was a story about a religious group in a community that wanted public funding of their religious schools but that's not allowed. So they decided to take over the school board so they could defund and shut down the public schools (serving Blacks) then sell the buildings on the cheap to their religious organization for their own (non-Black) kids.

[@kanjacat]

I'm so glad I don't live in America. It's so sad to watch the destruction of a once great country.

[@canopusstar5157]

CCL here: Same!

[@johnransom1146]

@@sandal_thong8631 the children in these groups usually reject the teachings when they can get away

[@milomilo55]

I bought my 1st copy of The Handmaid's Tale a year or so after it was published, lent it to a friend who moved without returning it, bought another copy and lent it to my daughter who decided to keep it (how could I refuse), bought my 3rd copy, which I re-read when the televised series started, and have refused to lend it out this time.

[@maijaliepa119]

🦅Someone should make a movie about the “free speech heroes” in the panhandle of Texas. The teens who won to have Margaret’s book back on their library shelves.🦅

[@sharonhinbest781]

Very good idea

[@julieproctor6039]

Awesome.

[@nickpacitti3247]

👏👏👍✌️

[@vanessanassif]

She had the rare ability to see things coming a bit before most. I appreciate her sharing her gift with the world.

[@GregTingey]

HAS - she's still alive

[@vanessanassif]

@@GregTingey Yes has, sorry.

[@rozisaac8239]

As a Canadian I’m so proud of Margaret Atwood. Americans please vote for Harris/Walz 💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@cccc7098]

We also have our share of lunatics up here

[@joygernautm6641]

@@cccc7098aka”Alberta”

[@tammysutton9805]

You're insane. Do you know they are pedophiles? Kill children? Human trafficking.

[@RuthZeeck]

Voting Harris Walz in Texas.

[@malloryjines5050]

Be careful what you wish for: when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold! She is completely unqualified to lead the free world. You don’t realize just how closely Canada and the US are intertwined with us. What happens here will be even worse for Canada.

[@debivancleave5106]

I read this book when it first came out about 1984. I couldn't put it down. I stood at the kitchen sink reading just one more page while my toddler clung to my leg. I was horrified. I could see that this could happen. And now, 30 years later, my toddler is a young woman who has had her rights taken away by Republicans.

[@nancythane4104]

Have your daughter taught how to both physically and emotionally defend herself. We must ALL LEARN how to defend ourselves and each other!

[@sharonannrees2824]

She is one of Canada’s favourite treasures. Thanks Margaret.

[@stephengibbs8342]

sane people read "1984" and "The Handmaid's Tail" and saw a warning Republicans read them and saw blueprints

[@truman4956]

I always thought The Brave New World was closer to the mark than 1984

[@stephengibbs8342]

@@truman4956 the intentional dumbing down of the workforce, and rule of the elite is more in line with "Brave New World" but the revisionist history, constant warfare, denouncing others as traitors, the constant threat of surveillance, etc. from Trump is far more in line with "1984" and Project 2025 is far more in line with "The Handmaid's Tail" and "Mein Kampf"

[@cyndimoring9389]

Tale

[@Xiroi87]

1984 was pretty much describing the depressing environment of England during the war and the manipulation of the masses through oppression and extreme control of the public information, as things were in the Soviet Union at that moment. Brave New World really got it right with how shallow and hedonistic the society is, people are easily manipulated and apathetic as long as they think they're fine.

[@stephengibbs8342]

@@cyndimoring9389 that's why English is so hard all these words that are spelled differently yet sound exactly the same: red v read read v reed blue v blew one v won to v too v two Trump v Hitler

[@hedymills1372]

I read The Handmaid's Tale as a young mother. I've also read many other Margaret Atwood books. They are always a good read. I'm personally grieving the changes that have been happening in the United States of America. Woman unite! We will have to fight to keep the progress we have made. Vote blue like your country depends on it, because it does! 🇺🇲💙

[@WournosFromTwitch]

To quote Billie Eilish: "Vote as if your LIFE depended on it!"

[@mrmiscreant711]

Misogyny isn't exclusive to women. Woman should definitely unite, but they should unite and work with the LGBTQIA+ community who are also extremely affected by misogyny. Trans men and non-binary (i.e. genderqueer, genderfluid, gender non-conforming, etc) AFAB individuals are affected by it and also have dire need for reproductive health care and autonomy. They'd also be forced to marry and forced to bear children, right alongside trans women, gay men, and lesbians. Most of, if not the entire, LGBTQIA+ community would more than likely be "conversion therapied" into following their "biological" directives. Hence why we should all unite and fight together instead of fighting each other. If you have to, think about it in terms of mathematic: our numbers far exceed the number of misogynistic, queer-phobic cis-het men.

[@user-vb3gc5se9k]

@@WournosFromTwitch How ironic when the babies’ lives depend on it! You couldn’t make this stuff up!

[@sumiland6445]

In Oklahoma, obstetricians, Gynocologists and other doctors have left the state, fearing legal prosecution, making gynocological healthcare unavailable to most females. No regular pelvic exams, pap smears or other gynocological healthcare screenings. Ovarian, cervical and uterine cancers are going undiagnosed as are other gynocological disorders. EVERY PREGNANCY IS HIGH RISK.

[@dugongsdoitbetter]

That shows the ignorance of those who opposed abortion so strongly. They must have forgotten or didn't know what all the letters in OB/GYN meant. It means necessary health care for all women.

[@vickipenfound]

This is horrific. I am in the UK and we take our health care for granted. Women of the US shout loud. And educate your ignorant menfolk!

[@davespanksalot8413]

@@dugongsdoitbetterit’s not ignorance. People who support those values just don’t care if it’s not happening to them or their cohort. Emotionally they’re stuck in a constant siege mentality of us versus them, and thus feel justified to celebrate the ills that befall their imagined enemies - the progressives… When we all have access to the most accurate information in a small box in our hands, ignorance becomes a choice. And we can test this idea empirically. Ie: When it comes to treatment for a compound fracture where a femur has pierced the skin, I guarantee they’ll go to a doctor and not get their Facebook qanon friend to fix it even though their friend is an “expert” on ivermectin covid treatments… The only way to make real generational change is to push for teachers to be allowed and trained to teach their kids very strong and critical online literacy skills.

[@bowerbirdstyle7661]

I live in Australia. The other day I got an SMS from the Health Department reminding me that I am overdue for a pap smear and to ask my doctor about self-collection of my specimen. I'm grateful for the reminder and the option of self-collection because having a doctor perform a pap smear is so humiliating and embarrassing I have avoided it. Will happily do the Bowel Cancer test kit I receive free in the post every two years. Does the difference in healthcare systems slap anyone else in the face? Our system cares about people's health - it is not a money-making business.

[@davespanksalot8413]

@@bowerbirdstyle7661 Well said 😊 Thank you Gough!

[@susanwoodman3858]

The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 had a child and named it Project 2025.

[@kanjacat]

Sadly, I agree with you.

[@monicaluketich6913]

Well spoken.

[@teslagoth9401]

That’s clever!

[@ferociousgumby]

@@teslagoth9401 Chilling.

[@vestcoat]

Yes! I will quote u on that! Very clever, indeed. Sadly.

[@tigq1430]

This aired 2018, now rewatch & listen. 2024

[@moniqueengleman873]

Wow She is still on point 👉

[@personofinterest8731]

I'm a 78 year-old permanent scholar who is so grateful to be a contemporary of Margaret Attwood. Love to all my fellow travellers. 💜🇿🇦

[@robincrowflies]

Thank you. Margaret, you are one of my heroes.

[@lindabenny4454]

I first read "The Handmaids Tale" in 1985, I don't really think I really understood it very well at the time. as the years have passed I began to get the message loud & clear. I have reread it & watched the TV series. I was blown away by Margaret's foresite, what a remarkable woman. Thank you so much. Americans please vote blue💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@andreasdesigns]

Thank you, Margaret Atwood, for writing this warning story. People may not have thought it was possible, but as some people drag us closer to the reality of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” your book shows us what could happen so we can stand up against those trying to implement it.

[@CarlaBaku]

Margaret Atwood is simply brilliant. Her body of work--fiction, essay, poetry spanning sixty years--is stunning.

[@loiseilers5058]

Brilliant woman. A world treasure.

[@juliesaunders2031]

This is why history and herstory is so important.

[@jabbermocky4520]

Extraordinary prescience on Atwood's part. I read the Handmaid's Tale in 1987. My sister had shared it with me. We were both new mothers. When my local writer's association held a banned book reading in 1989 I read from the Handmaid's Tale. At the time I wrote a weekly newspaper column on the arts. Salman Rushdie was rumored to be staying on the Island while on the run from Iranian extremists who were after his scalp. Turned out only his then-wife was. The writers in our small community did what we could. Atwood remains my personal literary heroine of all time.

[@jandrews6254]

I’ve read the book twice, with an interval of some years because it had come out in film,. I prefer to read. My daughter watched the show and tried to get me to watch but I just couldn’t. At that point things were happening that were heartwrenchingly part of the book. Now of course, it’s even worse! Iran and Afghanistan were bad enough but when it started to happen in the US! supposedly a place that celebrates democracy and freedom and equality but where the majority gender is nonetheless being subjugated. AGAIN! What the heck?!?!?

[@ianleslie6971]

A good choice, but insular. Atwood 's Madd Addam trilogy is a harsher reality awakening. For quite some time now.

[@auggiedoggiesmommy1734]

@@jandrews6254what’s absolutely astounding are the women who are voting to strip themselves of rights.

[@nsbd90now]

So wild to remember reading "The Handmaid's Tale" as a summer reading book by a pool as a kid. It was the current bestseller. Never, ever thought it was so prescient and now, in 2024, we are actually on the verge of a Gilead because of the Republicans.

[@sberesford2523]

Yeah likewise.

[@massiahgrom]

You were a smart kid . I read good literature by the pool as a kids as well .I'm 67 today and still love a great book at the pool . It's been years since I could read at the pool, kids and grands that required supervision . I'm that mom . Like the head life guard!

[@caroleappling2007]

Yes, I read this long ago, in the late 80’s. I have been posting about Gilead since 2016… and here we are, with one last chance to save our selves, or escape while you can.

[@annatetiad.4991]

there are other factors that have nothing to do with Republicans, and more to do with control of the State by outside unelected people who choose our leaders (globalism and the depopulation agenda) - if you look at the recent "cancelling of women" and women's spaces, look who is in power now who have allowed the current madness.

[@zephyrhills5620]

There are still so many deluded voters out there who think, “Trump won’t do that.” Then, his wife writes a memoir in which she claims to have liberal views on abortion. It’s all part of the manipulation to keep the wool pulled down over the voters’ eyes. Anyone who claims to value personal freedom is crazy to vote for Trump. He, or JD Vance, will sign oppressive legislation against women and others into law. Guaranteed.

[@KelleyMeyer-f9h]

Silence is acceptance…we must question our government when all of our rights are threatened! The Handmaids Tale depicts what can happen if we don’t fight the oppressors! 🙏🇨🇦

[@patricialongo5870]

Yup. Too bad we have only the right wing in ideology. Without a to left we have no alternatives. Simply none. Americans are left proof.

[@marjoriegoodwin2993]

it was the Separatists who hired The Mayflower, which they could not totally fill. So, they sadly had to allow/invite the Puritans along, which was not even a good thing for the Separatists, because the Puritans were always miserable bullies. William Brewster was not a Puritan, he was a Separatist, who believed in women's rights and their right to own property. Just thought I`d mention this all too often overlooked truth.

[@charleneandrle-olson3099]

Thank you for sharing this fact. Not a lot of us Americans know this. I didn't.

[@heathervandewalle8954]

I am beginning to research a lot more in history and will certainly be looking into this as well.

[@marjoriegoodwin2993]

@@heathervandewalle8954 I`m so glad to hear it.

[@Missy-Missy1111]

The Handmaid's + Fahrenheit 451+ Idiocracy = Project 2025

[@johnirwin3276]

And V..... England Prevails!

[@Daelyah]

​@@johnirwin3276Remember, remember, the fifth of November

[@karlajaeger2082]

It's always about controlling women. And when it isn't, it's about hating intellectuals and the smartest. Why do smart kids get beaten up? They express a unfamiliar message.

[@Missy-Missy1111]

@karlajaeger2082 Also, it is about punishing the "promiscuous" women, especially if they get pregnant. Then, they can force them to carry to full term.

[@karlajaeger2082]

@@Missy-Missy1111 totally. I often suggest that free birth control from puberty to 18 will severely limit teen pregnancy. But nooo...it's about controlling women who like sex without getting pregnant. Fuck the patriarchy.

[@saveUSall24]

I read handmaid's tale in the 80's. My ex-husband said it couldn't happen here, but I believed it already was with the religious-political right. And now we have Mike Johnson & the right wing Supreme Court. Please vote blue up and down the ballot to stop the reversal of our rights💙♀️💙

[@alcyone-rising]

agreed. maga mike just a bully. was a POS in middle school. still one today.

[@patricialongo5870]

The blue guys didn't protect any rights. Otherwise you'd have a point.

[@beetlebob4675]

​@@patricialongo5870 And the red ones could have just, you know, left em the fuck alone.

[@saveUSall24]

@@patricialongo5870 the blue needs a majority. The red Senate blocked O'Bama's Supreme Court pick because 9 months too close to election, then allowed Trump to pick a couple of months before 2000 election. If more people voted blue McConnell would not have been able to do that, and the radical right would not control SCOTUS. Now we need the majority to get back rights like Roe provided.

[@patricialongo5870]

@@saveUSall24 whenever they had a majority it didn't happen. More votes for blue.

[@amberrambo]

It is scary how accurate her ideas are and how they are attempting to come to fruition.

[@babybirdhome]

It’s because they’re not her ideas - they’re the ideas of those who’ve come before and done it before. Everything in her book is taken directly from recent history. Those ideas are always going to come back because people are more interested in blaming ideas and -isms for things that corruption broke, and because of this, the underlyind corruption that causes _everything_ to fail is ignored while watching dutifully for the things that corruption has exploited in the past as if the corruption itself were the idea and were inherent to the idea. Corruption always gets a pass, because it looks like those who are inherently corrupt already (and to some degree, in some way or another, we all have our own corruption in us). People see failure and think “other” as if they contain no failure themselves, and so they wind up ignoring the cause of the problems they think they’re trying to prevent. It’s sort of akin to knowing a few people who’ve died of breast cancer in your family, and so watching for anyone who has breasts to come along and thinking they’re what’s causing cancer, and so punishing those with breasts rather than trying to prevent cancer itself.

[@VGBJournals]

She wrote the literal lived reality of Indigenous and Black women, so-

[@ovalbeach]

I started watching the Handmaid’s Tale during the Trump regime and I could only get through perhaps 6 episodes of the first season before I began to cry and realize this is not fiction. VOTE BLUE!!! Vote Harris/Walz in November 💙💙💙

[@susanlovesjava4961]

You'll need options after attacked by men from 3rd world countries.

[@beeniebaby4863]

​@@susanlovesjava4961 The call is coming from inside the house.

[@francelaferriere6106]

@@susanlovesjava4961 Troll.

[@ovalbeach]

@@susanlovesjava4961 You are the kinda gal who would be happy to fall under the command of Aunt Lydia…you are quite the prize.

[@ovalbeach]

@@francelaferriere6106 Thank you for that. She is the type of woman who would happily fall under the control of Aunt Lydia.

[@koleyw932]

"Speculative Fiction". Learn something everyday.

[@janegarnham]

it’s a standard Literary term. For a genre. One of my favourite ones. Genres that is.

[@IsaDesOsiers]

I read The Handmaids' Tale years ago. I didn't want to watch the show because I had already fully integrated its message, which is traumatizing. Margaret Atwood is a literary giant, and so I am grateful for this interview and the parallels she draws historically in her methodology in writing the book, and in current events. This is important stuff. I think about what is happening to women in certain parts of the world, not just the USA. But also in the US.

[@shawnmurray9964]

The first episode of the series is jarring, and well worth the watch.

[@dantescave1]

Same!

[@pamelal4995]

Everyone should watch the series. We are so close to it becoming a reality. Frightening!

[@michelegressel6627]

I can't watch it either.

[@shiplesp]

I read Handmaid's Tale when it first came out and it scared me to death specifically because I felt it could easily happen here in the US. I haven't been able to reread it since (which is unusual for me with books that affect me deeply) and I can't watch the TV adaptation. It just seems so real and possible to me. Not fiction at all. Brilliant book.

[@pietwandelaar1743]

When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat. -- George Carlin

[@jandrews6254]

Just read it in the news😭

[@jandrews6254]

Atwood warned us. Trump told us what to expect Project 2025 has stated what WILL happen. Has the message percolated through? YET?

[@jamietfranklin]

same!

[@AlbertPaysonTerhune]

No, it could not not happen in America and anyone who thinks it can, has very slight grasp of reality. First of all there are too many religious sects (let's just limit it to Christianity for the moment) for a Gilead cult to emerge and take power...outside a VERY restricted commune or enclave. So you could have various Shaker-style cults, and Brook Farm Experiments, and Oneida and Amana-type communities, but such communities cannot swallow a whole nation because their internal dynamics prevent them from scaling. Even the moderate form of Mormonism couldn't thrive unless it had leagues and leagues of desert between its stamping grounds and the rest of the country.

[@greenbrain8725]

They want to end women’s emancipation from “a livestock version of compulsory reproduction” - quote from Christopher Hitchens

[@ramyhuber8392]

Good quote, thanks.

[@labelmail]

have you ever thought what connection between husband and husbandry exists?

[@greenbrain8725]

@@labelmail yikes!

[@labelmail]

@@greenbrain8725 och well, it goes on like in bride and bridled ---- sometimes the nearness of words are quite telling what mindset is behind them

[@heathervandewalle8954]

You can see the truth of greens comment even more clearly because currently in some states there is no exception for rape (and of course no viability of fetus, great danger to the pregnant woman etc)... even if the person is a child of incest. Compulsory reproduction. Men who rape get to carry on their DNA. All consequences and life costs fall on the women disproportionally. Many women could vow not to be involved with men, but that does not protect her from rape. Many countries have a rape culture where the men are not punished or lightly punished. In handmaiden tale, those women that could bear children suffered compulsory reproduction/rape. The woman who could not bear children but had more powerful husbands had to go along with the scheme and even be in the room holding down the handmaiden while she was raped. Glory be!

[@PeterKerans-h6z]

A warning, not an instruction manual. The book won the inaugural Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction. Great book and interview, thanks.

[@mariateresakarcher5591]

Except it is not science fiction...Atwood did not make up anything that hadn't or wasn't happening already. 😊Women have been treated worse than any other group all throughout history.

[@libmorin9985]

This intelligent creative women has always frightened me deeply in a way that helps me focus on what is needed to keep women safe and strong thank you Margaret

[@sumiland6445]

5:22 in the USA, a handful of men in states' governments are making anti-abortion laws, no matter what anyone else wants.

[@vickyabramowitz2885]

Conservative Republican men.

[@communitygardener17]

​@@vickyabramowitz2885Opus Dei men

[@Smiley-fv8zi]

A brilliant, brave, person. Love her!

[@StevenRenk]

The briefness of this interview doesn't detract from its powerful impact. Margaret Atwood has a super sharp sense of the nature of power that political theocracy can and does possess. We're frighteningly close to the cusp of change, despite all the knowledge and experience since Oliver Cromwell's era - through to present day. Indeed, how long have got?

[@brittanyleach2542]

My school district has now mandated that we pull this book from our classroom libraries. It breaks my heart!! Censorship causes blindness! Say it louder for those in the back, Mrs. Atwood!!

[@Sarah-qo9bu]

Perhaps due to the sexual nature of the novel and the tv show. It may not fit with school policy. it can still be discussed though.

[@Anna-pk2ee]

This is INSANE, fight or flight this Place. There are Bad people at work😢

[@Anna-pk2ee]

@@Sarah-qo9buSorry but this argument is pure nonsense. You didnt read this Book! Be honest❤ And „sexual Nature of the Book“ is a disgusting euphemism of rape. This Book is about rape and Misogynie! Not in a 1000 years you know anything about this Book.

[@Anna-pk2ee]

@@Sarah-qo9bui feel sorry for you bc you Talk about a Book you Never read

[@michelegressel6627]

So wrong!

[@sunii4264]

Atwood's work is wholly believable to Black America.💯💔🇺🇲

[@c4tmh133]

Yes!!! We were telling them for years, but they didn't listen. They didn't think it could happen to them. Now they'll have to learn the hard way...

[@Moamanly]

If American women could stand together as a bloc (we saw a brief glimpse of that through the Women's Marches) they could bring their country to a standstill and force social/legislative change. As an aside, how do American conservatives reconcile their adoration of the first amendment with the burgeoning practice of banning books?

[@TheRaspberry82]

Good question

[@nathalie_desrosiers]

They are so good at mental gymnastic.

[@kisslena]

We love you Margaret Atwood💐💛

[@Little_Shadow_]

Margaret Atwood, you're an amazing woman, brilliant writer! Your books give me strength 💙

[@tw8464]

Thank you Margaret Atwood for the important work you've done to bring attention to how the totalitarian / extremist regimes operate and being a clear warning. Please everyone share Margaret Atwood's work with everyone you know.

[@captainbobsparrow9092]

What an amazing & enlightening interview. This woman is so deeply intelligent & wise- and both intelligence & wisdom are both so lacking in the current discourse.

[@bowerbirdstyle7661]

I saw "The Handmaid's Tale" movie when it came out. It revolted me. I was surprised to see it return so many years later as a TV series. It is more relevant now than ever.

[@MelodyT-o4g]

I read this book when it first came out. I don't know how many times I threw the book across the room, I was so angry. Here we come, it is happening.

[@paulamorton6454]

Atwood is definitely one of the most profound and important writers of the 1900s to the present. Testaments and The MaddAddam trilogy are also must-reads IMO.

[@bwktlcn]

I remember reading the Handmaid’s Tale in college in the 1980’s. My fellow students were dismissive, “speculative fiction,” it could never happen here…and I remember thinking “Oh, yes it could….” And here we are.

[@melchizedek6279]

Thanks so much for posting this. Recently I began watching episode clips on KZbin and thought “OMG, how did I miss this?”. Margaret Atwood is a literary treasure.

[@wingv313]

I am constantly referring to the Handmaids Tale in regards to our current events in the world but especially in our country. Ms. Atwood is a very sharp & articulate visionary. I’m thankful for her literary work & her courage-What an incredibly talented lady!

[@heartofmusic1]

Yeah she gave them a lot of ideas!

[@foxylovelace2679]

Its brilliant to hear her speak about her book and the current climate. I love the quote she mentioned "the future is here but its unevenly distributed". I read her book in high school in texas.

[@canopusstar5157]

I felt the cold winds of Fascism blowing as soon as Nixon’s inauguration. I kept watching with horror as the political process continued. I’m old now and terribly sad to see what it has become.

[@alcyone-rising]

we're not giving up and we damned sure arant going back.

[@Silverstreak7878]

Very interesting. What do you remember about it that struck you? Thank you for your post.

[@98Zai]

"an unsettled feeling" very much describes it.

[@Chick4choice]

Vote. Vote early. Vote as soon as your ballot is available. And then offer to take our elders, our neighbors and others who may not be able to make it to their polling places to drop their ballots!

[@raeannaruby8306]

Trump 2024

[@maijaliepa119]

🌹Thank You Margaret & Interviewer🌹

[@sharonhearne5014]

Several years ago I was reading about organized religious interest in the American public fading rapidly and now seeing the resurgence of a branch of fundamentalist Catholic rhetoric being pushed again via the Heritage Society and even other fundamentalist Christian religions is personally very disturbing. Were these belief systems to succeed via a political/religious movement America would go retrograde in a very repressive regime.

[@jabbermocky4520]

Opus Dei, the Dominionists, all offshoots of radical Catholicism dating back centuries. Very much an all-boy he-man woman hater's club. With money and guns.

[@MarkYeck-c2y]

Defund the churches that are participating actively in politics and tax them

[@CPAndy-x5x]

The Catholic church does not believe in the separation of church and state. Never has. Popes have written encyclicals on this (check out Pope Leo).

[@ianleslie6971]

You think that is scary. Closely examine the Islamic faith. Christianity has the concept of love thy neighbor at it's roots. The teachings of Mohamed have no such thing.

[@TinaBUTCHER-ph1ph]

​@ianleslie6971 neither does Judaism why didn't you mention the other pole in the Abrahamic triad?

[@carolmartin4413]

A pure example of age with wisdom. A huge thanks to Margaret Atwood for her wisdom...now we need to heed her words and warnings. The filth of maga and trump must be abolished.

[@sberesford2523]

A prophesy sadly. A great woman a great writer ❤

[@elizabethfraser2996]

What a MIND ! Only in Canada.

[@jabbermocky4520]

Canada's very best!

[@jansilverthorn777]

I put her on the same level as our other greats; David Suzuki, Tommy Douglas, etc.

[@wyleecoyotee4252]

​@@jansilverthorn777 Don't forget Morgantaler

[@debbieb4831]

I’ve read her books and watch the series and I think she has painted an accurate picture of what can happen here. I’m very impressed with her writing!

[@stevereber3358]

The reason we have Rhode Island, is difference in levels of intolerance, Sarah Vowell points out that Roger Williams was warned that he was being voted on to be shunned (they cut your ears off and anyone who helped you [read "Christian charity"] in any way; they would be shunned in turn. So Roger ran away from Boston to what is now Rhode Island and started his own even more intolerant cult. The pilgrims did not come for freedom of religion, they were unwelcome in England because of their many flavors of intolerance. We came for freedom of religious intolerance.

[@dragonflysadler]

I read Handmaids Tale in high school and never thought it would come true but its chilling how it is. Ive always loved your writing and I met u at an airport once and thanked you. Thank you again

[@bamboozled1668]

From a national abortion ban, to a national birth registry (as outlined in Project 2025).... How long til mandatory birth quotas? Detainment? Forced insemination?

[@timtrewyn453]

Meanwhile, the older generation denies young men much of a chance to gain the means to be attractive to the practical, evolved concerns of young women attracted by men of means. The young men are out cutting trees, mowing lawns, replacing roofs, working in wastewater plants, picking up the garbage, counting the days until military basic training is over or until the day of discharge. How long? I've seen the subordination of young men for decades.

[@chimericalbeast]

@@timtrewyn453 Patriarchy is a cage for everyone, including men. However, I’m not convinced women are so concerned with the means you speak of as to overlook men of character. It’s just what is considered character doesn’t always align between those genders. But pressing young men in into military service for extended periods of time would put a stress on things, yes.

[@Other3.5]

I hope our daughters will do their research on the history of women "taking" their husband's name (look up Norman femme couvert laws and Coverture both in England and US). Both women in the commander's life are branded with his name as proof of his ownership of them as his property (not as human beings). There is no difference in calling the handmaid Of-fred And calling the wife Mrs. Fred Waterford (It is the same reason why many slave owners in our country "gave" their last name to their slave and why many African Americans in this country have the last name Washington or Jefferson. We have to stop celebrating women being reduced to property when they marry. It's heart breaking and harmful.

[@user-wi9hv2pb2q]

Americans whose ancestors were enslaved Took those last names after they were liberated to avoid having the legacy of the people who enslaved them. A lot of immigrants took president's names too to be 'American'. Those names were chosen as being dignified and respected. They Chose the name Washington or Jefferson for a reason, maybe we have no right to judge that decision.

[@ianleslie6971]

​@user-wi9hv2pb2q it's amazing how people have a tendency to skew history with their personal objectives, rather than looking for the actual roots.

[@krishadyn5211]

Its amazing how many don't realize that marriage is a literal property contract. You are incorporated together. That can be convenient but the romantic and religious dressing aren't important to the contract. It was absurd when religious people insisted on "protecting" marriage from people getting married--the govt contract has nothing to do with anyone's religion. If you get 'married' by a church, you are not married in anyone else's eyes without the PROPERTY CONTRACT.

[@labelmail]

and IF they marry - STOP handing over the brides hand from father to husband - this is just the symbol of handing over the ownership of the women

[@Melly3112-ox3ey]

​@@user-wi9hv2pb2q Thank you for pointing that out.

[@user-aymanzone]

Thank you Margaret Atwood for being a vocal supporter for the Palestinians and against the genocide

[@davidrobinson9507]

The closest I ever got to her was in about 1981. She co- owned a restaurant in Toronto called Gracie's. My friend from high school Steve Melemis was in a trio; he played cello and there was piano and, uhh, flute I think. Young guys playing nice chamber type music for Sunday brunch. Ms Atwood was seated at the back when my crowd of friends came in. She was already great, but not the towering figure she'd become. One of her partners in the restaurant was Charles Pachter, the painter. I have to say I've always disliked his work but that's just an aside opinion. I wish I'd had the courage to go and speak to her. I wish I wasn't so lazy to not be writing her fan letters all these years. I don't really know her books. I know her from her speeches and appearances on tv and radio. I'm so fortunate to live in her time. Thank you Margaret Atwood.

[@janjr165]

Project 2025 in a nutshell.

[@mkervelegan]

Actually the Heritage Foundation glommed onto Margaret Atwood’s oeuvres.

[@jrojala]

She’s so clever and wise I love her writing style

[@peterelliott2]

Margret's (and I use the familiar with reason) monumental insight and intelect exhibited in her work never cease to amaze me. She stands as one of Canada's greatest gifts to the world! So proud to be Canadian. So proud to call her ours. 👍🙂

[@AmyRobinson-n2r]

Margaret Atwood is a literary hero. Reading the Handmaid's Tale as a 15 year old girl absolutely made me think about issues I never had before and to look deeply at the women around me and ask them about their lives.

[@ariesgray3]

As a 44 year old Canadian woman, who just had her hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis… this story is not far fetched. The decline in birth rates is spurning on the removal of women’s rights. I am so fortunate to be in this country at this time in history. I joke with my partner that I would make a great Martha….

[@priscillawrites6685]

Thank you Margaret Atwood. Thinking about the women of Danvers/Salem Massachusetts

[@maijaliepa119]

💙💙🌊BLUE WAVE💙💙🌊💙VOTE BLUE💙ThankU💙💙💙🌊💙KAMALA💙🌊💙🌊

[@Yosemiteb]

Thank G I got to read The Handmaids tale in seventh grade 1980 thank you California school system 🎉🎉I never ever forgot it😢vote blue

[@tbaker729]

Wasn't the book first published in 1985, or did you read the first draft before it's printing?

[@saraday4300]

❤❤❤

[@Yosemiteb]

@@tbaker729 I don’t think so I was in the 7th grade and we read it . I did go to school in the Bay Area where the most Nobel prize winners reside. Many writers and editors teach there so maybe we did get some kind of first draft. California is usually usually ahead of the rest of the country,so maybe ,…you came from a state that was still reading Tolstoy and digesting the 18th century. 🍻

[@LindaVernon]

​@@tbaker729You are correct -- 1985.

[@LindaVernon]

​@@YosemitebIt's wonderful you got to read it at school, but it wasn't in your 7th grade. @tbaker729 is correct, it was published in 1985. 🙂

[@donnawilson7091]

Your thinking clears the fog in my brain and puts world events in context for me. Thank you.

[@JD-hh9io]

That TV show scared the shit out of me.

[@CaptMortifyd]

I never finished it because it scared me too - worth finishing?

[@JD-hh9io]

@@CaptMortifyd I couldn't get through season 2. And I'm an old guy. Not much bothers me. But that shit, I can see happening.

[@clairelevasseur9434]

​@CaptyMortifyd yes absolument !!!

[@samsmom1491]

​@@CaptMortifyd It's not over yet. One more season. Yes, it's hard to watch at times, but I really liked this last season. For one main character (not the lead) in particular, her circumstances mirror June's. That whole season can be summed up with two words: karma and irony.

[@samsmom1491]

​@@JD-hh9io Watching the horrors of the Holocaust was brutally hard, but we need to see the results of madmen and their agendas. If you think watching the HT was hard as a man, consider how women feel about it. Give it another try, especially now that Project 2025 is a real threat.

[@brucewalters8635]

Margaret is an admirable human being. She's a globe thinker with keen insights. And what did she use as references? HISTORY! What and intelligent and poised woman. Thanks for taking the risk for the sake of truth.

[@seriouslypagan6904]

Here's the most important question, can we be granted asylum in Canada?

[@jabbermocky4520]

Feel that. Been looking into it for decades. My grandfather was a Nova Scotian. Moved to Boston when times were tough. I always wanted to live in Canada, the place he told me such wonderful stories about. But I had to live the life fate dealt me. Kinda sucks. I have an American stomach but a Canadian heart and brains.

[@71suns]

I've wondered that over and over in recent years.

[@KristiJohnson-yo4hh]

Probably no asylum in Canada, kind of like not letting someone with dog poo on their shoes walk into your living room. Too risky & hard to clean up.

[@MemoryAmethyst]

As long as you leave your guns, god and grievances behind, you might stand a chance but frankly, we don’t want America 2.0. Instead, stay in your own country and clean up your own mess.

[@noseferachoo]

@@MemoryAmethystKind of an insensitive comment. Not all of us made the “mess.” And you can also thank Putin for interfering in our election as well as James Comey, under the direction of Trump, announcing just days before the election that they were reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton which influenced swing state voters. For non-MAGA Americans, the last 8 years have been a neverending nightmare that should never have happened.

[@keylime2998]

Thank you for your work & warning. It helps us open our eyes to fight those who advocate for a similar future.

[@twineberry]

“It’s terrifying but I have to write it” is exactly how I felt watching the show. It was also so strange watching it after reading about project 2025 and seeing all the parallels. Even scarier now that trump has been re-elected

[@kevinderr440]

Your work is amazing. Thank you. We are all better off because of your writing.

[@Waylonthescienceguy]

We are in it now...