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Re: Bitchcraft meme
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I had no idea there was a name for that, but I think I may be a practicing member of the art. Two true stories, both from bridge tournaments on the road.

I’ve told this story before, but it’s kind of fun so I’ll tell it again. We’re waiting for the round to be called and just chatting after three hands were played. One of the opponents asked where we were from and we responded New York and Ontario. The two opponents were from Canada as well and one of them excitedly asked what I thought of then-President Trump. I said I loved the guy and was thrilled out of my mind that he was the President. She frowned and then asked what I thought of Obama. I didn’t miss a beat when I quickly replied that I thought that he was the most unqualified man in any room he’d ever been in. Her eyes got large and watery and she became speechless. She abruptly got up from the table and left. My partner had been to the men’s room and passed her on his way back into the playing area. When he arrived at our table, he said he saw the lady on his way in and she was crying and asked why she was so upset. I had to be careful what I said because her partner was still at the table, so I simply replied that she was upset that Obama was no longer in office.

The second display of my bitchcraft was this past June in Fredericton. Again, post-round, we’re talking about where we’re all from and our opponents were from Ottawa. I mentioned that I used to live there for 16 years and was glad to be gone because the weather was so extreme. Being in a valley, it could be bitterly cold in the winter (-40° with windchill) and oppressively hot in the summer (feels like 40°). The female opponent told me that global warming had changed the weather in Ottawa and that those extremes didn’t happen any more. I laughed and she asked me what was so funny. I simply raised my eyebrows and looked over my glasses and said “Global warming?” She said “You don’t believe in global warming?” I said “No. It’s another income redistribution scheme devised by governments to impoverish wealthy nations and control our lives in negative ways, similar to wars.” She left the table and her partner and I continued to have an intelligent conversation about why I said that. At the end, he said that it was interesting to hear a different point of view. I don’t think he meant that, but was too polite to call me an idiot climate change denier to my face. I lived in Ottawa. Twenty percent of the people work in government and it’s mostly an echo chamber for whatever government narrative is being pushed at the moment.

I never start these discussions, but I don’t have any problem engaging in them when invited. That the women go away crying is a sad sign to me that their beliefs are firm, rarely challenged, and fragile. I’m delighted to have a name for the situation I keep finding myself in. Thank you, foldy!