Rebecca Wanzo

Professor at Washington University. Author of The Suffering Will Not Be Televised and The Content of Our Caricature.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@LauraJo89865001 @ilavinaq @_MAGA_NEWS_ Many African American girls and women were also sterilized without their consent well into the 20th century. Puerto Rican women as well. The US had eugenics programs across the country. Another example of why it is wrong not to teach about the history of discrimination.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

Some facts if you celebrate people losing SNAP benefits. Almost 40% of people who receive these benefits are children. Over half of people with children who receive benefits work. Almost 20% are elderly. And many people are disabled. https://t.co/HmmMyqO6v7

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

Slouching into fascism https://t.co/c7qblJLaMM via @MotherJones

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

A small fraction of research that will not happen because of cancelled grants. https://t.co/lhrVmkL4uL

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

Yes. This bill is grounded in eugenics.

[Hannibal999 @Hannibal9972485]

This congress is passing a EUGENICS bill believe it or not, it mirrors classic Eugenics logic.
Just like the early 20th century’s pseudoscientific “fitness tests,” this bill asks:
“Are you productive? Are you self-sufficient? Are you cost-effective to keep alive?”
If the answer is no, you’re phased out of the system. It’s not sterilization, but the result is the same:
People labeled “lesser” — by wealth, health, or ability — are pushed aside to preserve the economic “whole.”

It revives the core question at the heart of 20th-century eugenics: “Who is worth keeping alive?”

Early eugenicists believed society should be “purified” by removing people considered genetically or economically burdensome. Their language was coded in terms like “feebleminded,” “unfit,” or “degenerate,” but the real calculus was brutally simple:

Does this person contribute enough to justify their cost to the system?
That’s exactly the unspoken logic embedded in this bill’s Medicaid restrictions. The “Big Beautiful Bill” replaces IQ scores with work hours, asset tests, and documentation audits but the end goal is eerily familiar: exclude those who don’t pass an arbitrary threshold of usefulness.

It reframes vulnerability as a disqualifying trait. Just like historical eugenics targeted the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, the nonwhite, and the inconvenient — this bill goes after the exact same categories. It just calls them “noncompliant” or “unqualified.”
If you’re disabled but can’t prove it in monthly paperwork?
You’re excluded.
If you’re too sick to work and can’t log 80 hours?
You’re excluded.
If you’re an elderly person in a low-income zip code with too much home equity?
You’re excluded.

And then It punishes people for not being profitable to the economy — and does so with moral authority.

This is where the mask comes off.
The bill moralizes economic productivity.
It says: If you work and pay taxes, you deserve care. If you don’t — regardless of circumstance — you’re freeloading, draining, undeserving.
Thats the same hierarchy of human worth based on output.
Just like the eugenicists who said “the strong must flourish and the weak must perish,” this bill says:

“We only have room in the budget for the fittest.”

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

It would be nice if the press and pundits on social media reminded everyone of the history of the U.S. interfering in Iran's governance. How'd that go?

[Harry Sisson @harryjsisson]

🚨BREAKING: Trump suggests that the United States may engage in regime change in Iran, saying “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN.” The “pro-peace” president is now bombing countries and suggesting broader war. Insanity.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

Never forget. https://t.co/dm2vRUAhvz

[Left of Black @LeftOfBlack]

"Historian Elizabeth Blum said that for the Black women of Love Canal, the fight wasn’t just about health, but about getting the same treatment as their peers."
https://t.co/xAH1cu2EIK

[Me @KirkWrites79]

Just saw a post saying Sinners has no trauma. And I don’t know what movie you were watching and what you consider trauma. The trauma is baked in something you were OK with digesting — horror vs historical drama. Please let this term go. It’s useless, at this point.

[Dr Ellie Murray, ScD @EpiEllie]

Some of y’all forget the reason we have food safety regulations is because companies used to do things like adding chalk to spoiled milk so it looked normal.

Regulations don’t exist because governments enjoy them. They exist because pure unadulterated capitalism would kill us.

[Gerald A. Griggs @AttorneyGriggs]

And this is why we have to continue in the fight.

Why would the Administration rewrite the narrative of the Underground Railroad in the National Parks?

#Handsoff our history. #harriettubman #HandsOff2025

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@mrgshum @MonicaLMarks False statements of adversity are not required. Showing you can work well with others is important. It is a skill, particularly in the sciences and business. Not only does he not seem to have it, he does not want to cultivate it. That makes him a less than ideal admit.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

Mississippi ranks at the bottom in terms of health outcomes, economic growth, and infrastructure. And isn't that great for education either. This is going to turn out well. . .

[Governor Tate Reeves @tatereeves]

We did it, Mississippi! We just eliminated the income tax!

Today is a day that will be remembered — not just for the headlines, not just for the politics, but for the profound, generational change it represents.

Today, I was proud to sign into law a complete elimination of the individual income tax in the state of Mississippi. Let me say that again: Mississippi will no longer tax the work, the earnings, or the ambition of its people.

This is more than a policy victory. This is a transformation. And it’s a transformation that I have believed in, fought for, and worked toward for many years. From my days as lieutenant governor to my first campaign for this office — and every legislative session since — I have made this my mission.

Because I believe in a simple idea: that government should take less so that you can keep more. That our people should be rewarded for hard work, not punished. And that Mississippi has the potential to be a magnet for opportunity, for investment, for talent — and for families looking to build a better life.

The legislation I signed puts us in a rare class of elite, competitive states. There are only a handful of states in the country that do not tax income. Today, Mississippi joins their ranks — and in doing so, we plant our flag.

We are saying to job creators across America: if you want to build, come to Mississippi.

We are saying to families across the South: if you want to grow, come to Mississippi.

We are saying to entrepreneurs, to workers, to dreamers: Mississippi is open for business — and we won’t penalize your success.

We are going to compete — and we’re going to win.

Now, I want to be clear: this didn’t happen overnight. And it didn’t happen alone. This day is the result of years of work by dedicated leaders who shared the vision and had the courage to act.

I want to thank Speaker Jason White and Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann. I want to give special thanks to Speaker White because he worked his tail off to get this done. I also want to thank House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar and all the members of the House and Senate who rolled up their sleeves and got this done. We debated. We negotiated. We stayed focused on the goal. And we got it across the finish line — together.

To the people of Mississippi: you are the real winners today. This law means more money in your pocket. It means more jobs in your town. It means a future with more opportunity for your children and grandchildren.

The work of your hands belongs to you. It is yours — to feed your family and invest in your home and your community.

Because that’s what this is ultimately about. Not just numbers on a balance sheet, but lives. Generations from now, when our kids are raising families of their own in a stronger, more prosperous Mississippi, they will look back on this moment and say: this is when we took our shot.

This is when we bet on ourselves. This is when we really broke from the pack. This is when we took bold action — and it paid off.

There are moments in a state’s history that mark a turning point. A moment where the past gives way to the future. Where we rise above the old ways of doing things — and chart a bold new course… this is one of those moments.

The elimination of the income tax is not just a win for our economy. It’s a win for freedom. A win for families. A win for the idea that Mississippi can lead — that we will lead — in the century to come.

And I believe with all my heart that we will look back on this day as a turning point, a generational victory, and a proud legacy we leave for those who come after us.

[Angelo Carusone @GoAngelo]

1. What you see here is clearest illustration why things are so messed up and why it cannot get any better until this asymmetry is addressed.

Put simply: right-wing has narrative dominance.

My org (@mmfa) did this study and been sounding this alarm for years. Some thoughts...

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@MTJakeEaton @USMCLiberal I believe that civil rights laws are important, that you should not stop teaching about the history of discrimination in schools, and that we have ample evidence that discrimination still exists (even if you scrub data from federal websites). Lots of rational people agree.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@MTJakeEaton @USMCLiberal Which is what these programs are for.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@MTJakeEaton @USMCLiberal Since we have politicians actively saying that only white men are qualified to lead or that the mere presence of “diverse” people causes crashes, you won’t convince me that we don’t need programs to prevent discrimination.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@MTJakeEaton @USMCLiberal Like clean water? Safety in air travel? Food safety? Road safety? Disease? Fire prevention? I could keep going. . . This is not an audit. This is just taking a hacksaw to things people need to survive and lying and saying it is about poor performance.

[Rebecca Wanzo @rawreader]

@chiefcalhoun @JAMAiwuyor You have to look at the source. This is part of why we are in trouble--and why divesting from education is a problem. People need to learn the difference between a credible source and one that is not.

[Tim Hannan @TimHannan]

I love all the hurt you’re causing but can you make one exception?