Posts filed under ‘Theme Parties’
Bigotry, Racism, Antisemitism, Violence Against Women and Democracy— What’s Decent and Honorable About Hate?
As an actor, empath and lifelong ambassador to the good in the world, I have always believed in trying on another person’s point of view, putting myself in their shoes, but these shoes scare me. Am I missing something? Does Nick Fuentes have it right? What’s your take?
By Peter Baker, writer for the New York Times. Printed in The Morning on November 29, 2022.
Good morning. The white nationalist who dined with Donald Trump has denigrated Black people, women, Jews and other groups.
Nick Fuentes.Nicole Hester/Ann Arbor News, via Associated Press
Invoking bigotry
Donald Trump claimed he did not know who Nick Fuentes was before sitting down to dinner with him and other guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last week. But Fuentes is certainly well known to the groups that track racist and antisemitic trends in American society.
While the Justice Department has described Fuentes in court papers as a white supremacist, that barely begins to fully capture the range of inflammatory views he has expressed denigrating Black people, Jews, women, L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, Muslims and immigrants.
At age 24, Fuentes has become a star on the far right for a font of extremist statements that would have disqualified him from meeting with any other modern president. He has used a racist slur for Black people; called homosexuality “disgusting”; asserted that the Republican Party was “run by Jews, atheists and homosexuals”; said it would be better if women could not vote; compared himself to Hitler and hoped for “a total Aryan victory”; declared that “the First Amendment was not written for Muslims”; and maintained that Jim Crow segregation “was better for them, it’s better for us, it’s better in general.”
Fuentes first came to prominence in 2017 when he attended the ultraright rally in Charlottesville, Va., after which Trump asserted that there were “very fine people on both sides” even as he denounced neo-Nazis. Fuentes dropped out of Boston University after saying he had received threats stemming from his attendance at the rally and began hosting a livestream show, “America First,” that same year, generating an audience of followers called Groypers, named for a cartoon frog.
He founded the America First Political Action Conference in 2020 and hosted far-right Republicans in the House including Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona. Fuentes rejects the term white supremacist because it is an “anti-white slur,” but embraces the language of white racism and antisemitism and calls himself a “reactionary” and a “misogynist.”
Trump often claims not to know much about extremists whose support he accepts, as he did with the former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, the Proud Boys and followers of QAnon. But even if it were true in this case, Fuentes was brought to the dinner by Kanye West, the rapper now known as Ye, who was invited by Trump at the very moment West was under fire for antisemitic comments of his own. And even afterward, Trump did not condemn Fuentes, leaving white nationalists to view the dinner as validation.
While news organizations are naturally reluctant to amplify hateful statements, it is important to understand just what we’re talking about when we discuss someone welcomed to the table of a former president seeking to return to the White House. So here is a summary compiled with the help of my colleague Ian Prasad Philbrick from research by the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations and news outlets. Fuentes did not respond to requests for an interview passed along through a lawyer.
Antisemitism and racism
Fuentes regularly invokes fears of a “white genocide” and echoes replacement theory, which holds that elites seek to “replace” white Americans with immigrants and other people of color. The theory has inspired a number of mass shootings in recent years, including at a Pittsburgh synagogue, a Walmart in El Paso and a Buffalo supermarket.
“Our civilization is being dismantled, our people are being genocided, and conservatives can’t think past what will play well with liberal media in the next election,” Fuentes once tweeted. He has also said, “The Founders never intended for America to be a refugee camp for nonwhite people.” And on Alex Jones’s Infowars last year, he said, “I don’t see Jews as Europeans and I don’t see them as part of Western civilization, particularly because they are not Christians.”
Fuentes has advanced Holocaust denial, or what he calls Holocaust “revision,” most memorably in a video riff in which he compared Nazi death camps to Cookie Monster baking cookies, suggesting it was not possible to have killed six million Jews during World War II. He later said the video was only a “lampoon,” while saying he does acknowledge the Holocaust, and he has said he uses “irony” to discuss taboo subjects.
Violence and politics
While again saying he was only kidding, Fuentes appeared to endorse violence against women, telling one listener on his livestream who asked how to punish a wife “for getting out of line” that he should hit her.
“Why don’t you take your hand and give her a vicious slap right across her face, right across her ignorant face?” he said. “Why don’t you give her a vicious and forceful backhanded slap with your knuckles right across her face, disrespectfully, and make it hurt?” He then disavowed violence and claimed he was joking, saying he would never strike a woman “unless she deserved it.”
Fuentes has praised the fall of the American-backed government in Afghanistan because the Taliban “is a conservative, religious force” while “the U.S. is godless and liberal,” and cheered on President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, saying, “Can we give a round of applause for Russia?” He has said that the crusades and the inquisitions were “pretty good stuff” and that he wanted the “people that run CNN to be arrested and deported or hanged.”
As for the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he and other Trump supporters rallied outside the building, Fuentes has called it “awesome” and “lighthearted mischief.” On the anniversary of the riot, he revered it as “part of our new heritage,” adding that it should be a holiday. “This is a historic moment for us,” he said. “We should celebrate that it happened, absolutely.”
Related: Some Jewish Republicans who were among Trump’s staunchest supporters are backing away over concerns he is legitimizing antisemitism.
The League of Extraordinary Women
I gathered a group of women founded on spirituality, camaraderie and higher-conscienceness. The purpose of our group? To create a think-tank for today’s evolutionary females. We are called the League of Extraordinary Women. Almost two years later, based on feminine power, and sourced by Spirit, the women of LOEW gather quarterly to share knowledge and insights, and to learn about new technologies together. It is an opportunity to share what a privilege it is to be a woman alive on the planet at this time in history. These shared experiences we then take out into the world as a contribution from our hearts, and an expression our full flourishing of life and highest calling. We gather to raise the vibration of the planet, to love and do good in the world.
In the short video below, I encourage you to do the same. Party with purpose. Celebrate each other. Gather in service. Play in love.
If you’d like curriculum ideas for your League gatherings, let me know. I’m happy to be of service. Mother Teresa once said, ““It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into what we do” and it’s that generous love that will evaluate the planet. So party on people!
Do Something Special for Your Mom
I don’t think I really appreciated all a mother is until I became one. Even then, I experienced anger and resentment towards my mother more than anything else in the beginning. I started raising my own children and suddenly I saw the things that didn’t work about my own upbringing, the flaws, the seeming mistakes that were made. But then, one day all that disappeared. I woke up and realized there are no accidents, every lesson good or bad brought me here to this moment and made me what I am today. I have a deep and rich understanding of the sacrifices, the giving, the non-judgement and the unconditional love that my mother had for me growing up, and has for me today as a grown woman.
Mother’s Day is coming up and I invite you to do something special for your mother. This 2-minute video clip will help you come up with something tailor made just for her, whether it’s a party, brunch or a gift. It’s a little exercise I like to call “Filling the Senses” and it’s designed to provide happiness. The perfect gift to give a mom!
Easy 4th of July Centerpieces
If you’re running low on inspiration for your Independence Day celebration, here are some quick ideas for easy 4th of July centerpieces. Notice the everyday containers used? I’m sure you have something laying around the house that would work just as well. And yes, food can make a great centerpiece, especially when it’s this cute!
Fun, Sexy Adult Shipwreck Party Ideas
When I was younger and single, I often fantasized about being shipwrecked on a deserted island along with scantily clad castaways and a band of handsome, swashbuckling and marauding pirates. I don’t know. Perhaps it was the result of watching The Blue Lagoon or the Pirate Movie too many times as a tweenager, or taking Rex Smith too seriously in his Pirates of Penzance role. It might also have had something to do with being a child of the 80s and LOVING the new-romantic look. (Despite what the Seinfeld friends have said…Pirate Shirts rock!).
I often thought my teenage fantasy would make a great party theme and this month on “Shelby’s Secrets to a Great Party!” I’ll be sharing with you the six elements to creating a “family” version of a shipwreck party. In the meantime, here are some deserted island ideas that aren’t appropriate for the whole family, but would be great fun for the adults.
Invitations – Request that everyone come dressed in their skimpiest stranded island or sexiest pirate costumes. Hold a contest and award prizes for the best costume, the smallest costume, the best chest, the hottest legs, and for the most likely to invade.
Decor & Ambiance – Consider having your party on the beach. There’s nothing like a little sand between your toes and the fresh sea air to get a sultry party started.
Food & Beverage – A “Shot Luge” is a must! If not that, body shots at the very least. (Be sure to check out this month’s recipe for “Blue Lagoon” and consider “Tan Titi’s” for your shots. The Tan Titi’s coconut rum, vodka and pineapple juice will go nicely with the two rums in the Blue Lagoon.)
Activities – A live island music band would absolutely pump up the fun to a whole new level, but a DJ or recorded 
dance or pirate music that includes songs like Sea Cruise, Gilligan’s Island Theme, Limbo Rock, and Day-O The Banana Boat Song would be great too. (Don’t forget to check out this month’s iMix playlist for a fun selection of party tunes!) Be sure to encourage slow dances. Have a “Dirty Dancing” contest for couples, a limbo contest, and even a hula hoop contest performed in grass skirts and coconut bras, of course. Again, be sure to award prizes for the best and worst performance.
For a fun game idea be sure to check out this month’s “Ask Shelby” column under the RSVP Club tab. If you’re not a member yet, it’s easy, just choose a user name and password.
Special Touches – Just because you’re throwing a sexy, alcohol-filled adult party doesn’t mean it can’t have heart too! As the host or hostess, give your guests a special memento of the evening like a group photo to take home or better yet, give them something to wear and enjoy during the party. A favor bag full of personal items is another fun idea. Who couldn’t use mints, sunglasses or a shot glass necklace?
As with all my Party Plans for YouCanPlanAParty.com, this one is intended to inspire you! Considering your friends (and family) and your party style, do what works best for you. Mix and match these ideas with the ideas from this month’s videos and add a few of your own, and you’re sure to create a party people will be talking about long after they’ve returned to civilization!
YouCanPlanAParty Wins Award!
YouCanPlanAParty.com just won another award! Come check out all our amazing party products at PartyMerch.com and see how we bring parties to life!
Party With Your Girlfriends Differently
Gather the extraordinary women in your life with these easy and heartfelt ideas, and watch what happens. Gathering with a purpose, it’s a new trend that could catch on!
End of Summer Party Ideas At Your Finger Tips
In this fast paced world of cyber-connections, I strongly believe that face-time is what we all need more that collecting friends online. We need to hang out with our friends and family in person. Unfortunately, getting together with friends and family can have its problems: (1) We are so busy that we don’t have time to plan a get-together; (2) We feel financially strapped and can’t afford to throw an amazing party; and (3) Many of us don’t come by entertaining naturally and would rather not try than to risk failure.
As an award-winning party designer, professional television host, and three-time author, I built my business and reputation around my easy six-step formula to creating parties from the heart that people will remember for a lifetime. I’m a wife and busy mother of two, so I know what it’s like to juggle my time. That’s why I created this great party system. Whether you’re a novice or a professional, or fall somewhere in between, YouCanPlanAParty.com offers something for everyone.
You can plan a party as well as a professional party planner can, but for a lot less money and also save time and minimize the risk of failure. Here’s how: You can watch a few quick video clips and get affordable and innovative ideas to pull your party together. You can be your own DJ and play fun, customized music mixes to coordinate with your party theme. You can plan a delicious menu easily around your theme with recipes and full menu suggestions. You can find unique party supplies your friends haven’t seen before.
I’m committed to transforming the way you think about parties. To that end, I offer you access to tools you can start using today and ideas for celebrating the special people in your lives. Tab by tab, here’s what YouCanPlanAParty.com, offers. To walk you through the six steps of a successful party, check out my video show, “Shelby’s Secrets to a Great Party!”
THEME Tab – In this section, you’ll find my show which offers complete party plans from theme to party favors. Use my ideas or think of them as idea starters and add you own flair to create a cohesive shindig. Now playing, our End of Summer Party Plan, SOS Shipwreck Island Party.
PARTY PLANNING Tab – If you’re looking for ideas for one of my six party planning categories, then this is the section for you.
Element #1 – THEME, MOOD, & COLOR – Every great party begins with a great theme, even if it’s as simple as a color. These videos share ways to come up with and further flush out an exciting theme.
Element #2 – INVITATIONS – Since the invitation is the first thing your guests see, make it inviting and create some excitement. This collection of videos share clever ideas sure to get the party started.
Element #3 – DECOR & AMBIANCE – Set and setting are everything when it comes to creating environments for your guests to play in. This group of videos show you how to transform your party spaces with easy, affordable items.
Element #4 – FOOD & BEVERAGE – This eclectic mix of video clips provides loads of inspiration for your food and beverage needs, from unique serving pieces to recipes to food safety tips.
Element #5 – ACTIVITIES – One of my secrets to a memorable party is to get my guests engaged in something. This group of clips show you ways to do just that.
Element #6 – SPECIAL TOUCHES – What sets my parties, and now yours, apart from others is what I call the “heart element.” This collection of videos illustrates ways to give your party heart through special touches.
TRANSFORMATIONS Tab – To provide inspiration, this before and after section shows raw materials or typical rooms in your house, and what happens with a few easy steps…magic! This month, watch as artificial flowers and hair clips come together to create a lovely party favor for our shipwrecked ladies.
PARTY MART Tab – This exciting section offers access to my book series, The Enlightened Party Planner: Guides to Creating Parties from the Heart. There are three books to assist you in your quest to easily spend more time with the ones you love. The Six Elements of a Successful Party walks you through the approach in detail. Decade Parties: A Blast from the Past offers detailed ideas for theme parties from the 20s to the 80s, and Our Favorite Parties beautifully details the six-elements of fifteen party plans in narrative style.
This section also provides access to the YouCanPlanAParty Merch Mart on Zazzle.com. Loaded with literary thousands of party products from never-before-seen invitations, to sculptured centerpieces, to themed music speakers, the store is organized by party theme making it easy to shop for the items you want most. Plus, you’ll find supplies for every party outlined in my books, making it simple to make a party plan come to life.
This month check out our selection of Shipwreck products by simply clicking on Zazzle.com. Once there, select from main categories such as invitations, postage, centerpieces, party favors, etc., or type in “shipwreck” in the search box to see all the great products at once. Happy shopping!
CONTEST Tab – Cool prizes are awarded each month, usually props from the show, to an entrant who has used the six-step formula in one of their parties. This month’s prizes are a set of round raffia place mats, palm leaves, and palm fans…perfect for adorning a shipwreck party table.
MUSIC Tab – Clicking on this tab takes you to our essential End of Summer Shipwrecked Island Party music playlist which can be downloaded from iTunes. Thirty handpicked songs for $34.50, or simply buy the individual songs you need.
RECIPES Tab – In the Food & Beverage video clip, I introduce a cocktail called Blue Lagoon. By clicking on this tab, you’ll have access to the recipe, plus the non-alcoholic version.
RESOURCES Tab – We’ve assembled over 60 affiliate resources to help make your party special. This section makes searching for something specific easy by simply going down the list of providers and using their research functions. You’ll always return to the YouCanPlanAParty page when you use the back arrow function, allowing you to quickly check the next provider on the list.
RSVP CLUB Tab – This is a very special “back stage” section to the site. Sign up and you’ll have access to:
ASK SHELBY – Ask me anything! I’ll post my answers here. It’s like having a free consultation with a professional party designer!
HOW TO – This month, learn how to put a treasure hunt together and access the archives of great how-to projects.
MENU SUGGESTIONS – Check out the full, tasty menu for an Island Shipwreck Party, as well as past theme party menu ideas.
SHOPPING WITH SHELBY – A fun gorilla video section where I take you rogue shopping with me. Hear how a party designer thinks as I consider how raw materials can be used in a party setting.
BEHIND THE SCENES – A fun and eclectic section of videos of various professionals chatting about different aspects of planning parties.
FORUM – Share ideas with others members of our party community.
No matter what tab you click, YouCanPlanAParty.com makes throwing a party easy, affordable, and fun! Nothing provides connection more than sharing quality time engaged in conversation and laughter with people you care about. So gather your friends and family, and throw an end of summer party. Make it simple or go all out…it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re together in person and having fun face to face.
queen of connection | Shelby L. Phillips 