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When Trump was elected, I stupidly imagined that his supporters had inexplicably failed to understand that he was devoid of honor, decency, and compassion. I told myself that, were it otherwise, they wouldn't have voted for him. As the months passed, I was nonplussed to observe that his supporters clung to him ever more passionately.
Last Saturday, Trump held a campaign rally on the very day that eleven Jews were murdered in the city of Pittsburgh. He explained his decision by saying that he could no more cancel a rally on a day when eleven Jews were murdered than he could cancel a rally on a day when his hair didn't look right.
His statement on Saturday was no worse than much of what Trump says, but, combined with my outrage over living in a country in which any fool can murder people with a legally obtained assault rifle, it forced me to conclude that Trump's supporters don't adore him because they're too stupid to see him for what he is, but because they see him for exactly what he is, and they like it. On a comparable note, the people of Brazil just elected their own fascist president, not because they failed to understand how vicious he was for telling a female legislator that she wasn't worth raping*, but because he made it permissible for men to indulge their own misogyny.
People who elect "strong man" fascists invariably equate cruelty with strength, and they only think better of their choice when their country lies in ruins. Until such time, they are content to offer rationalizations worthy of a four year old. For instance, on the radio today, I heard someone say that Trump can't possibly be an anti-Semite because, after all, he has a Jewish son-in-law. By the same reasoning, he can't be a misogynist because he has been married three times....
My conclusion regarding the honor and integrity of Trump's millions upon millions of supporters has grown stronger everyday he has been in office. It is:
There is something wrong with these people.
I just wish I could come up with some way to think about it that didn't cause me to hate them so much.
*Trump has expressed the same sentiment.
17 comments:
I fear for the future of humanity at this rate
We are no longer evolving but devolving
I have actually cried myself sick thinking of the world my granddaughters will grow up in
I watch in horror and despair. And am terrified by how many 'Trumpisms' are sneaking in over here.
"I have actually cried myself sick thinking of the world my granddaughters will grow up in."
It might help to remember that our species has often gone through periods of horror, and we owe the fact that we pulled out of them to good people, which I hope your grand kids are.
"I watch in horror and despair."
And to think that so-called Christians represent his major source of support! I recall a day when Christians burned people at the stake, and I wonder if today's Christians, as a group, are above such things, my thought being that, if they can support Trump, what else might they be capable of? His evil is so out there. He tells people exactly what a sick bastard he is, and millions love him for being that way. I have no idea how much you know about him, but he speaks with tremendous passion at his rallies--and on Twitter--but every now and then, he decides that it might be best to say what his advisors want him to say, so he reads from a teleprompter with absolutely no conviction in his voice. Then when he's through reading, he speaks passionately again, making it obvious that he didn't believe a damn thing he just said. Trump appeals to his followers' worst instincts, and just as he has hardened them against people like I (meaning anyone who doesn't support Trump), he has hardened me against him and his supporters. I have gone from voting for independents, Greens, Democrats, and an occasional Republican, to being unwilling to vote for anyone who isn't a Democrat because only Democrats have a chance of defeating these Trumpian suck-ups.
I wish I could think of something witty to add to this. You stated it all so well. However if my four-year-old child were to say something or do something as stupid and unfeeling as some of the things he has expressed we would have had a talk to explain why these things are not acceptable. I hope the midterms will show at least a bit of hope that people are opening their eyes to what is happening.
"However if my four-year-old child were to say something or do something as stupid and unfeeling as some of the things he has expressed we would have had a talk to explain why these things are not acceptable."
Which makes me wonder how his supporters respond when their four year old children act like Trump does. These people elect a man who goes through his days spewing ignorance, stupidity, and hatred, and then wonder why people despise them. I heard early last year that Democrats are more closed to seeing good in Republicans than vice versa. Given the enormous popularity of conservative hate radio(aka Fox), I found that hard to believe, but if it was true then, it's surely doubly true today. God forbid that I should have child or grandchild who developed a romantic relationship with a Republican. If my child or grandchild had children, I suppose I would feel stuck, but I might otherwise have to distance myself. This isn't about philosophical differences but decency. You can't support a man like Trump and then pretend that we're all nice people, so we just need to look for common values and figure out how to get along. I have no intention of getting along with Trump supporters anymore than I want to get along with people who kill cats because, morally speaking, I don't see much difference. For months, I really tried to keep my heart open to them, but I'm done with that because at this point, I'm beside myself with rage.
I too fail to understand the mentality of the voters who put this excuse for a politician, let alone the head of state, into the White House. Are they all morons, cretins or just plain idiots?
Too many far-right politicians are coming out of the woodwork globally. In Germany Angela Mergell has recently declared that she will NOT be standing for election again. Other European countries are going the same way. The mood is extremely worrying.
I saw a documentary last week which showed Adolf Hitler making some speeches as he started on his quest to take power in the 1930s. One speech had a strident phrase: "Make Germany great again!" That, of course, rang a very loud bell. Compare "MAGA" with "MGGA". Baseball camps bearing MAGA are promoted by the gun-toting Repubs... Think on.
It is so scary. How quickly things have changed! Is it social media with all these sites that make it OK to be hateful. So the killer in Pittsburgh believed that the Jews were letting in Muslim refugees in order to dilute the white race. And Trump sends his 'dog whistle' signs to the alt.right that their behavior is OK.
Not all Christians are swallowing the koolaid, at least not the mainstream ones but the 'born again' got their man.
I turned in my ballot yesterday. We have a Trump supporter running for governor. Even the outgoing Republican governor won't support him, a good sign.
"when somebody shows you who they are, believe them"
he keeps showing us over and over but some just won't believe him. eventually they will be hurt and humiliated
Please rest assured that we Trumpers hate you equally if not more. The faster you libtards are removed out of America, the happier America will be. You're nothing but an ill-informed moron.
Did you notice how those jews treated Trump when he came to Pittsburgh? Not a one of them would greet him and all the politicians ran the other way.
Trump made no mistake sticking to his program and foregoing the jews. There's a reason why throughout history jews have been the most hated people on the face of the earth.
Trump has done more for the jews and Israel than any other president. Obama despised Israel and the jews. Learn the facts, bro.
No good deed goes unpunished.
I don't understand the thinking of a lot of these people, either. But I don't hate them ... or not most of them. So I too hope you can come up with a different way to think about it. Because the answer to hate is not hate.
"Please rest assured that we Trumpers hate you equally if not more."
Assuming that your comment is serious, which would put you on the far right of the right, I take it that you refer to anyone who opposes Trump.
"The faster you libtards are removed out of America..."
Given that Trump maintains a low thirties approval rating, over half the country would have to be deported (though not all of us--including myself--are liberals), so where do you suppose to put us, in Iceland or, perhaps, to death, and what do you imagine life will be like when all dissent has been crushed? Given what I know of history, I would expect the rush for conformity to escalate, which would bring continued camps and killings. Again, I don't know if your comment is even serious, but if it is, I commend you for your ability to express venom without the childish need for swear words.... One other question does come to mind. If you seriously think that the planet is being run by some worldwide Jewish cabal, what is your evidence, and given that they keep getting themselves killed simply for existing, how is anyone to take this cabal seriously?
"Because the answer to hate is not hate."
You've mentioned this before, Tom, so I will ask you again: as you see the world, is hatred ever an appropriate response to evil? While it's true that I think it worthwhile to understand a Trump or a Hitler (in order to prevent or defeat them), I don't see that hatred prevents one from doing this. It's the rank and file Trump supporters, the rally attendees, the people who might be referred to as the pawns in the game, that I'm more confused about. Are they simply nothing more or less than whatever it is that Trump tells to be in order that he might achieve his goals? While Trump himself decries the "fake news" for criticizing him, Trump himself tells me exactly who he is, which is a complete narcissist who has no room in his world for anyone but himself and who will do anything he can get away with in order to promote himself. He's also someone who is very, very good at reaching a certain part of the voting public by appealing to their worst instincts. Thanks to Trump, wicked impulses (like killing Jews) that seemed for the most part in abeyance have returned. Trump is the anti-Obama, and I had no idea the extent to which Obama was hated until Trump came along. To argue that Trump supporters aren't racists strikes me as absurd.
I see that I overlooked some earlier comments, but will get to them later.
An article that came my way, perhaps you might find it interesting.
http://amp.mcclatchydc.com/opinion/article221164105.html?__twitter_impression=true
Kris
Yeah. You nailed it.
Thanks for the link, Kris. Here's one where you can track his lies by date and/or subject: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.b527fa07f075. He was hitting 30 a day last month when he was spending so much time campaigning.
Happy Thanksgiving Snow... Maybe Trump will eat to much and explode
"I just wish I could come up with some way to think about it that didn't cause me to hate them so much."
Snow, hate only hurts the one who is hating.
"Snow, hate only hurts the one who is hating.
Anon, as is evident in the Middle East--and also in Czechoslovakia this week--hatred can also hurt--and even destroy--the hated. When you tell me that I shouldn't hate but offer no route by which I can achieve your superior approach to the problem, you ignore the very sentence you quoted.
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