Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Enough, Already!

A few weeks ago, one of my relatives posted on Facebook that she had unfriended everyone who she knew to be a Trump supporter, and asked that anyone she had missed do her the favor of initiating the unfriending for her.  I gotta admit, I thought it a little extreme at the time.  But now?  Not so much.

I have asked some of my friends who are Trump supporters why they would vote for the man, and they pretty much all come to this: "Because he speaks his mind and is honest."  Really?  Well, the speaks his mind part, sure.  But honesty?  Have you checked Politifacts?  He either blatantly lies or at least speaks less than half the truth (and I am giving the man credit for even HALF truths!) 77% of the time.  LIES.  77%.  Of. The. Time.  http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/

So, what is it REALLY that makes him attractive to voters?  I have come to the worst, most frightening conclusion.  People don't love Trump because he speaks HIS mind - they love Trump because he speaks THEIR minds.  He speaks out against minorities, against women, against people with disabilities, against specific religions.  And the people who love him are bigots, and racists, and misogynists.  They are angry that the world isn't "what it used to be," and they want desperately to blame someone.  Soon, they won't be able to blame President Obama any longer, so they will blame Muslims.  Or Latinos.  Or African-Americans.  Or women who are assertive and effective.  Or some other group who is different from them.  Does this sound familiar?  Hitler did it, and was wildly popular in his day, too, before he took absolute power and began murdering people based on their religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation or disability.

On top of that, the man is as un-Presidential as you can get.  He accuses a female newscaster of being on her period, as that would explain why she was tough on him at a debate. He curses in public, while campaigning.  He calls his opponents "pussies."  He discusses, at a debate, the size of his penis.  He talks about how sexy and desirable his own daughter is.  Can you really imagine this man in a G10 summit?  Trying to engage in diplomacy with any other world leader?  I curse like a sailor, and even *I* know not to do so in meetings, or with clients.  How hilarious that I, a person who is known for being undiplomatic, am probably better at it than a man who half the Republican party wants running our country.  And he goes to a Christian college and terribly misquotes the BOOK of the bible he is discussing (geez, Donald, I am not even Christian and I know it's "Second Corinthians," not "Two Corinthians!"), and still cannot seem to get dethroned in a party that is vastly Christian.

So, I can only conclude that anyone who thinks this man should be in charge of this country, a man who seemingly detests and looks down upon pretty much anyone who isn't a wealthy white male, also thinks that only wealthy white males are worthy of anything.

And really, if I have to make a decision, I'd definitely decide to NOT be friends with anyone who thinks that way (even if they are hiding their bigotry and letting Trump speak for them).

I shake my head when I think of the embarrassment that this country has become, and I can only hope that the Republican party can somehow get a brokered convention and get rid of this tyrannical madman.  If not, and he somehow gets voted in during a general election, then fasten your seatbelts, America - it will be a wild, crazy, and frightening four years.


5 comments:

dcheever said...

YAY. Go, girl. You speaketh the truth.

Teresita said...

Holy shit, you said all I was thinking and trying to tell people!

Belle said...

Yup. It's astonishing - and horrifying - how many people want easy answers and scapegoats. I've always been concerned that too many so-called Christians determinedly ignore evidence in favor of facile blaming. Trump is a creature of the Right. As was Mussolini, Hitler, Petain, McCarthy, Franco and others of the 1920s and 30s, even the McCarthy period of the 1940s and 1950s. Americans have been taught to despise complexity, to go for the quick fix and black/white dichotomies. The Republican Party accepted this idiot into their midst, encouraged his rantings and were confident that they could control him if/when he got power. They are wrong - again. Now they are getting worried the train is out of their control. Their 'base' of deliberately ignorant people are frustrated with the Party, so rather try to understand what went wrong (8 years of obstruction and bigoted hatred from their party leaders) they are going for what they perceive as a Truth Teller. You can cite all the facts you want - these people don't care about evidence. They like The Big Lies.

Unfortunately for the rest of us. Thanks for the rant, my friend.

Unknown said...

It is terrifying to think that such a large segment of the American people are at least tolerant if not supportive of bigotry, racism, misogyny, and classism.

Unknown said...

Thank you for saying what I feel so eloquently. I worry about the people who find solace in his rants. If they are my friends I hope they unfriend me immediately.