Today, the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio complained to reporters that there have been “two standards” in the way we have seen the vandalism at some of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the January 6 insurrection.
The evidence is overwhelming that Donald Trump wanted to remain president at any cost. Because he was president, he managed to influence a tremendous number of people to join him in this criminal effort.
The intellectual dissection of the effort to keep a Republican in charge, even after he lost the 2020 election, misses the point, imo, if you don’t consider the social forces at work.
We live in a divided country. Using the 2020 election as a benchmark, just over half of US society (Biden voters and the non-voters on his side) wants a society of equality and diversity. Just under half (Trump voters and the non-voters leaning his way) want US society to favor whites, males, heterosexuals, Christians, and rich people.
And notice, again, how Donald Trump was the backlash to having Barack and Michelle Obama in the White House.
The nuanced debate here and in the opinion corridors and forums we frequent have little to do with what most people in America are exposed to. Most people who are like Jack del Rio are watching Fox News, a propaganda voice for the whites-first males-first straights-first society. Most people who voted for Biden are taking in what we call “progressive” voices and arguments, if they follow news at all.
It’s not an intellectual debate for a lot of people. Rational and logical arguments are irrelevant. It’s more subconscious and visceral than that. People lean towards the society of the future, or they lean towards the society of the past, and they make their voting decisions and their social decisions accordingly.
I know I have been beating the same drum over the years, but remember that right here is where I learned how it works. I believe that most people don’t have rational conversations about the policy of society. It’s a schism, a dichotomy, in our country - and beyond. Either you feel fundamentally that whites should have superior rights over non-whites, and that males should have superior rights over females, and that Christians and rich people and heterosexuals should come ahead of non-Christians and LGBTQ+, or you feel that all people in society should have fair and equal treatment. That is the blue / red split. That is the foundation of most of what we call politics, the policy of society. The people who lean Fox and Trump gravitate to that group not because they have brilliant rational arguments, but because they feel fundamentally that whites and men and straights come first in society.
And they don’t give a shit what you and I think. They are belligerent, and ruthless. Think 2000 election, which the red side took by force when Gore and the softies conceded. Think Trump and the Jan. 6 Conspiracy to steal the presidential election of the United States. Think Leonard Leo and the project to turn the Supreme Court into a tool of the red side, with Moscow Mitch McConnell as principal accomplice. Think the links with Putin and Orban. Think every attack on Kamala Harris, and AOC, and Obama and his healthcare legacy, and all the other non-white and non-male people of power out there.
Forget logic, forget rational debate. People choose one side or the other. They gravitate to the side where they feel more welcome and more at home. And the reason that the red side has so many more dummies and people who are not that bright, it’s because they haven’t thought about it. They are acting on impulse, not on logic. That’s how Nazi Germany turned out the way it did, that’s why Putin‘s criminal state is attacking the Ukraine, that explains nearly all of Trump’s behavior as president and the Republicans behavior in Congress. If you feel that your side is superior, that your race and your gender and your gender identity are superior, you will feel an existential threat from anyone who doesn’t feel as you do, be it BLM or women’s rights to abortion or Biden or democracy or what-have-you.
Thanks Roland. I know I'm preaching to the choir again, but as I've said here before, that day long ago, when I was in the line to shake the hand of Donald Trump - I was a Manhattan real estate broker then - I felt like I had taken hold of something vile. I began to ask my fellow brokers about him. The nastiness of his heartless doings shocked me then - much more so should they shock me now. But when some renovation contractors told me about how he loves to sign a contract with small business to do work for him and, when the work is done, all the workers get is, "so sue me - hahaha." Who but a mentally deranged schoolyard bully does things like that?
He is a full-blown, highest level narcissist. Where his heart should be is a black hole for money and power. He is above the law. He is above paying people who work for him. He thinks he is an alpha male. The song that rose up in the back of my mind as I write this is: "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Your heart is made of steeeeeel." It is very sad when human beings are so wounded by their childhood. Many fascists have a history of violence as children or bullying. I would posit some, like tfg, feel insecure due to learning challenges. They grow to become violent if they do not get their way are actually the unhappiest of beings. To make up for personal issues and weaknesses they develop vile ways to project that self-hatred or dissatisfaction onto others. Many fascist leaders have that background. They are professional bullies and MUST always find someone, or an ethnic group, they can feel superior to in order to puff their weak egos up. If you have ever had one in your family or friends, they are prickly puffer fishes and rarely fun to be around. They are like landmines waiting to attack or explode. Add substances and they are toxic as hell. They are self-serving, human landmines and terrorize those around them. Sounds like you, Rosalind, met one who now terrorizes our country with his cult of baby narcissists. And many of them, as we can see in our government, cannot believe they may have to pay consequences for vile behavior that impacts 350 million people, in one country because of their actions.
I have very close knowledge of how a narcissist operates. TFG is indeed a "full-blown, highest level narcissist. He is an extremely sick and dangerous person. He will never give up and will never ever see any reason. There is no world outside of his. The terror is that he has the backing of Russia and the exploding number of Fascists in this Country. Some have dared to call him the anti-Christ. I see him as pure evil. Not all narcissists are evil. He is.
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Not just the backing of Russia. Putin is playing with the tools present in the US, that's why it is not enough noticed. The bad losers of the civil war were always there, and have found the perfect leader, the worse loser ever. Putin is promoting split in the US and in Europe openly declared as generation VI of war, aiming at an empire from Vladivostok to Lisbon. The degradation of the US dollar would come from a second civil war, and would do half of the job. Having trump and/or his ilk back in the White House would do the other half. Russia could possibly be favored by climate change by larger arable land and in the mean time make revenues from vast new oil reserves in central Asia. What are the plans against this future?
You are correct about the environment that creates a bully, Pensa_VT. The narcissist personality originates as a defensive cover in the absence of healthy, consistent love, attention/connection, and nurturing mirrored by the primary parent and/or caregivers especially during the preverbal period of age 0-2. When adding to those missing positive human interactions is a violent and dysfunctional setting in the home and outside in the world, that infant/child develops with no safety and security in anything, and who by default has to bury the externally promoted and internally interpreted message that they are worthless, helpless, and unlovable, thereby condemning their ego to a fear-based primitive/lower-brained 'fight/flight/freeze/flock/fawn' mode in order to survive. The unconscious and aggressive personality of the 'fighter,' is what M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, called 'Character Disordered;' Peck claimed this was the most difficult if not impossible to treat patient because that person always looks outside itself for someone else to blame, essentially being faultless. 'Neurotic' was Peck's label for those like me who were the opposite responding style of 'flight' to a hostile environment, and tended to be more amenable to help and healing as they took responsibility for the problems of the world as their own. The bottom line of all of it, and moving into where we stand today, is the crucial role of recycled generational trauma (worse case from both sides of the family) that begets more poisonous versions of itself manifested through Developmental Trauma (age 0-5 in particular). I came from one such unloving and abusive biofamily and barely survived a lifetime in Chicago, now thankfully with a purpose by the grace of God to set the record straight. While it is easy to point the finger at others in anger or make nasty remarks about other people who also have a soul, same as you and me, those that came from Developmental Trauma were PROGRAMMED to be a repeat of what happened to them during the inescapable developmental period of life. I can speak 100% about this and was no 'dummy' even though I had been led to believe that was so through scapegoating, gaslighting, and abuse. Because I was literally made socially retarded by the sick 5 others, dominated by my father, in the home where I was raised and no one anywhere did anything to stop the hell that took my elder brother's life at 57, the age I turn this year, with all the compounded and regurgitated bullying received at school and in society and isolation I suffered in silence since my appearance, I could not undo the broken record of that trauma, and I caution all of you here, that those Trump supporters are walking wounded and will attack anyone who rejects them. The more money involved, the deeper the need to hide any vulnerability by grabbing onto power. I lived through what I lived through to be able to make this assertion and I have more research than any PhD could ever possibly get from book learning about the nature of the LIE! It is clear to me we need to learn to love ourselves and our neighbor and forgive all trespasses for we were created in God's image, not the other way around, because this little sister sees the absolute paradise this world represents when viewed through the eyes of One Truth and that is Love!
Wow, Diana. You know it all firsthand how devastating childhood can be on human development. I am sorry that you experienced such trauma. Many of us have and I hope you are able to see that you can actually be stronger in the broken places.
That is my hope for our country, that once we take out the trash, we can create a democracy that is much stronger in our broken places. And that begins at our inception. Our shadow is that this land was invaded and the First People were betrayed and genocided in horrific ways due to the white man's greed. We must break the barriers of that shadow and undo the caste system of which we are shackled by. And money, geeze, money. We MUST reconcile a new way of operating where money is not the requirement to be elected. There needs to be qualifications, diplomacy skills and a history of ways of being that reflect what kind of person you are to fulfill elected and appointed positions. Trump would have failed every qualification as a decent person for a job in my business. I was disgusted that my money employed he and his corrupt sycophants and spawn.
I digress. The tragedies we have endured are due to the childhood traumas that create people like trump, or miller or bannon or jordan or navarro...and the entire list of crazies magnetically drawn to trump. I do not see an iota of the charisma they fawn over. Critical thinking skills and experience do not allow me to by celebrity-itis, money-its or men who think they are god's gift to women and are pussygrabbers. Why any female (or male for that matter) would fall for such a greasepit as trump is beyond my analysis skills.
I do hope you find peace, Diana. I think experiences such as yours makes you uniquely sensitive and discerning about humans. And probably incredibly empathic. Thanks for your reply--wishing you well as we see if this investigation, the hearings and the work of our DOJ and other justice systems at work can finally provide the very belated consequences for narcissists totally out of control with power madness.
Thanks for yours and Roland's comments and Heather's Letter which ushered my reply. When I finally reached 56 years and learned conclusively what happened to me, I began to invest myself in who I truly was and it nearly killed me, but now I firmly grasp that every second I was in hell was teaching me something that now I have zero doubts about and I am truly grateful for those miraculous lessons. I wouldn't trade me with anyone, and I don't need to, because we are all one underneath the delusions of the ego the world would have us believe trapped in fear. We were all created in Love and that is the eternal in all of us. Only the body 'dies.' When there is One Truth and nothing else exists that means anything, and a person like me knows what hell and death was for 56 years trapped in abject fear, when I say love will save the day and 'Heaven' is a choice I get to make over hell, I have all the peace of the universe flowing in and out of me, full stop. Nothing can stop Love because that's all there is. If I curse someone else, I curse myself, so now I forgive the mistakes in myself and others, knowing the energy that created me and everything else is beautiful, loved, and secure. I am going to give my all toward saving and consciously correcting us from the lie, insanity, and effects of unloving egos, worldly fear mongering, and the idea that we are separate from one another and what created this temporary existence on earth. Change of the sort that happened in me, proves that all I say is the Real Deal and I have NO FEAR whatsoever about what others do that hasn't already happened to me and I'm not interested in anything but the Truth now. Atonement for mistakes, yes. Judgment and condemnation only keeps us stuck where we are. At peace now knowing love is the only answer to every question. Manmade stuff is manmade stuff, it is not divine.
I resonate completely with every word you say. "There is nothing but love", the Angels told me as I awoke from a heart attack. Jesus said, "Men say, 'See here, see there'. The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon this earth, and men do not see it." We are all connected. We have always been, and so we shall always be.
Diana, thank you for sharing. The human being is indeed complicated and vulnerable. We don’t choose our parents, family or genes. Some researchers find that trauma can be hereditary, as in their research in Epigenetics. Other researchers dismiss this theory. From my own experience and observation, I believe it. https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm
Irenie, yes, it's what we encounter in our environment carried over by those who had what they had before them. No one in the world could possibly convince me otherwise. However, we all are made of the same master blueprint in eternity and that's where my full faith rests. Too many humans are completely unconscious and scarred by those forgetting who made them and why, and get trapped in the fear of illusion. Many of the modern-day social systems in place still turn a blind eye on, pillage, condemn, and hurt more people then have been helped. I am here to tell the simple Truth and nothing but the Truth, and I'm smiling inside as I write this, too, for I am free! All research is subjective and obsolete in terms of what is being taught in higher education. 'God' didn't create me to be limited by what someone else says or does. Two books by Dr. Bruce D. Perry (listened to on Audible but also own hardcopy) that blew the lid off of my understanding of Developmental Trauma which wasn't and still isn't main stream recognized are, The Revised and Updated Version of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog coauthored by Maia Szalavitz (2017), and What Happened to You coauthored by Oprah Winfrey (2021). Getting my spiritual wings in place with the assistance of mentors like Marianne Williamson and Eckhart Tolle is releasing me from the past altogether. Miracles abound and each one of us can and does change the world for the better, cause Love rules the universe and we are all One!
Diana, I have read the books you mentioned, as part of my continuing and personal education in Human Development and Child Development. I do believe our spiritual practice is personal with many “moving parts” as our birth, our history, our family and religious experiences (or not) our search and perhaps what some say is divine, others say cosmic, some say academic. I love a round table discussion that we are in at this moment in time. I’m also a poet and metaphor is my language.
All the preceeding comments seem dead-on-the-mark to me as well. However, I would be interested if there were a credible analysis of the demographics of all who voted & why, for "donald F---ing trump". Is there one such analysis out there?
Thanks for this link. Very interesting data. I see the analysis of the Hispanic vote as on the mark and something Dems need to pay attention to. Many Hispanics are church going, hard working family oriented folks who tend toward conservative values and appear to be moving toward the Republican Party. Another indication, it seems to me, that the Dems need to pay a hell of a lot of attention to the working class: white, black, hispanic or any other.
I have no doubt that nasty Fred t. physically and emotionally abused his son. He once told him that being a "loser" is the worst thing a person can be. Hmm, I wonder if there's a connection between The Big Lie and Daddy's teaching.
It may not be that they were wounded by their childhood. Psychopaths actually show no activity in the empathy center of the frontal cortex, and this had been measured with fMRIs. Some psychopaths came from caring families. Conversely, some kids who grow up in a family with multiple problems end up being ethical and successful.
Yes, the etiology is more complicated than I presented. But we know the damages trumps parents inflicted upon his psyche, so I was presenting that...might be genetic, or might be parenting. Chicken or egg?
There is also evidence that there is a gene for sociopathy that may be passed from one generation to the next. That sure fits with the known generations of trumps: his PGF, his father, himself, and Jr.
It is a good question. Is it a gene or learned behavior, passed through generations. The absence of brain activity in the empathy center of the frontal cortex can be isolated to one individual in a family, so does that mean that it's genetic mutation isolated to that one individual?
He has been a bully his whole life, as was his father. The excuses he uses--witch hunt, rigged system, voter fraud, etc. are the whinings of a person with arrested development. Parents would not put up with “It’s not fair!” whining of a 12 yr. old boy. We should not either.
I can't imagine not laughing myself silly if, as is reported, he would have said to me, as he did to Pence, "If you don't get those votes for me, I won't be your friend!"
I know. That is such a perfect picture of arrested development in a wannabe alpha male. How bloody embarrassing that our so-called "president" actually said that to our vice president, whose only major things I will ever remember about him is the act of following through with the EC count on Jan 6th and saving our democracy... and a fly on his hair. There must be something symbolic about that fly. Perhaps he was the fly in the ointment in the path to becoming the authoritarian dictator of America. I thank Pence for that. But not much else.
Hahaha! Dreck! I believe, a few years ago, you mentioned that you are of German descent...ist that true? Excuse me if I am incorrect. Dreck in German is "dirt" or "manure."
There is so much manure manufactured from the trump regime and their propaganda megaphone Fox & Co-conspirators, that America is deep in it. We will learn just how deep via the J6 hearings that begin this evening. If I were a professional perfumer, I would say that this manure has a particular, fascistic, leering fragrance, one that has keep me alert and exhausted for 6 ½ years. Due to the toxicity, it will require eons of composting in a specially designed compost cell-- about 6'x10' with thick bars and a porcelain bowl.
I have not forgotten the fly, Roland! All I can say is that it was NOT a butterfly nor a hummingbird, neither of which are attracted to dung. From my Jungian background, the symbol was absolutely unmistakable that it was a fly, and it made sure that All of us saw it. for a veeeerrry looooong time. Also very symbolic—IT refused to Leave. Get it? "The Thing" on Pence refused to leave, or be his best friend anymore. That is why many of us will be glued to the Hearings -- to learn beyond what was very, very obvious. And now, I leave you, verily.
He basically has been a schoolyard bully his whole life, literally. (see "The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden" on Frontline) I harbor a lot of...frustration...with anyone who voted for him. They knew who he was.
"They knew who he was" Some did. Some didn't and refuse to relook at their decision. My two sisters are in that camp I am sorry to say. The ones who did see him for what he is - I would posit they would vote for him again. Why? Because of hatred of the Democratic agenda. My own mother, who is a very sweet loving person (but racist), voted for Trump even though she hated him. But she hated Hillary much worse, and what she stood for. There are millions like her. They will vote for the devil himself rather than vote for a Democrat. Any Democrat. Hell I just want them to stay home. Don't have to vote at all. But no - they are so jazzed up they will show up at the polls in droves while the more far left among us are more likely to stay home as a protest.
Hillary: victim of GOP propaganda. The Republicans saw the danger of those two intelligent patriotic Democrats and threw everything the oligarchs could think of at them.
Hillary is a woman in her power. That’s all you need to know about her to understand why the sexists oppose her. Everything else said about her is just empty smokescreen-speak. Even the word “Benghazi“ translates to “woman in her power“ when you look it up on the Internet.
Oh Virginia - even as a political neophite, it was so obvious to "the most casual observer" that Hillary was a giant target for Republicans. They saw here as the personification of the progressive cause, and the potential death of their party. I think they saw that before she graduated college! Certainly when Bill became president. And they were going to pull out all the stops short of an assassination to prevent her from holding a position of power. It was relentless, and ultimately it worked.
While I'm pretty sure your mother must love you, I think that to say she's a "sweet loving person" and then add "(but racist") completely negates the sweet and loving part. Racists, by virtue of being rooted in the ignorant belief that skin color matters more than character, are the very antithesis of sweet and loving.
I think it's up to all of us to not gloss over what racism is, and what it does to society, even if it's embedded in members of our own family. When we "go along to get along," we are in fact giving racism more traction in the world.
I love your perspective. I also understand what Jay is saying. Does being racist negate being sweet and loving? I’m not sure. The remedy for racism and sexism is probably education. I hold out hope for the conversion of a sweet and loving person to the light.
She grew up in the deep south, was a typical "Leave it to Beaver" house wife. In the deep south, racism against blacks was drilled into one's head at a very early age. Still is but not as much as then. White southern folks can be the sweetest persons you have ever met, as long as they know you go to church, and are white (I speak in generalities - there are of course many exceptions). That's my mom. And in the deep south (I think many do not realize this) - the tension between whites and blacks is palpable even today. It is furthered by black folks hatred of white folks (so very justifiable, but not helpful). To the point that black culture down there is designed, in part, to piss off white folks. Or, if not designed to piss off whites, certainly to distance their culture from white culture as much as possible. I would too. But this perpetuates the racism. It is a situation that is going to take a few more generations to level out, I think. That is, unless Republicans take over like we fear they might.
It's unbelievable. I hear you. I know people like that too and have them in my family. They would rather die than vote for a Democrat. Just talked to a friend over the weekend who voted for T the first time but not the second. The first time he hated Hilary so much and thought Trump might be good because he was a business man. I took him to task on that one because Trump was no upstanding businessman!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Our talk continued and this guy, who is a lawyer, was hard pressed to say that the bad things about Trump and the cult are worse than the bad things about the progressive liberals. Huh? Seriously? And he calls himself a middle of the road conservative. It's crazy out there. A crazy spectrum of GOP.
But if, as you say, your relative voted the second time (2020) against Trump, he is in a different category than the diehards who refuse to process the evidence of their own eyes.
Yes, I absolutely realize that. But he is still unable to say that the radical GOP is worse than the progressive left. It is very hard for him to not vote republican. As I said, it's a spectrum.
Jay, I know some voters on the far left do stay home from the polls as a "protest". But I find this thinking completely irrational and baffling. For example, does the segment of Bernie voters who stayed home rather than vote for Hillary really think they taught the Democratic party leadership some kind of lesson by staying home and thus contributing to Dumpster's Electoral College victory? Too many people have a hopelessly idealistic idea of voting, that somehow if they don't get a candidate who fits their idea of perfection, they would somehow be defiling themselves if they said "Oh, well; I liked Other Candidate better" and went ahead and voted for the less objectionable of the remaining alternatives? Imagine if most of the people who wanted Bernie had sucked it up and voted for Hillary instead. She wouldn't have been perfect, but hell, *nobody* is perfect. And we'd be living in a significantly sturdier democracy now.
Kim, you just spotlighted my biggest concern - the followers, the acolytes, the true believers. Many of them, of course, are bullies themselves, so no doubt see him as an aspirational figure! I live in an area where he is second only to God, and I mean the Old Testament God of vengeance, not the liberal JC of the New Testament. I've seen these people in action, and it's terrifying. I'll bet many of them still have their robes and hoods tucked into a closet, along with their extra ammo.
I think there are people who actually believe in something, however misguided, and then there are those who are just angry, mean and full of hatred. Those think they believe in something but really they only believe in their emotional state.
It is far away from being an historical anomaly. Germany, beaten down by the Versailles Treaty, was ready to hear the "go-to" scapegoatism of "it's the Jews' fault" through the leadership of another narcissist - you know the one I mean...
The Germans did eventually learn the lesson of believing that the Aryan race is superior. I give postwar German society a lot of credit for that: Bavaria was the greenest state in Germany when I went back to visit about 10 years ago. That’s where Mr. Narcissism himself came to power. What a turnaround.
Stalin: son of a drunken tailor who beat him. Is it still legal in MS for teachers to hit students with wooden paddles? Is MS education still 50th in the US?
They knew who he was, and all they cared about was he was a "successful businessman" from his long-running tv show and he wasn't a creature of Washington.
Republicans knew who Trump was; but felt taking the risk on him was better for the nation than electing Hillary because they thought he could be restrained and "guided" once in office--ignoring the lesson of history of Hitler being elected the same way--because of the safeguards of our form of government.
Exactly. When people tell you who they are, believe them. Look at their values and how they treat others. It's a good indicator of how they'll behave in the future.
Oh dear...I wish I could say it gradually goes away with a thousand or so washings with hard-core mechanic's soap. But I think it's more like having touched Voldemort: the stench is memorable, even after a couple of decades.
I remember meeting a man once who unfortunately worked for my company. We women had a visceral response to him the men did not. While he was fine on the surface, there was something about him … he didn’t work there long. I can relate to what you experienced.
One time I was checking out of the local health food store. The check out clerk stared at me and I actually gasped. I saw pure evil. He actually issued a challenge through his eyes of the fact he would win over me. I called a friend and told her to go to the store and check this guy out. She did and had the same reaction. Since she was friends with the owner she told him about the evil guy and he was let go. Sounds nutty but it is true. We definitely know evil when we see it
My last principal induced that feeling in me. Once he ran his hand over the new books we had out on a cart in the library and I nearly vomited. I was reminded somehow of Dracula.
That visceral reaction you had to the handshake -- I had that EXACT same reaction to a day when I had to shake Mitt Romney's hand. He'd come to our company with a band of minions for a "dog-and-pony" show our Board Chairman had arranged, with the hopes of getting investment capital from Bain (Romney's fledgling venture at the time). All the development department heads were asked to prepare a five-minute presentation about our purpose and function within the company, and then one after another, ushered in to do our little dances for the Romney folks. The handshake and offer of business cards was the first thing each of us had to do.
I entered, walked to where Romney was seated at the head of the conference table, and proferred my right hand. The INSTANT his hand touched mine, my skin crawled. I pulled away as fast as I could, and deposited my business card on top of the others. As I walked to the other end of the room, it was all I could do to prevent myself from wiping my right hand on my skirt, to get the residue of him off of me.
Fortunately for us, at that time, Romney's group didn't have enough money to make a leveraged buyout that would have destroyed us like other companies they "invested" in.
I've never forgotten that handshake, and it was more than 30 years ago.
I met small business owners in south Florida who had that odious experience with 45. Disgusting. How working class people can vote for him is beyond me…..
Too many people want to have a leader that gives them a scapegoat, someone or something to blame for making their world less fair than they think it ought to be for them. Such a leader will placate their sense of helplessness and give them a target for their discontent.
Just like Nazi Germany. It is all brewing deep down in a society and then the “leader” comes and says “It’s ok to hate these people or those people. “Them”, the famous “them”. Oh lord, when we will learn!
Again, I agree with everything you just said. But I do think we underestimate the size of those who are in the "middle". There are millions of people who are not interested in politics. People who are grinding through the day, trying to make it. Figuring out how to pay the bills, feed the kids, whether to see a doctor or not and on and on and on.
The people like us who read HCR and are so concerned tend to believe that the US is entirely split between us and a cult. I don't agree. There are many who are either bored with politics (imagine being bored by a freaking attempted coup!!!???) or just overwhelmed by the basics of life survival (figuring out whether to buy gas, food or RX drugs this week).
That great middle of millions can be awakened. This could start tonight.
Yes, you are right in your analysis. All of it. I just need to find a tiny window of hope to get through the day. Good luck to us all.
I agree, Bill. I keep coming back to the constant polls that show an overwhelming majority of Americans support sensible, centrist ideas, which by default in today’s climate, mean support for Democratic officials. I think the fundamental problem is that only 18% of those under 30 vote, and ca. 90% of those over 65 vote - with a pretty linear scale between those two ends. I am filled with hope because the challenge of getting more people to vote feels much easier than changing the hearts and minds of a minority of wealthy gluttons or terrified, irrational bigots (whether they are self-aware of their status or not).
An overwhelming majority support sensible, centrist ideas yet our legislators can’t seem to garner enough votes to enact them. That means that Trump is only part of the problem, and that’s the most disturbing point of all.
When I taught government, I had one class which had no college prep students in it. This class was my favorite, but it was clear to me that most of them were not going to vote. I agree also about millions of people just trying to make and exhausted by that effort, maybe working more than one job.
Too many believe voting will make no difference. Or, what I found among my son's college-educated friends in 2016 and Bernie wasn't a Presidential candidate--not voting at all "is a legitimate form of protest."
Believe me when I say that when I heard that first hand, I did my darndest to present that argument--that that's exactly what Republicans want. Nothing got through to Bernie believers--they are very like Trump acolytes--who so firmly believed that the Democrats were dishonest and Hillary had already sold herself to whoever on Wall Street or Corporation paid her speaker fees (thanks Bernie), that it was stay home or vote for Jill Stein. Had Hillary received Stein's votes in the Midwest, she would've won.
I agree, Bill, my two sisters fall in that camp. One voted for Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020 due to the circus in the WH and, I believe, partly because I would talk reasonable politics in small doses to her. I print out one of these letters about once a week and give them to her. She is a divorced, childless senior with limited finances. Big on her mind is inflation, esp food prices. I try to impress upon her what the future could be for my kids and grands, as she is very close to them.
“There are millions of people who are not interested in politics.” Absolutely correct. Thank you for augmenting my piece, this is a huge part of understanding U.S. society and politics.
"If you feel that your side is superior, that your race and your gender and your gender identity are superior, you will feel an existential threat from anyone who doesn’t feel as you do"
Roland, I think that feeling inferior produces "feelings of existential threat and fear".
People who feel calm and secure inside their own being are not demonizing others or listening to Fox demonize others.
Examples:
I think white folks mostly feel inferior because they spend a lot of time thinking about what they don't have.
The black folks I have met don't have this problem. They are comfortable with themselves, they don't feel inferior (although other people try to push that on them) and they don't demonize other folks for the most part.
Whites are often crapping their pants in fear. Just my own observation.
Whites feel threatened, inferior and afraid. As tRUMP would say: "A Lot".
We probably share most political ideas and experiences. But I have never met the blacks and whites you seem to know. You are either fantastically more insightful than I, or upstate NY is a very different place from anywhere I ever lived.
I am from East Texas. That was way back, and, everyone was different back then.
BUT, the folks in the black community were positive, fun to be around, and in church every Sunday singing and stopping up a storm....having fun really. I attended once in a while. Totally OK.
White folks? Were listening to some hair raising tale of hell and damnation on Sunday and crapping in their pants about going to hell, or, not getting a new car.
I don't think things are much different now.
The most stable manager I had in my career, with the best judgement, and the least likely to be threatened by feedback?
Can you explain black politicians who have migrated over to the extreme Right? I fully realize not all blacks, Hispanics, Catholics, Democrats, New Yorkers etc. are cookie cutter the same but this phenomena has me scratching my head.
If you are referring to those you see on Fox news, the answer is easy: Money. They say what they are told to say from a script for money.
If you are referring to those who appear to actually believe the right wing BS that is slung out by Fox, well, is there some reason why black humans should be less easily fooled by Russian propaganda than white folks?
Anyway, my perception: MANY more black folks are in the "reasonable" camp politically than white folks mostly because they work so many hours a day they don't have time to be converted to madmen watching hours of Fox News every day.
..."is there some reason why black humans should be less easily fooled by Russian propaganda ...? Yes there is. First there is the horrific history of slavery. Second don't they realize the Republicans despise their skin color and race?
I am thinking the Jan 6th investigative hearings will be most effective if blunt, graphic, stern, and most of all, not pleading for consent. Present the evidence or lack of, not as a political statement, but that of a true summary of where politics are serving or not serving any of us and that it is our right and responsibility to demand different. And somehow, most satisfying to me is if somehow, the American people can simply hear that we are being treated like cattle by a great percentage of all media in this country and that it’s time to shake it off and clear the brain fog.
Carol, your observation supports my perspective to a T. When you’re racist and sexist and gay hating, and you can’t express that in society, you’re left with no overt agenda, but be assured, the (underlying, not publicized) agenda is whites first, males are superior, non-heterosexuals are persecuted, and Christians over all others.
This is so absolutely, succinctly the crux of the core of the essence of the kernel of the the nucleus of the center of the heart of the substance of the body of the meat of IT. !!!!!
I agree with what you've said. So what is the remedy? We cannot persuade these people with logic and reason; and their hearts seem unreachable through the granite walls of propaganda they have chosen to live behind.
I agree also about the 2000 election. I knew we were in deep trouble even then when Gore conceded. I remember the members of the Court sneaking out through the garage and dumping copies of the decision on reporters, who were shocked and confused.
We have been on the road to this crisis for at least 20 years, and now we really are on a knifes edge.
I shudder at what the future will hold if we lose this fight. It is much harder to dislodge an autocratic oligarchy than it is to prevent it from taking hold.
With the drawn out 2000 election, the Republican psychological strategy was to make it seem inevitable that Gore would not win. James Baker and his soothing golden voice were key to that strategy. There wasn’t an equivalent voice saying “What could be wrong with just counting the votes, all of them, again?” SCOTUS told us that would be unfair to poor George W under the 14th Amendment. Never mind all of the Americans who cast a vote.
Today the drumbeat is the inevitability of Democratic losses in the midterms. Puke!
“Today the drumbeat is the inevitability of Democratic losses in the midterms. Puke!”
Yes, puke. Double puke. I don’t believe that bullshit story for even a second. US society is moving like the Borg towards diversity. That’s why the Republicans don’t have a platform anymore, because they can’t publicly trumpet racism, sexism and gay hating. Why? Because our society no longer tolerates that bullshit right out in plain view. It’s a catfight. It’s a vicious dog fight. It’s a fight between a raccoon and a cat. But I think democracy and diversity win in the long run. Reminder: Trump is a one-term president, he lost in 2020, but he also lost the House in 2018, which was a California blue wave election, and he even miraculously inexplicably unfathomably lost the Senate on January 5, 2021. This guy represents a lost cause. It remains to be seen just how much more political power the racists can hang onto in the short term.
There are more of us than of them. We just must get out the vote with numbers so overwhelming they will be incontrovertible. If we don't, our democracy, teetering as it is on the brink of an abyss, falls.
It’s just my uninformed opinion, but I think that actual fact explains Trump and January 6. The US has flipped from majority white to majority diverse, and that transition is provoking the uproar of 4 years of Trump and 1/6. Again, just my uninformed opinion. The Obama presidency is another major sign of that transformation of US society.
And as I understand it, some of this revolt is in response to the election of a Black man for president.
And it is just astounding. Barrack Obama is highly educated, was the president of Harvard Law Review, and white people who haven't accomplished an iota of what President Obama has, think they're better than he is - - or object to him, because he has brown skin? Incomprehensible.
I knew we were in deep trouble when the Supreme Court stopped the count, and decided that Bush would be president.
And imagine how different the world might be today if Gore had been president instead of Bush. There would not have been an Iraq war and all its sequelae. Perhaps the Middle East would enjoy stability now, instead of wars? (Except Russia's invasion of Afghanistan probably brought about the rise of the Taliban.)
Gore's adherence to climate science may have saved us from the climate problems that we're dealing with now. We might be living in a completely different, and safer, world.
Really lovely observation, Cheryl. The remedy for feeling inferior is not easy. For it is likely a feeling of inferiority that would have a person resort to their white race, male gender, or mainstream gender identity as a heterosexual in order to find comfort. True security in oneself requires that a person graduate beyond that superficial identification.
Roland, as you say: "Rational and logical arguments are irrelevant. It’s more subconscious and visceral than that. People lean towards the society of the future, or they lean towards the society of the past, and they make their voting decisions and their social decisions accordingly." I have grudgingly come to that conclusion also.
I am well along that path myself. People that I thought that I knew have aligned themselves with that way of thinking (w/m/c/h/C is superior and all others take the hindmost). Roland hit it out of the park with this one.
Not a chance. This is not a competition. We are all allies. You may not catch all of the back-and-forth between TC and me over the years, but there’s a lot of mutual respect.
Agreed, and there is more. Terror Management Theory holds that in the face of repressed existential fear, people lean more toward authoritarianism -- indeed, they become Trumpier. We are surrounded daily by reminders of death, from the news and movies we watch to pandemic disease, and we repress a lot of it to go on surviving. But that fear has to go somewhere, and it often comes out in unhealthy ways. For more on this, see: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/23/secret-trump-success-existential-dread-populist-death
Thank you for this link; fascinating. I was especially impressed with the quote of Hoffer’s on the characteristics of authoritarian leaders…clearly Trump.
Agree with you 100% with one caveat. It's more than white supremacy. It has to do with a perceived sense of lack of opportunity ( manufacturing jobs have left en masse in the past 40 years) and a deep fear that the world of diversity is threatening.... and there is a large segment of the Left that is intolerant/belligerent that feeds those perceptions.
I think you're making the divide much closer than it actually is. Trump's hard core support always seems to be somewhere around thirty percent of the entire possible electorate. They seem bigger because of the fervor with which they GOTV, the effects of gerrymandering house districts, and the grossly disproportionate Senate representation. The challenge to Democrats is to get out their voters AND a big chunk of low information unaffiliated voters. That's where our political media so bitterly fail us, presenting each election as a horse race between two people who aren't that different instead of making the warning for which Mr. Froomkin pleads.
Thank you for your perspective, Carol and Jim. I use the percentages from the 2020 election, and then extrapolate to all of America. 74 million voters for trump, 81 million for Biden. You can pick a different vantage point if you prefer.
Hey friends, just look at the face of Jared Kushner in today's papers…first time he’s been photographed w an expression of disturbance on his usually totally bland face. He & Ivanka packed up and left immediately after the election to distance themselves from Trump’s craziness…
There’s some other folks who had been key White House insiders who packed immediately as well. The minute Trump called Rudi Juliani into the Oval Office.
We’ve got a big job ahead to engage our neighbors & in some cases our family members to look at the reality…
Democracy is about attempting to talk w each other without a harassing or aggressive or snide tone of voice. It’s about conversing, which requires listening and finding common ground to build open communication and trust.
We can do this! I’m working in it w neighbors and friends. I hope you are too!
I had not visited my son and family for 2 years due to travel restrictions. They live far away in a very red state. The visit did not entail any blow ups but by the time I returned home I was sick from the stress of being in their world of thought. Nearly any topic we discussed was short-circuited by right-wing talking points: the moon landing never happened, it was staged; abortion is murder, no exceptions, because of the "divine spark"; Democrats are running human trafficking and pedophile rings; "Jews and Hollywood are seats of Satan"; "if you really listen closely to Trump he's really a genius". I was Alice and I fell through the Looking Glass.
There was ever so much more.
I'm home now.
And I'm not going back.
I'm feeling the grief of family and country division.
I'm writing postcards, I've applied to be a poll worker, I'm going to rallies, I'm watching the January 6th Select Committee's hearings. I'm healing myself.
Thank you to my LFAA "family" for the support you don't know you give.
Maryrita, Your vivid description of being separated from your son and family for reasons of health and propaganda or would you call it different realities prompted me to travel with you there and back. The process of separation may take more turns. Thank you for being among us and contributing to our understanding. Salud.
Maryrita, I more than hear you. My two sisters and I have been estranged for the past two+ years, mostly for the same reasons as you write of your own circumstances. The rest of my extended family - save one cousin, bless him! - all tout the Faux Not News line. So thanks back to you and this community here for your invaluable support!
My mid 40s, university of DE educated, trump-supporting sister in law told my parents that it was good that Trump wanted to send us to the moon since we'd never been there. Sadly, my bro (who is 10 yrs older than her) is heavily influenced by her. Thankfully I have sane parents. I feel for you.
I am so sorry for the loss of your son. It is hard to look at people who have fallen into that morass of lies, especially so when it is someone you love and nurtured. I'm glad you find support her in the LFAA family.
Your story reminds me of families split over the Viet Nam war. Kitchen table discussions often ended in argument which sometimes escalated in estrangement. It took many years for full recovery. One side begging the other to look at how things really are. The other side fearful that to do so would risk the very foundations of the “American way of life”. Middle ground had fallen out.
Sorry to hear your story. I identify, as one of my children (raised Catholic) married a Southern Baptist. In many ways she is miserably unhappy but brainwashed to a point that even talking negatively about various of her situations is not allowed. I avoid the bad subjects because I know I will lose her if I do, and I do think at some point in the future, she will need to escape and I want my door open.
I also "lost" my bff of decades to the MAGA side. In a way, it is a positive as I was brainwashed myself--she inherited high 7 or low 8 figure estate, what a change that makes in someone! She could be extremely controlling, dropping gifts for the slightest reason, and not needing to work, could be available to you all the time--I mean, "such a nice, generous person" as she was described, but then I started seeing the racism, elitisms come out. I've heard winning the Lottery often destroys people. Coming into this somewhat hidden fortune (read "the Millionaire Next Door" to get the idea) totally ruined her.
Take good care of yourself Martyrita. Can’t imagine having family members like that- tough enough to just try to be civil to my neighbors! Glad you are here.
Excellent, Carol. Conversation. Dialogue, not haranguing. It takes work at first, and patience, and then the ball starts rolling and you start to get somewhere.
It's far more important to convince the "never voters" that they absolutely need to vote. The Trump base cannot be reached. Voting should be made mandatory, so much could be overcome.
Carol, how do you respond to the charge from Trump supporters that you have the facts wrong? That what you know is a lie? Or that things aren't as bad as you [and I] make it sound? Or a response that goes like this: Yeah, well what about...? I'm seriously looking for advice.
This is what I am running into. My two current examples: Gas prices. Post as much information on the price gouging, nefarious activities of the oil companies, data about the type of petroleum moved through the Keystone pipeline and its prime destination being not in the US or the development of the AR-15 and its intentional battlefield improvements and devastating ballistic characteristics, and I am met with "well, there are experts who say that isn't true" (gas prices) and "it is not a military assault rifle" (AR-15). There is no way to establish that conversation when they refuse to listen to accurate information. Oh, and then I am told not to worry my pretty little head about SCROTUS because they will make the "right" decisions.
Here's my argument for what an AR-15 is: “Imagine you’re a deer. You’re prancing along. You get thirsty. You spot a little brook. You put your little deer lips down to the cool, clear water. BAM! A f—in’ bullet rips off part of your head! Your brains are laying on the ground in little bloody pieces! Now I ask you: Would you give a f— what kind of pants the son of a b—- who shot you was wearing?!” –Mona Lisa Vito (Oscar winner Marisa Tomei) in My Cousin Vinny
I post this with all due respect to the many who have died by AR-15 type weapons.
No time to respond to this breathtaking letter other than to say Pete Baker’s piece in the New York Times which covers how and why Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump distanced themselves from the Big Lie is worth the read. Link below should bypass the paywall.
Opportunists Kushner and Ivanka never took their eyes off the prize in my opinion: securing Saudi billions for Kushner’s equity firm. Such blatant monetizing of his position as a senior White House advisor hopefully earns him a loss of said Billions and time to think about his ethical lapses while spending time in a federal time share with orange jumpsuit amenities.
Makes my blood boil that Kushner and Ivanka think they get to just walk away. These two need a very real lesson in the meaning of taking an oath to protect the Constitution. Daddy Trump in jail would be a start. Kushner next door would be really sweet.
In reading this piece, can you honestly imagine Ivanka running up and down the stairs in her high heels, trying to convince her dad to stop his nonsense?? Yeah…no! Just another lousy piece written to divert our attention that Jared is a POS for being a liar and a thief, just like his dad and his in-law.
I read the piece by Peter Baker just now, and I am pretty skeptical. It looks like an attempt at exoneration. Exactly how did Baker come by his version of events? There are really no direct quotes to support it. If the January 6th Committee shows relevant testimony from Kushner, that might add to our understanding. My personal reaction, when I heard that he and Ivanka were moving to a very ritzy part of Miami, was that they were simply investing their winnings from their association with the Trump presidency. If they did not support the extreme efforts of Trump and followers to overturn the 2020 election results, they could have done a lot more than just retire from the scene. They could have spoken up, for instance.
Paywall let me in, grudgingly, and told me of the joys of being a subscriber. Anyway, thanks. That casts a rosier light on Mr Kushner's impassive face. I was intrigued to see from the photo that his eyebrows can plunge, arrow-like, to express dismay or alarm.
Mr. Attewell, I agree. Mr. Baker's article sounded entirely too much like a "puff piece"...no depth or nuance to it at all. Sounded more like Mr. Baker was promoting his book.
Anne- Louise. This is totally off topic and perhaps frivolous, but I have noticed that frozen, almost robot-like look of Kushner on other young geniuses like Zuckerberg. The lack of expression implies lack of human emotion which is troublesome. I may be completely off base but your comment about his eyebrows finally moving prompted this. Are we talking botox or some species variation???? Whatever, it bothers me.
Tumultuous times indeed. Thankful for this historian of our times, who sheds light on what Trump RNC & Jim Jordan’s Freedom Caucus would prefer to remain in darkness. Courage.
The country has become so polarized, along with its news sources, that those one who need to read tonight's Letter From an American probably won't, and those who need to watch the Congressional Hearing tomorrow will probably watch Fox News instead.
That’s why the Republicans are losing their brainiacs and their members of conscience. Steve Schmidt and the members of the Lincoln Project. Adam Kinzinger is unable to run for reelection. Liz Cheney is under attack. The Republican Party is being decimated. We should be happy about that. Unfortunately, the news is always slanted towards sensationalism, towards exaggerated crisis. The Republican Party is in worse shape than it has ever been in our lifetime, the Trumpsters are doing primary election attacks against the Republicans with a conscience, and so the Party is deteriorating at a rapid rate. It truly is coming down to a decision between racism and diversity/democracy, in the legal sense now too. The scumbag power brokers who coerced the system into having Bush win the 2000 election are now right out there in the open. The 2020 election was probably the most important election in our history since the Civil War, and the 2022 election is going to be the second most important. That’s my prediction fwiw.
Agree with all you say. The 2022 election is critical of course. But perhaps for another reason. I subscribe to the "things have to get worse before they get better" theory. Also known as "we don't wake up and act until disaster strikes" hypothesis. This years midterms may be a mixed bag of horror and hope. Some modern thinking states will solidify their reputations as safe havens and others will keep spinning into anarchistic madness.
Will we lose Congress? No idea. But if we do, it may be so horrible in it's composition and deeds that in 2024 we will sweep the nation with a pendulum swing back to center left. It could be 2 years of Benghazi quality hearings and stupid legislation that will go nowhere. Biden may spend two years vetoing everything that hits his desk.
Or....enough of us with a sense of true human rights will actually vote.
As to the Republican Party, your assessment is spot on. I think ultimately there are enough of them that are disgusted that the party will begin to disintegrate into a completely fringe group. I think there may be a "New Conservative Party". And the GOP may go the way of the Whigs.
When chump got “elected” in 2016, I thought that the result would be so horrible that sanity would oust the clown and realize the horrible mistake. I knew what Fox was, but I didn’t take into account how Rupert makes Schitt smell like roses and that so many would never be aware of the degree of evil. Of course, the pols knew, have known all along, and have consciously and deliberately chosen the side of fascism over a United democracy. Silly me
In my mind, any control or disempowerment of women is included in the word “sexism.” Anything that makes men come first, have control over, or minimizes women, in any way, that’s what I mean by using the shorthand term “sexism.” Of course that includes restricting abortion rights and all other women’s rights. In a non-sexist society or a non-sexist environment, women are completely empowered. Similarly, how I use the word “racism.” In my mind, even Christian hegemony to the point of antisemitism and anti-Muslim et al repression qualifies as racism.
It’s easier to have shorthand terms than to explain all the nuances.
We are going to find out the true nature of the American people this November. The sh_t that has happened, and will soon be revealed, is just too much to claim ignorance, or that it's all a lie. Only a craven remorseless person (a deplorable as HRC described a while back) could vote for more of what we saw (and will see) in Trump's four years. The make-up of our electorate should, in a decent law-abiding democracy, have that element to be so small as to just not matter. To the point where no amount of gerrymandering or voter restriction laws would be enough. Not nearly enough. But there are enough of these kinds of people to where the outcome is in doubt. I am in the camp where the 2022 election is as critical as it gets. If it goes the wrong way, I don't think we recover for a very long time. Meanwhile - the climate monster grows unabated.....
I have been hearing that people are choosing streaming over cable. Cable has increased in price, in part, due to the need to subsidize Fox apparently because Fox is not holding its own financially. Maybe eventually cable will no longer be able to carry Fox. Though I suppose some wealthy person might pick up the tab :(
Fox and Trump and Republicans follow Goebbels's propaganda handbook to a T. Accuse the other side of what you are doing, repeat the lie loud and so often that it is believed to be the truth, present a scapegoat people will immediately go to, etc.
That’s how you influence the dummies in society. It’s a little harder to push around the people with backbone and conscience and morals, which is why the Russian FSB was having such a hard time here on LFAA last year.
I remain disheartened and appalled by McConnell and McCarthy - the two Republican leader who could completely shut down this tripe of a stolen election.
Their love of power and lust for more power has corroded and eroded their decency. Those two alone could have shut down the oxygen that keeps this ugly chapter on the American experiment on life support.
I have grown politically over the years. I see things more clearly now (and HCR has helped me grow more). The actions and inactions of McConnell and McCarthy can be easily explained by looking at it all through the lens of power and ambition. What will result in more Republican votes, and more power for them. That is all you need to consider. It explains everything. Everything. So much so that I feel I can predict what they will or will not do. The good of the country isn't in the equation. The good of the world isn't in the equation. Decency isn't. Patriotism isn't. Fairness isn't. Rule of law isn't. Trump? Those two would rather him never having been in office. But since he got there, they worked with him to consolidate power and further the Republican party. It is my hope that their decisions increasingly paint them into a corner, and it will all collapse. The sooner the better - we as a country are racing to the bottom in the mean time.
I send you encouragement. The Mickeys are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Resisting with every fiber of their being the Borgian advance of society towards equality and equal power.
Jack Del Rio‘s racist view, which he undoubtedly picked up on the Rupert Murdoch Racism Channel, just goes to show how much support there is for white supremacists taking over the government. But I doubt that he has ever seriously considered that he is a white supremacist. Most of these white supremacists and sexists are like robots, automatons. They don’t see themselves as they are.
Well, hmmmm. I think they absolutely know that they are racist or mysogynistic. What they have not been able to do is openly admit it. Until now. The thin veneer of decency is gone. “dust-up” indeed, Jack del Rio. Go f*ck yourself.
My white southern relations would never see or have seen themselves as racist, as they sang (or sing) themselves to sleep with plantation songs about Darkies and Pickaninnies and The old folks at home...
I agree. I live in FL and spent the first half of my professional career in Atlanta (70s and 80s). Every racist I ever met absolutely knew he or she was a racist. But there are many bigots who just live their lives as they were raised. Never seeing any need to question their own thoughts or beliefs.
Racists are immune to persuasion. Bigots are easily persuadable if the right words or images open their eyes.
Racists are immune to persuasion because, as my homesteading Florida Cracker ancestors would say, There are white folks and there are coloreds and there are the animals. My great-grandfather, the one with KKK on the pedestal of his gravestone in Palatka, proudly said that, like his other animals, he let his coloreds have a day of rest.
Thank you for this personal history. I find it curious how brain-dead a person has to be in order to treat dark-skinned humans like pets, or cattle, or workhorses, or sex toys. It takes a very low level of consciousness to identify hierarchies of humans, like in Nazi Germany and in slavery societies of the 1800s and before. And yet, 74 million out of a total of 155 million voters (48%) went for the racist + sexist + gay dehumanizer. American society is barbaric. We are talking Cro-Magnon here people.
People I love are caught up in the Trump cult. They can only hear the Trump message. They can’t hear that Donald Trump never served, that veterans of service to the Republic are suckers. On the other hand about half of the registered voters exercise that responsibility. What cult is this? Keep writing, Heather. I hear you.
The Founding Fathers knew what a demagogue could do to what they constructed. One of the functions of the Electoral College was to prevent such an "unsuitable" individual from becoming President. That worked well, didn't it?
Del Rio made a blundering statement and then tried to cover his tracks. But hey, he’s one of the boys! Those hearings will be watched by the Fox news junkies. Maybe not the majority of them will, but plenty won’t be burying their heads in the sand. The Repubs have a very hard time admitting they’re wrong. They just go after any member of their party who happens to want to slide away from the rest. Repubs go after them “mafioso style” by rejecting their decisions and guaranteeing they will never govern again. I am actually quite surprised they haven’t “offed” anyone yet.
Fox viewers probably won't even see the hearings. Instead, they'll see a brief clip of the hearing with speakers' voices muted, while Fox in the foreground provides its interpretation/misrepresentation of what transpired. Fox tells its viewers what they should think, instead of letting them listen to the actual proceedings so that they may make up their own minds. And Fox viewers just don't have the curiosity to wonder why Fox is speaking in the speakers' place.
Yes. Republicans as a whole are known for not being the brightest of the bunch. So they will let somebody else do the thinking for them, just as the Germans let the state propaganda run their thinking as a nation. Back in the 1930s and ‘40s. My ancestors.
Fun Facts: Fox tv is the #1 "news" station on active military bases. The top officers are "investigating" the rise in white supremacy in the ranks. So much for "military intelligence."
I think it started before 1996. I remember watching Fox at least in the '80s and noticing that the commentators told the viewers what someone was saying, instead of letting the viewers listen to the speaker.
They don't have to air the hearings. Those folks at Fox will be too busy excoriating and refuting everything the committee presents. One-sided as usual.
I'm not sure what the statistics are today, but in 2007, about 50 million people daily listened to talk radio, 90% of which is conservative/right wing.
The good news is that NPR also attracts about that many listeners.
Why is American football filled with idiots and morons and right wing fools? Oh, right! It's "America's game," beloved by right wing fools, idiots and morons. The game proves that the only thing "exceptional" about this country is the exceptional moron stupidity.
You ought to live here and be surrounded by the numb-nuts who'll gladly vote for him. I simply cannot fathom how people can fall for that. But then...these same folks will support a T***p and a Marjorie Taylor "Meat-in-a-Peachtree-Dish" Greene and it starts to make sense--scary and mind-numbing sense.
Absolutely right, Bruce. I think the Warnock ad that is nothing but a video clip of Walker talking about the “COVID spray” is genius, but there are FAR too many for whom “he played ball for UGa” is enough qualification. 🙄
Well... it’s also filled with people who bang their heads together for a living. Seems like a recruiting exercise for the MAGA. But I would guess that a lot of black players just thought: “Oh. He’s one of those. Good to know”.
Just as, or more important than what's disclosed tonight and in the other hearings, will be the treatment it gets from the press.
If journalists treat the hearings about J6 as a Democrat vs Republican horse race and not an attempted overthrow of a safe and secure election and establishment of America's first dictator, the house will be officially divided.
There are many good journalists out there who will do this justice. The problem is they are not on the major providers. Let's wait and see. They won't want to end up like journalists in authoritarian countries.
The most telling evidence, for me, is the fact--which even ardent Trumpers can't deny--is that the former president watched WATCHED the Capitol and Capitol police being attacked and said and did nothing whatsoever to stop it.
I believe the American Tragedy will be low views because too many Americans just don't get it and don't want to be part of the fight for American democracy which has slipped in the ratings of true democracy.
I hear you. But keep in mind that after this "show" is over, salient and revelatory clips will be replayed over and over again. Agree that many will not tune in for the whole thing. But what is shown will be known and reported on big time. This will be a big deal for some in the middle who think it has been just "partisan". And I suspect there are those of the TFGs inner circle who have sweaty palms right now. They will be watching.
And here is something to chew on. I think we are close to having a "John Dean moment".
I hope so. I am hoping for an Alexander Butterfield moment. When asked how he was able to quote Nixon verbatim, at length, he told the Watergate committee for the first time that every conversation in the Oval Office was taped. Much to-do followed.
Let's look at that word "think." They don't on the whole--they feel.
They feel seen, heard, validated, led in fighting back against the coastal elites/liberals, etc. They honestly believe they are doing what is best for this nation; saving this nation, making their lives better. I'm scared for our country, but I feel sorry for these individuals.
Yes. 100%. And, in my experience, they don't want to think. I have tried speaking with several trump supporters, from landscapers to attorneys, to try to understand where they're coming from, and they are completely unable to handle or respond to questions, or anything that requires reflective thought or analysis. This is true even for the attorneys! Or maybe they recognize on some level that their positions are devoid of reason, so they just hang on to the emotions and spout drivel or jokes.
Well, anyone who recommends that men should be tanning their testicles in red uv light to raise testosterone levels must have one or more screws loose somewhere!
I agree Gailee. It's old news, people don't understand the importance or are over it, and are simply too busy to keep up with all this news. There's a lot going on these days. I just hope that the news outlets who recap it do a good job in getting the crucial points aired but I'm not too optimistic about that.
I’m not, either. They cast this as partisan bickering, rather than an existential battle for democracy. They want to preserve their standing and sources and revenue streams, because they think our side is going to lose. That scares the heck out of me.
But unfortunately, I fear, "full of sound and fury and signifying nothing" - that no matter gow complicit Trump and his cronies are in the events of January 6th, they will suffer no lasting consequences as a result of these hearings.
Del Rio might know defensive football but his knowledge of the real world is seriously deficient. He is typical of the low-information/no-information voter these hearings have to reach to show them even a glimmer of reality.
The evidence is overwhelming that Donald Trump wanted to remain president at any cost. Because he was president, he managed to influence a tremendous number of people to join him in this criminal effort.
The intellectual dissection of the effort to keep a Republican in charge, even after he lost the 2020 election, misses the point, imo, if you don’t consider the social forces at work.
We live in a divided country. Using the 2020 election as a benchmark, just over half of US society (Biden voters and the non-voters on his side) wants a society of equality and diversity. Just under half (Trump voters and the non-voters leaning his way) want US society to favor whites, males, heterosexuals, Christians, and rich people.
And notice, again, how Donald Trump was the backlash to having Barack and Michelle Obama in the White House.
The nuanced debate here and in the opinion corridors and forums we frequent have little to do with what most people in America are exposed to. Most people who are like Jack del Rio are watching Fox News, a propaganda voice for the whites-first males-first straights-first society. Most people who voted for Biden are taking in what we call “progressive” voices and arguments, if they follow news at all.
It’s not an intellectual debate for a lot of people. Rational and logical arguments are irrelevant. It’s more subconscious and visceral than that. People lean towards the society of the future, or they lean towards the society of the past, and they make their voting decisions and their social decisions accordingly.
I know I have been beating the same drum over the years, but remember that right here is where I learned how it works. I believe that most people don’t have rational conversations about the policy of society. It’s a schism, a dichotomy, in our country - and beyond. Either you feel fundamentally that whites should have superior rights over non-whites, and that males should have superior rights over females, and that Christians and rich people and heterosexuals should come ahead of non-Christians and LGBTQ+, or you feel that all people in society should have fair and equal treatment. That is the blue / red split. That is the foundation of most of what we call politics, the policy of society. The people who lean Fox and Trump gravitate to that group not because they have brilliant rational arguments, but because they feel fundamentally that whites and men and straights come first in society.
And they don’t give a shit what you and I think. They are belligerent, and ruthless. Think 2000 election, which the red side took by force when Gore and the softies conceded. Think Trump and the Jan. 6 Conspiracy to steal the presidential election of the United States. Think Leonard Leo and the project to turn the Supreme Court into a tool of the red side, with Moscow Mitch McConnell as principal accomplice. Think the links with Putin and Orban. Think every attack on Kamala Harris, and AOC, and Obama and his healthcare legacy, and all the other non-white and non-male people of power out there.
Forget logic, forget rational debate. People choose one side or the other. They gravitate to the side where they feel more welcome and more at home. And the reason that the red side has so many more dummies and people who are not that bright, it’s because they haven’t thought about it. They are acting on impulse, not on logic. That’s how Nazi Germany turned out the way it did, that’s why Putin‘s criminal state is attacking the Ukraine, that explains nearly all of Trump’s behavior as president and the Republicans behavior in Congress. If you feel that your side is superior, that your race and your gender and your gender identity are superior, you will feel an existential threat from anyone who doesn’t feel as you do, be it BLM or women’s rights to abortion or Biden or democracy or what-have-you.
Thanks Roland. I know I'm preaching to the choir again, but as I've said here before, that day long ago, when I was in the line to shake the hand of Donald Trump - I was a Manhattan real estate broker then - I felt like I had taken hold of something vile. I began to ask my fellow brokers about him. The nastiness of his heartless doings shocked me then - much more so should they shock me now. But when some renovation contractors told me about how he loves to sign a contract with small business to do work for him and, when the work is done, all the workers get is, "so sue me - hahaha." Who but a mentally deranged schoolyard bully does things like that?
He is a full-blown, highest level narcissist. Where his heart should be is a black hole for money and power. He is above the law. He is above paying people who work for him. He thinks he is an alpha male. The song that rose up in the back of my mind as I write this is: "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Your heart is made of steeeeeel." It is very sad when human beings are so wounded by their childhood. Many fascists have a history of violence as children or bullying. I would posit some, like tfg, feel insecure due to learning challenges. They grow to become violent if they do not get their way are actually the unhappiest of beings. To make up for personal issues and weaknesses they develop vile ways to project that self-hatred or dissatisfaction onto others. Many fascist leaders have that background. They are professional bullies and MUST always find someone, or an ethnic group, they can feel superior to in order to puff their weak egos up. If you have ever had one in your family or friends, they are prickly puffer fishes and rarely fun to be around. They are like landmines waiting to attack or explode. Add substances and they are toxic as hell. They are self-serving, human landmines and terrorize those around them. Sounds like you, Rosalind, met one who now terrorizes our country with his cult of baby narcissists. And many of them, as we can see in our government, cannot believe they may have to pay consequences for vile behavior that impacts 350 million people, in one country because of their actions.
I have very close knowledge of how a narcissist operates. TFG is indeed a "full-blown, highest level narcissist. He is an extremely sick and dangerous person. He will never give up and will never ever see any reason. There is no world outside of his. The terror is that he has the backing of Russia and the exploding number of Fascists in this Country. Some have dared to call him the anti-Christ. I see him as pure evil. Not all narcissists are evil. He is.
I think his niece Mary warned us all that he is the worst of the worst kind of narcissist and the most dangerous.
Yeah - where is Mary these days? I miss her.
She has her own podcast on apple.com
https://podcasts.apple.com › podcast › the-mary-trump-...
'The Mary Trump Show' is the essential new podcast hosted by polemicist and best-selling author, Mary Trump, discussing politics, pop culture and everything ...
She's very active on Politicon on YouTube and her podcast, "Mary Trump." She's GREAT!!!
I think she's said what she had to say and is getting on with her life.
I miss her too!
Not just the backing of Russia. Putin is playing with the tools present in the US, that's why it is not enough noticed. The bad losers of the civil war were always there, and have found the perfect leader, the worse loser ever. Putin is promoting split in the US and in Europe openly declared as generation VI of war, aiming at an empire from Vladivostok to Lisbon. The degradation of the US dollar would come from a second civil war, and would do half of the job. Having trump and/or his ilk back in the White House would do the other half. Russia could possibly be favored by climate change by larger arable land and in the mean time make revenues from vast new oil reserves in central Asia. What are the plans against this future?
Correct. Trump is Evil.
But, in America, Rich and White means Evil is OK.
Right?
How many plantation owners whipped black men to death?
You are correct about the environment that creates a bully, Pensa_VT. The narcissist personality originates as a defensive cover in the absence of healthy, consistent love, attention/connection, and nurturing mirrored by the primary parent and/or caregivers especially during the preverbal period of age 0-2. When adding to those missing positive human interactions is a violent and dysfunctional setting in the home and outside in the world, that infant/child develops with no safety and security in anything, and who by default has to bury the externally promoted and internally interpreted message that they are worthless, helpless, and unlovable, thereby condemning their ego to a fear-based primitive/lower-brained 'fight/flight/freeze/flock/fawn' mode in order to survive. The unconscious and aggressive personality of the 'fighter,' is what M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, called 'Character Disordered;' Peck claimed this was the most difficult if not impossible to treat patient because that person always looks outside itself for someone else to blame, essentially being faultless. 'Neurotic' was Peck's label for those like me who were the opposite responding style of 'flight' to a hostile environment, and tended to be more amenable to help and healing as they took responsibility for the problems of the world as their own. The bottom line of all of it, and moving into where we stand today, is the crucial role of recycled generational trauma (worse case from both sides of the family) that begets more poisonous versions of itself manifested through Developmental Trauma (age 0-5 in particular). I came from one such unloving and abusive biofamily and barely survived a lifetime in Chicago, now thankfully with a purpose by the grace of God to set the record straight. While it is easy to point the finger at others in anger or make nasty remarks about other people who also have a soul, same as you and me, those that came from Developmental Trauma were PROGRAMMED to be a repeat of what happened to them during the inescapable developmental period of life. I can speak 100% about this and was no 'dummy' even though I had been led to believe that was so through scapegoating, gaslighting, and abuse. Because I was literally made socially retarded by the sick 5 others, dominated by my father, in the home where I was raised and no one anywhere did anything to stop the hell that took my elder brother's life at 57, the age I turn this year, with all the compounded and regurgitated bullying received at school and in society and isolation I suffered in silence since my appearance, I could not undo the broken record of that trauma, and I caution all of you here, that those Trump supporters are walking wounded and will attack anyone who rejects them. The more money involved, the deeper the need to hide any vulnerability by grabbing onto power. I lived through what I lived through to be able to make this assertion and I have more research than any PhD could ever possibly get from book learning about the nature of the LIE! It is clear to me we need to learn to love ourselves and our neighbor and forgive all trespasses for we were created in God's image, not the other way around, because this little sister sees the absolute paradise this world represents when viewed through the eyes of One Truth and that is Love!
Wow, Diana. You know it all firsthand how devastating childhood can be on human development. I am sorry that you experienced such trauma. Many of us have and I hope you are able to see that you can actually be stronger in the broken places.
That is my hope for our country, that once we take out the trash, we can create a democracy that is much stronger in our broken places. And that begins at our inception. Our shadow is that this land was invaded and the First People were betrayed and genocided in horrific ways due to the white man's greed. We must break the barriers of that shadow and undo the caste system of which we are shackled by. And money, geeze, money. We MUST reconcile a new way of operating where money is not the requirement to be elected. There needs to be qualifications, diplomacy skills and a history of ways of being that reflect what kind of person you are to fulfill elected and appointed positions. Trump would have failed every qualification as a decent person for a job in my business. I was disgusted that my money employed he and his corrupt sycophants and spawn.
I digress. The tragedies we have endured are due to the childhood traumas that create people like trump, or miller or bannon or jordan or navarro...and the entire list of crazies magnetically drawn to trump. I do not see an iota of the charisma they fawn over. Critical thinking skills and experience do not allow me to by celebrity-itis, money-its or men who think they are god's gift to women and are pussygrabbers. Why any female (or male for that matter) would fall for such a greasepit as trump is beyond my analysis skills.
I do hope you find peace, Diana. I think experiences such as yours makes you uniquely sensitive and discerning about humans. And probably incredibly empathic. Thanks for your reply--wishing you well as we see if this investigation, the hearings and the work of our DOJ and other justice systems at work can finally provide the very belated consequences for narcissists totally out of control with power madness.
Thanks for yours and Roland's comments and Heather's Letter which ushered my reply. When I finally reached 56 years and learned conclusively what happened to me, I began to invest myself in who I truly was and it nearly killed me, but now I firmly grasp that every second I was in hell was teaching me something that now I have zero doubts about and I am truly grateful for those miraculous lessons. I wouldn't trade me with anyone, and I don't need to, because we are all one underneath the delusions of the ego the world would have us believe trapped in fear. We were all created in Love and that is the eternal in all of us. Only the body 'dies.' When there is One Truth and nothing else exists that means anything, and a person like me knows what hell and death was for 56 years trapped in abject fear, when I say love will save the day and 'Heaven' is a choice I get to make over hell, I have all the peace of the universe flowing in and out of me, full stop. Nothing can stop Love because that's all there is. If I curse someone else, I curse myself, so now I forgive the mistakes in myself and others, knowing the energy that created me and everything else is beautiful, loved, and secure. I am going to give my all toward saving and consciously correcting us from the lie, insanity, and effects of unloving egos, worldly fear mongering, and the idea that we are separate from one another and what created this temporary existence on earth. Change of the sort that happened in me, proves that all I say is the Real Deal and I have NO FEAR whatsoever about what others do that hasn't already happened to me and I'm not interested in anything but the Truth now. Atonement for mistakes, yes. Judgment and condemnation only keeps us stuck where we are. At peace now knowing love is the only answer to every question. Manmade stuff is manmade stuff, it is not divine.
I resonate completely with every word you say. "There is nothing but love", the Angels told me as I awoke from a heart attack. Jesus said, "Men say, 'See here, see there'. The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon this earth, and men do not see it." We are all connected. We have always been, and so we shall always be.
Sounds like you have found your way to Peace and Love. Brava!
Diana, thank you for sharing. The human being is indeed complicated and vulnerable. We don’t choose our parents, family or genes. Some researchers find that trauma can be hereditary, as in their research in Epigenetics. Other researchers dismiss this theory. From my own experience and observation, I believe it. https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm
Irenie, yes, it's what we encounter in our environment carried over by those who had what they had before them. No one in the world could possibly convince me otherwise. However, we all are made of the same master blueprint in eternity and that's where my full faith rests. Too many humans are completely unconscious and scarred by those forgetting who made them and why, and get trapped in the fear of illusion. Many of the modern-day social systems in place still turn a blind eye on, pillage, condemn, and hurt more people then have been helped. I am here to tell the simple Truth and nothing but the Truth, and I'm smiling inside as I write this, too, for I am free! All research is subjective and obsolete in terms of what is being taught in higher education. 'God' didn't create me to be limited by what someone else says or does. Two books by Dr. Bruce D. Perry (listened to on Audible but also own hardcopy) that blew the lid off of my understanding of Developmental Trauma which wasn't and still isn't main stream recognized are, The Revised and Updated Version of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog coauthored by Maia Szalavitz (2017), and What Happened to You coauthored by Oprah Winfrey (2021). Getting my spiritual wings in place with the assistance of mentors like Marianne Williamson and Eckhart Tolle is releasing me from the past altogether. Miracles abound and each one of us can and does change the world for the better, cause Love rules the universe and we are all One!
Diana, I have read the books you mentioned, as part of my continuing and personal education in Human Development and Child Development. I do believe our spiritual practice is personal with many “moving parts” as our birth, our history, our family and religious experiences (or not) our search and perhaps what some say is divine, others say cosmic, some say academic. I love a round table discussion that we are in at this moment in time. I’m also a poet and metaphor is my language.
Nailed him
Excellent analysis! I have been trying to find the words to describe him in the way you have. Thank you!
All the preceeding comments seem dead-on-the-mark to me as well. However, I would be interested if there were a credible analysis of the demographics of all who voted & why, for "donald F---ing trump". Is there one such analysis out there?
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/06/new-2020-voter-data-how-biden-won-how-trump-kept-the-race-close-and-what-it-tells-us-about-the-future/
https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2020
Thanks for this link. Very interesting data. I see the analysis of the Hispanic vote as on the mark and something Dems need to pay attention to. Many Hispanics are church going, hard working family oriented folks who tend toward conservative values and appear to be moving toward the Republican Party. Another indication, it seems to me, that the Dems need to pay a hell of a lot of attention to the working class: white, black, hispanic or any other.
I have no doubt that nasty Fred t. physically and emotionally abused his son. He once told him that being a "loser" is the worst thing a person can be. Hmm, I wonder if there's a connection between The Big Lie and Daddy's teaching.
Absolutely there’s a connection
❤️
It may not be that they were wounded by their childhood. Psychopaths actually show no activity in the empathy center of the frontal cortex, and this had been measured with fMRIs. Some psychopaths came from caring families. Conversely, some kids who grow up in a family with multiple problems end up being ethical and successful.
But I agree with the rest of your comment.
Yes, the etiology is more complicated than I presented. But we know the damages trumps parents inflicted upon his psyche, so I was presenting that...might be genetic, or might be parenting. Chicken or egg?
Precisely.
There is also evidence that there is a gene for sociopathy that may be passed from one generation to the next. That sure fits with the known generations of trumps: his PGF, his father, himself, and Jr.
It is a good question. Is it a gene or learned behavior, passed through generations. The absence of brain activity in the empathy center of the frontal cortex can be isolated to one individual in a family, so does that mean that it's genetic mutation isolated to that one individual?
He has been a bully his whole life, as was his father. The excuses he uses--witch hunt, rigged system, voter fraud, etc. are the whinings of a person with arrested development. Parents would not put up with “It’s not fair!” whining of a 12 yr. old boy. We should not either.
I can't imagine not laughing myself silly if, as is reported, he would have said to me, as he did to Pence, "If you don't get those votes for me, I won't be your friend!"
I know. That is such a perfect picture of arrested development in a wannabe alpha male. How bloody embarrassing that our so-called "president" actually said that to our vice president, whose only major things I will ever remember about him is the act of following through with the EC count on Jan 6th and saving our democracy... and a fly on his hair. There must be something symbolic about that fly. Perhaps he was the fly in the ointment in the path to becoming the authoritarian dictator of America. I thank Pence for that. But not much else.
Flies feed on dreck. Feces.
What if that insect had been a butterfly? What if a hummingbird landed on his shoulder?
Hahaha! Dreck! I believe, a few years ago, you mentioned that you are of German descent...ist that true? Excuse me if I am incorrect. Dreck in German is "dirt" or "manure."
There is so much manure manufactured from the trump regime and their propaganda megaphone Fox & Co-conspirators, that America is deep in it. We will learn just how deep via the J6 hearings that begin this evening. If I were a professional perfumer, I would say that this manure has a particular, fascistic, leering fragrance, one that has keep me alert and exhausted for 6 ½ years. Due to the toxicity, it will require eons of composting in a specially designed compost cell-- about 6'x10' with thick bars and a porcelain bowl.
I have not forgotten the fly, Roland! All I can say is that it was NOT a butterfly nor a hummingbird, neither of which are attracted to dung. From my Jungian background, the symbol was absolutely unmistakable that it was a fly, and it made sure that All of us saw it. for a veeeerrry looooong time. Also very symbolic—IT refused to Leave. Get it? "The Thing" on Pence refused to leave, or be his best friend anymore. That is why many of us will be glued to the Hearings -- to learn beyond what was very, very obvious. And now, I leave you, verily.
His father's father was also a monster.
He basically has been a schoolyard bully his whole life, literally. (see "The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden" on Frontline) I harbor a lot of...frustration...with anyone who voted for him. They knew who he was.
"They knew who he was" Some did. Some didn't and refuse to relook at their decision. My two sisters are in that camp I am sorry to say. The ones who did see him for what he is - I would posit they would vote for him again. Why? Because of hatred of the Democratic agenda. My own mother, who is a very sweet loving person (but racist), voted for Trump even though she hated him. But she hated Hillary much worse, and what she stood for. There are millions like her. They will vote for the devil himself rather than vote for a Democrat. Any Democrat. Hell I just want them to stay home. Don't have to vote at all. But no - they are so jazzed up they will show up at the polls in droves while the more far left among us are more likely to stay home as a protest.
Hillary: victim of GOP propaganda. The Republicans saw the danger of those two intelligent patriotic Democrats and threw everything the oligarchs could think of at them.
Hillary is a woman in her power. That’s all you need to know about her to understand why the sexists oppose her. Everything else said about her is just empty smokescreen-speak. Even the word “Benghazi“ translates to “woman in her power“ when you look it up on the Internet.
Oh Virginia - even as a political neophite, it was so obvious to "the most casual observer" that Hillary was a giant target for Republicans. They saw here as the personification of the progressive cause, and the potential death of their party. I think they saw that before she graduated college! Certainly when Bill became president. And they were going to pull out all the stops short of an assassination to prevent her from holding a position of power. It was relentless, and ultimately it worked.
While I'm pretty sure your mother must love you, I think that to say she's a "sweet loving person" and then add "(but racist") completely negates the sweet and loving part. Racists, by virtue of being rooted in the ignorant belief that skin color matters more than character, are the very antithesis of sweet and loving.
I think it's up to all of us to not gloss over what racism is, and what it does to society, even if it's embedded in members of our own family. When we "go along to get along," we are in fact giving racism more traction in the world.
I love your perspective. I also understand what Jay is saying. Does being racist negate being sweet and loving? I’m not sure. The remedy for racism and sexism is probably education. I hold out hope for the conversion of a sweet and loving person to the light.
She grew up in the deep south, was a typical "Leave it to Beaver" house wife. In the deep south, racism against blacks was drilled into one's head at a very early age. Still is but not as much as then. White southern folks can be the sweetest persons you have ever met, as long as they know you go to church, and are white (I speak in generalities - there are of course many exceptions). That's my mom. And in the deep south (I think many do not realize this) - the tension between whites and blacks is palpable even today. It is furthered by black folks hatred of white folks (so very justifiable, but not helpful). To the point that black culture down there is designed, in part, to piss off white folks. Or, if not designed to piss off whites, certainly to distance their culture from white culture as much as possible. I would too. But this perpetuates the racism. It is a situation that is going to take a few more generations to level out, I think. That is, unless Republicans take over like we fear they might.
It's unbelievable. I hear you. I know people like that too and have them in my family. They would rather die than vote for a Democrat. Just talked to a friend over the weekend who voted for T the first time but not the second. The first time he hated Hilary so much and thought Trump might be good because he was a business man. I took him to task on that one because Trump was no upstanding businessman!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Our talk continued and this guy, who is a lawyer, was hard pressed to say that the bad things about Trump and the cult are worse than the bad things about the progressive liberals. Huh? Seriously? And he calls himself a middle of the road conservative. It's crazy out there. A crazy spectrum of GOP.
But if, as you say, your relative voted the second time (2020) against Trump, he is in a different category than the diehards who refuse to process the evidence of their own eyes.
Yes, I absolutely realize that. But he is still unable to say that the radical GOP is worse than the progressive left. It is very hard for him to not vote republican. As I said, it's a spectrum.
Jay, I know some voters on the far left do stay home from the polls as a "protest". But I find this thinking completely irrational and baffling. For example, does the segment of Bernie voters who stayed home rather than vote for Hillary really think they taught the Democratic party leadership some kind of lesson by staying home and thus contributing to Dumpster's Electoral College victory? Too many people have a hopelessly idealistic idea of voting, that somehow if they don't get a candidate who fits their idea of perfection, they would somehow be defiling themselves if they said "Oh, well; I liked Other Candidate better" and went ahead and voted for the less objectionable of the remaining alternatives? Imagine if most of the people who wanted Bernie had sucked it up and voted for Hillary instead. She wouldn't have been perfect, but hell, *nobody* is perfect. And we'd be living in a significantly sturdier democracy now.
I was a Bernie supporter. I will always carry some kind of grudge toward Debbie Wasserman. Whatever. I voted for Hillary.
Yay! And I get it. Thank you for being a hopeful voter who is also pragmatic. There weren't enough of us.
Your sisters. My father.
Kim, you just spotlighted my biggest concern - the followers, the acolytes, the true believers. Many of them, of course, are bullies themselves, so no doubt see him as an aspirational figure! I live in an area where he is second only to God, and I mean the Old Testament God of vengeance, not the liberal JC of the New Testament. I've seen these people in action, and it's terrifying. I'll bet many of them still have their robes and hoods tucked into a closet, along with their extra ammo.
Welcome to MAGA-world, the heir to slavery society. The Republican side of U.S. society has so much in common with NSDAP Germany, it’s ridiculous.
I use the word scary. Particularly with Mitch McConnell happily playing the role of von Hindeberg when Trump was in office.
I think there are people who actually believe in something, however misguided, and then there are those who are just angry, mean and full of hatred. Those think they believe in something but really they only believe in their emotional state.
It is far away from being an historical anomaly. Germany, beaten down by the Versailles Treaty, was ready to hear the "go-to" scapegoatism of "it's the Jews' fault" through the leadership of another narcissist - you know the one I mean...
The Germans did eventually learn the lesson of believing that the Aryan race is superior. I give postwar German society a lot of credit for that: Bavaria was the greenest state in Germany when I went back to visit about 10 years ago. That’s where Mr. Narcissism himself came to power. What a turnaround.
Stalin: son of a drunken tailor who beat him. Is it still legal in MS for teachers to hit students with wooden paddles? Is MS education still 50th in the US?
They knew who he was, and all they cared about was he was a "successful businessman" from his long-running tv show and he wasn't a creature of Washington.
Republicans knew who Trump was; but felt taking the risk on him was better for the nation than electing Hillary because they thought he could be restrained and "guided" once in office--ignoring the lesson of history of Hitler being elected the same way--because of the safeguards of our form of government.
It's very sad.
Exactly. When people tell you who they are, believe them. Look at their values and how they treat others. It's a good indicator of how they'll behave in the future.
Ha...THAT POS never saw a "schoolyard". He was taught (home-schooled) that the world was a farm field of suckers.
“I harbor a lot of...frustration...with anyone who voted for him.”
Rage? Outrage?
How long did you have to wash your hand after touching his reptilian appendage?
Oh dear...I wish I could say it gradually goes away with a thousand or so washings with hard-core mechanic's soap. But I think it's more like having touched Voldemort: the stench is memorable, even after a couple of decades.
I remember meeting a man once who unfortunately worked for my company. We women had a visceral response to him the men did not. While he was fine on the surface, there was something about him … he didn’t work there long. I can relate to what you experienced.
One time I was checking out of the local health food store. The check out clerk stared at me and I actually gasped. I saw pure evil. He actually issued a challenge through his eyes of the fact he would win over me. I called a friend and told her to go to the store and check this guy out. She did and had the same reaction. Since she was friends with the owner she told him about the evil guy and he was let go. Sounds nutty but it is true. We definitely know evil when we see it
Ever looked into DeSantis eyes? They are vacant.
There are many vacant eyes in congress these days. They belong to the women and men who have sold their souls to the devil - they are avatars.
Wish I could post a pic I have of chump’s vacant eyes, made my blood run cold.
My last principal induced that feeling in me. Once he ran his hand over the new books we had out on a cart in the library and I nearly vomited. I was reminded somehow of Dracula.
Oh my gosh. Thank goodness he didn't touch you. There are methods for clearing the energy he left on those books.
Reminds me of Macbeth; "out,out damn spot"...
(Sigh) All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten that little hand.
💀
That visceral reaction you had to the handshake -- I had that EXACT same reaction to a day when I had to shake Mitt Romney's hand. He'd come to our company with a band of minions for a "dog-and-pony" show our Board Chairman had arranged, with the hopes of getting investment capital from Bain (Romney's fledgling venture at the time). All the development department heads were asked to prepare a five-minute presentation about our purpose and function within the company, and then one after another, ushered in to do our little dances for the Romney folks. The handshake and offer of business cards was the first thing each of us had to do.
I entered, walked to where Romney was seated at the head of the conference table, and proferred my right hand. The INSTANT his hand touched mine, my skin crawled. I pulled away as fast as I could, and deposited my business card on top of the others. As I walked to the other end of the room, it was all I could do to prevent myself from wiping my right hand on my skirt, to get the residue of him off of me.
Fortunately for us, at that time, Romney's group didn't have enough money to make a leveraged buyout that would have destroyed us like other companies they "invested" in.
I've never forgotten that handshake, and it was more than 30 years ago.
Wow, indeed.
Wow
I met small business owners in south Florida who had that odious experience with 45. Disgusting. How working class people can vote for him is beyond me…..
Too many people want to have a leader that gives them a scapegoat, someone or something to blame for making their world less fair than they think it ought to be for them. Such a leader will placate their sense of helplessness and give them a target for their discontent.
Just like Nazi Germany. It is all brewing deep down in a society and then the “leader” comes and says “It’s ok to hate these people or those people. “Them”, the famous “them”. Oh lord, when we will learn!
Aye, Matey, when will the bilge rats learn they need to scour the decks and clean the scuppers and remove the barnacles from the keel.
Like the song: where have all the flowers gone...
Our duty is to not give them air to breath.
A Hitler wannabe
"Who but a mentally deranged schoolyard bully does things like that?"
A man who knows he can get by with it because he is:
Rich
and
White
Again, I agree with everything you just said. But I do think we underestimate the size of those who are in the "middle". There are millions of people who are not interested in politics. People who are grinding through the day, trying to make it. Figuring out how to pay the bills, feed the kids, whether to see a doctor or not and on and on and on.
The people like us who read HCR and are so concerned tend to believe that the US is entirely split between us and a cult. I don't agree. There are many who are either bored with politics (imagine being bored by a freaking attempted coup!!!???) or just overwhelmed by the basics of life survival (figuring out whether to buy gas, food or RX drugs this week).
That great middle of millions can be awakened. This could start tonight.
Yes, you are right in your analysis. All of it. I just need to find a tiny window of hope to get through the day. Good luck to us all.
My husband is one of those. Doesn't want to think about or talk about it but gets what is going on.
I agree, Bill. I keep coming back to the constant polls that show an overwhelming majority of Americans support sensible, centrist ideas, which by default in today’s climate, mean support for Democratic officials. I think the fundamental problem is that only 18% of those under 30 vote, and ca. 90% of those over 65 vote - with a pretty linear scale between those two ends. I am filled with hope because the challenge of getting more people to vote feels much easier than changing the hearts and minds of a minority of wealthy gluttons or terrified, irrational bigots (whether they are self-aware of their status or not).
An overwhelming majority support sensible, centrist ideas yet our legislators can’t seem to garner enough votes to enact them. That means that Trump is only part of the problem, and that’s the most disturbing point of all.
McConnell and the Republican Senate are at the heart of the gridlock, with a big assist from Putin‘s Russia. Can you say “filibuster.“
When I taught government, I had one class which had no college prep students in it. This class was my favorite, but it was clear to me that most of them were not going to vote. I agree also about millions of people just trying to make and exhausted by that effort, maybe working more than one job.
Too many believe voting will make no difference. Or, what I found among my son's college-educated friends in 2016 and Bernie wasn't a Presidential candidate--not voting at all "is a legitimate form of protest."
The latter attitude was very costly. When you have death star donny running not voting is not a form of protest; it is a form of political naivety.
Believe me when I say that when I heard that first hand, I did my darndest to present that argument--that that's exactly what Republicans want. Nothing got through to Bernie believers--they are very like Trump acolytes--who so firmly believed that the Democrats were dishonest and Hillary had already sold herself to whoever on Wall Street or Corporation paid her speaker fees (thanks Bernie), that it was stay home or vote for Jill Stein. Had Hillary received Stein's votes in the Midwest, she would've won.
Yes, I pointed out to one of my LMTs that Jill not green Stein was not what she claimed.
I agree, Bill, my two sisters fall in that camp. One voted for Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020 due to the circus in the WH and, I believe, partly because I would talk reasonable politics in small doses to her. I print out one of these letters about once a week and give them to her. She is a divorced, childless senior with limited finances. Big on her mind is inflation, esp food prices. I try to impress upon her what the future could be for my kids and grands, as she is very close to them.
“There are millions of people who are not interested in politics.” Absolutely correct. Thank you for augmenting my piece, this is a huge part of understanding U.S. society and politics.
I am one of those trying to get through the day, but I’m not focused on the inane torrent spewed at us every waking moment.
"If you feel that your side is superior, that your race and your gender and your gender identity are superior, you will feel an existential threat from anyone who doesn’t feel as you do"
Roland, I think that feeling inferior produces "feelings of existential threat and fear".
People who feel calm and secure inside their own being are not demonizing others or listening to Fox demonize others.
Examples:
I think white folks mostly feel inferior because they spend a lot of time thinking about what they don't have.
The black folks I have met don't have this problem. They are comfortable with themselves, they don't feel inferior (although other people try to push that on them) and they don't demonize other folks for the most part.
Whites are often crapping their pants in fear. Just my own observation.
Whites feel threatened, inferior and afraid. As tRUMP would say: "A Lot".
Mike, you just described tRump....feels "existential threat and fear" because he knows he's a loser!
Terror management 101.
Yes. The really insecure ones are involved in gangs and school shootings and the like.
After Reagan destroyed the Middle Class and the Civil Rights Movement occurred they really became afraid.
We probably share most political ideas and experiences. But I have never met the blacks and whites you seem to know. You are either fantastically more insightful than I, or upstate NY is a very different place from anywhere I ever lived.
Tom,
I am from East Texas. That was way back, and, everyone was different back then.
BUT, the folks in the black community were positive, fun to be around, and in church every Sunday singing and stopping up a storm....having fun really. I attended once in a while. Totally OK.
White folks? Were listening to some hair raising tale of hell and damnation on Sunday and crapping in their pants about going to hell, or, not getting a new car.
I don't think things are much different now.
The most stable manager I had in my career, with the best judgement, and the least likely to be threatened by feedback?
The ONE and ONLY black man I had as a manager.
It was my honor to work for him.
Can you explain black politicians who have migrated over to the extreme Right? I fully realize not all blacks, Hispanics, Catholics, Democrats, New Yorkers etc. are cookie cutter the same but this phenomena has me scratching my head.
Barbara,
Good question.
If you are referring to those you see on Fox news, the answer is easy: Money. They say what they are told to say from a script for money.
If you are referring to those who appear to actually believe the right wing BS that is slung out by Fox, well, is there some reason why black humans should be less easily fooled by Russian propaganda than white folks?
Anyway, my perception: MANY more black folks are in the "reasonable" camp politically than white folks mostly because they work so many hours a day they don't have time to be converted to madmen watching hours of Fox News every day.
..."is there some reason why black humans should be less easily fooled by Russian propaganda ...? Yes there is. First there is the horrific history of slavery. Second don't they realize the Republicans despise their skin color and race?
Morning Mike. I'd still like your permission to copy and share your comment from yesterday.
Sure, what I wrote is no big deal. Share it with anyone.
Thanks Mike. I think you might be surprised.
Well said, Mike.
Roland! It's so great to see you here, and you have summed this nightmare up for me (us) brilliantly! Thanks!
Hi sweetie
Yay!
B-I-N-G-O and BINGO was his name-o.
I am thinking the Jan 6th investigative hearings will be most effective if blunt, graphic, stern, and most of all, not pleading for consent. Present the evidence or lack of, not as a political statement, but that of a true summary of where politics are serving or not serving any of us and that it is our right and responsibility to demand different. And somehow, most satisfying to me is if somehow, the American people can simply hear that we are being treated like cattle by a great percentage of all media in this country and that it’s time to shake it off and clear the brain fog.
Salud, Roland. Masterful summary.
👍👍👍👍👍
Many have no ears, sadly
there are none so blind as those who refuse to see...
… and hence the label “dummies”
I agree with you; but the denigrating and labeling is part of why they don't listen or see. Why would we expect them to after insulting them?
With the media and the courts and the dark money on their side, Republicans think they don’t need a platform to win.
Carol, your observation supports my perspective to a T. When you’re racist and sexist and gay hating, and you can’t express that in society, you’re left with no overt agenda, but be assured, the (underlying, not publicized) agenda is whites first, males are superior, non-heterosexuals are persecuted, and Christians over all others.
I would put Money People high on your list. The Powerful must not yield anything. They believe everything is a zero sum game.
👍👍👍👍
Treating American voters and viewers like cattle, well, that’s what Trump was learning to do when he was studying Hitler. It’s a specialty.
Gracias mi Amiga 🙏
I think there is money involved somewhere also.
Very dark money.
Heather always follows the money!
Yes!
This is so absolutely, succinctly the crux of the core of the essence of the kernel of the the nucleus of the center of the heart of the substance of the body of the meat of IT. !!!!!
Um...I think I get what you're driving at, but could you just run that past me again? (:))
👍👍👍👍👍
I agree with what you've said. So what is the remedy? We cannot persuade these people with logic and reason; and their hearts seem unreachable through the granite walls of propaganda they have chosen to live behind.
I agree also about the 2000 election. I knew we were in deep trouble even then when Gore conceded. I remember the members of the Court sneaking out through the garage and dumping copies of the decision on reporters, who were shocked and confused.
We have been on the road to this crisis for at least 20 years, and now we really are on a knifes edge.
I shudder at what the future will hold if we lose this fight. It is much harder to dislodge an autocratic oligarchy than it is to prevent it from taking hold.
With the drawn out 2000 election, the Republican psychological strategy was to make it seem inevitable that Gore would not win. James Baker and his soothing golden voice were key to that strategy. There wasn’t an equivalent voice saying “What could be wrong with just counting the votes, all of them, again?” SCOTUS told us that would be unfair to poor George W under the 14th Amendment. Never mind all of the Americans who cast a vote.
Today the drumbeat is the inevitability of Democratic losses in the midterms. Puke!
“Today the drumbeat is the inevitability of Democratic losses in the midterms. Puke!”
Yes, puke. Double puke. I don’t believe that bullshit story for even a second. US society is moving like the Borg towards diversity. That’s why the Republicans don’t have a platform anymore, because they can’t publicly trumpet racism, sexism and gay hating. Why? Because our society no longer tolerates that bullshit right out in plain view. It’s a catfight. It’s a vicious dog fight. It’s a fight between a raccoon and a cat. But I think democracy and diversity win in the long run. Reminder: Trump is a one-term president, he lost in 2020, but he also lost the House in 2018, which was a California blue wave election, and he even miraculously inexplicably unfathomably lost the Senate on January 5, 2021. This guy represents a lost cause. It remains to be seen just how much more political power the racists can hang onto in the short term.
There are more of us than of them. We just must get out the vote with numbers so overwhelming they will be incontrovertible. If we don't, our democracy, teetering as it is on the brink of an abyss, falls.
It’s just my uninformed opinion, but I think that actual fact explains Trump and January 6. The US has flipped from majority white to majority diverse, and that transition is provoking the uproar of 4 years of Trump and 1/6. Again, just my uninformed opinion. The Obama presidency is another major sign of that transformation of US society.
And as I understand it, some of this revolt is in response to the election of a Black man for president.
And it is just astounding. Barrack Obama is highly educated, was the president of Harvard Law Review, and white people who haven't accomplished an iota of what President Obama has, think they're better than he is - - or object to him, because he has brown skin? Incomprehensible.
Yes, they see the demographic changes that are coming, and they are scared and/or angry.
And hope that our vote counts, even with gerrymandering.
40 years by my recollection, but I’m old
I knew we were in deep trouble when the Supreme Court stopped the count, and decided that Bush would be president.
And imagine how different the world might be today if Gore had been president instead of Bush. There would not have been an Iraq war and all its sequelae. Perhaps the Middle East would enjoy stability now, instead of wars? (Except Russia's invasion of Afghanistan probably brought about the rise of the Taliban.)
Gore's adherence to climate science may have saved us from the climate problems that we're dealing with now. We might be living in a completely different, and safer, world.
Really lovely observation, Cheryl. The remedy for feeling inferior is not easy. For it is likely a feeling of inferiority that would have a person resort to their white race, male gender, or mainstream gender identity as a heterosexual in order to find comfort. True security in oneself requires that a person graduate beyond that superficial identification.
Roland, as you say: "Rational and logical arguments are irrelevant. It’s more subconscious and visceral than that. People lean towards the society of the future, or they lean towards the society of the past, and they make their voting decisions and their social decisions accordingly." I have grudgingly come to that conclusion also.
I am well along that path myself. People that I thought that I knew have aligned themselves with that way of thinking (w/m/c/h/C is superior and all others take the hindmost). Roland hit it out of the park with this one.
🙏🙏
I want to laminate this and put it in my pocket. Thanks for your clarity. Really appreciate you.
He's the best! And TC, you're a close 2nd! (I am probably starting some trouble here!)
Not a chance. This is not a competition. We are all allies. You may not catch all of the back-and-forth between TC and me over the years, but there’s a lot of mutual respect.
I know that! You guys are cut from the same cloth, and I'm crazy about both of you 😘
You’re very sweet to say that Cynthia.
It helps that I have some familiarity with aircraft (former A+P mechanic) and World War II history 😉
🙏🙏
Agreed, and there is more. Terror Management Theory holds that in the face of repressed existential fear, people lean more toward authoritarianism -- indeed, they become Trumpier. We are surrounded daily by reminders of death, from the news and movies we watch to pandemic disease, and we repress a lot of it to go on surviving. But that fear has to go somewhere, and it often comes out in unhealthy ways. For more on this, see: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/23/secret-trump-success-existential-dread-populist-death
Thank you for this link; fascinating. I was especially impressed with the quote of Hoffer’s on the characteristics of authoritarian leaders…clearly Trump.
Your analysis is100% dead on accurate, Roland. So very well explained. Thank you.
Right on, Roland!
Agree with you 100% with one caveat. It's more than white supremacy. It has to do with a perceived sense of lack of opportunity ( manufacturing jobs have left en masse in the past 40 years) and a deep fear that the world of diversity is threatening.... and there is a large segment of the Left that is intolerant/belligerent that feeds those perceptions.
I love your name
Me too
Yes to all of this
Well put.
I think you're making the divide much closer than it actually is. Trump's hard core support always seems to be somewhere around thirty percent of the entire possible electorate. They seem bigger because of the fervor with which they GOTV, the effects of gerrymandering house districts, and the grossly disproportionate Senate representation. The challenge to Democrats is to get out their voters AND a big chunk of low information unaffiliated voters. That's where our political media so bitterly fail us, presenting each election as a horse race between two people who aren't that different instead of making the warning for which Mr. Froomkin pleads.
Thank you for your perspective, Carol and Jim. I use the percentages from the 2020 election, and then extrapolate to all of America. 74 million voters for trump, 81 million for Biden. You can pick a different vantage point if you prefer.
Hey friends, just look at the face of Jared Kushner in today's papers…first time he’s been photographed w an expression of disturbance on his usually totally bland face. He & Ivanka packed up and left immediately after the election to distance themselves from Trump’s craziness…
There’s some other folks who had been key White House insiders who packed immediately as well. The minute Trump called Rudi Juliani into the Oval Office.
We’ve got a big job ahead to engage our neighbors & in some cases our family members to look at the reality…
Democracy is about attempting to talk w each other without a harassing or aggressive or snide tone of voice. It’s about conversing, which requires listening and finding common ground to build open communication and trust.
We can do this! I’m working in it w neighbors and friends. I hope you are too!
I had not visited my son and family for 2 years due to travel restrictions. They live far away in a very red state. The visit did not entail any blow ups but by the time I returned home I was sick from the stress of being in their world of thought. Nearly any topic we discussed was short-circuited by right-wing talking points: the moon landing never happened, it was staged; abortion is murder, no exceptions, because of the "divine spark"; Democrats are running human trafficking and pedophile rings; "Jews and Hollywood are seats of Satan"; "if you really listen closely to Trump he's really a genius". I was Alice and I fell through the Looking Glass.
There was ever so much more.
I'm home now.
And I'm not going back.
I'm feeling the grief of family and country division.
I'm writing postcards, I've applied to be a poll worker, I'm going to rallies, I'm watching the January 6th Select Committee's hearings. I'm healing myself.
Thank you to my LFAA "family" for the support you don't know you give.
Maryrita, Your vivid description of being separated from your son and family for reasons of health and propaganda or would you call it different realities prompted me to travel with you there and back. The process of separation may take more turns. Thank you for being among us and contributing to our understanding. Salud.
Maryrita, I more than hear you. My two sisters and I have been estranged for the past two+ years, mostly for the same reasons as you write of your own circumstances. The rest of my extended family - save one cousin, bless him! - all tout the Faux Not News line. So thanks back to you and this community here for your invaluable support!
My mid 40s, university of DE educated, trump-supporting sister in law told my parents that it was good that Trump wanted to send us to the moon since we'd never been there. Sadly, my bro (who is 10 yrs older than her) is heavily influenced by her. Thankfully I have sane parents. I feel for you.
Did a doubletake about the moon story, MK...oh, my goodness!
Martyrita, I feel your loss. I'm so sorry, but laud you for taking the steps to begin healing.
I am so sorry for the loss of your son. It is hard to look at people who have fallen into that morass of lies, especially so when it is someone you love and nurtured. I'm glad you find support her in the LFAA family.
Martyrita, wishing you a fast recovery. It sounds like you are doing the right things. I hear your grief.
Your story reminds me of families split over the Viet Nam war. Kitchen table discussions often ended in argument which sometimes escalated in estrangement. It took many years for full recovery. One side begging the other to look at how things really are. The other side fearful that to do so would risk the very foundations of the “American way of life”. Middle ground had fallen out.
Sorry to hear your story. I identify, as one of my children (raised Catholic) married a Southern Baptist. In many ways she is miserably unhappy but brainwashed to a point that even talking negatively about various of her situations is not allowed. I avoid the bad subjects because I know I will lose her if I do, and I do think at some point in the future, she will need to escape and I want my door open.
I also "lost" my bff of decades to the MAGA side. In a way, it is a positive as I was brainwashed myself--she inherited high 7 or low 8 figure estate, what a change that makes in someone! She could be extremely controlling, dropping gifts for the slightest reason, and not needing to work, could be available to you all the time--I mean, "such a nice, generous person" as she was described, but then I started seeing the racism, elitisms come out. I've heard winning the Lottery often destroys people. Coming into this somewhat hidden fortune (read "the Millionaire Next Door" to get the idea) totally ruined her.
Take good care of yourself Martyrita. Can’t imagine having family members like that- tough enough to just try to be civil to my neighbors! Glad you are here.
OMG, so glad I’m too old to travel, I’m spared such a reunion
Excellent, Carol. Conversation. Dialogue, not haranguing. It takes work at first, and patience, and then the ball starts rolling and you start to get somewhere.
It's far more important to convince the "never voters" that they absolutely need to vote. The Trump base cannot be reached. Voting should be made mandatory, so much could be overcome.
Carol, how do you respond to the charge from Trump supporters that you have the facts wrong? That what you know is a lie? Or that things aren't as bad as you [and I] make it sound? Or a response that goes like this: Yeah, well what about...? I'm seriously looking for advice.
This is what I am running into. My two current examples: Gas prices. Post as much information on the price gouging, nefarious activities of the oil companies, data about the type of petroleum moved through the Keystone pipeline and its prime destination being not in the US or the development of the AR-15 and its intentional battlefield improvements and devastating ballistic characteristics, and I am met with "well, there are experts who say that isn't true" (gas prices) and "it is not a military assault rifle" (AR-15). There is no way to establish that conversation when they refuse to listen to accurate information. Oh, and then I am told not to worry my pretty little head about SCROTUS because they will make the "right" decisions.
Here's my argument for what an AR-15 is: “Imagine you’re a deer. You’re prancing along. You get thirsty. You spot a little brook. You put your little deer lips down to the cool, clear water. BAM! A f—in’ bullet rips off part of your head! Your brains are laying on the ground in little bloody pieces! Now I ask you: Would you give a f— what kind of pants the son of a b—- who shot you was wearing?!” –Mona Lisa Vito (Oscar winner Marisa Tomei) in My Cousin Vinny
I post this with all due respect to the many who have died by AR-15 type weapons.
According to Dr Guerrero's testimony yesterday, that's what happens to children's heads.
Yes, Beth. Wish it would've moved the needle.
Here's a more nuanced argument: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/second-amendment-gun-regulations/661208/?utm_source=feed
Good article, thanks for link.
You mean Kushner, the rotten slumlord who just made a mysterious $2BN sneaky deal with the house of Saud?
No time to respond to this breathtaking letter other than to say Pete Baker’s piece in the New York Times which covers how and why Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump distanced themselves from the Big Lie is worth the read. Link below should bypass the paywall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/us/politics/jared-kushner-trump-jan-6.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkTlUbCybIRp8_qRmHmfnE2_s-j2XzIG2WVC1CyekPRpSa5kLVIKhqYZ5tmTSHQdsLeJkeeMtP9M4NdUp8V1vv5ZKehJUOJyhy89m6BzI_g8mIBuw0rHq3NzC0bbZzmrH64kuIbja5D6Ha1nIrNx8l9cU-DSyi0HIMxqrOF-5niJIpjbp6WMcMFXpXbzKKvvLoFxx6JNyNCxjZ4QQzUOtZMirByZ_es_lTNVUPVi-VCS938m0-69hDOdwIP6yZLhAofcT2g755GXWabI1vgmkufqzxGijKODOH&referringSource=articleShare
Opportunists Kushner and Ivanka never took their eyes off the prize in my opinion: securing Saudi billions for Kushner’s equity firm. Such blatant monetizing of his position as a senior White House advisor hopefully earns him a loss of said Billions and time to think about his ethical lapses while spending time in a federal time share with orange jumpsuit amenities.
Makes my blood boil that Kushner and Ivanka think they get to just walk away. These two need a very real lesson in the meaning of taking an oath to protect the Constitution. Daddy Trump in jail would be a start. Kushner next door would be really sweet.
In reading this piece, can you honestly imagine Ivanka running up and down the stairs in her high heels, trying to convince her dad to stop his nonsense?? Yeah…no! Just another lousy piece written to divert our attention that Jared is a POS for being a liar and a thief, just like his dad and his in-law.
That was my immediate reaction when I began reading. Stopped one paragraph in.
🤣🤬
Ah, poor St. Jared.
(Laughter)
I read the piece by Peter Baker just now, and I am pretty skeptical. It looks like an attempt at exoneration. Exactly how did Baker come by his version of events? There are really no direct quotes to support it. If the January 6th Committee shows relevant testimony from Kushner, that might add to our understanding. My personal reaction, when I heard that he and Ivanka were moving to a very ritzy part of Miami, was that they were simply investing their winnings from their association with the Trump presidency. If they did not support the extreme efforts of Trump and followers to overturn the 2020 election results, they could have done a lot more than just retire from the scene. They could have spoken up, for instance.
They could have given their stolen money to indigent and poor people but alas…that’s not in their repertoire.
Paywall let me in, grudgingly, and told me of the joys of being a subscriber. Anyway, thanks. That casts a rosier light on Mr Kushner's impassive face. I was intrigued to see from the photo that his eyebrows can plunge, arrow-like, to express dismay or alarm.
A little too rosy no doubt.....but that was probably the intention.
Mr. Attewell, I agree. Mr. Baker's article sounded entirely too much like a "puff piece"...no depth or nuance to it at all. Sounded more like Mr. Baker was promoting his book.
True.
I do believe there is a book coming out...
And all the while, I thought it was botox...
Or latex.
Oooo, burn. Thank you for the morning laugh!
Anne- Louise. This is totally off topic and perhaps frivolous, but I have noticed that frozen, almost robot-like look of Kushner on other young geniuses like Zuckerberg. The lack of expression implies lack of human emotion which is troublesome. I may be completely off base but your comment about his eyebrows finally moving prompted this. Are we talking botox or some species variation???? Whatever, it bothers me.
botox wore off....
Thank you, Catherine. Important circumstance, Jared and Ivanka. Ironic that they might be an important domino in saving democracy.
Thank you!
Tumultuous times indeed. Thankful for this historian of our times, who sheds light on what Trump RNC & Jim Jordan’s Freedom Caucus would prefer to remain in darkness. Courage.
Courage, indeed! We need all that we can muster to drown out the voices of sedition!
Be not afraid to die - truth within is deeper & more enduring than lies that surround ....
The country has become so polarized, along with its news sources, that those one who need to read tonight's Letter From an American probably won't, and those who need to watch the Congressional Hearing tomorrow will probably watch Fox News instead.
Fox Noise is a propaganda outlet, like Germany’s NSDAP media, Tass in Russia, and Chinese state media.
Sad but true.
Sadder still that they've become propaganda for both the unwitting and the willing to endorse authoritarianism.
That’s why the Republicans are losing their brainiacs and their members of conscience. Steve Schmidt and the members of the Lincoln Project. Adam Kinzinger is unable to run for reelection. Liz Cheney is under attack. The Republican Party is being decimated. We should be happy about that. Unfortunately, the news is always slanted towards sensationalism, towards exaggerated crisis. The Republican Party is in worse shape than it has ever been in our lifetime, the Trumpsters are doing primary election attacks against the Republicans with a conscience, and so the Party is deteriorating at a rapid rate. It truly is coming down to a decision between racism and diversity/democracy, in the legal sense now too. The scumbag power brokers who coerced the system into having Bush win the 2000 election are now right out there in the open. The 2020 election was probably the most important election in our history since the Civil War, and the 2022 election is going to be the second most important. That’s my prediction fwiw.
Agree with all you say. The 2022 election is critical of course. But perhaps for another reason. I subscribe to the "things have to get worse before they get better" theory. Also known as "we don't wake up and act until disaster strikes" hypothesis. This years midterms may be a mixed bag of horror and hope. Some modern thinking states will solidify their reputations as safe havens and others will keep spinning into anarchistic madness.
Will we lose Congress? No idea. But if we do, it may be so horrible in it's composition and deeds that in 2024 we will sweep the nation with a pendulum swing back to center left. It could be 2 years of Benghazi quality hearings and stupid legislation that will go nowhere. Biden may spend two years vetoing everything that hits his desk.
Or....enough of us with a sense of true human rights will actually vote.
As to the Republican Party, your assessment is spot on. I think ultimately there are enough of them that are disgusted that the party will begin to disintegrate into a completely fringe group. I think there may be a "New Conservative Party". And the GOP may go the way of the Whigs.
When chump got “elected” in 2016, I thought that the result would be so horrible that sanity would oust the clown and realize the horrible mistake. I knew what Fox was, but I didn’t take into account how Rupert makes Schitt smell like roses and that so many would never be aware of the degree of evil. Of course, the pols knew, have known all along, and have consciously and deliberately chosen the side of fascism over a United democracy. Silly me
I hope you're right; that the current iteration of the GOP becomes as irrelevant as the Whigs.
As has been said here before: from your keyboard to God's eyes!
How about racism/sexism and equality? The movement to control women's reproductive freedom is another form of slavery.
Of course it is‼️
In my mind, any control or disempowerment of women is included in the word “sexism.” Anything that makes men come first, have control over, or minimizes women, in any way, that’s what I mean by using the shorthand term “sexism.” Of course that includes restricting abortion rights and all other women’s rights. In a non-sexist society or a non-sexist environment, women are completely empowered. Similarly, how I use the word “racism.” In my mind, even Christian hegemony to the point of antisemitism and anti-Muslim et al repression qualifies as racism.
It’s easier to have shorthand terms than to explain all the nuances.
Ben Sasse remains firmly in their fold, however, and he's considered "thoughtful"
Thoughtful racist. Thoughtful sexist.
I haven't found Sasse to be that way as an individual, but he's proved he's willing to run with that herd. Guilt by association.
We are going to find out the true nature of the American people this November. The sh_t that has happened, and will soon be revealed, is just too much to claim ignorance, or that it's all a lie. Only a craven remorseless person (a deplorable as HRC described a while back) could vote for more of what we saw (and will see) in Trump's four years. The make-up of our electorate should, in a decent law-abiding democracy, have that element to be so small as to just not matter. To the point where no amount of gerrymandering or voter restriction laws would be enough. Not nearly enough. But there are enough of these kinds of people to where the outcome is in doubt. I am in the camp where the 2022 election is as critical as it gets. If it goes the wrong way, I don't think we recover for a very long time. Meanwhile - the climate monster grows unabated.....
I have been hearing that people are choosing streaming over cable. Cable has increased in price, in part, due to the need to subsidize Fox apparently because Fox is not holding its own financially. Maybe eventually cable will no longer be able to carry Fox. Though I suppose some wealthy person might pick up the tab :(
Correct.
No “News,” just Goebbels here, hon
Fox and Trump and Republicans follow Goebbels's propaganda handbook to a T. Accuse the other side of what you are doing, repeat the lie loud and so often that it is believed to be the truth, present a scapegoat people will immediately go to, etc.
That’s how you influence the dummies in society. It’s a little harder to push around the people with backbone and conscience and morals, which is why the Russian FSB was having such a hard time here on LFAA last year.
I remain disheartened and appalled by McConnell and McCarthy - the two Republican leader who could completely shut down this tripe of a stolen election.
Their love of power and lust for more power has corroded and eroded their decency. Those two alone could have shut down the oxygen that keeps this ugly chapter on the American experiment on life support.
I have grown politically over the years. I see things more clearly now (and HCR has helped me grow more). The actions and inactions of McConnell and McCarthy can be easily explained by looking at it all through the lens of power and ambition. What will result in more Republican votes, and more power for them. That is all you need to consider. It explains everything. Everything. So much so that I feel I can predict what they will or will not do. The good of the country isn't in the equation. The good of the world isn't in the equation. Decency isn't. Patriotism isn't. Fairness isn't. Rule of law isn't. Trump? Those two would rather him never having been in office. But since he got there, they worked with him to consolidate power and further the Republican party. It is my hope that their decisions increasingly paint them into a corner, and it will all collapse. The sooner the better - we as a country are racing to the bottom in the mean time.
Listen to Jay
Guilty as charged
The number of Republicans who have "enabled" and willingly destroyed guardrails and their oath of office is stunning.
I know. Where are real family values when they are needed? Sold their souls for a farthing.
I send you encouragement. The Mickeys are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Resisting with every fiber of their being the Borgian advance of society towards equality and equal power.
But Trump…..source of endless NYPost stories regarding multiple divorces, bankruptcies, and affairs. Must be loving those family values.
Jack Del Rio‘s racist view, which he undoubtedly picked up on the Rupert Murdoch Racism Channel, just goes to show how much support there is for white supremacists taking over the government. But I doubt that he has ever seriously considered that he is a white supremacist. Most of these white supremacists and sexists are like robots, automatons. They don’t see themselves as they are.
Well, hmmmm. I think they absolutely know that they are racist or mysogynistic. What they have not been able to do is openly admit it. Until now. The thin veneer of decency is gone. “dust-up” indeed, Jack del Rio. Go f*ck yourself.
My white southern relations would never see or have seen themselves as racist, as they sang (or sing) themselves to sleep with plantation songs about Darkies and Pickaninnies and The old folks at home...
I agree. I live in FL and spent the first half of my professional career in Atlanta (70s and 80s). Every racist I ever met absolutely knew he or she was a racist. But there are many bigots who just live their lives as they were raised. Never seeing any need to question their own thoughts or beliefs.
Racists are immune to persuasion. Bigots are easily persuadable if the right words or images open their eyes.
I like the idea of distinguishing between self-aware racists and racists who are in denial. Intriguing.
Wasn’t the distinction I made.
I'm not convinced that Bigots are persuadable. Not sure they recognize the "right words or images."
Racists are immune to persuasion because, as my homesteading Florida Cracker ancestors would say, There are white folks and there are coloreds and there are the animals. My great-grandfather, the one with KKK on the pedestal of his gravestone in Palatka, proudly said that, like his other animals, he let his coloreds have a day of rest.
Ugh!
Thank you for this personal history. I find it curious how brain-dead a person has to be in order to treat dark-skinned humans like pets, or cattle, or workhorses, or sex toys. It takes a very low level of consciousness to identify hierarchies of humans, like in Nazi Germany and in slavery societies of the 1800s and before. And yet, 74 million out of a total of 155 million voters (48%) went for the racist + sexist + gay dehumanizer. American society is barbaric. We are talking Cro-Magnon here people.
I agree, Christine. They all know exactly that they fall into the racist/mysogynistic fold. It's just know it's "kool" to admit as much.
People I love are caught up in the Trump cult. They can only hear the Trump message. They can’t hear that Donald Trump never served, that veterans of service to the Republic are suckers. On the other hand about half of the registered voters exercise that responsibility. What cult is this? Keep writing, Heather. I hear you.
The Founding Fathers knew what a demagogue could do to what they constructed. One of the functions of the Electoral College was to prevent such an "unsuitable" individual from becoming President. That worked well, didn't it?
70% of the citizens of the greatest democratic republic ever don’t vote.
Three side effects of alcohol: depression, paranoia, and disbelief. WTF
Del Rio made a blundering statement and then tried to cover his tracks. But hey, he’s one of the boys! Those hearings will be watched by the Fox news junkies. Maybe not the majority of them will, but plenty won’t be burying their heads in the sand. The Repubs have a very hard time admitting they’re wrong. They just go after any member of their party who happens to want to slide away from the rest. Repubs go after them “mafioso style” by rejecting their decisions and guaranteeing they will never govern again. I am actually quite surprised they haven’t “offed” anyone yet.
Fox viewers probably won't even see the hearings. Instead, they'll see a brief clip of the hearing with speakers' voices muted, while Fox in the foreground provides its interpretation/misrepresentation of what transpired. Fox tells its viewers what they should think, instead of letting them listen to the actual proceedings so that they may make up their own minds. And Fox viewers just don't have the curiosity to wonder why Fox is speaking in the speakers' place.
Yes. Republicans as a whole are known for not being the brightest of the bunch. So they will let somebody else do the thinking for them, just as the Germans let the state propaganda run their thinking as a nation. Back in the 1930s and ‘40s. My ancestors.
Hi Roland! Have missed you.
🥰❤️❤️
Fun Facts: Fox tv is the #1 "news" station on active military bases. The top officers are "investigating" the rise in white supremacy in the ranks. So much for "military intelligence."
Has been a problem since 1996.
I think it started before 1996. I remember watching Fox at least in the '80s and noticing that the commentators told the viewers what someone was saying, instead of letting the viewers listen to the speaker.
They don't have to air the hearings. Those folks at Fox will be too busy excoriating and refuting everything the committee presents. One-sided as usual.
I sure hope that some of the Fox viewers and right-wing talk radio listeners tune in to the hearings.
I sure fear they won't.
What would surprise me would be that they did.
Good approach - better to be surprised if they do than to fear they don't.
Agree, TC.
Thank you for including right wing radio. I have a family member who listens to Dennis Prager...for her news. Look him up and have a listen. Very sad.
I'm not sure what the statistics are today, but in 2007, about 50 million people daily listened to talk radio, 90% of which is conservative/right wing.
The good news is that NPR also attracts about that many listeners.
NPR listeners are probably not cross-over listeners to conservative/right wing listeners. Different silos.
I assume so also - I was just noting that right-wing talk radio has a counter balance.
FWIW, I don't listen much to NPR any more, although I do follow a lot of NPR's online print articles.
I'm not much into the distraction of radio when I'm consuming news.
I can consume a lot more reading than listening.
Heir to Rush Limbaugh
Why is American football filled with idiots and morons and right wing fools? Oh, right! It's "America's game," beloved by right wing fools, idiots and morons. The game proves that the only thing "exceptional" about this country is the exceptional moron stupidity.
Maybe they all have traumatic brain injuries. Herschel Walker being prime exhibit A.
Oh boy. That guy is … not senatorial material (the nicest thing I could think to say).
And Warnock is exemplary. The notion that he might lose to… that, is chilling.
You ought to live here and be surrounded by the numb-nuts who'll gladly vote for him. I simply cannot fathom how people can fall for that. But then...these same folks will support a T***p and a Marjorie Taylor "Meat-in-a-Peachtree-Dish" Greene and it starts to make sense--scary and mind-numbing sense.
Absolutely right, Bruce. I think the Warnock ad that is nothing but a video clip of Walker talking about the “COVID spray” is genius, but there are FAR too many for whom “he played ball for UGa” is enough qualification. 🙄
Well... it’s also filled with people who bang their heads together for a living. Seems like a recruiting exercise for the MAGA. But I would guess that a lot of black players just thought: “Oh. He’s one of those. Good to know”.
Just as, or more important than what's disclosed tonight and in the other hearings, will be the treatment it gets from the press.
If journalists treat the hearings about J6 as a Democrat vs Republican horse race and not an attempted overthrow of a safe and secure election and establishment of America's first dictator, the house will be officially divided.
Is the 4th Estate up for the job?
I cannot agree more, Christopher.
I have no confidence in the media, print, televised, or on-line. NONE.
There are many good journalists out there who will do this justice. The problem is they are not on the major providers. Let's wait and see. They won't want to end up like journalists in authoritarian countries.
Good point.
The Watergate hearings of 1973 pale in comparison to what's coming up this week.
Exactly so.
The most telling evidence, for me, is the fact--which even ardent Trumpers can't deny--is that the former president watched WATCHED the Capitol and Capitol police being attacked and said and did nothing whatsoever to stop it.
And if he and his cabal really believed the insurrectionists were "antifa" and "libtards," etc., their response would have been very, very different.
Good point.
I believe the American Tragedy will be low views because too many Americans just don't get it and don't want to be part of the fight for American democracy which has slipped in the ratings of true democracy.
I hear you. But keep in mind that after this "show" is over, salient and revelatory clips will be replayed over and over again. Agree that many will not tune in for the whole thing. But what is shown will be known and reported on big time. This will be a big deal for some in the middle who think it has been just "partisan". And I suspect there are those of the TFGs inner circle who have sweaty palms right now. They will be watching.
And here is something to chew on. I think we are close to having a "John Dean moment".
I hope that these hearing will be followed in short order by announcements from the Justice Department. Before the midterms, please!
God, I pray you are right. Even ostriches have to breathe sometimes
I hope so. I am hoping for an Alexander Butterfield moment. When asked how he was able to quote Nixon verbatim, at length, he told the Watergate committee for the first time that every conversation in the Oval Office was taped. Much to-do followed.
I would love John Dean moments to happen.
Bill, from your lips to God’s ear.
Dry old facts won't attract that audience. They need hard-hitting, high-voiced, heroic Tucker to tell them what to think.
They think with the limbic brain. Emotive expression attracts them. As you said, facts are insignificant.
Let's look at that word "think." They don't on the whole--they feel.
They feel seen, heard, validated, led in fighting back against the coastal elites/liberals, etc. They honestly believe they are doing what is best for this nation; saving this nation, making their lives better. I'm scared for our country, but I feel sorry for these individuals.
Yes. 100%. And, in my experience, they don't want to think. I have tried speaking with several trump supporters, from landscapers to attorneys, to try to understand where they're coming from, and they are completely unable to handle or respond to questions, or anything that requires reflective thought or analysis. This is true even for the attorneys! Or maybe they recognize on some level that their positions are devoid of reason, so they just hang on to the emotions and spout drivel or jokes.
Tucker does seem effiminate to me. No doubt. In fact, something going on there for sure.
Well, anyone who recommends that men should be tanning their testicles in red uv light to raise testosterone levels must have one or more screws loose somewhere!
Yes, yes, yes, but it could be evil seeping out
Ah, did you think so too?
Come off it, have faith! -- you may be scared, but this is no way to go into battle for your country.
Dude. No fear. Observation
Yes, but... ratings... numbers... ostriches... sand...
So what?
🤣🤣🤣
Lions and tigers and bears - Oh My!! (she said with a half-smirk)
I agree Gailee. It's old news, people don't understand the importance or are over it, and are simply too busy to keep up with all this news. There's a lot going on these days. I just hope that the news outlets who recap it do a good job in getting the crucial points aired but I'm not too optimistic about that.
I’m not, either. They cast this as partisan bickering, rather than an existential battle for democracy. They want to preserve their standing and sources and revenue streams, because they think our side is going to lose. That scares the heck out of me.
But unfortunately, I fear, "full of sound and fury and signifying nothing" - that no matter gow complicit Trump and his cronies are in the events of January 6th, they will suffer no lasting consequences as a result of these hearings.
And... the DOJ ?
& Congress better hurry up and appoint and fund a Special Prosecutor who will persist past 2022 and (if necessary) 2024.
Thank you, Heather, for this Letter. It is my fervent hope that we will not let the parade of democracy pass us by.
Morning, Lynell! Let us march in that parade of democracy, and shove fascism/authoritarianism to the curb!
Morning, Ally. I'd be honored to walk by your side!
Del Rio might know defensive football but his knowledge of the real world is seriously deficient. He is typical of the low-information/no-information voter these hearings have to reach to show them even a glimmer of reality.
Switching the channel in his office away from FOX would help a lot.