“I am concerned that the country is now being led by a man who is so obviously full of hate and insecurity. I am concerned that Trump seems to think he is a monarch, not a president. And I am very, very concerned at the ignorance and hatred that he seems to be stirring up.”
I wrote those words back in 2017, as Donald Trump took office. I wrote a note then, to express my feelings, to try and convey some of the fear I was feeling at the time. I was having trouble coming to terms with it then---A man had flat-out lied during his campaign, committed crimes and conflicts of interest, mocked a handicapped man, confessed to sexual assault, advocated violence against opponents, and still won, somehow. Still won the presidency. To this day, I cannot really comprehend how that happened.
With, what, about a month to the election, I’m writing again. I don’t really expect this to change anyone’s mind, not on Facebook, especially not after I’ve unfriended pretty much every Trump supporter I could click on. I started doing that a while ago, and then after the son of a bitch rigged his own impeachment hearings and evaded justice, I’d had it. Post so much as one “Keep America Great” and you’re off my friends list.
A lot of my former friends have complained to me about that. I’m sure you’re heard it---Some variation on “What, you’re unfriending me over a silly little difference of opinion?”
Oh, no. Not at all. We’re far past that now, and have been for quite a while. I’m unfriending people, but not over a minor difference of opinion. I still have friends who for some reason like decaf. I still have friends who haven’t seen Star Wars. I think both things are bizarre, but these people are still my friends.
But I won’t be friends with Nazis. I won’t be friends with people who admire a rapist. I won’t be friends with people who support a criminal. This isn’t a matter of opinion. This is about right and wrong. This is about my morality. I can’t, in good conscience, maintain any respect for someone who will tolerate this hateful, criminal, horrible behavior. Halloween is coming up, and I have to look in the mirror when it’s time to wash my makeup off.
That’s what the Trump supporters don’t---or won’t---understand. It’s not about a difference of opinion. It’s about them, cheering on a dangerous maniac as he hurts me, my family, my loved ones, people I care about.
Trump has shown no respect for anything. With every action, he demonstrates that he only cares about himself. His hardcore supporters do a marvelous job of gaslighting everyone else, or trying to---With every horrible thing Trump does, they’re right there, saying some foolish goddamn thing in an attempt to minimize the legitimate fears of decent people.
“Trump could find a cure for cancer, and you’d still criticize him!” Well, yes. Because he’s still a rapist, a criminal, a cruel bully who shows no respect for the Constitution. If somehow he manages to accomplish one good thing, it doesn’t change any of that. Also, a cure for cancer would pretty much consist of Trump advocating not testing for it, which is a thing he has repeatedly said about COVID. Among all his other horrible qualities, Trump has roughly the IQ of a crumpled Post-It note.
“Trump didn’t cause COVID!” You hear that one a lot. In an effort to completely miss the point, the Trumpers have used that as a rallying cry. Of course he didn’t cause it. I don’t know one rational person who has claimed he did. What he did do was to ignore the problem until it got too far out of control to handle. Why would he do such a breathtakingly stupid thing? For his own benefit, of course. To make himself look good. His efforts at bullshit self-promotion have cost thousands of lives, and HE IS STILL DOING IT.
It’s hard to pick one single thing about Trump that I like the least---There’s so much to choose from. But that might be it, right there---His view that reality somehow bends to his will. If he wants something to happen, he claims that it’s happened. If he wants to look good, he claims he’s done good things. Never mind the truth, never mind what’s actually occurring. Without any attempt at growth, introspection, or competence, Trump lies, knowing that a certain segment of the population will blindly believe him.
I’ve seen a lot of Trump supporters flying his banners alongside the American flag, which is disturbing as hell. Trump, with his constant campaigning and disregard for policy or tradition, has blurred the lines of what’s appropriate, and now the Trump fans seem to think the flag represents their half-wit bully. I suspect you’re not seeing the same amount of flags flown by Democrats because they’re not too proud of how things are going in America right now. And it’s terrible, it’s a shame, that the American flag is coming to be a symbol of hate.
The Trumpers would have you believe that this is business as usual, just a president who is unpopular with half the country, like most of them are. That’s not true. I couldn’t stand Bush, and hated a lot of his decisions, which now seems quaint. But I knew that all I had to do was make it through four years, maybe eight, and we’d get someone else. I have no such assurances with Trump. He’s been making comments about exceeding the Constitutional term limits since he took office, and he’s not even trying to hide it anymore. He isn’t even trying to pretend it’s a joke. In a rare burst of truth, he’s stated that he wants to serve twelve years, twenty years, more. He openly wants to take over, become the first American dictator.
Actually, “serve” isn’t really the right word, is it? It suggests a president doing things for the American people. Donald Trump serves no one but himself.
And that is why I’m no longer friends with a lot of people I thought I respected. Because they refuse to see the damage this man is doing. At best, I’m disappointed in anyone who admires Donald Trump. At worst, I now see them for what they really are. You can’t admire a criminal racist and still keep your distance---If you still, after all this, are voting for Donald Trump, then own it. You’re working to keep a dictator in office, to put a rapist, a criminal, a hateful white supremacist in charge.
Last time around, when I wrote about Trump, I ended with the hope that next time around, we’d do better. That enough good people would stand up and vote him out, and this horrible chapter in our history could begin to close.
Now’s our chance.
Let’s do this.
I wrote those words back in 2017, as Donald Trump took office. I wrote a note then, to express my feelings, to try and convey some of the fear I was feeling at the time. I was having trouble coming to terms with it then---A man had flat-out lied during his campaign, committed crimes and conflicts of interest, mocked a handicapped man, confessed to sexual assault, advocated violence against opponents, and still won, somehow. Still won the presidency. To this day, I cannot really comprehend how that happened.
With, what, about a month to the election, I’m writing again. I don’t really expect this to change anyone’s mind, not on Facebook, especially not after I’ve unfriended pretty much every Trump supporter I could click on. I started doing that a while ago, and then after the son of a bitch rigged his own impeachment hearings and evaded justice, I’d had it. Post so much as one “Keep America Great” and you’re off my friends list.
A lot of my former friends have complained to me about that. I’m sure you’re heard it---Some variation on “What, you’re unfriending me over a silly little difference of opinion?”
Oh, no. Not at all. We’re far past that now, and have been for quite a while. I’m unfriending people, but not over a minor difference of opinion. I still have friends who for some reason like decaf. I still have friends who haven’t seen Star Wars. I think both things are bizarre, but these people are still my friends.
But I won’t be friends with Nazis. I won’t be friends with people who admire a rapist. I won’t be friends with people who support a criminal. This isn’t a matter of opinion. This is about right and wrong. This is about my morality. I can’t, in good conscience, maintain any respect for someone who will tolerate this hateful, criminal, horrible behavior. Halloween is coming up, and I have to look in the mirror when it’s time to wash my makeup off.
That’s what the Trump supporters don’t---or won’t---understand. It’s not about a difference of opinion. It’s about them, cheering on a dangerous maniac as he hurts me, my family, my loved ones, people I care about.
Trump has shown no respect for anything. With every action, he demonstrates that he only cares about himself. His hardcore supporters do a marvelous job of gaslighting everyone else, or trying to---With every horrible thing Trump does, they’re right there, saying some foolish goddamn thing in an attempt to minimize the legitimate fears of decent people.
“Trump could find a cure for cancer, and you’d still criticize him!” Well, yes. Because he’s still a rapist, a criminal, a cruel bully who shows no respect for the Constitution. If somehow he manages to accomplish one good thing, it doesn’t change any of that. Also, a cure for cancer would pretty much consist of Trump advocating not testing for it, which is a thing he has repeatedly said about COVID. Among all his other horrible qualities, Trump has roughly the IQ of a crumpled Post-It note.
“Trump didn’t cause COVID!” You hear that one a lot. In an effort to completely miss the point, the Trumpers have used that as a rallying cry. Of course he didn’t cause it. I don’t know one rational person who has claimed he did. What he did do was to ignore the problem until it got too far out of control to handle. Why would he do such a breathtakingly stupid thing? For his own benefit, of course. To make himself look good. His efforts at bullshit self-promotion have cost thousands of lives, and HE IS STILL DOING IT.
It’s hard to pick one single thing about Trump that I like the least---There’s so much to choose from. But that might be it, right there---His view that reality somehow bends to his will. If he wants something to happen, he claims that it’s happened. If he wants to look good, he claims he’s done good things. Never mind the truth, never mind what’s actually occurring. Without any attempt at growth, introspection, or competence, Trump lies, knowing that a certain segment of the population will blindly believe him.
I’ve seen a lot of Trump supporters flying his banners alongside the American flag, which is disturbing as hell. Trump, with his constant campaigning and disregard for policy or tradition, has blurred the lines of what’s appropriate, and now the Trump fans seem to think the flag represents their half-wit bully. I suspect you’re not seeing the same amount of flags flown by Democrats because they’re not too proud of how things are going in America right now. And it’s terrible, it’s a shame, that the American flag is coming to be a symbol of hate.
The Trumpers would have you believe that this is business as usual, just a president who is unpopular with half the country, like most of them are. That’s not true. I couldn’t stand Bush, and hated a lot of his decisions, which now seems quaint. But I knew that all I had to do was make it through four years, maybe eight, and we’d get someone else. I have no such assurances with Trump. He’s been making comments about exceeding the Constitutional term limits since he took office, and he’s not even trying to hide it anymore. He isn’t even trying to pretend it’s a joke. In a rare burst of truth, he’s stated that he wants to serve twelve years, twenty years, more. He openly wants to take over, become the first American dictator.
Actually, “serve” isn’t really the right word, is it? It suggests a president doing things for the American people. Donald Trump serves no one but himself.
And that is why I’m no longer friends with a lot of people I thought I respected. Because they refuse to see the damage this man is doing. At best, I’m disappointed in anyone who admires Donald Trump. At worst, I now see them for what they really are. You can’t admire a criminal racist and still keep your distance---If you still, after all this, are voting for Donald Trump, then own it. You’re working to keep a dictator in office, to put a rapist, a criminal, a hateful white supremacist in charge.
Last time around, when I wrote about Trump, I ended with the hope that next time around, we’d do better. That enough good people would stand up and vote him out, and this horrible chapter in our history could begin to close.
Now’s our chance.
Let’s do this.
