I hate talking about the trump phenomena. I hate it because the man and his opinions have saturated the news cycle in such quantity that the mental health of the entire wired world has deteriorated.
I shit you not.
Each day we’re forced to endure this moron and his fucked up family. Each day I’m forced to confront the reality that even with a litany of lies, fuck ups and absurdities that he’s still the for real president of the United States. I think that the man’s initials are appropriate and I’m suffering from a version of the DT’s. Delirium tremens, but the rapid onset of confusion is from the withdrawal of reason and sanity, and has fuck all to do with alcohol.
Perverse is deliberately behaving poorly or badly despite knowing your actions are going to generate shitty consequences, and quite frankly I think that supporting Trump is at best, piss poor judgement, and at worst? How does perverse sound?
Because there are going to be consequences to letting a nutjob run the show for four years. Even if you’re a misogynistic, white supremacist, evangelist, pussy grabbing, grifter, borderline moron, there will be consequences.
So, where does the perverse pride in this man come from and why are there still people that think he’s the right man for the job?
The why of Donnie has been discussed and debated ad naseum, so I’ll keep it short. If you possess any of the Don characteristics mentioned two paragraphs earlier, then it’s likely you’re a member of the base. Those characteristics and a red hat and rally chant complete the perverse pride uniform. Kind of like a KKK outfit but without the hood and the burning crosses.
And don’t hand me the strong economy horseshit. Even if someone other than the wealthy have a few more dollars to buy assault rifles and cheeseburgers, the gain is short term. Deleting dignity, truth and sanity from your personal profile is a little bit more long term.
Anyway.
If you don’t think you’re a racist or a run of the mill dickbag, then you’ve accepted a lie that you’re telling yourself. Look inward a little harder and I’m certain that you can find one or more characteristics that you share with this unhinged fucker. I’ve got pretty low expectations of introspection from the red hatters though. If you’re willing to accept thirteen lies a day from the fucking president of the United States, then it’s likely you possess the capacity to accept one or two a day from yourself.
So, lets talk consequences.
I think some consequences of the reign of Donnie will be overt and others will be subtle or will take time to grasp fully. For example, the dismantling of the EPA and the deregulation of methane and automobile emissions will take years to evaluate. Cancer and birth defects take time to manifest themselves too, so allowing Monsanto to spray your food with chemicals banned in the rest of the world is going to be a problem for someone else to deal with.
I suppose that in time, institutions and trust in institutions can be rebuilt. Maybe the Americans can pull off a reset in the post Don era and restaff the diplomatic corps and just about every other gutted federal agency with staff and leadership who display competency as opposed to unwavering loyalty.
Maybe.
But there are other consequences to the Don of this particular American era and I think they’re going to be tougher to quantify.
For starters, there’s the way the rest of the world views America and Americans. I’m certain that there are many of the perverse who would counter my concern with fuck it, who cares, but they should care. Not caring is the textbook description of perverse that I mentioned earlier and the consequences are real, regardless of their preference to stick their collective heads up their collective asses, red hats and all. The world has shrunk and damn near every centimeter and every individual is reachable in one form or another. Missiles and jet liners aren’t the only things that are intercontinental. The economy is intercontinental. The internet and information flow is intercontinental. War, disease and weather is intercontinental. Ignoring this fact doesn’t change the reality.
At a minimum, I would expect every American with a detectable EEG to consider that the rest of the world is wondering if you can be trusted. However, I think that if DT is re-elected then it might be a moot point. After all, four years of lies and broken treaty’s mixed with boorish insanity and self enrichment should be enough for Americans to sit up and pay attention. But, another term leaves the rest of the world no other option but to conclude that America approves and that this man truly represents who you are,
So, the rest of the world would have no choice but to recalculate not just who Americans are, but also how to interact with the new American.
And then there’s the domestic consequences for America to consider. Unless Donnie is defeated and then he and his family jailed, you can bet your ass he isn’t going away. After being dragged from the White house as he screams that the election was rigged, he still won’t go away. He’ll head straight to Fox, or maybe create his own network, and the stench of the Trumps is going to linger like sewer backup that permeated the drywall in your basement.
Also.
This divide the Don exploited for his own gain is going to remain. Families have shattered over the politics of this prick and people have drawn a line that is going to be difficult to erase. It’s going to be difficult because the pro-donnie people have all come out of the closet. They’ve declared their support for a reality TV grifter and it’s going to be hard to take that back. I guess it’s like leaving the closet and declaring that you’re gay. Then four years later declaring that you’re straight.
People are going to wonder.
So, the question is just how much perverse pride do Trump supporters have in reserve? How willing are they to fuck themselves over rather than admit they were wrong?
We’re all waiting to see, and the depth of that perverse pride is going to have consequences. So, I’m imploring you America. Admit you made a mistake and let’s get on with the business of building bridges across the divide this man has widened.