CommentsMY TURN-There are probably no words that haven’t already been said or printed that can completely express the outrage, horror and disgust that “normal” Americans (as well as most of the world) feel about Trump and his supporters.
Where once people were ashamed to be found to be stupid and racist, this orange asshat and all the Republicans that support him have made those low IQ, misinformed and misguided idiots take a great sense of pride in both their racism and the fact that they are just outright dumb.
Comments have been made that this is nothing new and that America has always been stupid and if you watch any of these bozos that scream “hallelujah” every time the orange snake oil salesman gets on the stage and lies -- you can’t really contradict the concept.
It goes without saying that many of the educated members of the world community already assumed that Americans are not only lacking in knowledge but have created such a cloistered existence that they believe they are deserving, privileged and the rightful owners of world domination. Each time a conservative is voted into office there is such wide-spread damage done that it takes years for a liberal leader to clean up the mess. People in other countries are also astounded that such TV channels as FOX(not considered a “news” source) has had unfettered power to spew blatant lies for so many years. The condition of their lies is verified with an average of telling only 18% of the truth:
This is shown in a Politifactpost:
- True 17 (10%) (17)
- Mostly True 20 (12%) (20)
- Half True 31 (18%) (31)
- Mostly False 35 (21%) (35)
- False 49 (29%) (49)
- Pants on Fire 16 (10%) (16)
When presented with this type of fact checking information, conservatives who view Fox will not only deny, but try to relate that other news programs lie more and spin the information to a liberal slant. The same Politifactstudy listed above shows that this is simply not true.
Just as in fascist governments of the past, a steady diet of constant lies is not only propaganda but is considered to be brainwashing. I cover this in detail in my article: “How Fox Brainwashed Conservative America.”
“In 2016, Forbes published an article on this topic. They included the following information:
‘In 2012, a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey reported that Fox News viewers were less informed about current events than people who didn’t follow the news at all. The survey had asked current events questions like ‘Which party has the most seats in the House of Representatives?’ and also asked what source of news people followed. The Fox viewers’ current events scores were in the basement. This finding was immediately trumpeted by the liberal media — by Fox, not so much — and has since become known as the Fox News effect. It conjures the image of Fox News as a black hole that sucks facts out of viewers’ heads.’”
The lack of ability to understand the very heart and soul of the conservative mind is where liberals have failed. Democrats and independents have tried to talk, reason and use common sense with people who have only blind faith and hate. There is no “reasoning” with them and any attempt at doing so simply catapults them further into the dark mindset they have chosen.
Where once people were ashamed of being both stupid and racist, the Trump supporters not only take pride in these as “positive attributes” but drool with glee when they are gathered together.
(Image Source: Politicaldig)
Blind Embrace of Lies, Russia, Racism, Sexism, Bigotry and Hate
If you have ever been unlucky enough to be in a room with a Trump supporter, you find yourself wondering what planet they have been living on. While all may not share the most extreme views, a majority usually begin by talking about debunked conspiracy theories and quoting from Fox/Breitbart/Sinclair. Depending upon what is trending at the time, the topics run the gamut: from the made-up fiction regarding Hillary and uranium, to the total lies regarding the number of crimes that immigrants are involved in. These people try very hard to sound knowledgeable, when in reality they are just fools and idiots. They share the same wacko stories that are told in their neighborhoods and even their so-called “Christian” get togethers.
We have seen this before. It is the same type of rhetoric that occurred in every single fascist regime. They blindly embrace their own version of hate while saying it’s okay for leaders to lie, cheat, steal, alienate our allies and make friends with enemy countries (aka “Russia”) that have long held disdain for the United States. They have a litany of concocted stories from their conservative sources regarding liberals and spew them every chance that they can get.
In a Vice article, “Trump Is Making America So Goddamn Dumb,”they state:
“Engaging with Trump’s rhetoric very often means disproving obviously untrue things. No, the Department of Justice does not have records showing immigrants are more likely than native-born Americans to be terrorists. No, Democrats did not create Trump’s family separation policy. His inauguration crowd was not larger than Barack Obama’s. Three million ballots were not illegally cast in the 2016 election. The problem is, no matter how easily reporters and experts can disprove Trump’s statements, a portion of the president’s base will believe him over all other evidence — that’s how you got a poll from 2017 finding that a quarter of registered voters believed his nonsensical voter fraud claims.”
The sheer volume of idiocy that seems to flow from the mouths of the supporters as well as Trump himself has developed only one type of job: “fact checkers,” and they can’t seem to keep up with the misinformation that continues to distract from the real truths. They believe the garbled, mishmash, extremist lies because, in their universe, Trump’s single syllable, repetitive word salad is what they look up to.
(Image Source: Eat Pray Vote)
They Crawled Out from Under the Rocks
Every day I along with many others seem to be put in the position of apologizing to our friends around the globe for the so-called “Americans” (commonly known as “Amerikkkans”) that have crawled out from the slime under the rocks to scream nonsensical comments that are in no-way reflective of a majority of the country. This is the loud minority that the media runs after, not to expose them as the dolts they are, but to gain ratings.
Extremism is the name of the game and it began when the major networks decided to entice the public not with good programing, but with reality shows. While there were always a few of those “out there,” living vicariously in the crazy existence of the reality show that has become mainstream entertainment, this has cascaded into a daily diet. It is one of the reasons that Trump’s extremism, lies and completely unacceptable behavior was not only adopted by his supporters, but encouraged. The major networks found a formula in those reality shows that saved millions of dollars that they formerly had to pay to writers and well-defined cast and crew members. Instead, they were able to put on dog and pony shows involving very few professionals and still give the average person the ability to be paid while telling bold lies.
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Print publications like these reality shows have been around for years…you usually see them as tabloids at the checkout of the local grocery store. Today’s Trump supporters feel justified in standing up to bleat their racist hate because Trump says that they can. These are the same people who cannot construct a correct sentence, think YouTube is a valid source of proof for any argument, and have decided that all news is “fake” that isn’t “Fox.” If you are in any conversation with them, you will find yourself aghast as they put down the fact checkers, praise Vladimir Putin and make statements that are straight out of Alex Jones’ self-admitted made up conspiracy columns.
(Image Source: Slate)
While I dislike using anyone’s appearance as a basis for comment, you need to notice one thing about these TrumpTrolls: the majority are white and look like there has been far too much inbreeding going on. Yes, I just said that because it needs to be stated. These are people lacking a few sandwiches to make a picnic and they are exactly the folks Trump attracts. These are also the same types of people who have historically followed any of the fascist dictators. Sadly, they are too dumb and uneducated to know it.
Psychologists Identify the Traits of Trumpsters
I don’t expect that any Trump supporters will read this information; heck, one wonders if they can read at all. However, a Psychology Todayarticle does offer some explanation to the rest of us for the sick and twisted mentality of the TrumpTrolls. The article, entitled, “An Analysis of Trump Supporters Has Identified 5 Key Traits” states:
“In a recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Psychologist and UC Santa Cruz professor Thomas Pettigrew argues that five major psychological phenomena can help explain this exceptional political event:”
Authoritarian Personality Syndrome:
“Authoritarianism refers to the advocacy or enforcement of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom and is commonly associated with a lack of concern for the opinions or needs of others. Authoritarian personality syndrome — a well-studied and globally-prevalent condition — is a state of mind that is characterized by belief in total and complete obedience to one’s authority. Those with the syndrome often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid hierarchical view of society. The syndrome is often triggered by fear, making it easy for leaders who exaggerate threat or fear monger to gain their allegiance.”
Social dominance orientation
Social dominance orientation (SDO) -- which is distinct but related to authoritarian personality syndrome -- refers to people who have a preference for the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups have dominance over the low-status ones. Those with SDO are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest.”
It would be grossly unfair and inaccurate to say that every one of Trump’s supporters have prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally inaccurate to say that many do not. It is a well-known fact that the Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” used strategies that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles” -- code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.”
Intergroup contact
Intergroup contact refers to contact with members of groups that are outside one’s own, which has been experimentally shown to reduce prejudice. As such, it’s important to note that there is growing evidence that Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This correlation persisted while controlling for dozens of other variables. In agreement with this finding, the same researchers found that support for Trump increased with the voters’ physical distance from the Mexican border.”
Relative deprivation
Relative deprivation refers to the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes he or she is entitled. It is the discontent felt when one compares one’s position in life to others who one feels are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success.”
There is No Excuse for Stupid
For my fellow liberals who insist we must try to have a conversation with the Trump supporters and their ilk, I have one single word: “Don’t.”
There is no basis for discussion, no way that you can “reason” or even have a debate. This is beyond the concept of normal, as you are dealing with people that are (as my Dad used to say) “Not right in the head.”
The only thing that we can hope on is that the 2018 mid-terms will disrupt the imbalance that we are seeing and replace the spineless Republican morons with others who have common sense and represent “we the people.” When that happens, these low life supporters will slither back under the rocks from whence they came…until the next time.
(S. Novi is a journalist who worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one that is suspicious of cults and empty promises. This piece first appeared on Medium.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
