Even before Cruz and Kasich dropped out of the race this week, thus making Donald Trump the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee (I envision Donald experiencing some sort of flatulent approximation of the Quickening from “Highlander”), I started hearing allusions as to how we -- and by we I mean people who don’t have their heads way up their own ass -– all need to start finding ways to co-exist with, empathize with and even respect Trump supporters as their ineloquently bloviating candidate gets a more mainstream makeover in the press and starts acting more “presidential.”
Yeah, pardon me, but fuck all that!
I have one particularly learned friend and former colleague on Facebook who posted an article from Bloomberg View by one Ramesh Ponnuru, recently, about how frothy-mouthed vitriol-cannons of the East Coast “elite” -- like, I guess, myself -- are only fueling the fire of Trump supporters by continuing to be so vocally disparaging of their evidently challenged cognitive abilities. Here’s a choice excerpt from Ponnuru’s piece…
People who disdain Trump voters en masse are, it seems to me, confusing two questions: Should an intelligent and decent person back Trump? And can an intelligent and decent person back Trump? I’m a firm no on the first question. But the answer to the second question is yes.
Sorry, but NOPE!
True to form, I weighed in on the ensuing thread on my friend’s Facebook page and it took very little time before things simmered to a testy boil. Cooler heads prevailed, mutual apologies were exchanged, and we all endeavored to keep things civil, if only out of courtesy to our mutual friend who first posted the provocative article.
Here on my own goddamn blog, however, I still cannot fathom how or why a sentient human being SHOULDN’T bristle with abject contempt at the notion of someone endorsing and supporting the ideas Trump’s been espousing. I have several lefty friends who tell me to not even worry about it, as Hillary is a complete shoe-in, so why not just sit back and enjoy the circus?
But, see, I don’t agree with that either.
Personally speaking, I’m not a particularly huge fan of Hillary’s (I voted in the New York primary for Bernie), but I’d sure as shit prefer her in the White House than Trump. At the very least, you cannot discount her smarts, professional experience and demeanor (none of which can be said for Trump).
That all said, you’d have to genuinely be an idiot not to notice the palpable rage Hillary inspires in large swathes of this nation. I’m related to a boat-load of Republicans, and a single, well-timed invocation of her name will set them off like no other. I’ve seen it in action. A lot of people really think she’s the quintessence of evil and everything that’s wrong with Washington D.C.
With that in mind, I’m not at all convinced that she can beat Trump in November, leaving me with the very genuine fear that Donald Trump could very well ascend to the office of President of the United States of America, and if that notion doesn’t send a chill down your spine, check your pulse.
Here’s another choice tidbit from Ponnuru’s article…
[Trump supporters] already think that people who oppose Trump look down on them, and it’s one reason they are backing him. When anti-Trumpists openly announce they have no respect for Trump voters and wish to shun them, they just confirm these Trump supporters’ view and harden their resolve.
As I tried to assert on my friend’s afore-cited Facebook thread, THAT DOESN’T MAKE TRUMP SUPPORTERS ANY MORE SYMPATHETIC, ANY MORE JUSTIFIED OR ANY LESS INTELLECTUALLY INFERIOR!
The defense of Trump’s disarmingly vast field of support is that his acolytes are intent on sending Washington a wake-up call designed to broadcast their discontent with both parties. I am not for a moment suggesting that our current system of government is flawless (remember, I’m rooting for Bernie), but putting Trump in the White House will not remedy the problem. It’s like putting a lit firecracker into your broken toaster -– yeah, it’s sure as Hell gonna shake things up, but it’s not going to fix the problem.
Whether it was initially calculated to turn out this way or not, Trump has stirred up something deeply ugly in this country. No, he’s not the first to do this (hello, George Wallace), and he probably won’t be the last. But by unleashing it in supposedly enlightened 2016, we’ve collectively taken a giant leap backwards. Violence has been flat out encouraged by the candidate, and hateful, racist rhetoric is now validated under the guise of dispelling “political correctness.” Listen, assholes –- “Political Correctness” is just a catch-all term for being considerate, inclusive and egalitarian. Last time I checked, those were all noble, all-American ideals.
Point Blank: An endorsement of Trump is an endorsement of his message, and you’d have to be DEEPLY FUCKING STUPID not to recognize that message as one steeped in bigotry, misogyny, hatred, violence, avarice and crippling myopia.
If you cannot recognize Donald Trump as the repugnant, ineloquent, megalomaniacal villain that he so inarguably is, you should be seriously ashamed of yourselves. I will continue to have nothing but derision and contempt for you, and I will NEVER feel otherwise.
Incidentally, the image at the top was appropriated from a t-shirt that’s been encouragingly sold (out) by Reaper Records. It’s essentially an homage to the cover art of this single.
VOTE AGAINST TRUMP!
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