Last week, several friends of mine were keen to point out to me some words recently shared by one of my heroes, that being John Lydon, otherwise known as Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. fame. On the subject of Donald Trump, those words were as follows...
"He can lie all day long, but if he puts money in people’s pockets, which he does, and unemployment rates drop and everybody is benefiting from the alleged rich-only taxes, he really is making the country a bit better. I don’t care how many scandals he’s involved with."
Then as now, my response to this was that I choose to remember John Lydon as he was, not necessarily as he is. Moreover, I would like to say that I'm not entirely convinced that his espousal of Trump isn’t just a sadly anemic form of provocation to stay contrary and arguably relevant. Regardless, the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. mean more to me than I can put into words.
Lydon has certainly reversed himself on any number of subjects before. That wouldn’t be a new trick, although it’s not particularly endearing. With arguably comparable individuals — like say Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman and … er … Gene Simmons of KISS — I am thoroughly capable of overlooking the far-flung conspiracy theories of the former and the brazen avarice of the latter, if only because they’re both completely consistent. There’s never been a time when Jaz hasn’t adhered to wild conspiracies, and there’s certainly never been a time when Gene Simmons hasn’t been entirely happy to take all your money. But with John Lydon, he has flip-flopped on myriad subjects — the very term “punk,” his alleged distaste for the Ramones, his ire for Malcolm McLaren, his regard for his former bandmates, his feelings about the British monarchy and well beyond. Moreover, his pat refusal to ever acknowledge these and other reversals is almost — dare I suggest it — Trumpian in itself.
But, to be perfectly fair, this has not been the only instance wherein Lydon has expressed a positive view of Trump. For those paying attention, he’s actually done it a few times, lending credence to the possibility that it isn’t simply a wind-up. That, to me, is more depressing, as one would have thought the primary lyricist, iconoclastic mind and preeminent figure of British Punk would have been a better judge of character.
His above assessment of Trump is simplistic and myopic at best, and belies a greater understanding of the extent to which Trump has befouled the office he holds and dishonored the nation he allegedly serves.
If the past four years have established nothing else, it has proven that …
Trump is stupid.
Trump is selfish.
Trump is greedy.
Trump is irresponsible.
Trump is reckless.
Trump is a liar.
Trump is a cheater.
Trump is petty.
Trump is thin-skinned.
Trump is a bully.
Trump is a tax-evader.
Trump is a misogynist.
Trump is a sexual predator.
Trump is a xenophobe.
Trump is a racist.
Trump is a sociopath.
Trump is a wannabe dictator.
He’s mocked the disabled, disenfranchised immigrants (like yourself, John), disrespected veterans and belittled their sacrifices, disparaged any/all who have failed to declare absolute fealty to him, diminished our nation’s standing on the world stage and significantly compromised our national security.
He’s a flop, a fraud, a failure and a liability.
He’s made you the moron, John.
Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?
Recent Comments