Some years ago, the leader of the band I was in at the time, one of our vocalists and myself had interviewed an accountant at my suggestiuon, in order to make sure we had our taxes squared away.
I walked away from the ingterview mightily impressed but the band leader didn't like him. When asked why at the subsequent band meeting, he replied "he has no personality." To which I replied, "we want an accountant, not a entertainer!!!" and the meeting collapsed into laughter.
That sort of mindset is more dangerous than funny nowadays. Too many folken wish to be entertained by those we choose to govern, consequences be damned!
And I heard that in 2016 when people that voted for the entertainer, we are voter for a president, not a politician. They absolutely ignored qualifications then and could care less now.
The MAGA voters are the disease, Trump is just the nasty lump. 30+ years of Rush, Rupert, et al and millions of voters have left the world of reality far behind. The dis-information industry hides behind the First Amendment and clearly threatens democracy. If we refuse to regulate, we lose.
Yep, and now on acount of it being so much fun, we have supposedly independent people (Black folks among others) who are willing to vote for him (because reasons) but then lie about it.
The fact the one feels it necessary to VOLUNTEER "false testimony" (LIE) about one's choice in polite company, should inform one of something wouldn't ya think?
Some but not all. And from time to time the universe gives ME another vicious kick (as if I din't know better) to remind me to PAY ATTENTION, cause you can't be caught SLIPPIN!!!
Agree wholehearedly. Hate is a powerful drug and these folks feel liberated when Trump says the hateful things they think out loud. All they care about is him effectively weaponizing their hate of “the other.” That’s why they support him.
OMG, my head just exploded. I hate that wrestling stuff and reality tv, and so many people love it, it has wrecked brains. Really creepy, but fair comparison to that McMahon weirdo. I also agree that the orange guy can win again, say bye bye to the republic. Dems better get their act together and put it on steroids at this point. Obviously, the indictments are tfg's campaign--which are working. What was left of my head just re-exploded.
Ya know, I’m beginning to think this Trump person may not be such a good guy after all….
This post is a helpful framing of the mentality behind Trump’s supporters, but still only a framing. Four separate indictments in four independent fact scenarios, hard to keep track of the sexual assault allegations, not to mention a moral constitution that fully exposes the US to being sold out to world leaders that would want to harm it.
The key question is buried in there: what to do about the material harm he causes? Trump has been on the scene for many years and we don’t have an answer yet.
I said back in 2015 that the Republican campaign was a cage match. Never understood why no one thought ill will on Trump being in the WWE Hall of Fame and up til this article, no media talked about it that I know if. McMahon wife was in Trump's cabinet FGS. Trump has been running a political wrestling event for years.
My kids watched WWE for years. Many folks believe pro wrestling is "real." That's why McMahon is very wealthy.
Stone Coal Trump opened up a can of whoop a$$ on Democracy. Now we have not only Trump being re-elected to wring our hands over, but to fear Tubbyville's holding up military promotions will ensure Trump appointees at the head levels of our military. You know traditionally those types in the Banana Republic's military that lead coups and support regimes.
The when large portions of a culture experience anti-structure, loss of social standing, and marginality the culture enters a liminal state of consciousness that the Trickster can operate in. People become susceptible to the paranormal. Believing that vaccines will usurp our will, that violence is peaceful protest, that pandemic precautions are evil. People are disenchanted with too much rationality. The Trickster offers enchantment but delivers only glamour.
Bigfoot, Satan, UAPs, 5G causes Covid-19, Anti-Christ, Qanon Satan worshiping Democrats sacrificing and eating children, ghosts, angels, It's one reason conspiracy theories are popular; they replace complexity with simplicity. Whenever you hear such an explanation for anything, you have very good reason to be skeptical. When social reality is perceived as a trick the Trickster thrives.
Please contextualize polling data in other relevant info like special elections won by Dems since Trump’s betrayal of the US. Again and again since 2016 polls have proved unreliable. The horse race approach is simplistic. Thank you.
This is a sad commentary on our country. Basically half the country is too stupid to know better and they like this guy because he riles them up and says things he shouldn't say? Half our country is so stupid, they would rather be entertained by trump's antics than have a functioning president? Wow...
The Repub “elites” used to pretend they were against abortions but then never do anything about it when in office so groups like the mega churches or the Federalist Society pushed for “family values”.
There’s a whole crowd that voted Repub just for this issue.
Then there’s the Grover Norquist anti-tax contingent…
Add in the anti- ____ groups and you get almost half the country who will be against anything the Dems say, so they’ll vote Repub, but they want one that has been shown to be a fighter & a “winner”
SCARY
BUT
the old guard is dying out & the youngsters are waking up. Don’t despair, let’s convince the youngsters to vote.
It's comical that the 'winner' they finally landed on is a twice impeached, 91 - time indicted, outright criminal who conspired against the United States to remain in power. Their 'savior' is a lifelong criminal and the biggest coward in the entire world.
When he surprised everyone and won in 2016 to the disconcertion to so many and then proceeded to piss off everyone with a brain they knew they’d found their man.
So, Trump dramatiszes a masculine persona based on total emptiness! How sad that he is a role model for so many boys and men--someone who doesn't read, doesn't care about children, thinks of women in terms of their Barbie assets, doesn't relate to animals or the natural kingdom, and feels a need to show venomous hostility through insults, and/or AR 15's and AK 47's. So, is that what these peope believe makes a "real man"?
What's also sad is that appreciating someone for their intelligence and wit requires some degree of those qualities at play--enjoying learning. When an education system is weak, people avoid feeling "dumb" and avoid spending hours of their youth and money they don't have (or have to go into debt for, and we know how that turns out!).
And, don't these WWE fans get bored by Trumps constant repetition of lies and grievances? How is that entertaining?
It feeds their anger and resentment. In most of the fans, that Stone Coal character represents them fighting their perceived injustice of their job, lack of success in life, even their fathers and mothers treatment of them in childhood. All of these trading cards with Trump looking buff and super hero when he is nothing like that, re-inforces he represents their repression. The idol. The personal God.
McMahon uncovered that goldmine of the lower class needing Heroes to defeat Villains in a wrestling match. Anger spread upward in perceived notions that a black person or a LGBQT, or women, is the villan to middle class and upper class people. Trump is the ultimate wrestling warrior of the masses. I think of going to Mexico when I lived on the border and watching Luche Lebrae (sp) and how the poor folks cheered and chanted. We have become a country of the same.
The fact that so many people put being entertained as a priority for what to look for in a political candidate is not a healthy sign for democracy. But if this is a reality (based on various factors, including a mediocre education system on average plus reality tv's dumbing down of America), DEMS must meet this reality with offering qualified, honest candidates who are also entertaining.
YES! Bill Clinton & Barack Obama had some charisma. It seems the job of president is becoming more “ringleader/entertainer” while big corporations & “think tanks” decide policy based on how rich people can get richer.
Who was it that said “Give them bread & circuses”?
Combining the strategy of repeating a lie, making out as big as possible, with entertainment. Autocratic aspiring leaders in history used these strategies, except they did not have the technology we have today.
A very interesting op ed. I'll give you another allegory.
Professional wrestling used to employ "Jobbers". These were experienced professionals who were very good at their craft and would help the stars improve at theirs. They were the guys who would get "beat down" on the Saturday morning studio TV shows, but we would never see them in the arena shows. Paradoxically, it was the jobbers who helped develop the stars and taught techniques that the stars use in the ring against them. Those Saturday morning beat downs were actually lessons and practices.
Today, there are no more jobbers. In one of the world's most physically and mentally demanding professions, every wrestler must have an enduringly popular schtick or they are thrown out. Wrestling skills are optional.
This is the Trump world. Facade is more important than skill.
This is the card I hold tightly to my chest. Folken I knew were running about like hair on fire re: this vaunted "RED WAVE" that was a mere splash and piddly puddle of... well, you get my meaning.
So sick of all news being framed around this sociopathic con man- the excuse always given? — he is leading in the polls. What if the polls are all wrong, as I suspect they are? L T
Lauren, I wrote a similar comment...I think this is BS. Does anyone think an overwhelming majority doesn’t want Fascism, rt wing racism, bashing LGBTQI+, taking away women’s rights on top of the fact that trump lost by 8MILLION before the indictments!!
WE are being vastly underestimated. Stop this running scared crap and stand up with our fists up! Left needs to Change the rhetoric!!
Not to pop your balloon, but common sense over-rules fascistic power only on occasion. FDR for example. And that was only because of a truly global disaster, economically and politically. The antidote was reactive; it didn't forestall the deaths of millions of people. So, you are right. But the odds are almost always against us. It's possible, maybe likely, that Trump will lose in 2024. But that doesn't fix the underlying problem. That fix depends on a massive popular reversal of the Reagan Revolution. A tall order.
All these “analyses” of why people follow Trump are a waste of time. So are the responses that begin with “the Dems better do this or that..”. NO. WE ALL NEED TO GET OFF OUR BUTTS & get active to make sure Trump loses AGAIN. Reminder: He lost the popular vote in 2016 AND even bigger in 2020. He hasn’t collected new followers since then either. Put down yr remotes & yr phoned & sign up to DO THE WORK of democracy.
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
Some years ago, the leader of the band I was in at the time, one of our vocalists and myself had interviewed an accountant at my suggestiuon, in order to make sure we had our taxes squared away.
I walked away from the ingterview mightily impressed but the band leader didn't like him. When asked why at the subsequent band meeting, he replied "he has no personality." To which I replied, "we want an accountant, not a entertainer!!!" and the meeting collapsed into laughter.
That sort of mindset is more dangerous than funny nowadays. Too many folken wish to be entertained by those we choose to govern, consequences be damned!
And I heard that in 2016 when people that voted for the entertainer, we are voter for a president, not a politician. They absolutely ignored qualifications then and could care less now.
The MAGA voters are the disease, Trump is just the nasty lump. 30+ years of Rush, Rupert, et al and millions of voters have left the world of reality far behind. The dis-information industry hides behind the First Amendment and clearly threatens democracy. If we refuse to regulate, we lose.
Yes indeedy, especially that last bit.
Yep, and now on acount of it being so much fun, we have supposedly independent people (Black folks among others) who are willing to vote for him (because reasons) but then lie about it.
The fact the one feels it necessary to VOLUNTEER "false testimony" (LIE) about one's choice in polite company, should inform one of something wouldn't ya think?
What a great real life example! (I hope your band mates kept the learning from that lesson.)
Reminds me of people voting for George W Bush because he's the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with--not realizing that he was an alcoholic!
Some but not all. And from time to time the universe gives ME another vicious kick (as if I din't know better) to remind me to PAY ATTENTION, cause you can't be caught SLIPPIN!!!
The strategy of the charismatic con artist is what I just read about.
What book was that? I asm a voracious reader, you see.
Trump represents the “ugly American” and man oh man there are too many of them.
Agree wholehearedly. Hate is a powerful drug and these folks feel liberated when Trump says the hateful things they think out loud. All they care about is him effectively weaponizing their hate of “the other.” That’s why they support him.
"He tells it like it is..."
OMG, my head just exploded. I hate that wrestling stuff and reality tv, and so many people love it, it has wrecked brains. Really creepy, but fair comparison to that McMahon weirdo. I also agree that the orange guy can win again, say bye bye to the republic. Dems better get their act together and put it on steroids at this point. Obviously, the indictments are tfg's campaign--which are working. What was left of my head just re-exploded.
Well, that certainly explains a lot about the people who vote for 45.
Ya know, I’m beginning to think this Trump person may not be such a good guy after all….
This post is a helpful framing of the mentality behind Trump’s supporters, but still only a framing. Four separate indictments in four independent fact scenarios, hard to keep track of the sexual assault allegations, not to mention a moral constitution that fully exposes the US to being sold out to world leaders that would want to harm it.
The key question is buried in there: what to do about the material harm he causes? Trump has been on the scene for many years and we don’t have an answer yet.
Maybe if our so-called justice system had put him in jail a long time ago, he wouldn’t have become the president.
I said back in 2015 that the Republican campaign was a cage match. Never understood why no one thought ill will on Trump being in the WWE Hall of Fame and up til this article, no media talked about it that I know if. McMahon wife was in Trump's cabinet FGS. Trump has been running a political wrestling event for years.
My kids watched WWE for years. Many folks believe pro wrestling is "real." That's why McMahon is very wealthy.
Stone Coal Trump opened up a can of whoop a$$ on Democracy. Now we have not only Trump being re-elected to wring our hands over, but to fear Tubbyville's holding up military promotions will ensure Trump appointees at the head levels of our military. You know traditionally those types in the Banana Republic's military that lead coups and support regimes.
Interesting report.
The when large portions of a culture experience anti-structure, loss of social standing, and marginality the culture enters a liminal state of consciousness that the Trickster can operate in. People become susceptible to the paranormal. Believing that vaccines will usurp our will, that violence is peaceful protest, that pandemic precautions are evil. People are disenchanted with too much rationality. The Trickster offers enchantment but delivers only glamour.
Bigfoot, Satan, UAPs, 5G causes Covid-19, Anti-Christ, Qanon Satan worshiping Democrats sacrificing and eating children, ghosts, angels, It's one reason conspiracy theories are popular; they replace complexity with simplicity. Whenever you hear such an explanation for anything, you have very good reason to be skeptical. When social reality is perceived as a trick the Trickster thrives.
Please contextualize polling data in other relevant info like special elections won by Dems since Trump’s betrayal of the US. Again and again since 2016 polls have proved unreliable. The horse race approach is simplistic. Thank you.
This is a sad commentary on our country. Basically half the country is too stupid to know better and they like this guy because he riles them up and says things he shouldn't say? Half our country is so stupid, they would rather be entertained by trump's antics than have a functioning president? Wow...
The Repub “elites” used to pretend they were against abortions but then never do anything about it when in office so groups like the mega churches or the Federalist Society pushed for “family values”.
There’s a whole crowd that voted Repub just for this issue.
Then there’s the Grover Norquist anti-tax contingent…
Add in the anti- ____ groups and you get almost half the country who will be against anything the Dems say, so they’ll vote Repub, but they want one that has been shown to be a fighter & a “winner”
SCARY
BUT
the old guard is dying out & the youngsters are waking up. Don’t despair, let’s convince the youngsters to vote.
It's comical that the 'winner' they finally landed on is a twice impeached, 91 - time indicted, outright criminal who conspired against the United States to remain in power. Their 'savior' is a lifelong criminal and the biggest coward in the entire world.
When he surprised everyone and won in 2016 to the disconcertion to so many and then proceeded to piss off everyone with a brain they knew they’d found their man.
"proceeded to piss off everyone with a brain they knew they’d found their man"
Damn, what an apt endictment of those GD'd repubs & RW nutterz!
"Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people." - Oscar Wilde
So, Trump dramatiszes a masculine persona based on total emptiness! How sad that he is a role model for so many boys and men--someone who doesn't read, doesn't care about children, thinks of women in terms of their Barbie assets, doesn't relate to animals or the natural kingdom, and feels a need to show venomous hostility through insults, and/or AR 15's and AK 47's. So, is that what these peope believe makes a "real man"?
What's also sad is that appreciating someone for their intelligence and wit requires some degree of those qualities at play--enjoying learning. When an education system is weak, people avoid feeling "dumb" and avoid spending hours of their youth and money they don't have (or have to go into debt for, and we know how that turns out!).
And, don't these WWE fans get bored by Trumps constant repetition of lies and grievances? How is that entertaining?
It feeds their anger and resentment. In most of the fans, that Stone Coal character represents them fighting their perceived injustice of their job, lack of success in life, even their fathers and mothers treatment of them in childhood. All of these trading cards with Trump looking buff and super hero when he is nothing like that, re-inforces he represents their repression. The idol. The personal God.
McMahon uncovered that goldmine of the lower class needing Heroes to defeat Villains in a wrestling match. Anger spread upward in perceived notions that a black person or a LGBQT, or women, is the villan to middle class and upper class people. Trump is the ultimate wrestling warrior of the masses. I think of going to Mexico when I lived on the border and watching Luche Lebrae (sp) and how the poor folks cheered and chanted. We have become a country of the same.
Victimhood sells well to people who feel like they are lost.
As a warrior, I learned that "strong men" can cry, hell we even write Pomez (poems)!!!
The fact that so many people put being entertained as a priority for what to look for in a political candidate is not a healthy sign for democracy. But if this is a reality (based on various factors, including a mediocre education system on average plus reality tv's dumbing down of America), DEMS must meet this reality with offering qualified, honest candidates who are also entertaining.
YES! Bill Clinton & Barack Obama had some charisma. It seems the job of president is becoming more “ringleader/entertainer” while big corporations & “think tanks” decide policy based on how rich people can get richer.
Who was it that said “Give them bread & circuses”?
WWE crossed with the National Enquirer+ Roy Cohn+ Putin= trumps brand
Combining the strategy of repeating a lie, making out as big as possible, with entertainment. Autocratic aspiring leaders in history used these strategies, except they did not have the technology we have today.
A very interesting op ed. I'll give you another allegory.
Professional wrestling used to employ "Jobbers". These were experienced professionals who were very good at their craft and would help the stars improve at theirs. They were the guys who would get "beat down" on the Saturday morning studio TV shows, but we would never see them in the arena shows. Paradoxically, it was the jobbers who helped develop the stars and taught techniques that the stars use in the ring against them. Those Saturday morning beat downs were actually lessons and practices.
Today, there are no more jobbers. In one of the world's most physically and mentally demanding professions, every wrestler must have an enduringly popular schtick or they are thrown out. Wrestling skills are optional.
This is the Trump world. Facade is more important than skill.
Polls are a terrible way to guess election results. Remember the RED WAVE threats?
This is the card I hold tightly to my chest. Folken I knew were running about like hair on fire re: this vaunted "RED WAVE" that was a mere splash and piddly puddle of... well, you get my meaning.
So sick of all news being framed around this sociopathic con man- the excuse always given? — he is leading in the polls. What if the polls are all wrong, as I suspect they are? L T
Lauren, I wrote a similar comment...I think this is BS. Does anyone think an overwhelming majority doesn’t want Fascism, rt wing racism, bashing LGBTQI+, taking away women’s rights on top of the fact that trump lost by 8MILLION before the indictments!!
WE are being vastly underestimated. Stop this running scared crap and stand up with our fists up! Left needs to Change the rhetoric!!
Not to pop your balloon, but common sense over-rules fascistic power only on occasion. FDR for example. And that was only because of a truly global disaster, economically and politically. The antidote was reactive; it didn't forestall the deaths of millions of people. So, you are right. But the odds are almost always against us. It's possible, maybe likely, that Trump will lose in 2024. But that doesn't fix the underlying problem. That fix depends on a massive popular reversal of the Reagan Revolution. A tall order.
All these “analyses” of why people follow Trump are a waste of time. So are the responses that begin with “the Dems better do this or that..”. NO. WE ALL NEED TO GET OFF OUR BUTTS & get active to make sure Trump loses AGAIN. Reminder: He lost the popular vote in 2016 AND even bigger in 2020. He hasn’t collected new followers since then either. Put down yr remotes & yr phoned & sign up to DO THE WORK of democracy.
Charles Darwin
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
― Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man