Most of the people I know (and plenty I don’t know personally) who suffer from TDS have something in common: they feel that those who vote for Trump, or support MAGA, or who dares to call themselves a Conservative/Republican, have absolutely no morals whatsoever. This “feeling” uttered with absolute conviction every time sickens me to my core.
I often feel that the Left, Democrats, Progressives, Pro-Abortion advocates, etc., lack morality (and sense)…but I not only do not express that viewpoint, I also don’t attribute it to them as a blanket assessment. I try to listen to people as individuals. I don’t ever say that these people who vote for other candidates, or don’t attend church, or have different political opinions than I do are bad people, or immoral. I’ve known far too many people who are generally decent, good people, who have become absolutists in their hatred for Trump and all things associated with him, even the most tangential things.
Most of them assume that I feel exactly the way they do. I have a reputation as a kind person, intelligent, passionate, a theatre-girl, one who has devoted her life to her husband, family and friends, rescuing disabled and abused animals. I am the daughter of an immigrant from a Communist country; I’m well-traveled, well-educated—supposedly the antithesis of a person who would support Trump, MAGA, Republicans, law enforcement, America in general.
And I would shock them all if I opened my mouth and told them all of my thoroughly researched viewpoints and long held beliefs.
I’m in the same boat you are, Jack. I feel like such a coward most days. I’ve always been strong and vocal about my opinions and convictions…until 2016. And then I stopped talking (except anonymously), lest I lose the people I care about. It’s been a long, dark, dismal decade. I find much solace here with your blogs and the wonderful, insightful commentary provided by your friends and fans. I’m so grateful to all of you.
Forgive my Portuguese (I love that expression which I learned from you), but don’t you think this is all a bit of a circle jerk? Are you going to stop being duplicitous and tell this wacko woman
I am not. I’m just interested in reading arguments that I should. What good would it do? I’ll analogize the issue to this quiz about the senile grandmother and whether to tell her that her daughter has died when she won’t remember it or the news will just make her miserable. My friend (I also refer to her privately as my stalker) is desperately lonely and unhappy. She alienates friends constantly. I know with 100% certainty that she would cut me off if I told her for example, which I could, that wearing a Kamala shirt is the equivalent of wearing an “I’m an idiot!” shirt. Then she would be lonelier, Spuds would have lost two playmates in her Doodles, and I’d have no one to play a competitive game of Scrabble with….and to what end? Ethics is not grandstanding or “doing the right thing” when the right thing is only right in the abstract.
Well, yeah, but that’s not because you disagree with her political views. That’s because you don’t seem to know how to conceptualize or express disagreement about politics other than a matter of other people being stupid.
It’s not a result of different priorities, stakes, assumptions, information sources, approaches to problems, ideals, standards, or any other mitigating factors. It’s not that other people think their positions are just as Pareto optimal as you think yours are, and they’re just willing to sacrifice different things than you are. It’s that they’re destroying society and you’re not. A smart person would not disagree with you about which option is really the lesser of two evils. You have the full picture. Your decision is objectively correct, you are sacrificing only the correct things to sustain civilization, and anyone who doesn’t get that is just stupid.
Of course, they think much the same way. The only way to voice political disagreement without inviting scorn is to present a perspective which explains the disagreement in a way that nobody needs to be stupid. When you want to learn how to do that, let me know.
No, it’s because wearing a Kamala shirt is like wearing a “The World is Flat” shirt or “The Moon Landing was faked.”
Three problems with those comparisons:
1. Kamala Harris has had a lot more propaganda and social proof supporting her than conspiracy theories have had. Therefore, people don’t need to be as willfully gullible as conspiracy theorists to think it would have been better if she had been elected.
2. Unlike conspiracy theories, there are actually stakes to supporting or rejecting Kamala Harris. People expect outcomes to change based on the result, so they feel obligated to pick a side and speak up for it. By contrast, conspiracy theorists don’t seem to expect anything to change; those willing to display their views openly are just trying to express themselves and find like-minded people.
3. You ought to be able to explain your disagreement on all three of those issues without commenting on people’s intelligence.
But it is a commentary on their intelligence, or bias, and bias makes you stupid. I would never say “Wearing a Kamala shirt is like saying “I’m an idiot,” but it is. I can respect someone wearing an anti-Trump shirt, because there are arguments to support that. Harris was not democratically nominated, she had no credentials to be President, she was a useless VP and she speaks gibberish….and in her one decision as a candidate, she nominated one of the most unqualified VP candidates in history, which is very hard, passing up a better candidate because he was “too Jewish.” All facts. No, there is no rational argument for a Kamala shirt. If the message is “She would make a good President,” that is directly in opposition to all known facts, like “The Holocaust didn’t happen.”
Congratulation CD-VAPatriot.
Really good observational based perspective.
Yeah, this was an excellent comment. I’m always careful about what I say regarding politics. I can’t say I ever talked a lot about that subject, but I am much more circumspect now.
I didn’t read all the comments in the original post, but had a thought or two…
Jack, I think friendship is so important…and I bet Spuds concurs. It might be better to let that political dog sleep longer. If she’s not fishing for your views and just bounces her own beliefs off you, then “cards close to chest.”
And frankly, nearly all of us that did vote for Trump realize there is plenty not to like about him. That’s no secret. If pressed, you can reveal one or two of those soundbites and maybe satisfy her curiosity (though you said she’s quite smart).
The friendship you have with her is bigger than political differences. Who knows?…maybe she discovers “the real you” some years down the road and has an “a-ha” moment, the one in which she realizes that she’s been a long-time friend with someone who holds many opposing views…and it wasn’t all that bad. Maybe she’ll figure out that the guy she spewed all that political venom towards actually disagreed with much of what she said, but never let it cloud or hinder the relationship.
It could be a very powerful teaching moment for her.
Just my thoughts, now worth a nickel since two pennies really aren’t a thing anymore.
test.
Rumor has it that it’s hard to get comments to post now. This is a test. Jack, please deleted at will.
charles w abbott
rochester NY
I’m guessing you feel sorry for her and are reluctant to abandon her, reduce her friend count. Father figure or potential boy toy – she will continue to cling – she relies on your support and friendship. Your kindness is commendable.
This is an important discussion thread.
Just now it occured to me what to write. A line of scripture from Proverbs came to me.
“A fool utters all that is on his mind,
but a wise man holds his tongue.”
that’s a garbled version of Proverbs 29:11, but close enough for our purposes. There are many verses along those lines, but that one will do.
You don’t have to share your political opinions. The promiscuous sharing of our opinions is invidious.
charles w abbott
rochester NY
“Most of them assume that I feel exactly the way they do.”
Just like the racists in my hometown in the 1960s.