When Susan Collins blurted out to Jack Reed her assessment of the Texas Republican who had said he would like to duel her with pistols the way Aaron Burr dispatched Alexander Hamilton, she, if anything, understated the obvious: "He's just so unattractive."
Now, I've been unwilling to say publicly what many of us must have been thinking: This Trump, his buddies, the whole lot of these pink puffy white guys (PWG's) are just so unattractive, why are they drawing such crowds, such adulation?
Now, I realize, this is very superficial and we ought not be judging people because of the way they look, but by the content of their character, by the content of their words, by their values. But, still. When you get a right wingnut on stage and he's exhorting the crowd and they are responding with adulation and a huge roar--they are responding to more than just the reducto ad absurdum arguments these PWG's make.
This is the guy who wants to shoot Senator Collins on the field of glory.
This is the guy who says Sandy Hook was a government plot to take your guns away.
This is the guy who says there is a sinister "administrative state" which wants to control every facet of American life.
This is the guy who says the special investigator has no business investigating Russians but should be focused on all the crimes Hillary Clinton committed.
This is the guy who says Obama wanted to make Black boys and White girls shower together in locker rooms at public high schools.
This is the guy who says admitting refugees from Syria is like mixing poison pills into a bag of Skittles and putting them out for people to eat at a party--only some of them will kill you.
This is the guy who says voting fraud is rampant, that 3 million fraudulent votes were cast for Hillary Clinton and that Mexican immigrants intend to take over America and commit ethnic cleansing.
These are the guys who say they are all that stands between the White women of America who all those dark skinned aliens massing on the Mexican border. These are the protectors of American female virtue. These are the guys who will make America great again. These are the men who will give coal miners back their jobs, who will open up those assembly lines in the factories, who will protect America from the world.
And here are the two Senators who chatted about these guys.
So here is the way the guy from Texas would deal with these two.
Now, I've been unwilling to say publicly what many of us must have been thinking: This Trump, his buddies, the whole lot of these pink puffy white guys (PWG's) are just so unattractive, why are they drawing such crowds, such adulation?
Now, I realize, this is very superficial and we ought not be judging people because of the way they look, but by the content of their character, by the content of their words, by their values. But, still. When you get a right wingnut on stage and he's exhorting the crowd and they are responding with adulation and a huge roar--they are responding to more than just the reducto ad absurdum arguments these PWG's make.
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| Blake Farenthold |
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| Alex Jones |
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| Bannon |
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| Dubious |
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| Rush |
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| Newt |
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| Kris Kobach |
These are the guys who say they are all that stands between the White women of America who all those dark skinned aliens massing on the Mexican border. These are the protectors of American female virtue. These are the guys who will make America great again. These are the men who will give coal miners back their jobs, who will open up those assembly lines in the factories, who will protect America from the world.
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| Senator Collins (R-Maine) |
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| Senator Reed (D-RI) |
So here is the way the guy from Texas would deal with these two.
Just remember - it is hard to fix stupid - both in the speaker and the audience! And that is being optimistic - many believe you CAN'T fix stupid! So far no evidence has emerged to suggest this assessment is wrong!
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteI'm a little more optimistic on the potential to fix stupid, given the various degrees of the condition. There's the casually stupid-those too lazy to become aware or informed- for whom there may be some hope. Even the moderately stupid may have the possibility to improve-slim as that may be. But agree there are the terminally stupid, who, short of a brain transplant, are not being fixed...The question is which category holds the majority...hmm...
Maud
Maud,
ReplyDeleteBased on the last election (and the continued interviews with Trump supporters) one would have to suspect that the truly stupid represent a fairly large group. Like you, I hope the it is just "Hard to fix stupid" (a little more optimistic) but "Can't Fix Stupid" is a three word chant like those so popular among Trump supporters (Lock Her Up; Hillary for Prison; etc) - so they might grasp it. So while I want to remain hopeful, I believe that crowds can only grasp "Three Word Chants" like "Can't Fix Stupid" or "USA,USA".
Maud, Anon,
ReplyDeleteThis blog may yet qualify for the New Yorker--Ms. Maud's categories of stupid is redolent of E.B. White's three types of New Yorker, the native, the commuter and the newcomer--one of my favorite essays. But I do think Maud may have surpassed him with the casually stupid, the moderately stupid and the terminally stupid. This may well qualify her for admission to the PhD program at Harvard's dept of political science which failed to predict the Trump victory and has yet to posit explanation for it. Professor Maud might yet offer a viable explanation where all others have failed.
Mad Dog