The 18th Brumaire of Donald J. Trump

[The Reverend Bob]

I think the title of this thread will keep most conservatives out since they won't get the reference...at all, but then again this isn't going to be about criticizing Donald J. Trump or even conservative. This is about criticizing those who oppose Donald J. Trump.

Donald J. Trump is a buffoon, a moron and a complete idiot. Yet he baffles, confounds and bewilders leftists, liberals, moderates and "Never Trump" conservatives at every turn. You can see the man is a dumb brute, a anti-intellectual showman playing to his audience and a huckster but just don't understand why people keep on believing in him, why they support him like he is the Second Coming of the Christ. You scratch your head and propose all sorts of theories as to why these poor deluded people believe the way the do and how does a halfwit like Donald J. Trump keep them in thrall. You think that only if they were educated enough they would change their mind, if only they would stop being propagandize by Fox News or Breitbart their eyes would be open and they would wake up and change their minds.

That's not going to happen.

Most of you who oppose Donald J. Trump who is an addlepated imbecile are so focus on Donald J. Trump the king of twits that they forgot to ask themselves "Why Donald J. Trump?" And it is really simple when you look at it. The problem isn't just merely Donald J. Trump the prince of pricks. It is the people who made him, the people who set him up as High Priest in their Temple of Racism and Bigotry.

Donald J. Trump the knucklehead ******* is merely doing what every half-competent used car salesman does. He is selling them exactly what they want. He isn't just selling them a lemon, they know it is a lemon, he is selling them an experience. He is giving them what they want, a way to express their hatred, their rage and their smallness. And they are loving every minute because now they can just be out in the open about and no longer have to hide. Donald J. Trump the fool didn't cause them, they caused Donald J. Trump. They are the cause of what is happening in the US not Trump.

I can't even compare Trump to Hitler or Mussolini anymore. I am not buying that this turnip-headed oaf is some sort of mastermind behind some conspiracy to turn the US fascist and that all his poor followers are somehow his unsuspecting victims who only have to be educated in order to understand how wrong all this is. These people are not like the poor sorrowful people of Weimar Germany desperately look for a solution to their poverty and the social desolation of their country. These people live in the relative comfort of the United State were they subsist far better than the rest of the world, they have their bread and circuses. Yeah, I agree that history does repeat itself and this does look somewhat like the emergence of fascism again. But like the man said "History does repeat itself, first as a tragedy and then as a farce."

We are living in the farce.

So what can be done if Donald J. Trump is not the disease but merely just a symptom of a much larger disease?

What if it is not capitalism that cause this?

What if there is no big corporate conspiracy to implement fascism in America?

What is to be done if this is all about a mass of people who are hateful and cruel to the very core and want it all out in the open?

 

[joe1776]

...I can't even compare Trump to Hitler or Mussolini anymore. I am not buying that this turnip-headed oaf is some sort of mastermind behind some conspiracy to turn the US fascist and that all his poor followers are somehow his unsuspecting victims who only have to be educated in order to understand how wrong all this is....

Certainly not a mastermind but, like Hitler and Mussolini, a cunning mind who understands that people can be motivated to follow you if you tell them that they are superior to others: Their race is superior; their religion is superior; their nation is superior. "America First" is an appeal to that arrogant need to feel superior just as Hitler's Master Race theory appealed to Germans.

Trump, Hitler, Mussolini and countless other highly arrogant leaders understood this weakness in humanity well because the need to feel superior to others is what drove their ambition to lead.

 

[David T]

I think the title of this thread will keep most conservatives out since they won't get the reference...at all, but then again this isn't going to be about criticizing Donald J. Trump or even conservative. This is about criticizing those who oppose Donald J. Trump.

Donald J. Trump is a buffoon, a moron and a complete idiot. Yet he baffles, confounds and bewilders leftists, liberals, moderates and "Never Trump" conservatives at every turn. You can see the man is a dumb brute, a anti-intellectual showman playing to his audience and a huckster but just don't understand why people keep on believing in him, why they support him like he is the Second Coming of the Christ. You scratch your head and propose all sorts of theories as to why these poor deluded people believe the way the do and how does a halfwit like Donald J. Trump keep them in thrall. You think that only if they were educated enough they would change their mind, if only they would stop being propagandize by Fox News or Breitbart their eyes would be open and they would wake up and change their minds.

That's not going to happen.

Most of you who oppose Donald J. Trump who is an addlepated imbecile are so focus on Donald J. Trump the king of twits that they forgot to ask themselves "Why Donald J. Trump?" And it is really simple when you look at it. The problem isn't just merely Donald J. Trump the prince of pricks. It is the people who made him, the people who set him up as High Priest in their Temple of Racism and Bigotry.

Donald J. Trump the knucklehead ******* is merely doing what every half-competent used car salesman does. He is selling them exactly what they want. He isn't just selling them a lemon, they know it is a lemon, he is selling them an experience. He is giving them what they want, a way to express their hatred, their rage and their smallness. And they are loving every minute because now they can just be out in the open about and no longer have to hide. Donald J. Trump the fool didn't cause them, they caused Donald J. Trump. They are the cause of what is happening in the US not Trump.

I can't even compare Trump to Hitler or Mussolini anymore. I am not buying that this turnip-headed oaf is some sort of mastermind behind some conspiracy to turn the US fascist and that all his poor followers are somehow his unsuspecting victims who only have to be educated in order to understand how wrong all this is. These people are not like the poor sorrowful people of Weimar Germany desperately look for a solution to their poverty and the social desolation of their country. These people live in the relative comfort of the United State were they subsist far better than the rest of the world, they have their bread and circuses. Yeah, I agree that history does repeat itself and this does look somewhat like the emergence of fascism again. But like the man said "History does repeat itself, first as a tragedy and then as a farce."

We are living in the farce.

So what can be done if Donald J. Trump is not the disease but merely just a symptom of a much larger disease?

What if it is not capitalism that cause this?

What if there is no big corporate conspiracy to implement fascism in America?

What is to be done if this is all about a mass of people who are hateful and cruel to the very core and want it all out in the open?

Oh now that was good. Do you suppose the word experience will make any really sense?
Crocidiles are a curious dumb bunch . The herd and they snap at each other bad "eye i" sight.

Now starlings a whole differnt creature they fly as a group. No snapping at each no they fly amazing in their murmations
I call it muiring. Fun word play.

I think thats a much better experience to be the flock of grace than the swamp of crocs.

Here is a pic of me with a croc. Dumb ***.

 

[metis]

So what can be done if Donald J. Trump is not the disease but merely just a symptom of a much larger disease?

Absolutely.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can cut some slack for those who voted for Trump because there were numerous reasons why so many voted for him. I can still understand and appreciate that multiple factors came into play, and Hillary was no gem imo, let me tell ya.

But not any longer can I cut them any slack. With what we have seen him repeatedly say and do, there is no excuse that can justifying his words and actions, which are repeatedly dishonest and divisive in a very dangerous way. One may hate the Dems, and I can understand that, but there simply is no way that a person with religious or humanistic morals can now support him w/o having a serious problem with cognitive dissonance.

And what's also quite sickening are those who play the "false equivalency" card over and over again, such as "All politicians lie!". True, as pretty much all people have lied, but false in that not all people lie to the same extent. Jimmy Carter is not much like Donald Trump, for example. Mother Theresa was not like Jack the Ripper even though they both sinned.

Michael Cohen, "Trump's fixer", warned that there's more to come, and even though he also cannot be trusted, I do believe he was truthful on this because Trump is proving him correct almost on a daily basis.

But Trump's base don't much care, much like all too many Italians blindly followed Mussolini and all too many Germans blindly followed Hitler. Trump's father told Donald that he needs to remember that their heritage was from a line of German "warriors and kings", and the Donald is playing those cards, and the latter isn't prone to democratic values. .

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Certainly not a mastermind but, like Hitler and Mussolini, a cunning mind who understands that people can be motivated to follow you if you tell them that they are superior to others: Their race is superior; their religion is superior; their nation is superior. "America First" is an appeal to that arrogant need to feel superior just as Hitler's Master Race theory appealed to Germans.

Trump, Hitler, Mussolini and countless other highly arrogant leaders understood this weakness in humanity well because the need to feel superior to others is what drove their ambition to lead.

Cunning? Trump the clown isn't cunning. He is blatant and out in the open about it. He isn't fooling them, he is speaking for them. They were racist, nationalist and religious bigots before Trump and they will be after. They love every minute of it because now it is their show.

 

[metis]

Cunning? Trump the clown isn't cunning. He is blatant and out in the open about it. He isn't fooling them, he is speaking for them. They were racist, nationalist and religious bigots before Trump and they will be after. They love every minute of it because now it is their show.

Yep, and in South Carolina amongst Republicans back during the presidential campaign, Lindsey Graham's popularity with them went down to around 15% because he was bad-mouthing Trump by actually telling the truth, whereas now it is around 70% as he's become Trump's #1 suck-up.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Absolutely.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can cut some slack for those who voted for Trump because there were numerous reasons why so many voted for him. I can still understand and appreciate that multiple factors came into play, and Hillary was no gem imo, let me tell ya.

But not any longer can I cut them any slack. With what we have seen him repeatedly say and do, there is no excuse that can justifying his words and actions, which are repeatedly dishonest and divisive in a very dangerous way. One may hate the Dems, and I can understand that, but there simply is no way that a person with religious or humanistic morals can now support him w/o having a serious problem with cognitive dissonance.

And what's also quite sickening are those who play the "false equivalency" card over and over again, such as "All politicians lie!". True, as pretty much all people have lied, but false in that not all people lie to the same extent. Jimmy Carter is not much like Donald Trump, for example. Mother Theresa was not like Jack the Ripper even though they both sinned.

Michael Cohen, "Trump's fixer", warned that there's more to come, and even though he also cannot be trusted, I do believe he was truthful on this because Trump is proving him correct almost on a daily basis.

But Trump's base don't much care, much like all too many Italians blindly followed Mussolini and all too many Germans blindly followed Hitler. Trump's father told Donald that he needs to remember that their heritage was from a line of German "warriors and kings", and the Donald is playing those cards, and the latter isn't prone to democratic values. .

You see what a lot of people believe is that is Trump is using people and that is why these people are like that and if it weren't for Trump they would be our brothers and sisters. That ain't happening.

Sure Trump is using them, but the truth is they are using Trump also has an blunt force instrument of their innate hatred and cruelty. It is a sickening mutual parasitic co-dependent of both parties feeding off of each other and energizing each other. Trump is merely their bullhorn.

 

[joe1776]

Cunning? Trump the clown isn't cunning. He is blatant and out in the open about it. He isn't fooling them, he is speaking for them. They were racist, nationalist and religious bigots before Trump and they will be after. They love every minute of it because now it is their show.

I think you're right that they were bigots before Trump. He told them what they wanted to hear. I think you're wrong in giving them credit for knowing that their weakness was being used to manipulate them.

There's no way to determine which of us is right. I just don't think people generally have that much self-awareness..

 

[The Reverend Bob]

I think you're wrong in giving them credit for knowing that their weakness was being used to manipulate them.

I know we can't absolutely be sure who is wrong or right between you and me. But what makes you think they that they are acting out of ignorance and not willfully?

 

[joe1776]

I know we can't absolutely be sure who is wrong or right between you and me. But what makes you think they that they are acting out of ignorance and not willfully?

I edited my previous post to answer your question. You are giving people credit for more self-awareness than I do.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

I edited my previous post to answer your question. You are giving people credit for more self-awareness than I do.

When a child does a bad thing, they know they did a bad thing. What makes you think that these adults who know very well that hatred and bigotry is wrong aren't self-aware? Maybe they are being willfully ignorant and are embracing their hatred and bigotry out of spite?

 

[metis]

You see what a lot of people believe is that is Trump is using people and that is why these people are like that and if it weren't for Trump they would be our brothers and sisters. That ain't happening.

Sure Trump is using them, but the truth is they are using Trump also has an blunt force instrument of their innate hatred and cruelty. It is a sickening mutual parasitic co-dependent of both parties feeding off of each other and energizing each other. Trump is merely their bullhorn.

I believe in both and just recently posted as such.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

I believe in both and just recently posted as such.

Thank you. I just needed some clarity

 

[joe1776]

When a child does a bad thing, they know they did a bad thing. What makes you think that these adults who know very well that hatred and bigotry is wrong aren't self-aware? Maybe they are being willfully ignorant and are embracing their hatred and bigotry out of spite?

It doesn't matter whether they know that their bigotry is immoral. What matter is whether they realize or do not realize that Donald is manipulating them by appealing to their need to feel superior.

I haven't read psychologists , who are supposed to know such things, offering up this explanation for Trump's appeal -- which suggests to me that it's unlikely to be common knowledge among his followers.

 

[PureX]

What is to be done if this is all about a mass of people who are hateful and cruel to the very core and want it all out in the open?

People aren't born that way. Something made them that way. And that something was being born into a culture poisoned by greed, and maintained by tenaciously clever and willful ignorance, and governed by violence of every sort, and that is relentless, unforgiving, and hopelessly entrenched.

No one had to be a genius to see that their well-being was inconsequential beyond that of a beast of burden for the wealth and power mongers that are running the show. And no one had to be exceptionally spirited to become so jaded by the relentless onslaught of hopelessness that they would revel in a race into the abyss.

But we don't have to be geniuses, either, to put a stop to it. We just have to be courageous, and willing to fight, as all human beings have to be courageous and willing to fight those who seek to own and control them for their own ends.

Where is that courage? That is the mystery, to me. We Americans USED TO BE courageous. Now we're just a bunch of narcissistic nihilists. What happened to us?

 

[The Reverend Bob]

But we don't have to be geniuses, either, to put a stop to it.

How?

 

[Polymath257]

Trump is no Napoleon.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Trump is no Napoleon.

He is not even close to being Napoleon's incompetent nephew

 

[Stevicus]

So what can be done if Donald J. Trump is not the disease but merely just a symptom of a much larger disease?

This is what I've been saying since Trump was elected. He's a symptom of a deeper problem.

What if it is not capitalism that cause this?

In a sense, this is possibly true. What seems evident from what's visible to the public is that there is some larger power struggle at work, perhaps involving rival capitalist factions and/or factions from different nations.

What if there is no big corporate conspiracy to implement fascism in America?

Well, they may want to implement something, although I'm not sure I'd call it fascism. At least in past historical examples of fascism, it was pretty much out in the open. No one had any doubts about who was in charge. In our society, it's almost the complete opposite, since we hear so much about political machines, PACs, lobbyists, smoke-filled rooms, secret societies, conspiracy theories - all of which make one wonder who's really running things behind the scenes.

What is to be done if this is all about a mass of people who are hateful and cruel to the very core and want it all out in the open?

Well, I suppose anything is possible. I think a lot of this is the result of decades of political apathy and a sense of torpor pervading the culture. There's been an underlying angst and malaise in our society for generations now - along with a significant level of cynicism, nihilism - yet strangely coupled with a naive complacency and a facade of optimism.

What is to be done? Probably nothing, at this point.

Donald J. Trump is a buffoon, a moron and a complete idiot. Yet he baffles, confounds and bewilders leftists, liberals, moderates and "Never Trump" conservatives at every turn.

The problem here, as you've pointed out, is not Trump.

Some of it may be due to his supporters, but in terms of politics, that's just a numbers game. We'll find out the winner next November.

If the liberals and Democrats should be baffled and bewildered about something, it's the fact that many of their own support base has either abandoned them or simply can't work up more than lackluster, lukewarm support. It's not that they support Trump, but they just don't see any reason to get all fired up and enthusiastic over anything the Democrats have offered lately.

What really should have happened in the aftermath of the 2016 election was that we should have taken a long hard look at how the country had been governed in previous decades and why there were somehow enough disaffected voters (combined with a mediocre field of candidates) to lead to the result it did. Instead of going on some bizarre crusade to blame the Russians, we should have been blaming ourselves, here in America.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Is the title a reference to the Karl Marx essay?

Well I did use:

"History does repeat itself, first as a tragedy and then as a farce."