When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Whiny (original) (raw)

There are so many things related to politics that I hear or read that just piss me off, but I usually try not to say anything, because it’s kind of just taking the bait. That’s especially the case with the Own the Libs mentality, when you can’t even be sure people actually BELIEVE what they say; they might just want to get a rise out of someone. But anyway, I recently heard someone talking about how Donald Trump was treated unfairly in the recent trial, that it was ridiculous that E. Jean Carroll sued him for something that happened twenty years ago, and that he should sue her. Gee, you think that kind of talk could be part of why it took her so long to come forward?

The idea that people are unfair to Trump is so weird, because it’s obviously false. He’s done all kinds of terrible things and faced hardly any consequences. Some people just don’t care, or think he’s cool for getting away with them. You could even say that becoming President of the United States is the opposite of a consequence. But again, does anyone believe that he never did anything wrong, or is that just baiting? And the whole idea of someone suing for being accused of sexual assault seems like another way to make sure rich people never have to answer for anything. It’s not like anyone could possibly defame Trump’s character any more than he’s already done himself. On the other hand, survivors of abuse are constantly belittled and threatened by the public. Trump fans will tell you that they make it up for money and attention, but would that really be worth all the crap they give you? It’s much more common that people get away with abuse than that they’re falsely accused of it. It doesn’t feel like Trump really faced justice anyway; he just had to pay money. I want to see him taken down, just like Fox News should have been; but sometimes a civil suit is the best you can get. And this is all to defend the repulsive bully who gets away with everything else?

This also made me think of the weird inconsistency between Trump’s tough-guy attitude and his whiny victim act. Why is a tough attitude something people want, anyway? I read a New York Times headline today about how Erdogan’s attitude is popular in Turkey, and I don’t really get why. The whole MAGA crowd has a weird fixation on Mafia movies, even though those media pretty much always make the point that people who get rich, powerful, and popular through organized crime are always taking the risk of getting whacked at any time. Maybe that’s why Mike Pence seems so unconcerned that his followers came close to hanging him. That’s just the kind of risk you’re taking when you join a criminal organization. I guess it’s okay as long as you get the chance to spread homophobia and misogyny. I’m not saying a leader should be a wimp, but what does making threats accomplish?

A related thing I’ve thought of is the rise in vengeance politics as of late. I’m sure it’s nothing new, but it seems to come up all the time these days. Chris Christie created traffic problems on the George Washington Bridge because of a disagreement with this one mayor, Ron DeSantis thinks he has to punish Disney for calling out one of his bigoted laws, and Trump doesn’t seem to have been capable of doing anything that WASN’T to get back at someone.

It all seems incredibly petty, and not a viable way to govern. And for that matter, what about guns? Macho posturing isn’t the only reason people own firearms, but it’s what Republicans like to emphasize.

I’m always seeing gun-obsessed people talking about the Second Amendment as if they’re Constitutional scholars all of a sudden, and claiming that the government is coming for your guns.

I have to suspect there’s overlap between these people and the ones who think taxation is theft. No one is trying to take the stuff you already have, at least not unless it’s a really extreme case. It’s more about regulating stuff you might obtain in the future, and it’s a stretch to call that taking something. I also recall seeing something recently about how the Second Amendment kind of counteracts the First, in the sense that introducing a gun to a situation makes people less likely to speak their minds. Intimidation is rarely the best way to make a point.

I mentioned earlier about how I read an NYT headline. No, I didn’t read the article; they’re always putting those behind paywalls. And some of those headlines give pretty good reasons not to give them any money, like the thing about how Elizabeth Holmes, who defrauded a lot of people with fake medical equipment, loves her kids, or something irrelevant like that. Wasn’t her whole scam that she could accurately test tiny amounts of blood? Is that just a form of homeopathy? And people still talk about the article from December saying that Elon Musk isn’t really a conservative.

Technically, that one might be correct, in the sense that I don’t think he necessarily has conservative values, because that would necessitate having values at all. I don’t know the guy, but as with Trump, he gives the impression of being someone who grew up rich and has been able to get away with anything, and either never learned morals or just ignored them. And they both get off on being mean and promoting offensive conspiracy theories, sometimes even prioritizing that over making money. It really seems like Musk paid billions of dollars for Twitter just so he could use it to insult and mess with people, when I suspect there are plenty of ways to do that for free. I still don’t fully understand the whole thing with the blue check marks, where Musk spread some bizarre conspiracy theory about how they were status symbols, and then sold them to idiots.

It’s strange, because when I think of someone getting special treatment on Twitter due to celebrity status, the example who immediately comes to mind is Trump. Sure, he was banned eventually, but not until there was an outcry that threatened the bottom line. Musk and Trump fit in with the modern Republican Party because they’re racist, sexist, pro-authoritarian, and don’t want to pay taxes; but I don’t think they have any loyalty to anyone but themselves.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Conspiracy Theories, Current Events, Fox News, Politics, Prejudice, Television and tagged abuse, chris christie, constitution, donald trump, e. jean carroll, elizabeth holmes, elon musk, guns, homophobia, justice, law, mafia, mike pence, misogyny, morality, new york times, racism, rape, recep tayyip erdogan, republicans, ron desantis, taxes, twitter, vengeance. Bookmark the permalink.