Kamala Harris gets it. Yes, we should fear Trump—but we should also mock him mercilessly, because it drives him nuts.
Donald Trump is in free-fall. Read this description from Sunday’s Washington Post of how the GOP nominee spent last week: “[A]ides did not want a situation where he was watching the convention every night, getting angry, and then just golfing all day and stewing, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private interactions. Trump also had grown annoyed with the news coverage that depicted him as not working as hard as his opponent, one person who talked to him said.”
If you didn’t know that the article was about Trump and you just read it cold without knowledge of the context, you might think it was a description of parents trying to figure out how to handle an ungovernable four-year-old. So they convinced Trump to get out of Bedminster and hit the road, trading suck-ups with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the past, Trump has called Kennedy the “dumbest member” of the Kennedy family and a “radical left lunatic.” Kennedy has calledTrump a “terrible human being” and “probably a sociopath.”
It took them 8 years to realize what Thomas Jefferson found out in 1816
“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”
Bullies don’t like when you hit back because they base their power on the fact that they think you’re going to play by the rules while they’re free to break them. You so much as look like youre bending a rule and they’ll cry foul. Look at how Trump responded to Biden dropping out.
“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”
I’ve never heard that quote before, but I love it.
Extra funny because Jefferson had plenty of unintelligible propositions himself, for which he was ridiculed while he was alive
Like what?
(Not arguing, I just really need a refresher in colonial + early American history)
I have taken to using my a quote of my own with people recently, on both sides in different situations. Quote: “Those who neither ascribe to nor participate in the social contract of tolerance are not afforded the protection it brings.”
I say it to the right when they complain about me calling them out on their BS or making it known that they are generally shit human beings.
I say it to the left when they try to call me out for saying that literal Nazis holding signs on the side of the road should have beverages thrown at them by passing cars at the tamest. I would prefer throwing much heavier objects, but the law protects them. The Law, not the social contract of tolerance. Within the confines of the law, people like that should not be tolerated and should be informed with as much force as possible.
Arguing with someone, within the confines of the marketplace of ideas, about how the marketplace of ideas should be abolished, is a fools errand
If they refuse to even agree to the basic social ground rules of discourse whatever they have to say isn’t even worth entertaining
Doesn’t that also implying the 0 tolerance policy in schools for bullying would only help the bully? Cause I do agree
I believe the zero tolerance rules do help bullies, they’re the ones who’ve made a habit of playing jussst outside the rules but with enough deniability that they can feign ignorance. Zero tolerance is great at catching people who don’t make a habit of breaking rules though. Teachers always seem to notice when the quiet one does something, but a bully being a bully is just another day for them. Been a long time since I was in school though so grains of salt and what not.
Well no shit, Sherlocks. Ever heard of “bully the bully”? Glad they’re finally catching on. Took too long.
Trump had a known decades long overreaction to some reporter calling him a short fingered vulgarian when he ran in 2016.
Congrats on the Dems for finally using that to their advantage I guess.
In an article from 2016 that makes the age clearer:
Nearly 30 years ago, Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair magazine, described Trump in Spy magazine as a “short-fingered vulgarian.”
The short fingered vulgarian quote is now almost 40 years old.
Bully the bully requires unity among their victims though, and if there’s one thing bullies do well, it’s sow discord.
I mean, back in my country, I used to beat the shit out of the fuckers and they straighten up after that. Doesn’t work that way in the USA unfortunately. Lol
If you’re talking at the schoolyard level, it definitely works in the US.
“The news is saying I don’t work as hard as my opponent. You know what I’ll go do? Golf some. That will show them how hard I work.”
Every time i have a dumb idea i just have to remember there is always a bigger idiot in the world. That always makes me feel better.
Trump has been ridiculed the whole time. The only people who treat him as a serious candidate are his supporters and the media. That was true in 2015, that’s true today.
That is not the impression I got as someone not from the US. I mostly saw scared and angry from democrats, and scared, angry or reverence from the news media. And that seems to be what he thrives on.
Ridicule came from stuff like the tv comedians and internet sources like YouTube… but these are easy enough to ignore.
Now that the ridicule is coming from the actual establishment, it cannot be ignored.
I find it very cool that the vile hatred, fearmongering and general dispicable behavior can be countered with joy, ridicule and a general cheerful demeanor.
Just the other day one of the GOP ghouls came out and actually said there is no joy… ROFL… they’re melting…
Now dial it up to 11 dems.
Yeah, while there was mockery it didn’t come from ‘official’ sources. They called him serious names and didn’t ridicule him. They made it clear he was dangerous, but they also gave him respect like a serious candidate, contender, opponent, rival.
It probably would have worked from the beginning to just laugh at him, IF it was coming from the actual political establishment. If Clinton had essentially based her entire campaign around ‘hahah…oh wait you’re serious? Let me laugh harder.’ there’s a good chance he would’ve crashed and burned before ever getting off the ground, I think.
But having Obama bringing in the size of it’s dick is somewhat of a new situation.
It hilarious and I am sure this does hurt little Donny deep into his heart.
You’re right. He has been mocked the whole time, and mockery isn’t the determining factor.
He has simply played out his power arc. The same mockery that didn’t land before now lands, because he’s on the downside.
Populism depends on emotional support from the people, but if you don’t have a framework that actually meets the peoples’ needs (or is effective at controlling them) you just rise as the restless populace tries you, then fall as they toss you aside.
Toxic masculinity always hates being laughed at. It’s that Margaret Atwood quote all over again. Too applicable when you consider complete abortion bans and project 2025.
