Trump's America

[Cerin]

Apparently it is a real a word, and the standard meaning is, someone who believes the earth was shaped by cataclysmic events rather than gradual changes. At first I didn't see why you'd want to avoid him because of that, but if he lives with a constant expectation of violent upheaval as the natural order of things, I guess he wouldn't be the most calming person to listen to.

[Lalaith]

I'm surprised that the term used by young earth creationists is considered a real word now. Uniformitarian vs. Catastrophist? All right then.

Watch the video, and you'll understand the meaning in this case.

[Lalaith]

Somehow I've managed to avoid the absolute sh*tstorm that is Trump's Twitter feed. I mean, I've seen many of his tweets, copied elsewhere, but I don't venture onto Twitter very much for myself. I decided to look today.

How could this country have elected such a person?

(I don't think there's an emoji here that can express how I feel after reading through the first 50 or so of his tweets.)

[Primula Baggins]

His attack on Meryl Streep for her speech at the Golden Globes is especially presidential. Apparently Streep is "over-rated," especially because she brought up his mockery of a reporter with a disability last year. (Which Trump denied again, although the video is easy to find; just keep saying it didn't happen, and eventually it will not have happened.)

It was a great speech, although I'd really recommend also seeing or at least reading Viola Davis's heartfelt, almost lyrical introduction.

[yovargas]

Saw Streep's speech earlier today. It was beautiful.

[Impenitent]

I hope the rebellion continues until he leaves office, in whatever way that happens. I fear, though, that the boorishness and bullying will be so pervasive that it will induce a kind of numbness as it becomes normative.

Posting on phone via Tapatalk

[Túrin Turambar]

Bluntly, yet more attacks made against Trump by the Hollywood elites (even justified or provoked attacks) will not hurt him. They will, if anything, make him stronger.

[Frelga]

Ok, but what's the alternative ? Everyone just shutting up? Singing praises of the beloved Great Leader? I've seen that show, it's not much fun.

[Túrin Turambar]

It's not that he shouldn't be criticised, but having a high-profile actress criticise him from the Golden Globes won't hurt him. It's just another celebrity using an ostensibly non-political pulpit from within the Hollywood progressive echo chamber to hit out at him.

[Frelga]

On the one hand, I see your point. On the other, a Russian proverb says that silence is a sign of agreement.

[Impenitent]

Silence IS a sign of agreement. If there's one thing I've learnt from my current day job it's that choosing to be a bystander lends power to the bully.

So many aphorisms: the standard you walk past is the standard you accept...it's not the cruelty of the persecutor but the silence of the bystander that hurts the most...silence condones...

Posting on phone via Tapatalk

[Primula Baggins]

There is no hope of persuading Trump to act differently, no matter who is doing the persuading. The real damage to our country (and I think it's probably inevitable now) is for Trump's behavior and that of his crony/appointees to wear us all down to the point that we don't point it out, or even see it, as the horror that it is.

Just as one example, Jeff Sessions just said he thought it was "a stretch" to call grabbing a woman by the genitals sexual assault. And he's almost certainly going to be Attorney General soon.

Link

Imagine the uproar if something a fraction that repellent was said by an Obama appointee. But with Trump, this is a ripple on the face of a tsunami.

[yovargas]

Just as one example, Jeff Sessions just said he thought it was "a stretch" to call grabbing a woman by the genitals sexual assault. And he's almost certainly going to be Attorney General soon.

Link

OH FOR F**KS SAKES.

[Inanna]

The down slide begins... bloody depressing.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

For the record, that link is from October 2016, when the Access Hollywood tape first emerged. Not that it makes what Sessions said any better, but it is not something that just happened. (He might have reiterated the point in his confirmation hearings, but I haven't heard about it if he has.)

ETA: And also for the record, Sessions claimed directly after that Weekly Standard article came out that his comments were mischaracterized: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /91907784/

[Primula Baggins]

Thanks for catching that, Voronwë. It doesn't fundamentally alter the problem, though: this kind of thing is becoming OK, either because those who believe the same now believe they're in the majority and welcome public expressions of what they've believed all along, or because those who disagree are already too weary and dispirited to object before Trump's term has even begun.

I would not be surprised to learn that the volume and crudity of the assault on American values is a deliberate strategy to make Trump's opponents feel that the battle is already lost.

[Frelga]

The slightly encouraging news is that some people here have a chance to be Very Important, especially if they are represented by a Republican Senator and even more so if they are registered Republicans. Phone calls to the district offices are being credited with stopping the Republican attempt to hamstring the ethics committee, and are the best tool we have for salvaging a representative democracy.

https://twitter.com/TMDILL1/status/818783118882721792

[Inanna]

I could not believe that attempt! So glad it was killed.

Watching Obama's speech. Sniff. What a man

[Cerin]

I think this focus on the person of Trump is a distraction. If someone who was better behaved publicly made all the same policy and personnel choices that Trump made, would people still be up in arms? It seems the brutality of Republican policy wasn't enough to really upset people. Does what is done not matter as long as it is done politely, with a smile and a pretense of dignity? Trump isn't the thing that, principally, should upset us. Trump becoming President is a manifestation of the degradation of our democracy and society, which is the thing that should upset us, and that should have upset us even if Trump had never come on the scene. I feel that people are missing the bigger picture.

[yovargas]

Trump isn't the thing that, principally, should upset us. Trump becoming President is a manifestation of the degradation of our democracy and society, which is the thing that should upset us, and that should have upset us even if Trump had never come on the scene.

Can't I be upset by both of them?

(Though I absolutely agree - I'm more frightened of the circumstances that created Trump than of Trump himself. Which is saying a lot cuz Trump terrifies me.)