If Trump's agenda was nothing more than a financial scam (which he has plenty of experience with), that would be bad enough. But it sure seems there's going to be violence at some point or another, and someone could very well end up getting killed. Will any Trump supporters and enablers be willing to take responsibility for such an outcome?
Here is the thing... I don't know how I can condense this down in a really succinct way, but I'll try.
Have any of you reading this thread ever absorbed news about violence in other countries and wondered how it is that the people there could justify all these atrocities? There are countless civil wars, insurgencies, even genocides. Think of Rwanda and the Balkans.
People in other countries are not THAT different from Americans. It's just that they're exposed to various stressors which push them over the edge.
War is an inherent part of the human animal. It's not even unique to humans. Chimps do it, for instance.
What we know about war and the capacity to kill is that it requires that you reach a point of short-circuiting empathy. The enemy must be dehumanized. You see this phenomenon play out very clearly in the movie Full Metal Jacket. But that's a clear-cut case of soldiers entering into a formal war.
This psychological shift can also happen within the fabric of society itself.
What I'm seeing play out is there are now two groups of people, those who are already pretty far down into a war footing who are
close to being able to rationalize killing fellow citizens in their twisted notions of patriotism and the greater good and those who are still attempting to engage or talk down these types by trying to get them to self-reflect and realize how far down the rabbit hole they are.
The problem is that when someone has been radicalized to that degree they no longer have any empathy. This is a feature of humanity as it would be impossible to conduct warfare if soldiers expressed grief over every life taken. At least temporarily you have to sort of enter into a tunnel vision in which it's us vs. them. The enemy is merely an object to be removed from the chessboard.
This is what's going on right now.
The emphasis on the underlying political institutions is missing this point. It doesn't really matter if Trump's attempt to game the system from within fails or not. What matters is the narrative being sold to a wide swath of the public that Trump is basically the rightful emperor being exiled by a usurper.
When I look at the map of states with attorney generals linking up with Texas for this bogus case they want to run up to the supreme court it's pretty much all of the states that Trump won. What you're seeing is sort of a precursor to secession and a potential second civil war.
Imagine if Trump, a private citizen, decides to actively inspire protests, strikes, obstructionism, all on his behalf. He really could become a GOP equivalent of Bin Laden if he wants. He is already fleecing these people to the tune of over 200 million dollars. He would have far more power as an unofficial leader in this capacity than he did as acting president.
This madness will not end until Trump loses support. But given that it hasn't happened despite COVID-19 raging out of control to the tune over now over 3,000 dead a day is proof positive that his base are as brainwashed as the drones in North Korea.
Now how does this relate to this thread? Well, I've got several people here on ignore. Why? Because no matter how much I write on this topic, they are so tribally locked that it won't have any impact on them. The country has ceased to be the united states and in its stead you have two warring sects, red vs. blue. Might as well be Shia vs. Sunni. If you're on the wrong side, then either conform or you will be put under the jack-boot. No amount of appealing to empathy will work because, as I've described, empathy has been biologically short-circuited. It's done. Over. The only way to resolve things is on the battlefield, as one of the people on my ignore list endorsed. He said he'd gladly meet me on the battlefield.
So I totally understand how this works and how futile it is to talk someone down after they've worked themselves into so much of a lather that they are just waiting for the signal to take lives (stand back and stand by, as it were).
Last time I wrote a diatribe like this someone chimed in with a:
"Bruh..."
That was intended to, I guess, just tell me my worries were imaginary. Just in my head. Well, just wait and see. The trendlines are ominous.
Idaho GOP leaders condemn 'intimidation and hate' after protests at health officials' homes
Michigan Secretary Of State Says Armed Protesters Descended On Her Home Saturday
Member
I use that word because I often think that those who follow such a blatantly dishonest and unscrupulous person as Trump likely have some kind of self-respect, self-acceptance, or some other type of self-esteem issues.
