I will be frank, there are very few of Trump's EOs and actions that I don't agree with. Much to my own dismay, as I would have killed, in 2017, to have Trump removed from the highest job in the country. Not only did I considered him completely unqualified for the job, I was convinced he was a little hitler wannabe who would destroy our c…
I will be frank, there are very few of Trump's EOs and actions that I don't agree with. Much to my own dismay, as I would have killed, in 2017, to have Trump removed from the highest job in the country. Not only did I considered him completely unqualified for the job, I was convinced he was a little hitler wannabe who would destroy our country and sign the death certificate of our democracy. Little did I know, I was one of those brainwashed democrats who only watched legacy media, who were moving in echo chambers, and were anything but democratic in their ideals and wills (what democrat didn't want, in the 4 years of Trump, to get rid of the "uninformed rednecks" who brought the crazy man to power?). And then, my "be nice" fellows started to show their true colors, and suddenly my America became eerily similar to the stifling society I had abandoned in a quest for freedom. You see, with very (but really insignificant) few exceptions, everybody on this earth will tell you that the far-right is dangerous. Especially after the nazis, people are acutely aware of the immense peril a group of unrestrained bigots (even a small group) pose to everybody else and to life as we know it. Because we know they are intolerant and vicious, and that will always be deadly and will always win against tolerance and kindness. Now, take the other end of the spectrum. How many people really think that the far-left is equally deadly? How many people would believe you if you told them that, despite their "good intentions" and the well-crafted and attractive discourses, many of the left ideologies have, in fact, made more victims than all the nazis put together, and are deadlier than anything else? How many people would lose their jobs if you accused them of being communists, and how many would do if you convinced everybody they were nazis? For people like me, who have lived under communist regimes, this imbalance is one of the most troubling realities we get to witness, as we know from personal experience a truth that nobody believes (although we have all the statistics and the receipts to prove it). I wrote this whole introduction, that is apparently irrelevant to the topic, to say that although you are right in being cautious about (and critical of) this administration, you are also wrong in many of your assessments, especially in believing that the "oppression" from the left came from regular people (your examples of citizens "amended" for their gestures), while the danger from the right comes from the administration (anti-vax health secretary, quasi nazi president, dictatorial government officials). Many (if not all) of the people who voted for Trump will tell you that what you see right now is exactly what they voted for. What did you think would happen to the structure of a government that people don't trust any longer? Did you count on having an administration that promised to completely change the face/ways/policies of the government, but keep the same actors in power? How would Trump work with an army of bureaucrats who hate him? It was interesting that you gave the example of Musk's commission locking two "officials" out of their computer system, but you forgot to mention that these "officials" actually, physically, stopped the people from the commission to do their job (auditing). Everything that Trump does now has been done before, by democrats, from "detention camps" for illegals, to purging the government of "people who might say no to their demands". And while I appreciate this scrutiny (we need to hold our elected accountable), I am mad that the same was (is) not applied to the left. Yes, RFK Jr. might have some unorthodox views, about vaccines, but people trust him about everything else, and he was even considered for the same job by Obama (where was the outrage then?). He is one of the most qualified people to ever have been nominated for this position (he took on DuPont and Monsanto, he fought for clean waters, in fact all his life has been dedicated to fighting for a healthier America), while his predecessor had absolutely no qualifications, other than being a foot soldier for the party, while Biden's HHS assistant was a man who pretended to be a woman. I know your position on this, and I agree with it. But, really, who do you think people trust more: a man who has dedicated his life to making America healthier and is also a bit susceptible of vaccines, or an overweight man who thinks people can change sex? You do the math! And the media didn't bat an eyelid about this abominal nomination, to the contrary ("what a brave woman"). Because, when they are coming from the left, even the most unreasonable acts can be wrapped in lies and presented as "progressive", thus acceptable. The right can become a physical danger, that you can identify and fight against, while the left can make you do the most abominable acts and you would think they were to save the humanity. We dodged that bullet this time around, but almost didn't. And for that alone, allow us to just hang in there and not get too worried (at least not yet) about Trump's shenanigans. we've seen worse. And we know you will keep an eye out for us, because that's what every opinion-maker does when it come to the right (not so much when it comes to the left, but I will stop repeating myself).
"I will be frank, there are very few of Trump's EOs and actions that I don't agree with"
So just to be clear, you agree with 1500 pardons of J6ers? Or withdrawing from the WHO and Paris agreements? Or ending birthright citizenship? Or ending sanctions on Israeli settlers?
I'm sure you agree, as do I, with some of his EOs on gender ideology. But even here, it remains to be seen how this works in practice. It's often forgotten that trans women were being placed in women's prisons under Trump too. Trump is very good at declarations, not so good at following through.
I'll probably revisit some of this stuff in a couple of years.
As for democracy, Trump is the first president in the history of the United States to refuse, twice, to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. The first to refuse to make a concession speech or to welcome the incoming president. The first to incite a violent insurrection attempt at the Capitol. The first to try to strongarm a Secretary of State into "finding" him some more votes. And as I said, many people now see this as normal.
Trump DID sign the death certificate of democracy. Again, if I'd predicted any of this in 2016, I'd have understandably been called a hysterical leftist with TDS. But now it's the reality. And for a shocking number of people, it's just no big deal.
The problem with Trump's government purges is that he doesn't see the difference between nonpartisan groups, designed to hold everybody to account, and liberal groups, who are focused specifically on the Republicans' mistakes.
Trump sees any group that isn't under his complete control, that isn't loyal to him first and foremost, as the enemy. He sees all criticism as "hate". He sees all measures designed to constrain presidential powers as an obstacle. And so he's trying to remove all those obstacles.
RFK isn't just a bit sceptical about vaccines, he doesn't just have unorthodox views, he is a conspiracy theorist. I'm not questioning his intentions or his character, with the little I know about him, it seems as if his intentions are good. But that's irrelevant if he is susceptible to conspiracies about vaccines that are designed to spare Jews but target black and white people.
I think I spent plenty of time criticising the left. Gender ideology, identity politics, the racism of BLM-era antiracism, my record is pretty clear here. But Trump is going after the machinery of power in a way the Left never did. He's already shown he's willing to push much further than the Left ever did to stay in power.
Im not trying to be an opinion-maker. I'm trying to encourage the same critical thought I've always encouraged. Only now, I'm asking people who have been convinced that EVERYTHING associated with the left is "fake news" and every negative thing they've heard about Trump is a lie to think more carefully.
Oh, there are so many "firsts" for Biden and Obama! Much more consequential than a "concession speech", which is just a question of etiquette (thank you, Biden, for the unprecedented blanket pardons, now all corrupted first families have a model to follow!). But they were mostly done while the media was sleeping, so ... nothing to see here. I don't disagree with some of your points, but I also don't agree with all. If Trump signed the death certificate of our democracy, how come we elected Biden (and, then, again, Trump) democratically? We can get into the details of this so called democracy (which is rather an oligarchy in America, we are only deceiving ourselves thinking we actually play an important role and we live in a free society), but that is not the point here. How is the withdrawing from the Paris agreement (as unfortunate as it is) directly and immediately impacting you? And how is it impacting our democracy? Do you want me to give you examples of Biden's EOs and other acts that have directly and immediately impacted us? I have tons! From dictatorial measures surrounding Covid to the rewriting of Title X, Biden was one of the most totalitarian presidents America has ever known. Children and adults died as a result, women were raped or abused, simple citizens lost their jobs, and an entire generation of young people got depressed and was plagued by suicides and mass delusions. I'm not even going to talk about the consequences of unfettered resettling of foreigners in this country (because this was not immigration, it was a takeover of our streets, schools, and social support institution by a mass of people invited here by the Biden administration). I wish you were in Boston when the people in the most affected neighborhoods (mostly POC) took to the streets to protest against a mayor who took the meager resources they had for their children (YMCAs, neighborhood clubs, schools, hotels, shelters, even the airport) and "gave" them to "refugees". "What about our children?" "You give debit cards to newcomers and build new apartments for them, with our tax money. What about us? What did you ever give us, Americans?" You should have seen their anger. Trump was elected because of that anger, and it's still here, it hasn't subsided yet. If you think you will channel that anger and turn it against Trump one mere month after his inauguration, you are wrong. At this point, most of them will look up to Vance and will say with relief "We really don't care, Margaret!"
"Oh, there are so many "firsts" for Biden and Obama! Much more consequential than a "concession speech", which is just a question of etiquette"
Are they more consequential than inciting an insurrection? Is being caught on tape trying to commit election fraud simply a question of etiquette?
I don't understand when and why whataboutism became the answer to every single question on Earth. You want to talk about Biden? Fine. You want to criticise Obama? That's living in the past a little, but no problem. But today, given that he's the president and all, I'm talking about Trump. And I don't understand why, when it *comes* to Trump, people who I know to be sane grade him on this insane curve where they can't say anything more meaningful than, "maybe he's not perfect...BUT!!!"
And why do you think I'm trying to channel anger towards Trump? What's the point of anger towards anybody? Be as angry as you like at Biden. You have good reason to be. That doesn't mean that Trump should be given a pass to do whatever he likes.
I will be frank, there are very few of Trump's EOs and actions that I don't agree with. Much to my own dismay, as I would have killed, in 2017, to have Trump removed from the highest job in the country. Not only did I considered him completely unqualified for the job, I was convinced he was a little hitler wannabe who would destroy our country and sign the death certificate of our democracy. Little did I know, I was one of those brainwashed democrats who only watched legacy media, who were moving in echo chambers, and were anything but democratic in their ideals and wills (what democrat didn't want, in the 4 years of Trump, to get rid of the "uninformed rednecks" who brought the crazy man to power?). And then, my "be nice" fellows started to show their true colors, and suddenly my America became eerily similar to the stifling society I had abandoned in a quest for freedom. You see, with very (but really insignificant) few exceptions, everybody on this earth will tell you that the far-right is dangerous. Especially after the nazis, people are acutely aware of the immense peril a group of unrestrained bigots (even a small group) pose to everybody else and to life as we know it. Because we know they are intolerant and vicious, and that will always be deadly and will always win against tolerance and kindness. Now, take the other end of the spectrum. How many people really think that the far-left is equally deadly? How many people would believe you if you told them that, despite their "good intentions" and the well-crafted and attractive discourses, many of the left ideologies have, in fact, made more victims than all the nazis put together, and are deadlier than anything else? How many people would lose their jobs if you accused them of being communists, and how many would do if you convinced everybody they were nazis? For people like me, who have lived under communist regimes, this imbalance is one of the most troubling realities we get to witness, as we know from personal experience a truth that nobody believes (although we have all the statistics and the receipts to prove it). I wrote this whole introduction, that is apparently irrelevant to the topic, to say that although you are right in being cautious about (and critical of) this administration, you are also wrong in many of your assessments, especially in believing that the "oppression" from the left came from regular people (your examples of citizens "amended" for their gestures), while the danger from the right comes from the administration (anti-vax health secretary, quasi nazi president, dictatorial government officials). Many (if not all) of the people who voted for Trump will tell you that what you see right now is exactly what they voted for. What did you think would happen to the structure of a government that people don't trust any longer? Did you count on having an administration that promised to completely change the face/ways/policies of the government, but keep the same actors in power? How would Trump work with an army of bureaucrats who hate him? It was interesting that you gave the example of Musk's commission locking two "officials" out of their computer system, but you forgot to mention that these "officials" actually, physically, stopped the people from the commission to do their job (auditing). Everything that Trump does now has been done before, by democrats, from "detention camps" for illegals, to purging the government of "people who might say no to their demands". And while I appreciate this scrutiny (we need to hold our elected accountable), I am mad that the same was (is) not applied to the left. Yes, RFK Jr. might have some unorthodox views, about vaccines, but people trust him about everything else, and he was even considered for the same job by Obama (where was the outrage then?). He is one of the most qualified people to ever have been nominated for this position (he took on DuPont and Monsanto, he fought for clean waters, in fact all his life has been dedicated to fighting for a healthier America), while his predecessor had absolutely no qualifications, other than being a foot soldier for the party, while Biden's HHS assistant was a man who pretended to be a woman. I know your position on this, and I agree with it. But, really, who do you think people trust more: a man who has dedicated his life to making America healthier and is also a bit susceptible of vaccines, or an overweight man who thinks people can change sex? You do the math! And the media didn't bat an eyelid about this abominal nomination, to the contrary ("what a brave woman"). Because, when they are coming from the left, even the most unreasonable acts can be wrapped in lies and presented as "progressive", thus acceptable. The right can become a physical danger, that you can identify and fight against, while the left can make you do the most abominable acts and you would think they were to save the humanity. We dodged that bullet this time around, but almost didn't. And for that alone, allow us to just hang in there and not get too worried (at least not yet) about Trump's shenanigans. we've seen worse. And we know you will keep an eye out for us, because that's what every opinion-maker does when it come to the right (not so much when it comes to the left, but I will stop repeating myself).
"I will be frank, there are very few of Trump's EOs and actions that I don't agree with"
So just to be clear, you agree with 1500 pardons of J6ers? Or withdrawing from the WHO and Paris agreements? Or ending birthright citizenship? Or ending sanctions on Israeli settlers?
I'm sure you agree, as do I, with some of his EOs on gender ideology. But even here, it remains to be seen how this works in practice. It's often forgotten that trans women were being placed in women's prisons under Trump too. Trump is very good at declarations, not so good at following through.
I'll probably revisit some of this stuff in a couple of years.
As for democracy, Trump is the first president in the history of the United States to refuse, twice, to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. The first to refuse to make a concession speech or to welcome the incoming president. The first to incite a violent insurrection attempt at the Capitol. The first to try to strongarm a Secretary of State into "finding" him some more votes. And as I said, many people now see this as normal.
Trump DID sign the death certificate of democracy. Again, if I'd predicted any of this in 2016, I'd have understandably been called a hysterical leftist with TDS. But now it's the reality. And for a shocking number of people, it's just no big deal.
The problem with Trump's government purges is that he doesn't see the difference between nonpartisan groups, designed to hold everybody to account, and liberal groups, who are focused specifically on the Republicans' mistakes.
Trump sees any group that isn't under his complete control, that isn't loyal to him first and foremost, as the enemy. He sees all criticism as "hate". He sees all measures designed to constrain presidential powers as an obstacle. And so he's trying to remove all those obstacles.
RFK isn't just a bit sceptical about vaccines, he doesn't just have unorthodox views, he is a conspiracy theorist. I'm not questioning his intentions or his character, with the little I know about him, it seems as if his intentions are good. But that's irrelevant if he is susceptible to conspiracies about vaccines that are designed to spare Jews but target black and white people.
I think I spent plenty of time criticising the left. Gender ideology, identity politics, the racism of BLM-era antiracism, my record is pretty clear here. But Trump is going after the machinery of power in a way the Left never did. He's already shown he's willing to push much further than the Left ever did to stay in power.
Im not trying to be an opinion-maker. I'm trying to encourage the same critical thought I've always encouraged. Only now, I'm asking people who have been convinced that EVERYTHING associated with the left is "fake news" and every negative thing they've heard about Trump is a lie to think more carefully.
Oh, there are so many "firsts" for Biden and Obama! Much more consequential than a "concession speech", which is just a question of etiquette (thank you, Biden, for the unprecedented blanket pardons, now all corrupted first families have a model to follow!). But they were mostly done while the media was sleeping, so ... nothing to see here. I don't disagree with some of your points, but I also don't agree with all. If Trump signed the death certificate of our democracy, how come we elected Biden (and, then, again, Trump) democratically? We can get into the details of this so called democracy (which is rather an oligarchy in America, we are only deceiving ourselves thinking we actually play an important role and we live in a free society), but that is not the point here. How is the withdrawing from the Paris agreement (as unfortunate as it is) directly and immediately impacting you? And how is it impacting our democracy? Do you want me to give you examples of Biden's EOs and other acts that have directly and immediately impacted us? I have tons! From dictatorial measures surrounding Covid to the rewriting of Title X, Biden was one of the most totalitarian presidents America has ever known. Children and adults died as a result, women were raped or abused, simple citizens lost their jobs, and an entire generation of young people got depressed and was plagued by suicides and mass delusions. I'm not even going to talk about the consequences of unfettered resettling of foreigners in this country (because this was not immigration, it was a takeover of our streets, schools, and social support institution by a mass of people invited here by the Biden administration). I wish you were in Boston when the people in the most affected neighborhoods (mostly POC) took to the streets to protest against a mayor who took the meager resources they had for their children (YMCAs, neighborhood clubs, schools, hotels, shelters, even the airport) and "gave" them to "refugees". "What about our children?" "You give debit cards to newcomers and build new apartments for them, with our tax money. What about us? What did you ever give us, Americans?" You should have seen their anger. Trump was elected because of that anger, and it's still here, it hasn't subsided yet. If you think you will channel that anger and turn it against Trump one mere month after his inauguration, you are wrong. At this point, most of them will look up to Vance and will say with relief "We really don't care, Margaret!"
"Oh, there are so many "firsts" for Biden and Obama! Much more consequential than a "concession speech", which is just a question of etiquette"
Are they more consequential than inciting an insurrection? Is being caught on tape trying to commit election fraud simply a question of etiquette?
I don't understand when and why whataboutism became the answer to every single question on Earth. You want to talk about Biden? Fine. You want to criticise Obama? That's living in the past a little, but no problem. But today, given that he's the president and all, I'm talking about Trump. And I don't understand why, when it *comes* to Trump, people who I know to be sane grade him on this insane curve where they can't say anything more meaningful than, "maybe he's not perfect...BUT!!!"
And why do you think I'm trying to channel anger towards Trump? What's the point of anger towards anybody? Be as angry as you like at Biden. You have good reason to be. That doesn't mean that Trump should be given a pass to do whatever he likes.
Agreed! Maybe I let my anger get the best of me. No president (or congress, or party, or politician) should be given a pass to do whatever they like.
"Biden was one of the most totalitarian presidents America has ever known."
Please, Substack, can we have an ignore feature?
I don't want my mind further adulterated by being reminded that such people exist.
You rock!