Memoir, from just outside the box
Trump Derangement Syndrome
A male high school acquaintance suggested that I suffer from TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Because of his use of the words "suffer" and "derangement," I assumed that his volley was an act of denigration. But, upon further review, I realized that, since the beginning of the Trump Era, I have been motivated to step into the fray and learn as much as possible about politics and psychology. I feel like I am back in college, this time with inspiration and purpose. I read, I take notes, I share my homework with like-minded friends and, occasionally, with Trump voters. I did not take offense at Howard's accusation. I owned it. I told him that nine years of TDS has made me a better American.
Wikipedia Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a pejorative term, usually used by Trump supporters to condemn criticism and derision of former United States president Donald Trump. TDS is used as a way of reframing the discussion by suggesting that his opponents are incapable of accurately perceiving the world. Despite the usage of the term "syndrome," suggesting a medical condition, TDS is not an official medical diagnosis.
The Adult Onset of Trump Derangement Syndrome
2016
I don't know if Hillary will win the presidency this November. It would not surprise me if Trump wins. Why? I believe that we 55-and-older geezers haven't got a clue as to how the youth vote will go. There is something both hopeful and diabolical afloat in the souls of our 40-and-under population. I am thinking that the youth of today might vote for Trump just for the hell of it... like, ya know? We all know what we're going to get if Hillary wins. But we haven't got a clue about the events that will shock us with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Many youth might vote for Trump just for the potential entertainment value.
From her home in Nashville, Sheila sent an email. She described the brunch she was hosting, "in one hour," for four Southern ladies in their 50s, all outspoken Republicans.
From Seattle, I responded...
Thank you for reminding me of your Red Hat ladies group. I picture myself at the table with you and the four high-spirited, slightly tipsy conservatives. In my scenario, your left-wing perennial house guest peaks into the dining room. I am invited to sit down.
At the table I attempt to charm your four guests and win their approval. Rule #1: One of the four ladies on the opposing team has to be the person who opens the door to the political conversation. A woman enjoying her second glass of champagne asks, "So, Greg, did you vote for Obama like Sheila did?"
I reply, "No, ma'am. I did not vote for that half-white Muslim who was born in Kenya."
The four ladies gasp. All four gasps are histrionic. All of four of them agree with me. The fire is lit.
Momentarily freed from restraint, one guest states in her mellifluous Tennessee accent, "I have a hard time with black people."
I say to her, "For thirty years, I lived in the Mountain Time Zone... Montana and New Mexico. It's mostly white out there. The blacks aren't the problem."
Even in my imagination, it's a dangerous game, pretending to be a white supremacist in order to have a revealing conversation with Republican Red Hats.
I read a lot of political analysis on various sites on the internet. This morning, AlterNet had a headline that began... "Trump to meet with 400 homophobic evangelical leaders..." If I were catering, the lunch served would be corn dogs.
The MSN headline began... "Arkansas Muslim Couple Arrested..." A police officer noted that "There is nothing more dangerous than a redneck jihadist."
One month from now, the conservatives will be in Cleveland for the Republican convention. Roger Stone, a Trump lapdog, is promising riots at the convention if Trump is cheated out of the nomination. Amanda Marcotte at AlterNet notes that Roger Stone's Twitter feed "reads like the bathroom wall at a white supremacy rally." When Trump wins the nomination, once again the Cuyahoga River, as it did in 1969, will burst into flames in a perfectly timed "Third Reich" display of glory and power.
that money, that plane
by Donald Trump
I'll never forget the scene this morning...Iran.
I don't think you've heard this anywhere but here.
Iran provided all of that footage, the tape, taking that money
off that airplane, over there, where that plane landed, top secret.
They have a perfect tape, obviously done by a government camera,
and the tape shows the people taking the money off the plane.
It's a military tape, the camera set at a perfect angle, nice and steady,
nobody getting nervous that they're going to be shot because they're taking
a picture of that money pouring off that plane.
Do you enjoy the occasional grim chuckle?
Ana Navarro called the Republican Party "Fifty Shades of Crazy."
David Brooks writes, "The ruling class is overrun with sociopaths."
Trump's insight: "Deeply troubled women are the best in bed."
Headline: "Taco Trucks Create Wall Around Trump Hotel in Vegas."
Hillary Clinton: "I'm the last thing between you and the apocalypse."
The last 18 months have been Stage One Trumpism. I have grown weary of typing words like racist and xenophobe and misogynist. The media have been reduced to rehashing the reasons "Why?!" Hillary Clinton lost, and speculating on what is to come, the dreaded Trump administration. Many thousands of women will march on Washington the day after Trump's inauguration. Maybe this country needs Trump as the catalyst that triggers a much-needed rite of passage. America needs to finally cough-up this bloodthirsty money-grubbing right-wing hairball and consign it to the burn pit of history. Think of the Trump administration as aversion therapy. America's most dangerous enemy right now is the cult we call the Republican Party.
They say don't go
on Wolverton Mountain
if yer lookin'
for a wife,
'cause Clifton Clowers
has a purdy young daughter
and he's mighty handy
with a gun and a knife...
On New Year's Eve at the dinner table, my brother and I sang this 1962 Caude King hit. When the grappa came out, the conversation went sideways. If there is a place on this planet where political correctness has been neutralized, it is right here in this dining room. We three talked about strip clubs, and Megan's advice to women to do Kegel exercises at every stop light. I mentioned the human papilloma virus and the uptick in mouth cancer in men. For a while we were able to erase Trump from our lives merely by talking dirty and laughing at a world gone mad.
I was not a hippie, but in 1973 I worked part time in a hippie vegetarian restaurant in Cincinnati. The co-ed staff of 12 was a hotbed of love affairs. One day Suzy handed me a weighty tome, "Our Bodies, Ourselves." I read enough of that book to understand that girls and women go through a hundred times more sexual issues than men. In the Trump Era, it has become obvious that the Republican leadership and the evangelical leadership are sexually clumsy and insecure around women. Couple these maladjusted men with Cialis-For-Daily-Use and you get a Congress and churches full of drooling, horny white patriarchs.
“The whole secret to politics is knowing who hates whom.”
“You know who moves to Alaska? People who think Wyoming is too diverse.”
“Who could have guessed how quickly Texas would fall to the Taliban.”
“Anything I don’t like is not part of God’s plan.”
“I came to a point in my life when I had to choose either Jesus or alcohol. I made the right choice.”
“The cover of the Hallmark card says, “Adultery is a sin.” Inside, the card reads, “You can’t have your Kate and Edith, too.”
“There has never been a time in history when the people who banned books were the good guys.”
“The dress code at Mar-a-Lago is… casual white supremacy.”
TDS Pride!!
I love this post! TDS Pride!
I enjoy reading your thoughtful comments.