Stroll: down the rabbit hole.

Character defect

"Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse for some"
-Commander Waterford
The Handmaid's Tale

I've had conversations with Lady V recently about what makes Trump voters tick. Part of this was because a friend of mine wondered about why someone otherwise "progressive" would vote for Trump. Partly it was I suspect that like the rich, Trump voters "are different from you and me."

She pretty much confirmed my suspicions. Along with the normal tendency towards authoritarianism, there is another component having to do with personality.

How else do you explain how they can support the deportation of mothers from their children? The apathy about how many women, children, poor people and elderly would lose their healthcare? The tolerance for the open lawlessness and chaos of the Trump administration? The cheerful acceptance that fucking over trans people in the military or gay people in the workplace is triggering the libtards? Or that millions of legitimate, enfranchised voters, particularly African-American people may have their rights taken from them the next time they go to the polls?

The Trump voters seem to not see these people as human beings. They lack empathy. Granted, some people on the left are only too willing to throw the working class under the bus but as I've pointed out before, to the ultra wealthy, we're all stupid slackers who haven't figured out how to exploit others for treasure.

I don't think these voters deserve our respect. The result of their votes is raining cruelty and heartlessness on innocent people and stripping them of their humanity. I see journalists trying to make sense of the Trump voter to see if there is any line of human decency they won't cross. They keep hitting a brick wall.

V says that Trump will betray them and then they'll turn on him. But what level of destruction and woe will the tolerate first? And why will it take having to feel the pain personally before they get it? How can they be so blind to the misery of others until they themselves have something to lose?

It's not a liberal problem. It's a civilization problem. It's going to affect how we do business, how we socialize, how we retire, how we care for others. No one living in Trump's America is immune. It makes for an uglier society and a considerably less great America to have the country in the hands of malevolent incompetents because a segment of voters lack character and a strong personality.

It is difficult to see how a character defect in the political sphere doesn't carry over to their personal lives, wrecking the lives of others close to them and depriving others of joy. It's very ugly.

Here are some podcasts that are must listens and highlight the dire turning point we are at as a country:

"If only this were a movie and not our lives" from Slate's Political Gabfest about just *this* week's events.

Fascist Curious from TrumpCast, about the philosophy of Steve Bannon.

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Thank you, John McCain, for having the character to do the right thing. The Skinny Repeal bill to dismantle large sections of the ACA so it could be maliciously made worse by the House, was defeated in the wee hours of the morning. McCain was the deciding vote. We disagree about many things but there is some integrity in McCain.

The two female senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who voted with McCain have been the target of political extortion and threats of bodily harm from male politicians of their own party.

You cannot be a progressive and vote for Trump and Republicans. You have to pick the ideal of egalitarianism and stick with it or you have to admit that there's something else that is much more important to you.