That sure was some mighty fine pickin and a singin.
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Not all Trumpies are equally bad, of course. Some are just weak-minded idiots who are following their herd. But all people who are not severely mentally challenged have agency, and the ability AND duty to make up their own minds, and those that do so in favor of someone like Trump are not good people. There’s just too much out there proving what a monster he is, so either they’re stupid, or some flavor of bad. I don’t cut people a break this way. Too much is at stake.
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I still cannot understand how people cannot see through his disguises. He’s brilliant, but his get ups are too comical to be believed, yet every single time, people fall for them.
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We only said that they were good to justify the decision to allow former Nazis back into the fold. They were never actually good and should never have been allowed into positions of real responsibility and power. But, we had a cold war to win, so everything goes, I guess.
I’m not saying that Trumpies should be purged from government or fired from corporate jobs, per se. But the worst ones should be, and the rest not trusted with high-level positions, as both morally and mentally unfit. Reconstruction 2.0, basically.
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Yes, too many came back into power. But the ideology was tossed away. Here, we incorporate the ideology from the magats.
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But here, the ideology is baked into the culture and institutions and there needs to be a purge of both.
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Yup. Nice to see those statues and symbols finally coming down. It’s a start.
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The reality is a lot of white people, formally educated and otherwise, have been steeped in racism their entire lives. They may be conscious of their racist beliefs, know that they are racist, and adept at not expressing them explicitly in public for career reasons. Or they may have absorbed them unconsciously from such a young age they think “that’s the way things are,” and were never taught self reflection or to examine ones own implicit assumptions about life.
When Trump campaigned on MAGA, some people immediately recognized that MAGA is really an acronym for Make It Okay To Be Openly Racist Again, and behaved accordingly.
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I have a mix of older friends (in their 70s and 80s) that support trump.
Most of these individuals fit your description. They watch too much Fox and have bought into the “fake news” bs - in part because they’re most comfortable with their worldview (police are the good guys, the US is the land of opportunity, etc.) But they are decent people overall - especially once you can make them aware of the truth.
One helpful sign - they didn’t immediately rush out when Maryland started to reduce its Covid-19 restrictions.
However, there is one particular couple in this group that recently revealed a much darker side to themselves. They are not mislead by Fox - they have embraced the hatred being spewed out (she: BLM are violent thugs, he: Covid-19 masks and restrictions are anti-American, etc.).
This couple recently learned that a black family moved into the area - into a new housing development where the houses are easily worth at least twice theirs. They learned about them when the family held a large wake for a family member that passed away during the Covid-19 lockdown - and they hired local police to help direct traffic in the area. The woman I know was terrified that the people attending the wake might storm her yard because she was flying an American flag(!). I talked her through the situation in terms she might understand and connect with - her new neighbors displayed love of family, respect for the dead, were probably in pain from not being at a funeral because of the virus, obviously prosperous, law abiding, caring about neighbors by hiring off-duty police for traffic duty, etc. But I don’t know how much got through… and I don’t know if I can ever look at this couple the way I used to ever again.
This conversation was by phone.
My older friends are again going out to breakfast together one day a week (Outdoor seating), but I’m not willing to risk myself especially with at least one “no-masker” in the group. Even if he follows state requirements, the one man (at least) is probably not taking the risks seriously enough.
And I don’t know how to deal with that couple when they’re part of the larger group.
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I agree. Sacha worked his butt off to get a few people in the crowd to play along with what I’m sure they viewed as a silly call and response. I think it’s really pushing it to make much of this bit.
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“CNN, they spread fake news, they’re controlled by the you know whos” around 4:50.
Would be surprised if that was what was too offensive considering all the other stuff though.
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Sasha doesn’t really trick people – he more like reveals them. They get mad after they realize that he has stripped off their masks. The scene in Borat in which the crowd enthusiastically sings “Throw the Jew down the well!” is chilling.
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“Vonce zee rockets go up
Who cares where zay come down?
Zat’s not my department
Says Werner von Braun.”
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I am deeply moved by all those Trump supporters who are offended by racism and threats of violence, and who demand an end to all discrimination and abuse. These are the kind of people who will protect our police from racist liberals, make sure everyone gets good healthcare by killing the ACA, and keep the legacy of the Lost Cause alive. So heartening to find that they are all true liberals at heart, who only seem to present as assholes and clowns but really are sensitive, thoughtful, and morally upstanding folk. Make MAGAts great again! USA! USA!
I’m sure the thought, hey, we’re in a tight spot here, passed thru Cohen’s head before the ambulance departed.
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I recall GOP convention goers back in the Nixon days singing “This Land Is Your Land,” with no notion that it was a leftist song in the 30’s.
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The young man wearing the Israeli flag declaring his grandfather was a Holocaust survivor is a passionate idiot and, by supporting a racist, fascist, and moronic sociopath, he should be a disgrace to all Holocaust survivors. But he isn’t a disgrace to some Holocaust survivors. I have known, and known of, survivors who were hardcore Republican – the very people who vote for Trump. The Holocaust survivor stuff gets all twisted when it comes to Israel: many survivors are hardcore apartheid supporters; their adherence to Republicanism has them all irreversibly fucked in the head. There is no good reason for being a Republican. Being a Trump supporter makes you an idiot-asshole, like the clown outfitted in the cowboy hat and Israeli flag.
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I think “duped” is an entirely wrong characterization of what occurred.
“Got racists to say what they really think out loud” is much more accurate.
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Pretty amazing - the song goes on for 8 minutes and continuously escalates. I have to admit I’m curious about Chechens and bears but afraid to look it up.
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I liked your verse, too:
Maybe next time the crowd will be persuaded to sing this as well …
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