My Morning Fight With a Trump Supporter
Another reminder of what we’re up against
I was pleased to see that Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate. She showed tenacity when she went after him in the Democratic primary debates. It speaks to Biden’s character and commitment to the promises he’s making that he didn’t let any misplaced resentment from that moment overrule his ability to make the right choice. Anything can happen, but the combination of Biden/Harris seems like a strong ticket.
I’ve been spending the last few days reading articles about Harris including this one:
Where I left this comment:
Predictably I woke up this morning to a misogynistic tirade from a rabid Trump supporter. My brief conversation with him provides a overview of all the underhanded debate tactics we’ll be seeing until November and beyond.
Lewd and offensive statements
I won’t post the man’s reply because it is filled with lewd sexual innuendo that should be an embarrassment to the man, his family, and anyone who shares his political affiliation. Unfortunately, the whole problem with the Republican base is that they never speak up in criticism when their members behave inappropriately.
In response, I wrote something to the effect of, “That’s a misogynistic comment” and that’s when he made the pivot to try to portray himself as the victim.
“So it begins, you refuse to criticize her and insult me…” blah, blah, blah.
He went on to say that I “wasn’t worth debating.” It’s comical how often the typical Republican lets loose with a tirade of insults and then claims that they were having a debate.
That’s not debating, that’s trolling. Actually, calling it trolling is too kind.
The astounding hypocrisy
Until recently, I’ve engaged in debate with Conservatives. My thinking was that I couldn’t sway their beliefs unless I actually tried to have a conversation with them. However, in recent weeks, I’m just blocking them.
The thing is, you can’t make any progress with a proud and ignorant person.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”― Mark Twain
Conservatives are the type of people that would sucker punch you in an alley and then turn around and blame you when their wrist breaks because of the impact.
Trump likes to claim he is not a racist or a misogynist even though there is overwhelming evidence for those labels. Of course when the Harris pick was announced, he went on a vicious attack. It wouldn’t have been unprecedented for a political candidate to acknowledge the historical significance of her selection, even as a rival. Kamala Harris deserves recognition, but you can guarantee it won’t come from Trump, Republicans, or Conservatives.
It’s because all their actions show them to be racist misogynists, even if they howl like stray cats when you speak that truth.
Kamala derangement syndrome?
For a moment, I flirted with the idea of mocking the stupid concept of ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ by using all the arguments and simply swiping out Trump’s name for Kamala Harris. But TDS is such a bottom feeding, delusional, ignorant concept that I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It’s funny that the political party that is dismissive of everything scientific, still tries to formulate their soundbites in a way that tries to replicate the language of science. Anyone who has actually shown the discipline, drive and intelligence to pursue an advanced degree can instantly dismiss ‘TDS’ as completely meaningless. Unfortunately, the Trump base is filled with uneducated and incapable individuals who can’t even master when to use “they’re/their/there,” much less see through a pseudo-scientific abbreviation.
The frustrating part is that there is actually truth to the observation that Conservatives will unfairly dismiss the achievements of somebody like Kamala Harris. Their only objective is to score a temporal victory, they care nothing of truth.
The false equivalencies
It’s comical to watch how quickly the whole Conservative base is programmed by a few of their prominent loudmouths. Tucker Carlson recently went on a bizarre tirade when Richard Goodstein corrected how Carlson was pronounced ‘Kamala.’
Mispronouncing Kamala’s first name is exactly the kind of low-brow tactic that Conservatives implement as one of their fundamental campaign strategies. They used to get Obama’s name wrong all the time too and then sit and chortle to themselves. Imagine how furious they’d be if we all started saying Tee-Rump? Then again, they probably wouldn’t get it, or they’d look at you all confused and go on the attack again.
When Goodstein corrected Carlson, he started babbling about how “nobody is allowed to criticize her.” Just how does the guy equate mispronouncing her name to a criticism? But sure enough, the imbecile I was arguing with this morning used almost the exact same language when I stated that his comment was misogynistic.
The pretense of civility
The real problem is that Trump, Conservatives, and Republicans in general never even bother holding themselves to a pretense of civility. However, if you respond to them in kind and meet their level of rude and informal discourse, they affect overwhelming surprise and moral indignation.
They like to go on the offensive of provoking you and then accuse you of being the provocateur. It’s a one-two punch of insult followed by stunning hypocrisy. If you go into a debate with one of them attempting to adhere to any pretense of civility, you leave yourself open to these repugnant, underhanded attacks.
They never want you to address their points one at a time because their positions are nonsensical and undermine their whole argument. They sprint through their first three or four opening statements, and try to get you to respond to something absurd later on. In a way, they coerce you into a de facto validation of their earlier points because you never have an opportunity to oppose them.
We have to orient ourselves in these interactions
When I was a freshman in high school, there was this kid who thought it was funny to urinate on the floor in the classroom. He wasn’t a special needs student, he just did it surreptitiously as a show of disrespect to the teacher. Obviously, we can all agree that was disgusting behavior, but stop for a minute and consider what you would do in that scenario?
Getting into an argument with a Trump supporter, Conservative, or Republican puts you in a similar situation. You’re the teacher trying to explain a fundamental skill that people will need to master in order to have an effective life. They are the kid secretly urinating under their desk and laughing about it.
The first thing you want to do when you notice such a depraved act is go over and beat the kid’s head against the wall, but you can’t do that or you’ll lose your job. So, you have to take a step back and reassess everything you assume about interpersonal relationships. You can’t trust this opponent to show even the slightest human civility. You can’t assume they will be logical. You can’t assume they will adhere to even their own stated objectives or beliefs. They have no inclination to work to find a common ground, all they want to do is humiliate, obstruct, and discredit you.
These are the things to keep in mind when you enter into a debate with a Trump supporter. They don’t deserve a chair at the adult table, and their obnoxious and disrespectful positions on everything need to be met with dismissive contempt. They’re aren’t going to compromise, and neither should we.
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