Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@Ralizah I agree in that it's highly unlikely the worst parts of the Right will suddenly disappear in Trump's absence. It's only that all these once disparate and radical elements will, at the very least, not be given legitimacy by having "one of their own" in the highest office in the land.

And I hear what you're saying about the potential for martyrdom, but I can't help but believe his death would ultimately weaken this push toward right wing populism (maybe even globally).

I think dismissing the outsized role charisma played in his ascension to the presidency is a mistake but reasonable people like yourself can certainly disagree.

In any case I suppose whatever will be, will be. Not like anyone's feelings on the matter will change anything.

Very much agree with you on this, especially the last sentence. Therein lies the rub.

@zupertramp Oh, totally. Having this guy as a president is just a disaster, and I think we've seen the degree to which one person can make a mess of things. He has tested the ethical limitations of the office in almost every direction, and it's terrifying how little oversight there is for the most powerful person in the world. And I think even a moderate, pre-Trump era Republican would have handled the pandemic far more competently.

I also wouldn't say that charisma wasn't a role in his ascendancy. It absolutely was. I just don't think it's sufficient to explain his political cult or, ultimately, his appeal to voters. I think the majority of his base likes him precisely because he's a buffoon. I think Michael Moore was spot on when he said that Trump's candidacy was a molotov cocktail defiant voters could throw at the Establishment. And, ultimately, that appeal hasn't changed: many poor and working class white people have been indoctrinated to hate "coastal elites" and "liberals," who, we are told by right-wing media, hate this country and its culture. They see their jobs being shipped overseas, their wages diminishing, and the way they're demeaned and dismissed by the self-congratulatory culture of Hollywood and major media outlets. And then they see somebody they can inflict on the system, who can make the people they hate cry bitter tears, and who will be a smack in the face to the institutions they loathe. This is why, no matter how gross his behavior, no matter how much his incompetence and corruption is highlighted, his appeal never really seems to wane.

That's just my opinion, of course.

@Ralizah Seeing the working class riled up about ‘long haired yuppie liberals’ because the conglomerate-owned media told them to is both hugely ironic and deeply sad. Workers rights? Free healthcare? Nah, give me prisons run for profit and exposure to a deadly pandemic, that’s what the people want.

@Ralizah Actually I pretty much agree with everything you just said. And it's impressively articulated to boot.

Probably we just have a different view on what is meant by charisma (at least in this context). I mean believe you me, I'm not saying he's George Clooney or something. It's just his personality, with all that exaggerated and almost cartoonish jingoism/chauvinism/megalomania at its center, is just everything for some. People love him for who he is in a way I don't think they would most "establishment" politicians. So he's uniquely dangerous, in my opinion, for this reason.

In any case, I appreciate the dialogue. I'm actually all for it as how can I learn or grow but from other people.

@Ralizah Yeah, I agree that I think your analysis is probably correct. A huge swath of the population was looking for someone to challenge the system. It’s safe to say most of it has backfired, but nonetheless I think many citizens perceive the government has, as you coined it, “failed its own population” and that the gov’t has been composed mostly of professional politicians which led to the Molotov cocktail tactic by throwing in someone from the private sector to shake things up. I think that might explain the overall rationale, collectively speaking. (Not saying I agree with it, mind. I’m just agreeing with the analysis of why we’ve arrived at this point). I guess it has definitely turned things upside-down, but not for the better.

On a side note — when reading up on Zenimax I learned that Trump’s brother was one of the original founding board members of the company. So it’s safe to say that if anyone buys an Xbox then they will be circuitously financially supporting the Trump family. Another reason to buy a PS5! 😜

(Tongue is firmly in cheek here, but people have boycotted games, companies, or products for less) 😂

The man's riding around in a car full of secret service agents for a photo op. I just can't.

@zupertramp In a hermetically sealed car because of chemical attacks. Those poor, poor secret service agents.

The only person's life that matters to Trump is his own.

But we already knew that from his coronavirus response.

Don’t worry, if you lot stateside think your country’s handling it badly, the UK missed out over 15000 cases from our total because they were using an old version of Excel to store the data, which limited the number of lines available in a spreadsheet. Absolute madness.

@nessisonett LMAO

Still, I'd give my left lung for our country to have leadership as competent as what y'all in the U.K. have.

23,066 cases per one million people in the U.S. versus 7,584 cases per one million people in the U.K.

There is not an inch of this country that hasn't been saturated with this crap thanks to poor decisions from the right-wing death cult running America right now.

Oh, and, in related news, Kayleigh McEnany, Trump's current press secretary, has it, and she was talking and yelling at reporters maskless after knowing she'd been exposed.

And they still won't mandate mask wearing there.

God, these people are stupid.

@Ralizah Congratulations on being in the only country who would consider our leaders competent!

@Thrillho 😂 It's a low bar we're setting.

"Don't be afraid of Covid"

@zupertramp exactly, use common sense and crack on. And enough of the politics!

xoxo

@kyleforrester87 If Trump's general advice was anywhere near "use common sense" I might agree.

But it's not.

Bad-faith argument incoming in 3... 2... 1...

Like I put on sunscreen to mow the lawn today because I'm in South Texas and I'm as white as the driven snow... Oh why oh why do I let skin cancer dominate my life?!

Yeah. In isolation, advising people to not let covid "dominate your life" sounds fine, but it becomes pure evil when the person saying this contradicts public health officials, mocks people for using ppe, and, in general, dishonors the dead and endangers the living by playing down the risks of an out-of-control pandemic.

Especially when the only reason he's likely even doing as well as he is is due to him having access to the very best possible healthcare, a luxury the vast majority of people in this country literally cannot afford.

Of course, I'm not at all surprised. It was inevitable he'd go full Bolsonaro with this to preserve his image and protect his fragile ego. Better to put millions of lives at risk than to admit you were wrong on something.

@Ralizah And we again find ourselves in the paradoxical situation where the virus is said to be very near harmless but Trump is to be heralded as some indomitable pugilist for having beat it.

Don't know if Trumo is out the woods yet, seen the videos of him struggling to breath during his photo op? Day 7-10 of infection is pretty pivotal and in the absence of monoclonal therapies or steriods is when people either pulled through or deteriorated. He's still got a way to go before he can spout all the bloody bs that he's coming out with at the moment. Disrespectful to those who have died, particularly those who didn't have access to healthcare.