My personal approach is to give them as much time and space as possible as I cautiously back away from them. They are not generally interested in genuine conversation. So, unless they are infringing upon my personal space, I'll allow them to enjoy themselves as they take pleasure in entertaining themselves.
It, however, becomes problematic when they claim to be pro-Trump when what they really are is anti-Clinton (or vice versa). Especially, when the things they know are exaggerations of partial truths and care not a whit about the ramifications of policy issues. Indeed, they tend not to want to discuss real world issues unless they can interject their emotions via conspiracy theories into it.
A very small example of a lie perpetuated as a truth by someone who claims to be a truth seeker showed up in today's newspaper as the "sort of Twitter post for which a charged post-election moment, full of conspiracy theories and anxieties, was perfectly primed."
"Eric Tucker, a founder of a technology company with an Austin office called PocketMath, claimed that protesters who had gathered Wednesday night in Austin to voice their anger about the presidential election outcome were “not as organic as they seem.”
Attaching photos of white Charter USA buses parked in East Austin near downtown, he wrote:
“Here are the busses (sic) they came in.”
"The post was seized as evidence that protests happening around the country were somehow concocted by the Hillary Clinton campaign, the media, liberal financier George Soros or some other boogeyman.
By Friday morning, Tucker’s tweet had been retweeted more than 15,000 times, picked up by conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and the Austin-based national alt-right personality Alex Jones. A Fox News story headlined, “Trump protests intensify, as doubts swirl about spontaneity,” said in the second graph, “observers online are claiming that, in some cases, protesters were bused to the scenes — a telltale sign of coordination,” citing Tucker’s tweet.
The problem: It wasn’t true."
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/how-an-austin-tweet-about-trump-protests-became-a-/ns66K/
His rationalizations that followed after his malfeasance was uncovered were both embarrassing and mundane. He exemplified the typical lack of integrity that conspiracy theorists (of both the Left and right) display by substituting egoic self righteousness for thoughtful and honest appraisal.
Politics is indeed war in slow motion. Thus, the need for diplomacy, which becomes more and more difficult when emotions overrule the thought process.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
My Letter Of Concession To Supporters of Trump
On Nov. 9th, the following is what I emailed to friends and family who supported Donald Trump:
"Congratulations are in order for those who supported Trump with their votes.
For myself however, at this moment, my only consolation is that for the next four years and after, when things do go well, I can be pleasantly surprised.
A word of caution though:
To the degree our enemies are happy with our choices, to that degree we need to be very cautious and wise.
The generations that fought the two world wars and lived through the Great Depression are now gone. Gone are those who remember most of the genocides.
Gone, too, are many of the lessons that they learned / and remain only in the minds of us who remain that can remember what they told us as we sat at their feet as children and grandchildren. Some of the rest is in the history books.
We do indeed live in interesting times."
Note: Previous to this posting, I've posted twice since the election using Trump's name, and each time my blog was instantly assailed by hundreds of bot hits from Russia.
"Congratulations are in order for those who supported Trump with their votes.
For myself however, at this moment, my only consolation is that for the next four years and after, when things do go well, I can be pleasantly surprised.
A word of caution though:
To the degree our enemies are happy with our choices, to that degree we need to be very cautious and wise.
The generations that fought the two world wars and lived through the Great Depression are now gone. Gone are those who remember most of the genocides.
Gone, too, are many of the lessons that they learned / and remain only in the minds of us who remain that can remember what they told us as we sat at their feet as children and grandchildren. Some of the rest is in the history books.
We do indeed live in interesting times."
Note: Previous to this posting, I've posted twice since the election using Trump's name, and each time my blog was instantly assailed by hundreds of bot hits from Russia.
Trump's Future As An Antidisestablishmentarianismist?
Those of us who remember the protests surrounding the Vietnam War will remember the humorous term "antidisestablishmentarianism" when referring to those in favor of the industrial-military corporate-political complex that was being protested against.
In this application, Trump is very much a champion of the same group of people (who do not necessarily believe in the separation of the church and the state), a group that wants to reassert their beliefs in a world changing both globally and at home. Most of their beliefs are valid. Others, maybe not so much. For example, just as we no longer sacrifice burnt animal offerings as in biblical times because Jesus Christ freed us from that custom, modern hygiene and science has allowed us to ensure the propagation of our populations without perpetual unprotected sex. Lowered infant mortality rates and increased life spans have made contraception [I did not say abortion] a desirable practice to prevent the world overpopulation that is causing environmental degradation, famines, mass migrations and other havoc that will only worsen as the fossil fuels these people burn (especially us) will lead to detrimental climate change.
By the time Trump believers realize that global warming is real, it'll be far too late. Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels today, the ice caps would continue to melt and oceans continue to rise at a faster and faster rate because the rate of CO2 absorption by the ocean is dramatically slowing down and saturation limits achieved (ocean acidification). Weather patterns will change much more dramatically. Crop failures will become a problem in a world steadily losing its topsoil where agribusiness (e.g., Monsanto) dominates. Etcetera. Believe it; don't believe it. But, what if I'm not wrong?
Trump believers are now becoming the ones in charge. They are the new order aka The Establishment now. So, back to my original question:
How long before Trump is seen as the proverbial Establishment and becomes a target of the somewhat 'anarchistic' Wikileaks? Even if Wikileaks does not target Trump, it's inevitable that some spillage will occur during future data dumps that will embarrass Trump and his cronies. Will it then be my turn to be a fan of Wikileaks? Or will the new
"antidisestablishmentarianismist" shut them down? [Remember Nixon -- Trump will make Nixon look like a 'wuss'.]
P.S.- The second part of a Chinese curse trilogy may soon become applicable in our "brave new world":
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