Just a short post about Trump today, or at least I hope I can keep it short. I'm not one to shy away from listening to the opinions of those who I disagree with, or of those who are, at first sight, talking gibberish, because every honest discussion starts with the realization that the other might be right, and that in some cases there's a thin line between insanity and brilliance.
Image by johnhain - source: Pixabay
I'm not one to keep up with the daily news, especially from the mainstream media; this only distracts from the real issues we face as nations and as a species. If you've ever read anything from me, you know that I regard mainstream media as a tool for corporate interests to further their position as the rulers of the world; this is not some crazy conspiracy theory, but a logical consequence of the way our economy concentrates wealth in the hands of a few people. Just literally follow the money and you've explained a great deal of how humanity operates, sad but true...
Propaganda is the key word here. The fact that Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud's nephew, has renamed "propaganda" to "public relations" because "propaganda" carries with it too much negative connotations due to the World Wars, doesn't make them different; they're the same thing. And propaganda is what we call "demagoguery";
Demagoguery is a manipulative approach - often associated with dictators and sleazy politicians - that appeals to the worst nature of people. Demagoguery isn't based on reason, issues, and doing the right thing; it's based on stirring up fear and hatred to control people. For example, a politician who stirs up a fear of immigrants to distract from other issues is using demagoguery. Demagoguery is one of the most negative aspects of politics, but it's also one that's all too common.
source: Vocabulary.com
Most politicians are demagogues to a certain degree, but Trump is a demagogue pure-blood. In fact he is just one of many of such demagogues who are gaining much success in the western world. The demagogue, much like the advertiser, appeals to people's most primitive instincts, mostly fear. The success of the modern day demagogue is, in large part, thanks to the failing of the global economy; not only in the U.S., but throughout the western world the middle class, the section of the population that's mostly responsible for the turn-up during elections, has been shafted, denied their piece of the spur in economic growth during the last 4 or 5 decades. Look back in history and you'll soon see that times of economic turmoil and hardship, are the times of the demagogues.
Trump Supporters Chant “Send Her Back” About Ilhan Omar | The Daily Show
Trump isn't Hitler, but he uses the exact same propaganda techniques; point a finger at some section of the population and blame them for the very real financial hardship. Scapegoating is the demagogue's Swiss army knife. Because we live in a one-world-economy in which we've erased the borders for money, but not for people, and because politics has traditionally been a means of justifying and prolonging the economical hierarchy, we see the demagogues rise everywhere. They offer a quick and easy solution to very complicated and strongly felt problems. It's under these circumstances that history's most notorious demagogue came to power, and I don't think I have to repeat his name. Worldwide, the scapegoat of preference is "the scary Muslims," completely in line with the fake world wide war on terrorism. But all these ideological wars are fake; the war on drugs never amounted to anything, the war on poverty is one of proverbial sticks and stones against a nuclear drone arsenal, the war on cancer has produced more cancer... Need I go on? Anyone remember the war on Christmas..? Any stakes in the culture war? ... Anyone..? Infowars?
Trump's war on the illegal immigrants is just as fake. It's the same old demagoguery. Any direct comparison between Trump and that maniac with the weird mustache is useless, counterproductive even, but it has to be said that fascism is a real thing, and that it's just around the corner if it's not already here. The "illegal immigrants" won't be stopped by a wall, any three year old can figure that out. Most illegal immigrants are, and this is not just in the U.S., people who simply let their visa expire and came into the country by boat or plane; I've heard this is approximately 50% of the "illegal aliens" in the U.S. Multiple studies show that immigrants have a positive net effect on the economy. Crime rates among immigrants are at the same level as, or a lower level than the indigenous population. These are facts that are easily found by typing in some simple search arguments on your online search-engine of preference.
I'm worried. I already was, but I stumbled upon the video I linked above, where Trevor Noah tries to make fun of Trump-supporters chanting "send her back" in response to sneering remarks about representative Ilhan Abdullahi Omar... This, for me, is shocking. I and many others have written about the encroaching black shadow of fascism in the past, there are many articles and vlogs out there that are far more shocking in content and nature than the semi cloaked racism as professed by the modern day demagogue, so I shouldn't be shocked, but I am... Trump is not the problem, and that's the problem. He is but a symptom of the diseased world economy, an exploiter of the resentment created by the extremely uneven distribution of economic wealth that has slowly sucked dry the lower- and middle class, the herald of division by apportioning blame to an already marginalized minority and thereby providing the easy solution of "sending them back"... And people believe him... This is scary, and the really scary thing is to realize that if it wasn't Trump, there'd be someone else to give voice to the collective resentment of the working class. I don't believe that Trump voters are racists, most of them are just disappointed with decades of failed political and economical leadership and wanted their voice heard. Trump's success is no mystery, but the effects of his, and other populists' election are troubling to say the least, like the slowly creeping normalization of racism, the rebirth of "white supremacy", the victimization of the "white male" citizen, or even worse, an upcoming belief in stupid conspiracy theories like "The Great Replacement"...
That's it, not as short as I wished, but that's it. I'm worried. I'll close with this request: when watching the below linked video, keep an open mind and don't be scared away by comparisons with former fascist regimes; fascism just doesn't open the door and say "peekaboo," but is the result of a slow and insidious process that can only be recognized by looking back, or else we just refuse to learn from past mistakes.
Trump Isn't Hitler - SOME MORE NEWS
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