U.S. Politics

TheSameIdiot said:
I'm so sick of the fake tough guy act.
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THIS FUCKING PART.

I don’t know what’s “wrong” with me, but even as a kid I found macho posturing hilariously embarrassing. I was lucky I was a big kid who studied martial arts, because I got in A LOT of confrontations where some bro would be popping off and puffing up and I just couldn’t help myself and started guffawing. They look so fucking silly when they do it! And yet it’s like “this is how MEN are supposed to be”. Like all these MAGA clowns just look like silly little babies to me, even with their guns and cosplay military gear. Like yes, objectively they are scary because of what they can do in a group, but that doesn’t make them feel any more intimidating or “serious” or less absolutely ridiculous. It’s like a bunch of guys decided that the ludicrous posturing theatrics of professional wrestling is a valid and desirable way to go through the world and they’re just. so. goofy.
That’s the real thing that grinds my gears about Trump: he’s silly as fuck, strong as a wet piece of paper, intimidating as a empty capri sun juice envelope, and about as “cool” as Jerry Lewis. And they follow him.
 
AceofKnaves said:
THIS FUCKING PART.

I don’t know what’s “wrong” with me, but even as a kid I found macho posturing hilariously embarrassing. I was lucky I was a big kid who studied martial arts, because I got in A LOT of confrontations where some bro would be popping off and puffing up and I just couldn’t help myself and started guffawing. They look so fucking silly when they do it! And yet it’s like “this is how MEN are supposed to be”. Like all these MAGA clowns just look like silly little babies to me, even with their guns and cosplay military gear. Like yes, objectively they are scary because of what they can do in a group, but that doesn’t make them feel any more intimidating or “serious” or less absolutely ridiculous. It’s like a bunch of guys decided that the ludicrous posturing theatrics of professional wrestling is a valid and desirable way to go through the world and they’re just. so. goofy.
That’s the real thing that grinds my gears about Trump: he’s silly as fuck, strong as a wet piece of paper, intimidating as a empty capri sun juice envelope, and about as “cool” as Jerry Lewis. And they follow him.
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Nothing has convinced me that we're not all experiencing the same reality like performative tough guy MAGA clowns. How someone can be shaped like a deflated pear with love handles bulging out of a fake tactical vest they bought on Amazon, running like a cartoon character on flat feet in pinch-y boots and think they're peak masculinity when the rest of the world sees you as a clown... or all the people who AI art Trump into some Conan the Barbarian oily musclebound sex god. Or open carrying in a fucking Starbucks picking up a pumpkin spice latte. Like, that level of delusion has me convinced they are running on a different wavelength than the rest of us and all the people tuned to Uranus are in charge right now. Or rather all the peopled tuned to Uranus think they're in charge, while sleazy fascist bigots who know how to manipulate the delusional people are robbing the candy store while letting their patsies think they've found nirvana.

Trump is physically, mentally, charismatically a cosmic joke, but apparently some people look through whatever reality warping lens they've got hardwired into their brain and see perfection. I don't know how to square that circle.
 
AceofKnaves said:
THIS FUCKING PART.

I don’t know what’s “wrong” with me, but even as a kid I found macho posturing hilariously embarrassing. I was lucky I was a big kid who studied martial arts, because I got in A LOT of confrontations where some bro would be popping off and puffing up and I just couldn’t help myself and started guffawing. They look so fucking silly when they do it! And yet it’s like “this is how MEN are supposed to be”. Like all these MAGA clowns just look like silly little babies to me, even with their guns and cosplay military gear. Like yes, objectively they are scary because of what they can do in a group, but that doesn’t make them feel any more intimidating or “serious” or less absolutely ridiculous. It’s like a bunch of guys decided that the ludicrous posturing theatrics of professional wrestling is a valid and desirable way to go through the world and they’re just. so. goofy.
That’s the real thing that grinds my gears about Trump: he’s silly as fuck, strong as a wet piece of paper, intimidating as a empty capri sun juice envelope, and about as “cool” as Jerry Lewis. And they follow him.
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It's funny because all my bullies in life were short dudes. It wasn't until 8th grade someone told me it was because "we were tall" and "most girls liked us". I was awkward and hindsight autistic, so I missed most of the girl cues, but it did make sense based on what Media taught me at the time. And then from then on, it was always dudes "popping off and puffing up" as you say, and they were just smaller, out of shape, or silly looking and I couldn't take it seriously because I knew I'd body them and then... that would self-fulfill. And I was never in a fair fight, it was always some Mojo Jojo looking mfer and his Goofus looking cronies. High school through college and adult jobs, even.

And that's what this is. A lot if insecure, inept, incapable people who can't buckle down with themselves, and have to once again gang up in numbers to feel like they're big and relevant.

And yeah, as a former Army soldier, seeing footage of the Guard in DC has me questioning if PT and standards changed. I know it's the Guard, but a lot of these guys don't look fit to cash out my Tornado at Speedway.
 
docsilence said:
Trump is physically, mentally, charismatically a cosmic joke, but apparently some people look through whatever reality warping lens they've got hardwired into their brain and see perfection. I don't know how to square that circle.
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Thank the gods that their Supreme Leader is 79 and clearly declining.

When he eventually goes, it'll create a power vacuum in MAGA world. It probably won't matter. In all likelihood, his superfans will go back to being politically disengaged. They'll hang his photo in their kitchen and move on.
 
AceofKnaves said:
posturing theatrics of professional wrestling
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This is so spot on.
docsilence said:
people who AI art Trump into some Conan the Barbarian oily musclebound sex god
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RIGHT?! There are so many things about him I just cannot understand, and none of the supporters in my orbit have been able to remedy that.

(Sidenote, thankfully my brother in law who chose Trump as the ONE person in the entire world he wouldn't talk shit about went through a quiet phase and has now started talking shit about him, so that's a relief for me I guess. Still keeping an eye on him because he was down with a lot of stuff Trump is about, but at least I'm not always braced to shut him down when he dares to bring it up. And just to be clear, this guy will mock EVERYONE, about ANYTHING. And it's entirely because he is, as altcunningham put it, insecure, inept, and incapable. But he will mock people for mistakes, mishaps, or even things that didn't happen if he can't come up with something, but his big go-to is always physical appearance. Any woman who does cuts him off in traffic is 'an ugly bitch', ALWAYS. So it's just amazing to me he never laid into one of the most bizarre looking people ever elected to public office, but feels like that's finally coming.)
altcunningham said:
insecure, inept, incapable people
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Hey! I'm kinda those things, heh. At least I have a heart goddamnit.
TheSameIdiot said:
In all likelihood, his superfans will go back to being politically disengaged. They'll hang his photo in their kitchen and move on.
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That feels like the best we can hope for.
 
It ain’t even about them being weak-looking and out of shape.
I get the same “oh their god, what a hilarious clown” reaction when an actual tough-looking guy acts like a stereotypical “tough guy”.
This is why I can’t watch movies with Dwayne Johnson and such in them. I just start giggling and people get Big Mad at me.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
Thank the gods that their Supreme Leader is 79 and clearly declining.

When he eventually goes, it'll create a power vacuum in MAGA world. It probably won't matter. In all likelihood, his superfans will go back to being politically disengaged. They'll hang his photo in their kitchen and move on.
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Maybe someone can start a Trump line of Real Dolls and then they can all fulfill their deepest erotic fantasies of making love to him every night.
 
There’s literally nothing wrong with being not-strong, or not-expert, or not-“smart”.

The problem is PRETENDING, nay INSISTING that they are these things when they obviously fucking aren’t.

Like I’m not a surgeon. And I’m also not saying I am, either.

These fuckers are like “LOOK HOW STRONG AND POWERFUL AND CAPABLE AND BADASS I AM” when they are obviously not those things, certainly not those things to the cartoon levels they pretend to be these things.
 
AceofKnaves said:
There’s literally nothing wrong with being not-strong, or not-expert, or not-“smart”.

The problem is PRETENDING, nay INSISTING that they are these things when they obviously fucking aren’t.

Like I’m not a surgeon. And I’m also not saying I am, either.

These fuckers are like “LOOK HOW STRONG AND POWERFUL AND CAPABLE AND BADASS I AM” when they are obviously not those things, certainly not those things to the cartoon levels they pretend to be these things.
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I do want to circle back to the discussion about Consequences and Shame and fold in this new point.

It came to me on an activist anti-capitalist/anti-fascist meme page I follow on the 'gram.

Bunch of memes about how ICE sucks, MAGA sucks, fun stuff... but then a meme that was a screenshot about some new data that "33% of men are likely to be unloved, untouched, and unnoticed by women for the rest of their lives". Real, bait, couldn't verify.

But what struck me was the bottom part of the meme, which was highlighting comments:

"Natural selection. Evolution."
"we can do better than 33%"

And it broke my meme rhythm because this feed is all punk, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, inclusive, ally, etc, and yet... seemed to me the meme and the resulting comment section wanted to revel in this. And my reaction is, I feel like empathy and outreach is the preventative medicine, the vaccination to any of this going forward. But here's just straight up hate, which would just feed the cycle.

So many of these people described above, and it's not just men, we see women, minorities, all lining up and signing up because they think THIS is where they'll be included and be seen and heard.

Someone has to change it up somewhere, otherwise we're just continually side-step dancing against each other in the aisle for eternity.

I don't have a solution, just my own experiences detoxing some people and losing others.
 
Yeah. You wouldn't catch me running for president because I don't know shit about foreign policy. And a president probably should know something about foreign policy.

I've read a lot about how Trump was White Resentment Land's ultimate fuck you to liberals. You elect a qualified black guy? Watch this. We'll force the thickest white idiot imaginable on you. It's been a theme throughout Trump's second term, too. Think the guy in charge of Medicare should be smart? How about a TV doctor instead? Think the NASA administrator should've passed seventh-grade science? How about another reality TV moron?
altcunningham said:
seemed to me the meme and the resulting comment section wanted to revel in this.
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Counterpoint: women should forgo having families if having a family means marrying a fascist.

You can't reward the harbinger of your own doom.
 
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