Politics

[fbhjr]

My wife and I don’t like Donald Trump and neither one of us thinks he should be elected president.

We know some folks that feel strongly the other way. My wife and I were discussing the whys for that last night.

The upshot of what I was saying is: If you are drowning, you don’t care what kind of person the lifeguard is.

The problem we have right now in this country is lots of people seem to think we’re drowning.
And, they think DT can keep his head about water better than HC.

To some extent I agree about that assessment. DT has kept his head above water through things I was sure were going to sink him. And, HC seems to be much easier to pull under. I’ll grant you she also pops back up pretty quick. And, I think DT says up by holding others under, but that’s a different issue.

So, all of the posts I see on facebook about what an awful person DT is, the awful people who support him, the bad things they all do I consider useless. (But, some are amusing.)

As long as people think they are in danger of drowning, they are going to want a person on the lifeguard stand they think can swim well.

The real question is why so many people think that they are swimming in the deep end and might go under.

Exactly why they think they are about to go under varies with different people I’ve spoken with about it.

Some are afraid of crime.
Some are afraid of terrorism.
Some are afraid of people taking their jobs.
(I should also point out none of the folks who have talked with me actually use the word fear or afraid. They’re “worried” about these things…)

I also find it interesting that each of the folks who have tried to convince me to like DT have also said “he can fix this better than HC could!”
Not a single one of them have said “he will fix it” only the “he can”.

Sorry to have rambled for a while.

My point is, trying to convince someone the lifeguard is a rotten person will never impact an unsteady swimmer.
And, I’m not sure they can be convinced to put their feet down, even though I don’t think the water is that deep.

I don’t at all know what to do about it, because I don’t want him on the lifeguard stand.
But, I think folks are going about trying to convince others of that the wrong way…

Comments

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's a really interesting way of looking at it, and it does make it easier to understand why people might support him...

And, I think DT says up by holding others under, but that’s a different issue.

Heh, yes exactly.

[sparkythegeek.livejournal.com]

Interesting analogy.

The folks, to me, who are worried the pool is deep and are drowning, are the ones who are kicking their feet in the shallows, watching other people actually drown.

:\

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I wonder about the roots of that fear. I've read that his supporters are not really the poor, and among the people I know who support him, that seems to be true.

I still think he appeals to hate as much as fear, and I'm not quite convinced that the hate comes out of fear, or at least not out of any realistic fear. The people I know who actually might compete with poor immigrants for jobs are generally apolitical, though some like Clinton. The Trump supporters I known are so much like those people who are rabid supporters of football teams. Granted there is probably some deep insecurity that makes people need to identify with someone or some group who can belittle another group, but I don't think it's all about the global situation.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to imply it was a realistic fear. A lot of it is manufactured.

I know one pro-Trump person who is the child of immigrants. But, goes on about people coming to our country, taking our jobs, and using anchor babies to stay.
I refrain from saying "like you?" in those discussions...

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

You have described my folks....

[twicet.livejournal.com]

I am not American, but I found your analogy an interesting one. I would say that while DT would appear to be a good businessman, to date, I have heard little of substance which would indicate he is capable of running your country.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

DT is a horrible businessman. He has pissed away at least half of what he inherited from his father. He regularly refuses to pay for labor he contracted, and brags about that, driving people he's employed into bankruptcy- just not as lucrative bankruptcy as he finagles; his victims are more in the "losing everything" camp.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

I just know the world is looking with fear into your direction to see what will happen.

Personally I hope HC wins. She has he experience of the entire package when her hubby was in the lead (or was she the one in the lead back than?)
I don't trust DT for one single bit and am truly afraid what will happen to the world when he's in the lead

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

And, I think DT says up by holding others under, but that’s a different issue.

I don't think, given your "unsteady swimmer/lifeguard" analogy, that how DT keeps his head above water is a different issue. A lifeguard who promises to rescue you, but who will keep his head above water by pushing you under is not a better lifeguard than one who will genuinely try to keep both their head and yours above water. It's why I wish there was more talk about Donald's use of filing for bankruptcy as a business tool. It might work for him, but it wouldn't work for the country.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

We are drowning. The oligarchy- to which both DT and HRC belong- is stealing all the money that ought to be going to the rest of us, if we were actually getting paid for productivity.

Look at the way Walmart has transferred the expenses for their employees to taxpayers, hoarded the resulting money, and declined to pay taxes on it.