(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . AMERICAN PSYCHOSIS: Self-Destructiveness [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-09 AMERICAN PSYCHOSIS: Self-Destructiveness “We have met the enemy and he is us.” – Walt Kelly In this essay, I argue one of the salient reasons Trump did so well was that millions and millions of Americans suffer from psychic wounds and brainwashing that causes them to ‘act out’ rather than confront their emotional pain. The ‘act out’ is voting for a malignant narcissist who ultimately is going to screw them over. It is both destructive and self-destructive. The Republican campaign and the right-wing media were brilliant at creating an alternative reality, one that was truly Orwellian. An obvious criminal, Donald Trump, is somehow a victim; crime is up when it is going down; children are being encouraged to change their sexuality; the economy was the greatest ever under Trump. It is all nonsense, but with continual repetition, people will believe these things when that is all they see and hear. This is primarily why Trump won. Sure, there are number of other reasons why Kamala Harris lost this election, not the least of which is that for some reason millions of Democrats stayed home. It was not for a lack of effort. Harris’s campaign was well funded and articulate. People were aware of the stakes, yet many did not show up. I don’t get it…but it’s a fact. Donald Trump will likely win the popular vote after all the votes are counted, but not by the margin he has now. In my opinion, of all the failures of the Biden administration, immigration was one of their most significant. I know anecdotally that people in NYC were very unhappy with the huge influx of immigrants and the expense of dealing with them. When Biden finally started to deal with it, it was too late. Of course, the right-wing media focus on this was constant and effective, though almost always misleading. But remember, Biden supported a border bill that Trump had killed. Sadly, racism and sexism is still a potent factor in our elections. I was surprised when Barack Obama was elected; but remember he won for a few reasons. Obama was an amazing and gifted candidate and we were suffering from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and mired in an unpopular war in Iraq. And Obama is a man. There is still much of the country that is misogynistic; men who want women in their place and women who have bought into the patriarchy. With Kamala Harris being a woman, and a woman of color, I think was a bridge too far for too many people. And of course the economy was a big factor, primarily inflation. As Ron Brownstein just wrote on Twitter: “To summarize: 1/4 of pro choice women voted Trump; 1/4 of Latinos who opposed mass deportation; 1/3 of voters who said govt should do more to expand health coverage; 1/6 of voters who said he’d steer US to authoritarianism. All that’s in the maybe future: higher prices were now.” “But in a presidential vote you don’t get to order only some of the items on the menu. All of those voters have taken a big risk that Trump can deliver an economy with better results for them and won’t pursue the ideas they oppose. Both are far from guaranteed.” That is an understatement. But whatever mistakes Biden and Harris made, whatever displeasure people might have with their economic situation or immigration or whatever, this election should not have been close. Donald Trump is so transparently unfit and dangerous that voting for him was a willful act of hostility and ultimately self-sabotage. Donald Trump is a convicted criminal and abuser of women. Military leaders who worked for him assessed him to be a fascist. He admires dictators. He already attempted a coup to stay in office. HE ASPIRES TO BE A DICTATOR. Trump is racist. His first term was a disaster, particularly his handling of COVID. His economic plans, if enacted, will be a disaster. He will abandon Ukraine and NATO and enable his pal Putin. We will not be safer in the world. He has promised to deport millions of people. (See how well that works for the economy when there is no one pick our food.) Project 2025, which was and is his blueprint, despite being highly unpopular, will largely be implemented and we will be on the road to fascism. Women, in particular, will be relegated to second-class citizens. Reproductive rights are just the first thing. Donald Trump fulfills almost every trait on the Sociopath Checklist. Also, he is clearly physically unhealthy and suffering from serious cognitive decline (something the media downplayed with him but not with Biden). So, how could this happen? What Trump understands intuitively is that most of his supporters are angry about their lives and want somebody to blame. They are angry about their economic circumstances. They are angry about their personal lives. They are angry because of their less than ideal childhoods. They are angry because they are told over and over by Fox News that liberals are elitist and think poorly of them because of their social status and where they live. They are fearful of a changing world that they have no control over. The Grievance Media: There is no doubt that people who watch right-wing media become addicted to it. But why are they attracted to it in the first place? Because they are angry, because they have a hole in their lives, psychic wounds that have gone unattended. They feel aggrieved. They are full of grievance. Fox and right-wing media and social media give them a way to focus their hurt and anger on someone else…liberals, immigrants, the woke agenda. But that distraction only temporarily makes them feel better, so they need more of it. It is like a drug addict. If you are hurting, you become addicted to the narcotic to maintain some sort of emotional equilibrium. And like in a cult, you are supplied simple answers or outright falsehoods to manipulate you and keep you loyal to the cult and make you feel special. It is not a mystery why college educated people are happier than those with only a high school education. They generally make more money and have more financial security. Their educations give them a greater ability to think critically and not be as influenced by right-wing media and lies (though there are plenty of affluent people who are also addicted to right-wing misinformation). They are more likely to seek emotional help like therapy to address their personal problems. I think this explains more than anything the college/non-college educated divide and how they vote. Trump voters feel aggrieved and bitter, and Trump was brilliant at tapping into those emotions. Voting for Trump was a big “fuck you” to everyone who they think has looked down on them. But that “fuck you” is going to rebound on them and their vote is ultimately a form of self-harm, of self-destructiveness. The Trump voter feels like a victim…and they are. They are victims of massive income inequality, lack of opportunity, rising costs and a changing world that sometimes feels like it is changing too fast. Living paycheck to paycheck is enormously stressful. I’ve been there myself. And it is obvious that Trump alone can’t fix it. Trump ‘plays’ the victim all the time, cleverly linking his legal problems to their difficulties in life. The ‘deep state’ is out to persecute him and in turn persecute them too. He even appeals to black men by suggesting he is like them because of their problems with the law. It is, of course, absurd. Trump is not like his supporters and he could give a shit about any of his their needs or wants. He is a master manipulator and con-artist and his followers are too stunted emotionally to see it. Their self-destructiveness is apparent. Let’s examine a few examples: White Women: Like, WTF?! A majority of you just voted to have more of your rights jeopardized and taken away. Do you really believe MAGA and Trump are not going for a national abortion ban? They are…as well as contraception. And how many more women have to die because they couldn’t get the care they needed because of draconian abortion statutes. And I know that we all have a bit of cognitive dissonance, but really? You vote to make abortion legal in your state, and then turn around and vote for Trump and Republican Senators who want to take away those rights. Kamala Harris wanted to give you more rights, not less. I guess that wasn’t good enough. Oh, and some of Trump’s buddies even think that women should lose the right to vote. Isn’t that more important than your being unhappy about inflation? (That, by the way, is going down.) Trust me, these guys want our country to be version of Handmaid’s Tale. That should scare the hell out of you. And ANY WOMAN WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP, there must be some serious self-loathing for you to support an adjudicated rapist, a man credibly accused by numerous women of sexual assault, who was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein, who thinks that when you are star it is okay to grab women by the pussy or he will protect women “even if they don’t want it”. Supporting Donald Trump for any self-respecting woman is self-destructive. Young Men: Dudes…get a life. I know a lot of you are angry because it’s hard to get a job and you’re still living at home. But how about stop playing video games in the basement and getting yourself educated? And for the college guys who supported Trump, don’t be surprised that it is going to be harder and harder for you to get a girlfriend. Surprise! Young women, who supported Harris big time, don’t want to date someone who advocates taking away their rights and freedoms. Voting for Trump only cements the idea in their minds that you are an undesirable loser. And supporting the noxious Nick Fuentes idea of “Your body, my choice” is not a winning strategy, unless you want to go to jail for rape. If you really looked at who was trying to help you get ahead, it was Joe Biden and Kamala Harris by opening up educational opportunities, including with more vocational schools…and Kamala Harris wanted you to help with buying your first house and lowering the cost of housing overall. Maybe you think you’re manlier by supporting an angry narcissist who talks tough. You’re not. And now you’re not going to get the help you need to get out of the basement. Trump used you by playing to your insecurities. Grow up. It’s self-destructive. Latino Men: I didn’t know that the misogyny and the desire to keep women in their place was such a thing with you a lot of you guys…but apparently it is. I teach a lot of Hispanic college students and I was informed (by the women in my class) that many men in the culture just can’t abide having a woman in charge of the country. This was echoed on MSNBC by a male Hispanic radio talk show host (a Harris supporter) who explained that many of these Hispanic men voted for Joe Biden but they now supported Trump precisely because of this sentiment. It was much less about the economy. Asked what could be done about this, the talk show host wanted to say, “Don’t nominate a woman.” But he didn’t. (Sadly, I think that were the Democrats were to nominate a woman again, she would run into the same headwinds.) But gentlemen, this is the 21rst Century. You need to respect and treat woman as equals. And in terms of your lives, Biden and Harris created more jobs for the labor force than any other administration. Yes, inflation sucks, but they tried to help you, but you let your macho bullshit get in the way of what is really good for you, of the people really trying to help you, no matter what their sex. And you and your wife are having a new kid? You just lost out on the $6,000 that Harris wanted to give you. And when Trump starts deporting your non-documented friends and family, and maybe you, how are you going to feel then? You for putting kids in cages again? Kamala Harris had no plans for mass deportation. And the way Trump has talked about Hispanic immigrants. “Drug dealers, rapists.” He didn’t condemn the joke that Puerto Rico is trash. How can that be okay? Your machismo is self-destructive. Union Members: Once again, WTF?! Joe Biden was the most pro-union President, probably ever. He walked the picket line with you. His legislation created huge numbers of new, union paying jobs! Biden and Democrats saved the pensions of Teamsters and then were rewarded by having its leader not endorse Kamala Harris. Talk about no good deed goes unpunished. Meanwhile, Project 2025’s goals is to destroy unions and gut their protections. And, given that Donald Trump as a businessman notoriously stiffed workers and vendors, do you really think that he has your interests at heart? You might identify with his macho affect, or that you think he speaks to your feelings of being disrespected, but in fact he looks down on you and will be happy to support the anti-worker agenda of the oligarchs who financed his campaign. Your vote for him was self-destructive. Non-Union Workers: Okay, I get it. Though the overall the economy has gotten better, you are feeling left behind. But it is Democrats and Kamala Harris who want to help you economically with a higher minimum wage and with child tax credits. And many of you rely on Medicaid and Obamacare. What happens when those get cut or eliminated? And wait until Trump imposes his tariffs. If you don’t like inflation, you haven’t seen anything yet. You’ll be lucky if you can afford a loaf of bread. Voting for Trump was self-destructive. Senior Citizens: You like your Social Security and your Medicare? You like your $35 insulin? The Republican plan for half a century or more is to get rid of these. But I guess you’re angry because you don’t like the changes you see in society. Democrats wants to increase your benefits, and Republicans want to cut them. Come on. You’ve been around long enough. Can’t you see how self-destructive you’re being? Non-Voters: You couldn’t be bothered voting or you didn’t like the choice. Really? No, you contributed to the madness that is about to begin and not voting makes you complicit in what is going to happen. It was self-destructive. Palestinian Rights Supporters: Sure, you were disappointed with Biden’s inability to help temper Bibi Netanyahu, but your vote for Trump or Jill Stein will now assure the end of any chance of obtaining a two-state solution. Harris would have clearly leaned on the Israeli Prime Minister. Trump will give him free reign. Incredibly self-destructive. Rural Voters: Whose tax dollars actually prop your state economies up? Oh, yeah, the blue states like New York and Massachusetts. But I guess we look down on you for being poor. No…but you resent us for God knows what. You know what would be real justice…and fair…is making your states pay their own way without blue state subsidies. Why the hell should we support you when you have nothing but contempt for us? Rather than resent us, you should thank us for our generosity. Self-destructive. And I’m sure there are other sub-groups I could talk about including men in general. Shouldn’t they be concerned about their daughters and wives? The bottom line is that virtually no one…except the super-rich…are going to benefit personally from what is about to happen. To Trump Voters: I know it is difficult to take responsibility for one’s mistakes…but what is about to happen to you… is on you . You made the choice to let your frustrations and anger in life lead you to vote for someone who has nothing but contempt for you…who has conned you…who delights in manipulating you. Donald Trump is a grifter and you are his mark. You ever wonder why he is always trying to part you from your money, like selling you overpriced Bibles made in China? You may think that you are getting back at the people who you perceive look down on you, and you are…because we are going to suffer. But so are you…much more than you could have ever imagined. The bottom line is that you are angry with the wrong people, the people who actually want to help you, and that is truly self-destructive. And finally, the choice to support someone as corrupt and venal as Donald Trump is indefensible. I wrote this essay to articulate the self-destructive nature of this choice, but not to excuse it. Rather than looking inward at why they are so angry and fearful, Trump supporters are choosing chaos, madness and fascism to avoid dealing with their own emotional issues. And morally and ethically, they are responsible for their actions: and the action they have chosen to make is to support a criminal sociopath despite what they know about him. One can respect an alcoholic who gets treatment. One is appalled by an alcoholic who drunkenly gets behind the wheel of car and kills someone. But all of you who voted for Trump this election know this: we are disgusted by what you have done and we do not want to hear you ridiculous arguments or justifications. They are specious, illogical, and full of lies from the propaganda your minds are filled with from Fox News, etc. It was one thing to vote for the man in 2016, but now the evidence is so overwhelming that Trump should never be in the Oval Office again. We view your choice as insane. We view your choice as hostile to women’s rights, equality, the environment, our general freedoms. We view your choice as an aggressive act towards us, bullying, that you actually want to see us suffer, that our discomfort will somehow create a salve on your psychic wounds. You allowed yourselves to be brainwashed by right-wing outlets who secretly laugh at you and delight in manipulating you. They are only there to serve corporate interests and those of the super-wealthy, not yours. So, despite everything that Joe Biden did to help you, and everything Kamala Harris was going to do to try and help you, you said “fuck you” because you are unhappy and refuse to be honest with yourselves about why you are unhappy. VOTING FOR TRUMP WAS BOTH DESTRUCTIVE and SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. Please, get some therapy. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/9/2284839/-AMERICAN-PSYCHOSIS-Self-Destructiveness?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/