Donald's Army

Nobody from 2015 could have seriously thought that Donald Trump would actually be made President of the United States, aside from those conspiring to put him in the Oval Office directly.

Of course, everyone from 2018 is stuck living in this reality, and I don't think we're super happy about it.

We have a lot going on right now. I'm not going to lay it all at the feet of the Drumpf. He's a little like a turtle up on a post - he didn't get there by himself, and he sure as shit doesn't belong there. The fact is, though, his being in a position of power has certainly heralded a brand new era of people being overtly regressive.

Even if it only seems like there are more racists, more sexists, more homophobes and transphobes - that volume is coming from somewhere. More and more, what used to be an undertone is becoming a strident lead verse. Bolder. More empowered. Pushing against the boundary of where society will push back, like a two year old finding out what gets them in trouble and what only gets them a warning.

I don't think this is symptomatic of society as a whole.

The amount of resistance there is to the Mango Mussolini, for example - what he stands for, the policies he pushes, the abuses of individuals that his White House enacts. I know he has a support base, I just don't think that represents the majority of individuals. Maybe that is me being naive, but nonetheless.

Maybe it is good, too, that a lot of these folks are deciding to get their feelings out in the open.

I mean, if someone in power uses language that sounds a little bit suspect but doesn't ring any actual bells, then we're likely to just be a little suspicious. When they just get pure racist - when they advertise their campaigns based on white supremacy or antisemitism - then you know what you are dealing with, undeniably. Nothing they do from that point can come back from those screenshots and videos.

How do we deal with it?

Well, they want us to be civil, because that's how they win.

It's two arms of the same octopus. One of them orchestrates white power marches in Charlottesville, the other chides the left for not being nice and polite and for using bad nasty swearwords when addressing literal fascists.

So we have to push back. We have to push back in every way that we can. We use every tool in our toolbox. The ballot box, our reach on social media, actual protests, being rude, being polite. Counter their statements with logic. Counter their rhetoric with our own. Defeat "alternative facts" by calling them lies and providing the truth. Fight, and fight, and fight, until such a time as we live in a post-Trump world.

It's going to take time to repair the damage done, obviously. Some of it is deep tissue damage, and that requires more work than words and good thoughts.

The protests in this country against his visit made me happy to call myself English. More so than the football. We hate his guts and we're not afraid to say so.

We need more of that.

Because I refuse to believe that the world is okay with this guy being allowed to put kids in cages.