Last edited Tue Sep 17, 2024, 12:18 AM - Edit history (2)
Roy Cohn taught trump well (link)
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. . Cohn imparted an M.O. that’s been on searing display throughout Trump’s ascent, his divisive, captivating campaign, and his fraught, unprecedented presidency. Deflect and distract, never give in, never admit fault, lie and attack, lie and attack, publicity no matter what, win no matter what, all underpinned by a deep, prove-me-wrong belief in the power of chaos and fear.
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Trump and his acolytes want us to be immersed in his horror show. And over, and over, and over, we oblige. If we break away, they do something more outrageous to drag us back.
And when we spend time "spreading the word" about how horrible he is, we are, once again, immersed in his shit.
Time spent denouncing him is NOT PRODUCTIVE. It crushes hope and joy and thus immobilizes. It suppresses the will to take positive action. When we are overwhelmed by his shit, we lose ourselves. When we feel like screaming "how can 'they' not see this?" we are on road to cynicism and hopelessness; we are on the road to feeling powerless. It saps us.
His people are his people. For now, just let them bask in their own horrible little world. He's basically at both his ceiling and his floor. Now it is all about turning out our voters. That's it. That's our job. We need all our hope, enthusiasm, and energy to get it done.
The most productive thing those who oppose trump can do is to ignore the man and his acolytes -- truly ignore them as the pathetic creatures they are. I would be happy if we didn't even put his mug in our ads.
Whatever the latest bit of insanity, dismiss it as the same old shit without comment. Only that way do we disarm him. Find a hopeful speech. Feed our own sense of our power through action or inspiring ourselves with books like "Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society" by Alberto Alemanno. Find the things that inspire you -- simple things.
Resisting the efforts to turn our attention from hope and action to the horrors of the trump show is perhaps our most difficult, but important, task. Just as a meditator chooses, over and over again, to turn their attention back to the breath when attention is pulled elsewhere, we each need to find ways to turn our attention back to hope and action when we find ourselves pulled into the latest outrage.
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