#Trump Effect

[imkeepinit]

#twitterature #Gloria Johnson #John Pavlovitz #essay #GOP #MAGA #cruelty #Trump Effect

[odinsblog]

Since the founding of the United States, politicians and pundits have warned that partisanship is a danger to democracy. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, worried that political parties, or factions, could "allow cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men" to rise to power and subvert democracy. More recently, many political observers are concerned that increasing political polarization on left and right makes compromise impossible, and leads to the destruction of democratic norms and institutions.

A new study, however, suggests that the main threat to our democracy may not be the hardening of political ideology, but rather the hardening of one particular political ideology. Political scientists Steven V. Miller of Clemson and Nicholas T. Davis of Texas A&M have released a working paper titled "White Outgroup Intolerance and Declining Support for American Democracy." Their study finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy.

The World Values Survey data used is from the period 1995 to 2011 — well before Donald Trump's 2016 run for president. It suggests, though, that Trump's bigotry and his authoritarianism are not separate problems, but are intertwined. When Trump calls Mexicans "rapists," and when he praises authoritarian leaders, he is appealing to the same voters.

Miller and Davis' paper quotes alt right, neo-fascist leader Richard Spencer, who in a 2013 speech declared: "We need an ethno-state so that our people can ‘come home again’… We must give up the false dreams of equality and democracy."

Ethnic cleansing is impossible as long as marginalized people have enough votes to stop it. But this roadblock disappears if you get rid of democracy. Spencer understands that white rule in the current era essentially requires totalitarianism. That's the logic of fascism.

(continue reading)

#politics #republicans #donald trump #white supremacy #fascism #trumpism #authoritarianism #conservatism #deplorables #racism #anti blackness #trump effect #the trump effect

[happilyshadowyfest-blog]

The Trump Effect strikes again!

"The FBI has seized New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ electronic devices as part of an investigation into potential illegal donations from the Turkish government during his 2021 campaign."

Adams’ attorney (mouthpiece) stated (spun) that the mayor is committed to cooperating (stonewalling / looking for a patsy) and has not been accused of any wrongdoing and (will cry racism).

Say hi to Michael Avenatti, another loathsome criminal like you.

@AnalyzAmerica

The FBI has seized New York City Mayor Eric Adams's phones relating to a federal corruption investigation. His campaign is accused of conspiring with the Turkish government. FBI agents climbed into Adams's SUV with him and seized his cellphones and an iPad. "The agents approached the mayor on the street and asked his security detail to step away, one of the people said. They climbed into his S.U.V. with him," the NYT reported.

#Trump Effect #government corruption #nyc

[rodwhite]

A meditation to help us face 2024

Are you or your friends scared to face 2024? After everyone finished their reports on the December sicknesses last week, many people went on to report their anxiety about the coming year — for some it was more than anxiety, it was terror. I can see why they feel that way. The Trump effect has created trickle-down lawlessness that makes simply driving one’s car frightening. The decades of partisan…

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#creation #eternity #face #fear #fulfillment #heart #John O&039;Dononue #love #power #soul #Trump effect #truth

[vampirologist]

creatures of horror

pumpkinhead (1988) / brain damage (1988) / alien (1979) / the thing (1981) / possession (1981) / eraserhead (1977) / the fly (1986) / basket case (1982) / beetlejuice (1988)

#feel kind of bad for the basket case one bc of the film itself but visual effects creatures trumps #alien 1979 #the thing 1982 #brain damage 1988 #pumpkinhead 1988 #possession 1981 #eraserhead #the fly 1986 #basket case 1982 #beetlejuice #mine

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Desierto (2015, dir. Jonás Cuarón)

(these gifs also feature Alondra Hidalgo)

[other gael filmography gifsets]

#gael garcía bernal #desierto #ggb filmography gifs #desierto 2015 #gael garcia bernal #this is ultimately a pretty standard thriller of the being-chased-by-an-inexorable-killer type #where the cast is picked off one by one until only the most conventionally physically attractive remain #this is good news for gael's character #on account of being played by gael #i think this one is elevated by the setting both in terms of beauty (it is stunning) and by making effective plot use of it #that apparently meant they were shooting two hours' drive away from the nearest towns with no cellphone reception etc. #which may be why we don't see more films set here #also elevated by the performances which are uniformly good #also elevated by the themes (jeffrey dean morgan's antagonist is targeting migrants crossing the border) #so we're back in the territory explored in documentaries like who is dayani cristal but this time as fictional thriller #this film came out as the trump wall discourse was hotting up and that was naturally something that got talked about in interviews #clever inclusion of antagonist's dog which effectively constrains what the characters could do to get out of the situation #so unlike in many films of this type there isn't a screamingly obvious course of action that they should have taken but unaccountably don't #still it remains a genre film sticking broadly to the conventions of that genre so the plot isn't going to astonish you #i've still avoided giffing the most spoilery moments though #tbh i suspect gael's character is still screwed at the end but then i think that's also the point (see: themes)

[hacash]

that shit you see smeared over Boris Johnson? that’s the droppings of alllll those chickens coming home to roost

#uk politics #between this and the trump trial #I really hope this is the year those bastards start feeling the effects of what they did

[what-the-fuck-khr]

“why won’t Taylor say something about Palestine? she has so much reach!” BECAUSE SHE DOESNT CARE. POLITICS DONT MEAN A THING TO THIS WOMAN UNLESS IT DIRECTLY EFFECTS HER. SHE DOESNT CARE AND SHE DOESNT WANT TO LOSE MONEY. THATS IT!!!! SHE WONT SAY ANYTHING BC SHE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. THE SOONER YALL GRAPPLE WITH THAT THE SOONER WE CAN MOVE THE FUCK ON TO FOCUSING BACK ON PALESTINE AND NOT THE WHAT IFS OF A WOMAN WHO HAS NO MORAL INTEGRITY

#NOW SHUT UP STOP ASKING WHY. ITS BC SHES A BAD PERSON THATS WHY #SHE WONT LOSE MONEY BC SHE LOVES PRIVATE JETS AND BEING A BILLIONAIRE AND DOING FUCK ALL #POLITICS DONT MEAN SQUAT TO HER IF IT DOESNT DIRECTLY EFFECT HER. THATS IT!!! #LIKE ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT #ONLY REASON SHE CALLED TO VOTE BIDEN #IS BC IF TRUMP WON ITD EFFECT HER DIRECTLY AS A WOMAN #THATS THE ONLY REASON SORRY #TAYLOR SWIFT IS NOT A MORALLY UPSTANDING WOMAN #AND ONLY CARES ABOUT WHITE FEMINISM #STOP CRYING BC SHE WONT CALL FOR HELP FOR PALESTINE. SHE NEVER WILL #ooc #Taylor Swift

[allhailthe70shousewife]

The Qult qannot loqate their asses with their own hands.

Good Luq with all that Civil War you are always deqlaring!

#highly effective #maga #q #qult #southern strategy #republicans #trump #gop #gqp

[qqueenofhades]

🎶 Donald Trump is finally about to get charged with treason 🎶 it is a beautiful day in Americaaaaaa 🎶🎵🎶

#hilary for ts #politics for ts #cue me impatiently trying not to look at twitter every 5 seconds to see if they have done it yet #but espionage charges are a) federal b) serious and c) come with LENGTHY prison terms #aka this is not just a relatively minor matter of hush money #(though that likewise had election implications) #this could put trump away for up to 20 years which would be effectively a life sentence #god that would be so nice #robert hanssen (99s fbi spy for the ussr) just croaked so a cell in florence supermax is conveniently available

[odinsblog]

In the darkest chapter of German history, during a time when incited mobs threw stones into the windows of innocent shop owners and women and children were cruelly humiliated in the open; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young pastor, began to speak publicly against the atrocities.

After years of trying to change people’s minds, Bonhoeffer came home one evening and his own father had to tell him that two men were waiting in his room to take him away.

In prison, Bonhoeffer began to reflect on how his country of poets and thinkers had turned into a collective of cowards, crooks and criminals. Eventually he concluded that the root of the problem was not malice, but stupidity.

In his famous letters from prison, Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice, because while “one may protest against evil; it can be exposed and prevented by the use of force, against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here. Reasons fall on deaf ears.”

Facts that contradict a stupid person’s prejudgment simply need not be believed and when they are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this, the stupid person is self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.

For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. If we want to know how to get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its nature.

This much is certain, stupidity is in essence not an intellectual defect but a moral one. There are human beings who are remarkably agile intellectually yet stupid, and others who are intellectually dull yet anything but stupid.

The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or rather, they allow this to happen to them.

People who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals in groups. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem.

It becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power, be it of a political or religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. Almost as if this is a sociological-psychological law where the power of the one needs the stupidity of the other.

The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, such as intellect, suddenly fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence and, more or less consciously, give up an autonomous position.

The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us from the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him.

He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and is abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil – incapable of seeing that it is evil.

Only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then, we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person.

Bonhoeffer died due to his involvement in a plot against Adolf Hitler, at dawn on 9 April 1945 at Flossenbürg concentration camp - just two weeks before soldiers from the United States liberated the camp.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity

#politics #dietrich bonhoeffer #republicans #theory of stupidity #donald trump #dunning kruger effect #pedagogy #stupidity #germany #conspiracy theorists #mob mentality #interesting #ethics

[vsthepomegranate]

Joe Biden lied about seeing Palestinians beheading 40 Israeli infants and four days later a Palestinian American six year old was stabbed 26 times in his own apartment. Under Biden's direction the US vetoed UN Security Council vote calling for an Israeli ceasefire that would allow humanitarian aid, medicine and food into Gaza. Then he visited Israel, embraced Benjamin Netanyahu (who is Israel's Donald Trump, look it up) and co-signed the Israeli lie that Hamas blew up Al Ahli hospital themselves, drafted $100 billion dollar foreign aid package, sent weapons to Israel, and gave the go ahead for a genocide in Gaza.

So, no, we will not be voting for Joe Biden in 2024.

It's very clear that the Democrats are running the Bush 9/11 playbook, i.e. Change the Conversation By Starting A War Based On Lies That Will Kill Millions of Arabs, Sustain That Effort Through Clumsy, Racist (but always effective!) Propaganda, And Endanger Arab And Muslim Americans In The Process.

So Instead of supporting universal healthcare in the midst of a global pandemic, forgiving predatory student loan debt that has hobbled an entire generation of young Americans, safeguarding the Supreme Court or protecting Roe from the decades long relentless attacks from the Right, Joe Biden is going to send billions of dollars to one of the richest countries on the planet to leverage his way back into the white house via manufactured crisis and the fake moral injury of "Fifteen 9/11s." (Someone needs to tell Pop Pop that social media exists and we can see Israelis "at war" partying at the beach, eating sushi and taking duck faced mirror selfies on Tik Tok and Instagram in real time, forty miles away from piles of dead babies...)

So no, we will not be voting for Joe Biden in 2024.

The Democrats have clearly decided that they do not need our votes. And/or the votes of other people of color and/or people under 40 and/or actual leftists across demographics-- who all overwhelmingly support Palestine... And if they think they'll keep working class white votes by playing on their Anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia as they watch the money they were told did not exist for them get funneled to one of the richest countries in the world while they struggle... well, good luck with that habibi.

Now, I can already hear the Neoliberal Hot Take Machine whirring to life with self-righteous posts about how "we" have to prevent Trump or any Republican from taking power in 2024. So I want to say to those folks directly, if you are concerned about the loss of potential votes for Biden in 2024, you should be. But instead of whipping up patronizing posts "explaining how politics work" to people living and dying at the mercy of those politics your energy is much better spent reaching out to the Democrats and letting them know that this is a losing strategy for them in 2024.

And if you doubt that Democrats need the votes of the young/ people of color/ leftists/ white working class people to win the Presidency then you can always ask Hilary Clinton. Just give her a call. She's probably at home.

#Palestine #Gaza #Genocide #Genoxide #Israel #israeli apartheid #Joe Biden #democrats #2024 elections #bloop bloop #neoliberalism #Trump #hilary clinton #Supernatural #qsmp #loki #destiel #us politics #mass effect #one piece #taylor swift #the eras tour #dnd #mcr #wwdits #stranger things #the marvels #noah schnapp

[howldean]

welcome to single-issue voting you’ve come to understand what single-issue voting is

#SHOW ME SOMEONE BETTER THAN BIDEN AND WE WILL TALK. SOMEONE MORE VIABLE. #trump will make things worse. and that does count for something. #and it IS okay to say as a transgender person in the us with strong understanding of how genocide is perpetuated and set up i CAN in fact #effectively say that it is HIGHLY LIKELY that we would reach an extermination stage under trump and instigated by him. #and it is not selfish to say that LESS GENOCIDE IS BETTER THAN MORE GENOCIDE and that trump could damn well make things worse there as well #and has a track record of support for israel and so it DOES matter. it DOES. and refusing to acknowledge that is turning on your peers #and saying that it is wrong to put our mask on first while advocating for our siblings everywhere is not wrong. and it IS how the most #effective activism is sustained and accomplished. we are no use to you dead #and yes. yes it is that scary. i live in fucking california and it is that scary even here. it is not safe and it will get worse #also don’t tell me to kill myself grow the fuck up. and don’t say you speak for all people of color cause you sure as fuck do Not

[palatinewolfsblog]

Salute to Liberty...

#art #watercolor effect #americana #lady liberty #donald trump #45 #4th of july #1776 #2023 #independence day #freedom #liberty #e pluribus unum #god bless the us #viribus unities

[gojoskellington]

If one more goddamn person tells me to vote for Genocide Joe because “we can’t let Trump win” is getting hit with a shovel. Biden is actively funding a genocide, and there are US troops helping murder Palestinians. I don’t know what morals you have, but I sure as fuck know mine won’t allow me to vote for a genocidal fucker.

#also before any white liberal says shit #I am a gay Asian-Hispanic trans man #I am directly affected by both of their policies #you’re only so up in arms about minorities not wanting to vote for a genocidal fuckhead because Trump’s policies will finally effect you #don’t pretend otherwise #joe biden #from the river to the sea Palestine will be free #genocide joe #trump #free palestine

[womanwithahotdogstand]

Megan Rapinoe deserves so much more 🤧 the hate she's getting right now on top of a torn achilles is a Nightmare scenario and everyone's treating it like business as usual

Getting mad at someone for coping with tearing their Achilles 2 minutes into the last game of their 20 year career with a very obvious joke is SO fucking dumb.

But also, hi, even if Megan wasn’t joking and doesn’t believe in G*d — that is her right as a cognitive fully grown adult human being who resides in a country where religious freedom is protected in our country’s constitution.

My genuine question for the people who seem to really care about this:

How does Megan Rapinoe’s relationship, or lack their of, with G*d affect your life in any capacity?

#and the truth is: this doesn’t effect them at all #and deep down they don’t give a fuck #they just hate Megan for telling Donald Trump to go fuck himself and then winning the World Cup in 2019 #or kneeling for Colin in 2015 #ALL the hate Megan gets can be traced back to those two events #megan rapinoe #ol reign #nwsl #uswnt