Saturday, January 05, 2019
Friday, January 04, 2019
Adam Troy-Castro to the Anguished Trump Supporter
'An anguished question from a Trump supporter: "Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?"
The serious answer:
Here’s what we really think about Trump supporters - the rich, the poor, the malignant and the innocently well-meaning, the ones who think and the ones who don't...
That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine."
That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, "Okay."
That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem."
That when he made up stories about seeing muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue."
That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you chirped, "He sure knows me."
That when you heard him illustrate his own character by telling that cute story about the elderly guest bleeding on the floor at his country club, the story about how he turned his back and how it was all an imposition on him, you said, "That's cool!"
That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw.
That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, you said, "Well, who has time?"
That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense."
That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!"
That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!"
That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!"
That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be."
That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!"
That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!"
That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense."
That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!"
That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids. has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they’re just “animals” - and you say, “well, ok then.”
That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise.
What you don't get, Trump supporters in 2018, is that succumbing to frustration and thinking of you as stupid may be wrong and unhelpful, but it's also...hear me...charitable.
Because if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.'
-- Adam Troy-Castro
The serious answer:
Here’s what we really think about Trump supporters - the rich, the poor, the malignant and the innocently well-meaning, the ones who think and the ones who don't...
That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine."
That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, "Okay."
That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem."
That when he made up stories about seeing muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue."
That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you chirped, "He sure knows me."
That when you heard him illustrate his own character by telling that cute story about the elderly guest bleeding on the floor at his country club, the story about how he turned his back and how it was all an imposition on him, you said, "That's cool!"
That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw.
That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, you said, "Well, who has time?"
That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense."
That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!"
That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!"
That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!"
That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be."
That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!"
That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!"
That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense."
That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!"
That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids. has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they’re just “animals” - and you say, “well, ok then.”
That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise.
What you don't get, Trump supporters in 2018, is that succumbing to frustration and thinking of you as stupid may be wrong and unhelpful, but it's also...hear me...charitable.
Because if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.'
-- Adam Troy-Castro
Thursday, January 03, 2019
Lunch With Pat
I had a great lunch today with fellow Northwoodser Pat Odum McGregor and caught up on a bit of history. She was active in U of MI's earliest internet development so it's kind of fun that we reconnected via FB. I don't think that was anticipated at the time!
College Education Should Be As Free As High School
Life is more complicated now. My dad could get by with a GED and some trade school but today you need college or an advanced technical school if you want your family to have a good life and our community to benefit from your skills. So why not handle college like high school? Ppl who want to pay extra for private schools, fine, but everyone else should get 4 yrs of college/trade school as part of their future contributions. It would be for the best.
Some have argued with me over this meme (which was composed by someone else.) It may be inaccurate in spots, and certainly some of those countries have unpleasant features - none of which have to do with education. So take such wisdom as ye may.
Day 13 of the Lockout
Wednesday, January 02, 2019
My 3 Small and Achievable Goals for This Month
1. Exercise 30 minutes each day (luckily they have dance at the Y and lots of yoga videos on YouTube)
2. Replace my 5-year-old glasses
3. Scan and recycle every bit of business mail (bills, etc.) - keep none of it as paper (I have automatic cloud backup).
Small and achievable goals build the habit of success. Let's see this done!
2. Replace my 5-year-old glasses
3. Scan and recycle every bit of business mail (bills, etc.) - keep none of it as paper (I have automatic cloud backup).
Small and achievable goals build the habit of success. Let's see this done!
Shutdown Pie
Trying to see how long I can go without buying anything, I'm experimenting with leftovers (just like my parents must have when they were out of work!) Today I learned to make a very nice pie from last week's pineapple and other odd bits. Yay!
Tuesday, January 01, 2019
Sue-Lon Volkssport
For NYD my friends Julie and Hannah suggested I join them + some pals in a 10k walk with the local American Volkssport Association. It's a chance to tour odd bits of West Seattle and meet new people while getting healthy exercise.
We assembled at the high school, filled out a form (an insurance waiver probably) and set out clutching directions but mostly following the orange ribbons in the trees.
After about have a kilometer we were discussing something important - or possibly not - when a speedy walker passed us on the left. This was Sue-Lon Webber, a friend of the family from 1956, who I had not seen in more than a decade!
I made introductions all around and for the next 9.5 miles she told me about her family and I told her about mine, we saw some harbor seals and holiday decorations and in short this was an excellent chance meeting.
The lesson is: go outside, walk around, and be open to what happens!
We assembled at the high school, filled out a form (an insurance waiver probably) and set out clutching directions but mostly following the orange ribbons in the trees.
After about have a kilometer we were discussing something important - or possibly not - when a speedy walker passed us on the left. This was Sue-Lon Webber, a friend of the family from 1956, who I had not seen in more than a decade!
I made introductions all around and for the next 9.5 miles she told me about her family and I told her about mine, we saw some harbor seals and holiday decorations and in short this was an excellent chance meeting.
The lesson is: go outside, walk around, and be open to what happens!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Last Photo Of The Year
I meet another of Carlos' many animal friends. Last photo/first photo of the year.
Carlos Espanoza
When The Year Changed
As of 1:30 pm EST, most of the world's population will be in 2019
https://xkcd.com/2092/
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