"Never thought I’d be caught up in a world that's helpless."
Society is getting coarser. Yes, I partially blame the 45th president.
This week’s soundtrack: Husbandry - “Velvet Noose”
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the effect a second Donald Trump would have on American politics. This week, relatedly, the broader effects of a second Trump presidency
Let’s get the first thing out of the way: There will almost certainly be more stochastic terrorism. That bell will not be unrung whether the big guy wins or not. While Jan. 6 was, in many way, the culmination of the encouragement by Trump, the Tree of Life shooting, the El Paso shooting and other planned attacks certainly could be considered spurred on by him.
This is not a Trump-centric thing, of course; it’s more complicated than simple to blame it all on him. But, as the metaphor goes, the fire is burning and all Trump has is kerosene. As long as he is a public figure, this will continue and may escalate.
I say that it’s not a Trump-centric thing because this has been the way of the world for a while. There is an entire strain of right-wing thought that invokes violence. The guns available in the U.S., the loneliness problem, etc. all are forms of that kerosene. But Trump is also the biggest stoker of that fire and, thus, will not cease to do so if he wins another term in the White House.
I hardly think that politeness is such a virtue that I lament the whole Red Hen mess or get mad when people yell at Biden during the State of the Union; I don’t really care about politeness in the official political arenas. However, I am a believer in the idea that seeing your neighbor as your enemy is a problem and, broadly, there has not been as divisive a force in American politics as the big man. There has not been a public figure with as violent rhetoric as Trump; just this week, he threatened a “bloodbath” if Biden wins in November (he “explained” it as an economic bloodbath, but the people who need to hear it… they heard it). While all politicians use “fight” as a metaphor, very few encourage police to beat those in custody.
Trump recently sent a series of emails about immigration that include a subject line that says simply “Mass Deportations!” and another that starts with “Friend, when we win, we’ll have the LARGEST deportation operation in HISTORY!” However broken the immigration system may be, Trump does not apply any softness to it; it is simply a system of grabbing people and throwing them out of the U.S. This, of course, appeals to people because it is simple, but it is also stupid and does not adhere to law and, of course, has an undercurrent of racist violence. This, of course, is Trump’s effect on society: These “ideas” have become currency in the U.S.
(Again, I hardly think the Democratic presidents who sandwiched Trump have done much humane regarding immigration. Biden has been more humane and has accepted more refugees, but he did not eliminate the various violent and carceral programs put in by Trump; Obama’s DHS was lousy with midnight raids and deportations. The U.S. immigration system is not solely a GOP problem, but Trump, as he does everything, seems to make it worse.)
I don’t think the Joe Rogan elevation came because of Trump’s ascendance, but I do think the two dovetailed because of Trump’s ability to mainstream such numbskullery. Elon Musk is similarly empowered to be an idiot and the disdain for expertise will only get worse if/when Chevron goes down at the Supreme Court (more on that in the next newsletter, the final part of this trilogy).
The COVID-19 era is/was a smörgåsbord of stochastic harm; from the ivermectin mess to the bleach/UV light mess to, well, the whole fight with the most-decorated public health expert in the United States. Ironically, the vaccine fast-track was the bst thing Trump did in office, but his fan club (like Rogan) are all “do my own research” types who think vaccines are bad, so he can’t even tout that.
Again, it’s all very grim. More than anything, there isn’t much we can do about it, both because Trump didn’t originate this era (he did definitely encourage it and fan the flames) nor will it stop if he loses in November. He lost in Nov. 2020 and, you may remember, Jan. 6 happened. He constantly yells about fairness at every corner and his followers bring threats or enact violence.
Broadly, this is more about Trump’s effects on American society than it does about future ones. I don’t think it will get better if he loses the election, but I do think it won’t escalate to the same level. Having the megaphone of the presidency is pure power – I’ll talk about the actual levels of power next week that come with having one’s hands on the steering wheel of the administrative state – and, more importantly, the pure power to encourage stochastic terrorism.
Years ago, Chris Rock said that Bill Clinton was the last “president of everyone” that the U.S. has seen. If I remember correctly, it was during the Bush years. Obama tried to be president of everyone, but racism hurt him in that endeavor. Biden tries, too. But, the bell cannot be unrung. This is what American society is, as much as Biden fancies himself a unifier. It will only get worse with a second Trump presidency.
Lulu Update
The weather here in D.C. has been lovely, so I took Lulu to the National Arboretum over the weekend. She jumped in a river (stream) and got very wet and gross, but I don’t think her drinking the algae-ful water gave her any parasites (fingers crossed, she’s been healthy since we went).
