Sunday, November 15, 2020

Forgive Trumpsters? Forget It

Now that Joe Biden has won  the 2020 presidential election, I've been hearing a lot from various sources including the president-elect himself about the need for the American people to reunite and let bygones be bygones between the Dems and the Republicans. On one level, I understand--almost sympathize--with Biden in his desire to lead a country in which as he put it there are no red states or blue states,  just the United States.

However, four years of Trump's evil and cruelty which were supported by his bigoted followers and were climaxed by his vicious bid for re-election can't be that readily forgiven and forgotten, which might be the case in the matter of opposing philosophies  between, say, Mitt Romney and former President Obama.  Instead, Trump and his administration's social-economic-political  mindset were products of a twisted a narcissistic sociopath, and his fan base loved every minute of it .

To put it another way, this is not just a case of conservatives vs. liberals.  Many Trump supporters especially those who attended his "red only"rallies and other mass gatherings such as Sturgis are responsible for  the spread of COVID-19 to innocent people, thanks to their callous refusal to observe simple protocols such as masking up. Besides Trump himself, other officials in his administration  are likewise unconcerned for the health and welfare of others. Recall the infamous White House coronavirus sesuperspreader event.  In  a word Trumpsters are dangerous.

During the Trump years  racism and antisemitism have increased significantly in the U.S. thanks  to  his dog whistled  messages signaling encouragement of  violence and hatred  to his followers against minorities.

Then there is the far right and violent Qanon conspiracy theory a belief in which takes a certain kind of gullibility  and outright bigotry to fall for this outlandish delusion . Not surprisingly, it has a large following among Trumpsters, including recently elected Republican members of Congress.  

And  keep in mind the former are not about to give up their beliefs and ideology  even though their Dear Leader lost the election; In fact, the latter itself is a reality which  many of them refuse to accept. just as Trump himself is in denial of that outcome through now. In short,  considering the foregoing, how can there be any reasonable basis for reconciliation between  Trump supporters and real Americans?

 If anything it's the Trumpsters who should make the first move towards reconciliation by waiving the white flag and reaching out for forgiveness. But of course that hasn't happened. And until it does,  they should be shunned accordingly, which BTW is the very least that they  and Trump would likely do to their opponents if he had won.  

I only hope that President Biden doesn't continue  charging at this windmill and instead focuses on rebuilding the country from the socioeconomic and pandemic destruction that Trump and his people have left behind. That's what it will take to  truly make America great again.