Hi Z,
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It’s been awhile. I hope you are feeling better and recovering from your surgery. Trump certainly has added insult to your injury. I would understand if you decided to tune out the unrelenting hideous Trump news and focus only on healing.
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I am hearing more and more commentators on MSNBC talk about Trump’s narcissism when they address his self-centered response to the MAGA bomber. It is true as far as it goes. However, Trump is not a garden variety narcissist.
His narcissism is so extreme that it overrides any awareness that this is a time to at least pretend to be presidential. His sarcastic dog whistles at his rallies showing his supporters he doesn’t mean what he reads off a teleprompter are proof of this.
Just this morning, when asked by reporters for his response to the Squirrel Hill synagogue murders his rambling unscripted answers show a lack of empathy. He focused on how he thought having an armed guard inside the temple could have prevented any deaths, and how we should have the death penalty for such crimes. He refused to answer questions about gun control and the NRA.
I am sure that what was on Trump’s mind was that he again lost control of a news cycle, and that coverage of this was going to be linked to his inciting his followers to act violently.
Wikipedia explains that “a notable difference between “narcissists” and “malignant narcissists” is the "feature of sadism, or the gratuitous enjoyment of the pain of others. A narcissist will deliberately damage other people in pursuit of their own selfish desires, but may regret and will in some circumstances show remorse for doing so, while a malignant narcissist will harm others and enjoy doing so, showing little empathy or regret for the damage they have caused.”
Malignant is one of the most frightening words many of us have ever heard. It usually refers to cancer which has spread and may be life-threatening. When the preface malignant is applied to the word narcissism it describes Donald Trump.
There is a big support group here since the place I live in is about 95% anti-Trump. Even the most of the old-school Republicans are anti-Trump and scared about where he's taking the country.
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Not all of the Republicans are against Trump, however.
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Ugh!
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I couldn’t let this go without trying to get her to enlighten me as to why she thought the way she did. I generally don’t bring up politics with the two other women I know who are pro-Trump. I often talk to them about other things. At the coffee shop if I am sitting alone they come sit with me. We know each other’s politics and still enjoy our relationships. For some reason, perhaps due to Trump’s malevolent outrages this week, this new woman pushed me over the edge and I felt the need to express my feelings.
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Instead of getting into Trump’s political positions I asked how she could admire a president who was so undignified and could have said such insulting things about women. She shrugged. Then when I asked, she professed not to have heard about the Access Hollywood tape and said all the negative reporting about him was fake news. She only watched Fox News and was totally brainwashed.
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Meanwhile my good friend B. was sitting across from me and she started kicking my ankles harder and harder. I finally got the message not to escalate the argument. I could feel my heart rate increasing. I then shut up and talked about the lovely view from our brand new resident restaurant.
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Anyway, we both are so lucky to live in liberal enclaves in blue states, me in Portland, Oregon, and you in Berkeley, California. Although there are rightwing sections like eastern Oregon and Orange County, California (
which may swing Dem this year), the states go mostly Democratic. I just saw
a headline that the San Francisco 49ers football cheerleaders took a knee in protest which actually prompted this belated email even though neither of us are football fans. It got me to thinking about how fortunate we both are to live in such progressive parts of the country and, for you, where even the cheerleaders for the pro-football team are taking a stand by taking a knee.
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I
am worried about our provessive governor, Kate Brown who is running this year. I have a friend (my nextdoor neighbor) who is friends with her and was invited to her "victory" party but she's 80 and recently broke her ankle, so that would be a hassle. She's coming to my little election watching party for single residents instead.
I wrote about Kate Brown and my worries here.
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I didn't want to watch the election returns come in by myself and know others who feel the same way so asked some friends most of whom are widows or widowers to come over.
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I hope Tuesday night will be a celebration not a wake.
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All my best,
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Hal