I went to high school. You probably did too. There were bullies. Who seemed to pick on you for no reason. And they had a coterie of cronies who if they didn't cheer them on, stayed silent in mute acknowledgement of their behavior. But as the years passed and students aged the bullies receded into the background, they were ostracized, seen as brutes.
And this was back in the sixties, never mind today, with all the heightened consciousness over the issue.
I didn't watch the Oscars. My streak ended about a decade ago, when I was traveling and couldn't. And I've never resumed the habit.
Thinking about it, I wondered what the ratings for the younger demographics were. Because the show touches none of their buttons. It's too long about movies they haven't seen with variety elements that haven't worked on television since the seventies, if not the sixties.
But I did read about the show.
That's how you keep up today. You're on your own personal hejira. There used to be FOMO. That's gone, despite all the social media posters trying to tell us their lives are better than ours, despite the fact that beneath the skin they're insecure, otherwise why would they be posting this stuff?
So you choose how to spend your time, and you graze and catch up on the activities you're interested in in the news thereafter.
Like Mikaela Shiffrin coming back from injury and immediately winning. Used to be I'd tape the races. The results weren't available otherwise. But now, unless you stay up/wake up in the middle of the night to watch the runs you find out the results immediately upon waking, and I don't bother to watch the telecast. I might go on YouTube and see the winning run, but otherwise it's a bad use of my time.
But I do read the results.
And I do read who won Oscars and some reviews, to get a feel for the show.
And the snubs and surprises... They don't matter much to me, especially after seemingly every outlet did a feature on who should have won in the past and didn't.
But Jimmy Kimmel responding to Trump's comment on Truth Social...
You don't mess with someone who has a big audience. Despite shrinking, the audience is far greater for the Oscars and its fallout than Trump's comments on the rinky-dink Truth Social.
So Trump didn't like Kimmel and the show. But talking about George Stephanopolous's height? George had no control over that. Just like Trump had no control over the fact that he lost his hair. Then again, unlike Robert Reich, who owns his short stature, Trump tries to cover up his baldness. Just like a high school bully, who can show no vulnerability, their whole demeanor is one of impenetrability, until they find that everybody has abandoned them, because what we end up being attracted to most is vulnerability.
And in a speech before that, Trump made fun of Biden's stutter.
Now this is not about pronouns. This is not about politically correct leftism. This is about a modern society where we accept each other and treat each other as equal.
Trump seems categorically unable to do this.
Now in 2016, I must admit, I found Trump calling Warren, who I supported, "Pocahontas." He was poking fun, breaking taboos, and pointing up an issue that deserved study, i.e. Warren's Native American roots, or lack thereof.
I've got to admit, in 2016, Trump was a breath of fresh air. In that hoity-toity Washington was finally brought into the modern era, where people swore, where we had a much more fluid society.
But that was then and this is now.
Trump was a two-dimensional TV star. A revelation to many, especially compared to Hillary Clinton.
But that was eight years ago.
Who is Trump appealing to by these endless diminishments? It's one thing to hate the libs, its quite another to denigrate their physical characteristics.
We're all flawed. And some are unnaturally tall and others unnaturally short. We have physical disabilities, sometimes minor, but sometimes evident. And we have imperfect family members who we will not let anybody make fun of. And then this tyrant comes along and excoriates people willy-nilly?
I mean how many people qualify as good under Trump's rules? It looks like it's only him. Go against him and you're toast. Whether it be Nikki Haley or Liz Cheney. He demands total fealty.
But everybody knows, or should know, that the only way you neutralize a bully is by standing up to them. But everybody in the Trump, er, Republican, Party is afraid of him. Where does this work?
Well, in authoritarian societies.
But we're not there yet.
No one has the balls to blow the whistle on this guy. I mean in high school at least you have the administration as a last resort. But in this case, Trump lords his b.s. over us with impunity.
Sure, there are ignorant acolytes who will accept everything Trump does and defend him. Just like the circle of friends surrounding the bully.
But come on, if you were bullied you know it was only a matter of time before someone broke ranks, came up to you and if they didn't exactly apologize, they acknowledged that the bully was out of line.
Trump is on a scorched-earth mission. Who is this appealing to other than the diehards, who are not enough in number to gain victory?
This is the way it always happens. The bully drives themself into a corner, where they end up being defensive after realizing they've lost support.
I mean if you're one of the few undecided who will decide this election... Trump is making it very hard to vote for him. Sure, people tend to vote their pocketbook, there are certain issues that appeal to them, but most people have a problem holding their nose and voting for someone who is a pariah, which is what Trump is, and it's getting worse every day.
Trump can't read the room. Well, maybe the room of his speech attendees, but the public at large, which he needs to get elected? His ugly statements are amplified, and the rest of us are horrified.
Because we were brought up in a society where we knew this was taboo.
It makes Trump appear even more isolated. I mean where did you grow up, under what circumstances, that you could get away with this? It makes Trump look like the isolated elite his followers rail against. Someone who believes they're above the law, can act with impunity.
I don't buy that people love Trump more because he's been indicted, because of his legal problems. Like a mother standing up for her son, many will defend Trump no matter what. But not most.
And if this guy can't read the populace, how can he navigate the world? How can he deal with China, Russia, any complex situation where nuance is key in negotiation.
Eventually bullies are isolated and diminished.
But Trump believes he can use the bully pulpit and the legal system to stand up to anyone.
Kind of like the tax cheats who are stunned when they poke their head into public affairs and are revealed to be such, like Trump himself.
Trump may defeat himself.
It certainly looks like that.
He's self-immolating. One winces constantly at his behavior.
This is not a winning strategy.
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