By now, everyone and their mothers have seen the Daily Show video of Jordan Klepper talking to Trump supporters outside of a rally in Wisconsin (there’s actually two of these, now). It’s pure comedy throughout: Klepper asks supporters simple questions like, “should we respect all religions?; can a woman be president?; should marriage be just between a man and a woman?” And the responses are nothing short of what you’d expect for a comedy show:
“Yes, Christianity, Judaism…”
“What about Islam?”
“No.”
“A woman can’t be president because her hormones will get her all screwed up and she’ll start a war!” (Quoted from an elderly woman)
“Marriage can’t be between a man and a man…they want more and more things than us straight couples do.”
“Don’t they just want to be equal?”
“Well, maybe, but straight couples work so hard…”
“Don’t gay couples, too?”
“…”
Answer after answer was shrouded in logical fallacies, inconsistent ideology, and impeccable irony. I thought to myself, “this must be the worst of the worst. I know some pretty level-headed people who were considering voting for Trump, and they sure aren’t this full of hot air.” I held on to the assumption that the worst of the worst Trump supporters were a myth. I would have a better chance of seeing Wilson’s chin from Home Improvement than I would run into a hyper-fanatic Trump surrogate. But a Facebook engagement that I decided to foolishly engage in on October 5th of 2016 proved me wrong:
My immediate reaction was laughter. I couldn’t believe I was reading comments like this from kids I went to high school with. But once I realized that these are actual thoughts that came from actual human beings that are actually going to vote, my reaction turned sour. I had a truly visceral response of disgust and discomfort. My blood boiled after I saw misogynistic and ill-informed opinions, comment after comment.
Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL (spoiler alert: it was Donald). Watch it, I have a copy I can loan you. It is a testament to how little crap he gives about anyone but himself. And this was in the early 1980s. Why would he have changed since then? His ego has only inflated with reality TV shows like The Apprentice and his ridiculous book (that he didn’t even write) The Art of the Deal. But just like the general public watched that moronic show and read that headache of a book, the knuckleheads in that comment section eat up the shit Donald leaves for them on the ground.
Late that night, my sister texted me after reading the blood bath that I was an idiot for engaging. She was right. I wasn’t going to talk any sense into them. They wouldn’t listen to me. I’m only fueling their fire. It’s no different than when someone fires off on my statuses or article shares with racist memes that add nothing to the dialogue I’m trying to start. Mitch, the guy who posted the original status, is very intelligent and amicable, and I didn’t think he was trying to troll. He was simply stating his opinion. However, he left himself wide open for that comment, and being bored at work, I took my shot. I thought it would start a dialogue and wouldn’t be seen as a personal attack. Mitch understood where I was coming from and what my intentions were (he would later disavow Trump, stating that he doesn’t support anyone in this election and believes we’re doomed either way). Unfortunately, his constituents were not interested in having an intelligent dialogue. They were more amused by using sexist and hateful slurs, posting bigoted memes, and repeating themselves ad infinitum.
Folks, being a Trump supporter doesn’t automatically make you stupid. There are highly educated people who are voting for Trump, and I wouldn't say that they are stupid. You might be one of those few who didn't initially support him, and are reluctantly voting for him to avoid the tyrannical reign of Hillary Clinton. But stop and think about what you are doing and who you are associating yourself with. Think about the values demonstrated by the young men in the comments above. A vote for Trump will put you in the company of people who are:
- Bigoted
- Racist
- Misogynistic
- Homophobic
- Xenophobic
- Close-minded
- Gullible
- Advocates of violence
- Disrespectful
Now tell me, do you want to have to be the person who sticks up for someone like that? I sure as hell wouldn’t. I sure wouldn’t.
