Wonderful piece. And I write that as a huge Kendrick fan (and as someone who always thought Drake was meh). But empathy, or even sympathy, for MAGA in 2024 is a bridge too far. I agree with Lawrence O’Donnell’s trenchant opening on his Friday show (recommend it if you’ve not seen it) as to why Hope Hicks is undeserving of our feeling that for her.
Thanks, Sue. I know what you mean about a bridge too far. There's something in that approach, though, in the song...I have to let the idea marinate a bit more before I can articulate it.
Interesting. I’m reading and listening at the same time. Haven’t had a radio in ages but there is such a thing as an I Pod or I Phone(in my case)that allows one to do both simultaneously😱. IKR?
Hi Cal. Nice to meet you. I haven’t had an Android phone in years but I’m betting they are pretty competitive with Apple products. I don’t know if you use hearing aids or not, but my phone settings show me that my phone or I pad will pair with hearing aids so your phone probably will too. If so, you can probably amp anything you want to hear through your phone.
I can even watch the 1961 Westside story minus sound and relate to it. My early adaption of body language L saved me few times on the Street where i earned a PhD in STREET.
Thanks. I never got rap and hip hop, frankly I don't give a damn Scarlett. Your piece, however allows me to gain a smidgen of what it's all about. Life expressed through music, albeit the very nasty side of life. Also I now have a headache.
Back to my Rat Pack collection, a Sunday avoiding an extension of everyday fears. Sometimes burying one's head in the sand is therapeutic. God help us if Biden and 45 start rapping.
Well, don't *I* feel old? Thanks for that, Greg! LOL
Isn't hip-hop basically an answer to the need of artists to dis people, things, the police, the "establishment," and each other? It always seemed that way to me. Although not is a hip-hop style (as far as I know) Taylor Swift has been releasing dis tracks for years, usually centering on paramours that ended up disappointing her. We'll see if Travis Kelce is long-standing, or if he's just a future dis track for Taylor.
As far as empathy, understanding, and whatever towards MAGA, no. You haven't figured out a way to do that yet because there is no way to make peace with chaos, and chaos is what they are, and what they want to perpetuate. We have had NINE YEARS -- a full grammar school's worth of education from kindergarten to eighth grade -- to learn, understand, empathize with, try to talk to, and whatever else, trying to live in a society with these people. It's not possible because THEY don't want to live with us. They would rather we didn't even exist, us libtards. You can't compromise with non-compromise, so I have stopped any form of trying. AND why are WE the ones who always have to extend the olive branch? It's been that way for decades, and I, for one, am sick and tired of it. When I hear from them (including members of Congress), "we were wrong, Trump IS an asshole, and unfortunately, we were duped into believing that MAGA was somehow, AMERICAN," then I might start listening and thinking about reconciling. They are the main chaos agent in the US. Whenever there's a mass shooting, I assume it's MAGA. Whenever there's another Nazi inspired politician, OF COURSE they're MAGA. As each day goes by that Congress does NOTHING for the American people, it's MAGA on steroids. What is there to empathize or compromise with? Will they change and "see the light?" Probably not until Trump dies because the ONLY good thing about MAGA is that their (bowel) movement is so disorganized and illegitimate, that without Trump, they will fall apart.
Yes, Steve, it is hard to have empathy for a group that is so steeped in victim mentality. I had to go to the post office yesterday to mail back my mother's "Medical Guardian" button. It took 45 minutes to complete this seemingly simple task. There was only one postal employee to help all of the customers. A man in line behind me was complaining and sighing and making the situation so much worse. He commented "maybe when Biden is out of office this will improve". I try to keep to myself in such situations but I just had to say something. With Louis DeJoy in mind, I said, "this did not happen under Biden, this happened under Trump!" Then it was my turn to be helped and I went to the window shaking. Enraged at the simpleton thinking that Biden created this situation when the Republicans have been trying to burn down the Federal Government on all levels for so many years! After I left, I realized this started almost 20 years ago with "Dubbya" when he signed the " Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA)" in 2006. Most people do not realize that the President cannot fire the Postmaster General. Only the Postal Board of Governors can replace the Postmaster General. Another example of how the right wing plays the long game.
That sort of altercation is so upsetting because after it happens, I, being an empathic person, worry that I overstepped or made a scene or embarrassed myself or whatever. I don't like conflict. But sometimes, as you said, it has to be done, and that was one of times. Screw that guy.
USPS also has to fund its pension in the moment, and can't raise the price of stamps, which is why it's in the red all the time. Fake numbers, engineered by the GOP so it will fail and they can privatize it. Disgraceful.
Yes, I felt bad in a way. What right do I have to tell anyone else what they should believe? But I also feel like if I have the information that I should be telling other people. I’m so angry about what’s been done, not just to the Postal Service, but to the employees of the Postal Service. They are human beings with families and they are being treated so poorly. And the uniformed public is blaming everything on them. A real win for the chaos agents :(
Thank you for mentioning 2006. The Repub Congress then was as insane as this one. They were the ones who required the USPS to fund retirees for 75 years in the future. (People not born at the time.). It was just another step in the effort to privatize the PO. Nobody mentions that anymore. Just bitch about the costs. The PO should be considered a public utility, not a money-making agency.
The arrogance of the GOP shines through with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. It was signed during a lame duck session and will continue doing damage for so many years to come. Unfortunately, most people do not link today's problems with the passage of this act. I agree that the Post Office should be a public utility - great idea, Jeri!
I feel like this comment could be the beginning of some excellent rap lyrics, Steve.
But seriously, I agree about extending the olive branch and etc. They are obdurate, for sure, and there's no connecting with them most of the time. There is something to Lamar's approach, though. I haven't figured it out yet, but it hit me when I listened to it, that he was onto something. I will let it marinate.
At any time during Trump's term, a handful of senators like Romney, Flake, Sasse, and one or two more could have held a press conference, denounced Trump, and spilled the tea on how dangerous he is. That would have had some effect. Instead they ran away, the cowards. Complicit, the lot of them.
It seems to me that when debating things American, there really is no seat at the table for bigots, autocrats, lies, etc.(ie. MAGA), as such things have no place from a compromise perspective but to point out that they are antithetical to things American.
Relatedly, Neil Young (demonstrating empathy or not) wrote and sang about bigotry, social injustice, etc. — didn’t he? He was pointing out injustice — a proper thing to do. On the other hand, the Skynard song expresses defensiveness (a cover of for what would seem shameful acts of militant intolerance and bigotry) — doesn’t it?
IMO, it is a serious digression to try to display an equivalence between that Young/Skynard exchange and the baseless tit-for-tat of that weak-assed hipping & hopping street cred spat — pretty much as out of bounds as MAGA — isn’t it..?
Brilliant analysis of Disrespect. Kendrick Lamar’s use of empathy and compassion in “Meet the Grahams” is a way to say “I see you and here’s what I see” without being confrontational. I know Tupac was many things, not all of them good, but he was a very talented musician and story-teller. He was also very young and had lived a life full of trauma. The theme of this past week, for me, has been Kindness vs. Cruelty. I am at the point where I have had it up to my eyeballs with cruelty and I’m not going to take it anymore. Like I’m over the edge with it. Done. This has been my attitude forever but something changed this week. Something snapped and I am reacting with anger. Anger that so many people are choosing cruelty over kindness. I had a situation with an acquaintance on facebook. I do not post anything personal about myself or my family on facebook. I mainly use it to vent my frustration about politics and to repost cool pictures of nature. I made a decision to post something very personal about myself and it was very scary for me to do so. All of the reactions were very positive except one. One person chose to make a degrading comment. It was a conscious choice to zing me. This person has a history of being the opposite of supportive but the way it was presented really pissed me off. Complete and total anger. For about 5 minutes. Then I thanked him for being so nice (with complete sarcasm). I could have ignored his comment but I am hoping he will think about it next time he chooses to be cruel - bully's shrink when you call them out. Vengeance is a very difficult thing to let go of once it starts to build. I have let go of the anger, and I am done with this person, but the cruelty has to stop. It is antithetical to the kind of world we should be building. I am also speaking to the MAGA world of cruelty. Prime example being Kristi Noem’s choice to murder her puppy (14 months is still a baby). And then trying to change/justify her story. Disgusting!
My problem is that I default to thinking that all conflict with the other side is inherently cruel...me being mean, or inconsiderate, etc. But it's not. Standing up to cruelty is not itself cruel.
Facebook, I don't post anything on there, mostly because I don't want to have to engage with the comments.
As to Kristi, I’d send her a copy of the new book “Dogland,” if she were human. The review I just read can bring tears. But she has so few human characteristics that it would be a waste. I have always thought that chump’s modus operandi has been cruelty. True of most bullies. I’m so ashamed for so many that I expected so much more of…
I’m too old to get hip hop, but you mentioned one dis track within my awareness. I’ve wondered about the reference to Neil Young in Sweet Home Alabama, and I appreciate the background I never bothered to investigate. I like the way you ended this piece, about conquering our need for revenge by owning our complicity in the vicious cycle.
Thanks, Earl. It is, I think, the real meaning of the "turn the other cheek" parable. The only thing we can control is our own behavior, our own mindset.
One of all-time great major motion picture dis tracks is that of Warren Beatty rapping in 1998’s “Bulworth.” https://youtu.be/Id0cqNWZ50Y?si=sscwJs14Ijt7Na5l Totally relevant today, 26 years later.
Boy, do I miss a big slice of life. I deliberately avoid so much, since the floodwaters seem to slosh around my neck in my “normal” life. You are so astute, whether writing about the arts, the political, the social or the “religious.” Everything you write challenges me to learn something new, rethink what I thought I knew, mull possibilities never entertained before. Education, therapy, and sometimes a “sermon,” all at a bargain price. Thanks for this blast from left field that could have lessions for more than the rap crowd.
Thanks for bringing me up to date on the Hip Hop dis track battles going on in the pop culture that I would have otherwise missed. Until I read this, the only dis tracks I was aware of were the Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes, which were not that far removed from the polarized political battles we've been having with MAGAs. Those and, of course, Frank Zappa's great dis tracks, like 'Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk", "Heavenly Bank Account", "Lonesome Cowboy Bert (Swaggart Version)", or one you might know, "Montana"! They are all great and hysterical! But, Lamar does take an interesting detour from his typical dis tracks and then he reverts back. I guess it is hard to keep 'turning one's cheek' for too long! I sympathize with much of what Steve is feeling and I agree with Gail that it is hard to have empathy or sympathy for a group that is so steeped in victim mentality. And that is the rub with MAGA for me. Instead of ever admitting when they are wrong, they just hunker down and flip into this victim posture, when so often they are the ones victimizing others. So, you end up in a one-way conversation, at best; or being thrown back into either a defensive posture, which is undeserved, or then going on offense, which just prolongs the conflict or even intensifies it. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. Their reactions seem disingenuous and manipulative to me. Are they aware of what they're doing? Or, is this grievance based-victim mentality just so much a part of their psychological make up that they are not even aware of it? I don't know and, perhaps, it varies from person to person, etc. I always try to have compassion for people and treat them with kindness, but one's patience is tried when that is returned with personal attacks and/or false accusations. The constant victim-blaming/'playing the victim' they engage in is, in essence, a DARVO tactic (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Oppressor), whether they are aware of it or not. Perhaps that is why they are so vulnerable to Russian propaganda/information warfare, because that is the tactic they also employ, very deliberately. There still might be something to Lamar's unconventional dis track approach. Maybe I'll let the idea marinate a bit longer, too.
I think they are stuck in the victim mentality loop. But I still have hope. Some former MAGA have changed their thinking albeit through extreme circumstances.
Not what I was expecting in the Sunday Pages but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what was going on with Drake and Lamar.
I am very far afield, for sure...but this has been dominating the pop culture the last 48 hours, so I wanted to delve.
Will make me feel less clueless around my HS'ers tomorrow...fascinating deep dive.
From what I gather, this was quite the event this weekend. Will be interesting to see if anyone there talks about it...
Wonderful piece. And I write that as a huge Kendrick fan (and as someone who always thought Drake was meh). But empathy, or even sympathy, for MAGA in 2024 is a bridge too far. I agree with Lawrence O’Donnell’s trenchant opening on his Friday show (recommend it if you’ve not seen it) as to why Hope Hicks is undeserving of our feeling that for her.
Her crocodile tears don’t fool me 😎
She's a double traitor. First she sold out her country, now she sold out Trump. I'm glad about the former, but it still makes her a turncoat.
Traitors can’t be trusted.
Lucian Truscott has column on Hicks
I really enjoy his columns, which you turned me on to, Cal.
Thanks, Sue. I know what you mean about a bridge too far. There's something in that approach, though, in the song...I have to let the idea marinate a bit more before I can articulate it.
Look forward to your articulating it.
We have come a long way from the 1961
WESTSIDE STORY.
Hell, I'd like to think we've come a long way from Shakespeare.
But maybe not.
Agree
I’m listening to my wonderful HANS ZIMMER playlist right now; Interstellar in particular.
Who dat?
Im musically ignorant.
Turned the radio off in 1954. Mostly read books.
Watch dvds only with captions. No tv for almost 6 years.
Interesting. I’m reading and listening at the same time. Haven’t had a radio in ages but there is such a thing as an I Pod or I Phone(in my case)that allows one to do both simultaneously😱. IKR?
Thanks but I'm virtually deaf.
And always had s hearing impairment.
I hsve a
Android Samsung Fold 4.
I read on it probably 8 hours or more a day. Lately i bougjt some books by Fredrick Tuten. among other reading materials.
Cal Lash from his Motorhome somewhere in the Great Sonoran Desert.
Hi Cal. Nice to meet you. I haven’t had an Android phone in years but I’m betting they are pretty competitive with Apple products. I don’t know if you use hearing aids or not, but my phone settings show me that my phone or I pad will pair with hearing aids so your phone probably will too. If so, you can probably amp anything you want to hear through your phone.
Yep they pair.
but i dont do it.
I miss my Brick Phone.
The only apple i do. Is fruit.
He's terrific.
Everywhere grime in America
Organized crime in America
Terrible time in America
Crime.
Besides Mein Kampf you think Donald replays the GodFather and Sopranos
I do. He's a sucker for images.
But Vito Genovese was no clown.
Wow, Greg cool scribbling.
In the 70's working the street i now know what i heard in predominately black projects was Dis.
Seems it got big in the 80's. Particulary in Rap. However its first orgin appears in Greek mythology as a prefix.
Like Disrespect.
Im not sure that the murders and violence are only about being Disrespected but likely are also about organized crime.
"Jump the Shark"
So tonight i will slip the Jets and Sharks 1961 rumble into my dvd machine.
I think the plot of West Side Story is better than that of Romeo & Juliet. The subtle differences work better.
Yep. Being old i prefer the 1961 version.
I can even watch the 1961 Westside story minus sound and relate to it. My early adaption of body language L saved me few times on the Street where i earned a PhD in STREET.
Greg
Thanks. I never got rap and hip hop, frankly I don't give a damn Scarlett. Your piece, however allows me to gain a smidgen of what it's all about. Life expressed through music, albeit the very nasty side of life. Also I now have a headache.
Back to my Rat Pack collection, a Sunday avoiding an extension of everyday fears. Sometimes burying one's head in the sand is therapeutic. God help us if Biden and 45 start rapping.
It's not my favorite genre either, but as with any music, when it's good, it's good.
Joe rapping would be like when Nixon said "Sock it to me," but way cringier...
Sock it to me, forgot that one lol
Well, don't *I* feel old? Thanks for that, Greg! LOL
Isn't hip-hop basically an answer to the need of artists to dis people, things, the police, the "establishment," and each other? It always seemed that way to me. Although not is a hip-hop style (as far as I know) Taylor Swift has been releasing dis tracks for years, usually centering on paramours that ended up disappointing her. We'll see if Travis Kelce is long-standing, or if he's just a future dis track for Taylor.
As far as empathy, understanding, and whatever towards MAGA, no. You haven't figured out a way to do that yet because there is no way to make peace with chaos, and chaos is what they are, and what they want to perpetuate. We have had NINE YEARS -- a full grammar school's worth of education from kindergarten to eighth grade -- to learn, understand, empathize with, try to talk to, and whatever else, trying to live in a society with these people. It's not possible because THEY don't want to live with us. They would rather we didn't even exist, us libtards. You can't compromise with non-compromise, so I have stopped any form of trying. AND why are WE the ones who always have to extend the olive branch? It's been that way for decades, and I, for one, am sick and tired of it. When I hear from them (including members of Congress), "we were wrong, Trump IS an asshole, and unfortunately, we were duped into believing that MAGA was somehow, AMERICAN," then I might start listening and thinking about reconciling. They are the main chaos agent in the US. Whenever there's a mass shooting, I assume it's MAGA. Whenever there's another Nazi inspired politician, OF COURSE they're MAGA. As each day goes by that Congress does NOTHING for the American people, it's MAGA on steroids. What is there to empathize or compromise with? Will they change and "see the light?" Probably not until Trump dies because the ONLY good thing about MAGA is that their (bowel) movement is so disorganized and illegitimate, that without Trump, they will fall apart.
Yes, Steve, it is hard to have empathy for a group that is so steeped in victim mentality. I had to go to the post office yesterday to mail back my mother's "Medical Guardian" button. It took 45 minutes to complete this seemingly simple task. There was only one postal employee to help all of the customers. A man in line behind me was complaining and sighing and making the situation so much worse. He commented "maybe when Biden is out of office this will improve". I try to keep to myself in such situations but I just had to say something. With Louis DeJoy in mind, I said, "this did not happen under Biden, this happened under Trump!" Then it was my turn to be helped and I went to the window shaking. Enraged at the simpleton thinking that Biden created this situation when the Republicans have been trying to burn down the Federal Government on all levels for so many years! After I left, I realized this started almost 20 years ago with "Dubbya" when he signed the " Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA)" in 2006. Most people do not realize that the President cannot fire the Postmaster General. Only the Postal Board of Governors can replace the Postmaster General. Another example of how the right wing plays the long game.
That sort of altercation is so upsetting because after it happens, I, being an empathic person, worry that I overstepped or made a scene or embarrassed myself or whatever. I don't like conflict. But sometimes, as you said, it has to be done, and that was one of times. Screw that guy.
USPS also has to fund its pension in the moment, and can't raise the price of stamps, which is why it's in the red all the time. Fake numbers, engineered by the GOP so it will fail and they can privatize it. Disgraceful.
Yes, I felt bad in a way. What right do I have to tell anyone else what they should believe? But I also feel like if I have the information that I should be telling other people. I’m so angry about what’s been done, not just to the Postal Service, but to the employees of the Postal Service. They are human beings with families and they are being treated so poorly. And the uniformed public is blaming everything on them. A real win for the chaos agents :(
Thank you for mentioning 2006. The Repub Congress then was as insane as this one. They were the ones who required the USPS to fund retirees for 75 years in the future. (People not born at the time.). It was just another step in the effort to privatize the PO. Nobody mentions that anymore. Just bitch about the costs. The PO should be considered a public utility, not a money-making agency.
The arrogance of the GOP shines through with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. It was signed during a lame duck session and will continue doing damage for so many years to come. Unfortunately, most people do not link today's problems with the passage of this act. I agree that the Post Office should be a public utility - great idea, Jeri!
I feel like this comment could be the beginning of some excellent rap lyrics, Steve.
But seriously, I agree about extending the olive branch and etc. They are obdurate, for sure, and there's no connecting with them most of the time. There is something to Lamar's approach, though. I haven't figured it out yet, but it hit me when I listened to it, that he was onto something. I will let it marinate.
At any time during Trump's term, a handful of senators like Romney, Flake, Sasse, and one or two more could have held a press conference, denounced Trump, and spilled the tea on how dangerous he is. That would have had some effect. Instead they ran away, the cowards. Complicit, the lot of them.
Repubs who could have made a difference, ran, save two.
It seems to me that when debating things American, there really is no seat at the table for bigots, autocrats, lies, etc.(ie. MAGA), as such things have no place from a compromise perspective but to point out that they are antithetical to things American.
Relatedly, Neil Young (demonstrating empathy or not) wrote and sang about bigotry, social injustice, etc. — didn’t he? He was pointing out injustice — a proper thing to do. On the other hand, the Skynard song expresses defensiveness (a cover of for what would seem shameful acts of militant intolerance and bigotry) — doesn’t it?
IMO, it is a serious digression to try to display an equivalence between that Young/Skynard exchange and the baseless tit-for-tat of that weak-assed hipping & hopping street cred spat — pretty much as out of bounds as MAGA — isn’t it..?
Brilliant analysis of Disrespect. Kendrick Lamar’s use of empathy and compassion in “Meet the Grahams” is a way to say “I see you and here’s what I see” without being confrontational. I know Tupac was many things, not all of them good, but he was a very talented musician and story-teller. He was also very young and had lived a life full of trauma. The theme of this past week, for me, has been Kindness vs. Cruelty. I am at the point where I have had it up to my eyeballs with cruelty and I’m not going to take it anymore. Like I’m over the edge with it. Done. This has been my attitude forever but something changed this week. Something snapped and I am reacting with anger. Anger that so many people are choosing cruelty over kindness. I had a situation with an acquaintance on facebook. I do not post anything personal about myself or my family on facebook. I mainly use it to vent my frustration about politics and to repost cool pictures of nature. I made a decision to post something very personal about myself and it was very scary for me to do so. All of the reactions were very positive except one. One person chose to make a degrading comment. It was a conscious choice to zing me. This person has a history of being the opposite of supportive but the way it was presented really pissed me off. Complete and total anger. For about 5 minutes. Then I thanked him for being so nice (with complete sarcasm). I could have ignored his comment but I am hoping he will think about it next time he chooses to be cruel - bully's shrink when you call them out. Vengeance is a very difficult thing to let go of once it starts to build. I have let go of the anger, and I am done with this person, but the cruelty has to stop. It is antithetical to the kind of world we should be building. I am also speaking to the MAGA world of cruelty. Prime example being Kristi Noem’s choice to murder her puppy (14 months is still a baby). And then trying to change/justify her story. Disgusting!
My problem is that I default to thinking that all conflict with the other side is inherently cruel...me being mean, or inconsiderate, etc. But it's not. Standing up to cruelty is not itself cruel.
Facebook, I don't post anything on there, mostly because I don't want to have to engage with the comments.
As to Kristi, I’d send her a copy of the new book “Dogland,” if she were human. The review I just read can bring tears. But she has so few human characteristics that it would be a waste. I have always thought that chump’s modus operandi has been cruelty. True of most bullies. I’m so ashamed for so many that I expected so much more of…
Probably why I prefer instrumentals. I can’t stand vengeful music. Too much of that crap going around as it is.
I’m too old to get hip hop, but you mentioned one dis track within my awareness. I’ve wondered about the reference to Neil Young in Sweet Home Alabama, and I appreciate the background I never bothered to investigate. I like the way you ended this piece, about conquering our need for revenge by owning our complicity in the vicious cycle.
Thanks, Earl. It is, I think, the real meaning of the "turn the other cheek" parable. The only thing we can control is our own behavior, our own mindset.
Dis was a dood ‘un. Part of Bill’s continuing education. Thanks for the memories…billserle.com
Thanks, Bill.
One of all-time great major motion picture dis tracks is that of Warren Beatty rapping in 1998’s “Bulworth.” https://youtu.be/Id0cqNWZ50Y?si=sscwJs14Ijt7Na5l Totally relevant today, 26 years later.
An underrated movie, that. Thanks, John!
Boy, do I miss a big slice of life. I deliberately avoid so much, since the floodwaters seem to slosh around my neck in my “normal” life. You are so astute, whether writing about the arts, the political, the social or the “religious.” Everything you write challenges me to learn something new, rethink what I thought I knew, mull possibilities never entertained before. Education, therapy, and sometimes a “sermon,” all at a bargain price. Thanks for this blast from left field that could have lessions for more than the rap crowd.
Thanks for bringing me up to date on the Hip Hop dis track battles going on in the pop culture that I would have otherwise missed. Until I read this, the only dis tracks I was aware of were the Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes, which were not that far removed from the polarized political battles we've been having with MAGAs. Those and, of course, Frank Zappa's great dis tracks, like 'Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk", "Heavenly Bank Account", "Lonesome Cowboy Bert (Swaggart Version)", or one you might know, "Montana"! They are all great and hysterical! But, Lamar does take an interesting detour from his typical dis tracks and then he reverts back. I guess it is hard to keep 'turning one's cheek' for too long! I sympathize with much of what Steve is feeling and I agree with Gail that it is hard to have empathy or sympathy for a group that is so steeped in victim mentality. And that is the rub with MAGA for me. Instead of ever admitting when they are wrong, they just hunker down and flip into this victim posture, when so often they are the ones victimizing others. So, you end up in a one-way conversation, at best; or being thrown back into either a defensive posture, which is undeserved, or then going on offense, which just prolongs the conflict or even intensifies it. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. Their reactions seem disingenuous and manipulative to me. Are they aware of what they're doing? Or, is this grievance based-victim mentality just so much a part of their psychological make up that they are not even aware of it? I don't know and, perhaps, it varies from person to person, etc. I always try to have compassion for people and treat them with kindness, but one's patience is tried when that is returned with personal attacks and/or false accusations. The constant victim-blaming/'playing the victim' they engage in is, in essence, a DARVO tactic (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Oppressor), whether they are aware of it or not. Perhaps that is why they are so vulnerable to Russian propaganda/information warfare, because that is the tactic they also employ, very deliberately. There still might be something to Lamar's unconventional dis track approach. Maybe I'll let the idea marinate a bit longer, too.
I think they are stuck in the victim mentality loop. But I still have hope. Some former MAGA have changed their thinking albeit through extreme circumstances.
NOTE: my favorite Crazy Aussie,
Caitlin Johnstone jus threw up a big diatribe that shes not a psychopath?