My lunch with a trumper: It's real

[lindysalsagal]

I admit I avoid them so this is all new to me. The guy (among a group of others who didn't seem to be trumpers,) actually went there.

Started saying all dictators are better because they keep the peace. All societies are safer and more just because the dictators are in charge.

Holy crap . The guy was ex-US military! Pissing and whining that we've closed bases and reduced the size of the military.

The orange gangster has convinced them that democracy is bad. It made my blood run cold.

I got up and left without another word. In my car I see him approaching me in the parking lot, he knocks on my car window!

I just kept backing up and turned to leave. I didn't even slow down. He stood there watching me pull away, refusing to listen to him.

I have no idea what he wanted to say, but I don't care. Made my blood run cold. It's real.

[Karadeniz]

1. Perfect reaction...pointless to engage.

[EYESORE 9001]

18. 'Do not engage' is my new mantra

It started back during the dark days of COVID-19 when I encountered a MAGAt in the requisite red hat who noticed my cap with the name of a ship on which I served in the Navy.

‘Thank you for your service,’ he said, to which I replied, ‘fuck off, traitor.’ There was no response, but it got me thinking I could’ve put my life at risk. I was on edge from everything going on, and it occurred that the person I insult could be having an even worse day and then act impulsively. Bad news if it involves a firearm.

[randr]

2. You/We must confront them

Even if all we say is "go preach to the soldiers in the cemeteries!"

[lindysalsagal]

5. The guy was twice my size and chasing me in a parking lot. I doubt there are any words that would reach him.

I wanted to get home safe and avoid an altercation, which could have happened if I hadn't just left. Because, who knows if the police are trumpers, too?

[randr]

6. Point well taken

[Hekate]

7. It's often unsafe for a woman to "confront" an angry male. He *followed* her, so *he* wanted confrontation.

To hell with that — she kept driving and got out of there.

[lindysalsagal]

11. Thank you. I got up and left without another word. I never confronted him.

Not really wanting to become the subject of a police report or news article.

[Hekate]

16. You did the right thing in a scary situation. I hope you never see him again.

[RAB910]

3. Next time, ask him how going dictator worked out for 1930s Germany and Italy

Ask him why Russia is worse under Putin's dictatorship

As for being a vet, always remember that Benedict Arnold was a war veteran before he betrayed his country

[DFW]

12. To Trumpanzees, Hitler and Mussolini worked out just fine

Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany were just wonderful until we pesky allies came along and messed things all up.

As a teenager, I used to live for a while in Franco’s fascist Spain, and for every citizen yearning for the end of the dictatorship, there was another who was dreading it.

[SoFlaBro]

15. Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Gadaffi, Idi Ami, Hirahito, Duvalier, Slobodan, ...

[DFW]

19. Not to mention:

Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Chávez, Ulbricht, Ceaușescu, Zhivkov, Hoxha, and a lot of etc.

[SoFlaBro]

36. To fuckstain MAGA, that is a list of the Greatest sHits.

[progressoid]

39. "Russia is better with Putin."

Not my feelings but there are people who believe that. Including Russians. Heard quotes from Russian voters on NPR this afternoon saying this. One even said they need a Czar like leader.

[NanaCat]

43. Stalin or Castro is the better example to use

They really hate them some Commies.

[Wednesdays]

45. 1930s Germany and Italy worked out well for them

The 1940s, not so much.

[Hope22]

4. I'm so sorry.

You did your best. 👍

[yardwork]

8. Frightening and real.

[Emile]

9. Trump called fallen soldiers losers and suckers.

Speaking as a military veteran myself, I don't know how any veteran with a lick of common sense can vote for that sack of liquid shit.

[Qutzupalotl]

10. He's willing to tear up the Constitution he swore to defend,

having previously taken an oath. That makes him just as culpable as the DictatorTot. Maybe he just can't see it, what with all the brainwashing. But that does not absolve him. He is an oath-breaker and should be shunned, and worse.

You did the right thing. Maybe he will think about what he said just before you left.

[Hekate]

17. Welcome to DU, planter of seeds. Do enjoy your stay.

[Emile]

28. LOL, damn I missed all the fun.

[lindysalsagal]

29. I ignored it. I didn't report. Don't know what happened.

[Aristus]

46. So... planter of seeds shot his wad? Was that it?

I'm guessing none of them implanted...

[Hekate]

47. There can be only one. One nasty post & apparently no one wanted to engage w the troll.

Sad.

[bluestarone]

14. I bellieve you got your points across to him perfectly!

He heard you LOUD AND CLEAR!! Good job.

[lindysalsagal]

24. I'll never know, but being rejected face-to-face might at least remind him to keep his

traitorous trap shut.

[liberalmuse]

20. This is the best possible response.

Walk away with out a word. Don’t give them an iota of your precious energy. Good job!

[lindysalsagal]

25. Thankyou. I really was afraid of him.

[Ping Tung]

21. I spent 4 years in the miltary and don't recall "keeping the peace" or

making society safer or more just. I do recall being trained to efficiently kill people I didn't know, had nothing against, and posed no threat to me.

[sakabatou]

22. Wait, I thought part of being in the US military was a vow to protect democracy/the Republic

[lindysalsagal]

26. That's the staggering part....the war hawks are now fascists.

[intheflow]

35. They were always fascist.

Maybe not fascist, but the military follows an authoritarian structure, and Fox Noise has been playing in the bases 24-7 since the 1990s, so… Basically, the military has been grooming the poor kids who join up for the economic opportunity. For some of them, it could be the first time in their lives they have steady food and/or shelter. It’s depressingly easy to see why it seems like so many vets choose Trump over country.

[progressoid]

40. +1

Yep.

[limbicnuminousity]

41. And yet

According to NPR 6 in 10 veterans voted for Trump in 2020 and 2/3 of veterans and veteran households voted for Trump over Haley in the recent SC primary.

[NanaCat]

44. I saw in one of the military mouthpiece mags

That a majority of active duty officers opposed him as well.

[Happy Hoosier]

23. I encountered a Trumper in Lowe's this weekend

I won't go into too much detail. But he's was older man... probably in his 80's. Wearing a Vietnam Vet hat. I think he mistook me for a fellow MAGAt and talked about he sure hope "Mr Trump" gets back in. At least he didn;t call him "President." I lost my mind and told him exactly what I think of Trump. The look on his face was priceless. He was genuinely shocked.

[Irish_Dem]

27. Yes. If you argue with a fool, you end up looking like a fool too.

(Mark Twain)

You did the right thing to back away and get the hell out of there.

These people have lost their minds.

[lindysalsagal]

30. An hour later, and I'm REALLY glad I didn't stop the car to talk to him.

[Irish_Dem]

31. These people have guns and love to use them.

You did the right thing for sure.

[oasis]

32. "Not suffering fools gladly."

Good 👍

[lindysalsagal]

33. Irrational is irrational, and if I don't say anything, don't stop to argue, I can't be mis-quoted.

[viva la]

34. Does he realize he can't just pick and choose a dictator?

Would he be okay if Biden was the dictator?

[ThoughtCriminal]

37. That level of historical ignorance is amazing

Remember when they were saying that we HAD to invade Iraq "because Saddam was dictator".

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

38. I love the image of you just leaving without a word

[limbicnuminousity]

42. I've been finding it useful

to make a passing comment in reference to climate change when meeting new or unfamiliar people. Like, literally, first thing.

Stranger: "Hi, how are you?"

Me: "Been better, weather effects from climate change are making my bones ache."

Stranger: "I don't know about that, the jury is still out on climate change."

At that point I find a reason to be elsewhere and never interact with the person again. I have yet to encounter a MAGA-type capable of biting their tongue about climate change and they invariably deny the reality of climate change or say the jury is "still out." It's a handy red-flag.

You did the smart thing walking away.

[LAS14]

48. Thanks for this post.

I'm always wondering how it can be that roughly 50 percent of the country might vote for Trump. Mostly I assume that people don't understand the reality of his threat to democracy. But more and more I'm coming to realize that a bunch of them are people like the one you met. They actually embrace autocracy. They're the ones that can only remember that Mussolini made the trains run on time.

You titled the post correctly. It's real!!!

[lindysalsagal]

49. Follow-up: A woman in the group told me this guy's probably got dementia.

He's done some things like leaving in the middle of a film or what not, and deserting people who were counting on him for a ride, before. So, I wasn't kidding when I said I was afraid of him. I had good reason and didn't even know it.

More proof that the GQP is a holding cell for the mentally challenged.