2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThis Political Theorist Predicted the Rise of Trumpism. His Name Was Hunter S. Thompson.
Some here will get this. Many won't.
https://www.thenation.com/article/this-political-theorist-predicted-the-rise-of-trumpism-his-name-was-hunter-s-thompson/
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Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)" After following the motorcycle guys around for months, Thompson concluded that the most striking thing about them was not their hedonism but their ethic of total retaliation against a technologically advanced and economically changing America in which they felt theyd been counted out and left behind..."
90-percent
(6,834 posts)flying rabbit
(4,648 posts)Buckeye_Democrat
(14,860 posts)Understood in those terms, the idea that Trumpism is populist seems misplaced. Populism is a belief in the right of ordinary people, rather than political insiders, to rule. Trumpism, by contrast, operates on the presumption that ordinary people arent going to get any chance to rule no matter what they do, so they might as well piss off the political insiders using the only tool left available to them: the vote.
After the election, internet comment sections were full of Trump supporters mostly expressing glee at pissing off liberals and the elite.
I didn't know that Thompson was assaulted by bikers too. That happened to me a few years ago after I entered a biker/redneck bar on a whim. One of the bikers approached me and expressed hatred for Obama and other races, but it was mostly couched in how he perceived immigrants taking jobs that he thought should be reserved for long-time, loyal Americans. After I answered him in intellectual terms, he looked like he wanted to kill me and he walked back to his gang of buddies. I was knocked out from behind and hospitalized after I left the bar.
Gman
(24,780 posts)And just like the Trump people, they're real sneaky and brave when they're with their gang. By themselves, they're wimps.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,860 posts)I still considered him very dangerous as soon as I met him because of his mental state. Crazy people concern me far more than physically big people.
It's possible that I was assaulted simply for money (since all of the cash in my pocket was taken too), but I think it's probable that my earlier, unwanted discussion with that guy caused it.
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)Tah Dah!