Suppose you just met a man at
a party, in a bar, at a meeting, or at a ball game. He talked only about
himself. He told amazing stories about how wonderful and rich he was. He said
he was a genius, one of the most successful businessmen in the world, and
superior at everything he does. He commented on how attractive or unattractive
the women around him were and bragged about his sexual exploits. He laughed
about getting away with groping women he encountered. He made fun of the
intelligence of well-known people. He made fun of the handicapped. Although
flabby and overweight, he puffed up his chest praising men who were “tough”
like him.
Then later you found out that
his stories about himself were lies. That he cheats
at golf. That he had cheated everyone he worked with and conned his
customers. That he had cheated on his wives. And that his wealth was not
earned, but given to him by his very wealthy father.
What would you say about this
man? A man you would not trust with a dollar. A man from whom you would want to
protect the women in your life. There’s one word which sums up this personality
– asshole.
Even assholes can be nice
sometimes. Maybe such a man could show compassion in his interactions with
others and empathy for those less fortunate. Maybe with more public
responsibility, he could become more responsible. Maybe he would show another
side of his personality.
But we have observed Donald
Trump for two years since his election, and he has escalated his repellent
behavior. His lies have multiplied, even about facts that can be easily
checked. He mocks women, their bodies, and their stories of abuse by men. He
refuses to believe people who know more than he does. He encourages people to
hate the press, to hate his political opponents.
He is now the most famous
asshole in the world.
Some people support the
political policies Trump pushes and some people don’t. But nobody could argue
that Trump the man is anything but an asshole. And that means that it is worth
taking a second look at those policies, because such a man cannot be trusted to
do what he says. A clear example is secretly using a heartless
policy of separating children from their parents as a way of dealing with
asylum seekers, then denying
it ever happened, then blaming
it on Democrats, then imprisoning
children in barracks without sufficient facilities, then defying
court orders to reunite families, then admitting that they had not
kept track of what they were doing.
That’s what it means to have
an asshole as President.
American women have recognized
how Trump’s true nature contaminates his policies. Nearly two-thirds
of women disapprove of Trump. Although 84% of women who identify as
Republican say they support Trump, fewer
and fewer women identify as Republican now that Trump is President.
What about men? Men split
nearly evenly between approval and disapproval of Trump. It’s not black men or
Hispanic men, but white men who support Trump.
Men who want to protect the
women in their families from guys like Trump, men who believe in honesty, who
dislike braggarts, who don’t think worrying about getting venereal disease is
comparable to fighting
in Vietnam, who don’t accept a draft-dodger’s claims that he knows more about war
than our generals – they still applaud Trump.
Conservative white men
overwhelmingly support Trump. Don’t conservative values count for anything?
Trump isn’t on the ballot
anywhere, but he says over and over again that this election
is about him.
White men, what are you
doing? Don’t vote for a sleazy liar, for an abuser of women, for a con man. Pay
attention to what women around you think. Have some pride in being a man.
Send this message to every
man you know. Proclaim it from the rooftops.
Don’t vote for the asshole!
Steve Hochstadt
Boston
October 23, 2018
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