Friendship In The Time Of Trump

A very short post, but I think worth moving from Facebook to my blog. It may not be long and verbiage, but it is very profound in it’s implications.

A Facebook friend posted:

C: This message is also for anyone who want to send me a Friends request. As for those friends I currently have, if I see any post in support of Trump, I will Unfriend you, my Page will not be used for a propaganda platform to promote the dismantling of our democracy.
To be fore warned, is to be fore told.

I responded:
While I understand your position, I’ve never unfriended anyone, certainly not over politics. Those friends who have turned to Trump and been radicalized give me a window into the strange world they now inhabit. I find it useful in helping me to understand.

One friend in particular has completely drowned herself in the world of Q anon. Reading about this bizarre delusional world simply does not give the same insight as actually watching someone you have known for decades “function” in that insanity.

C: Initially I was all right with some of my friends supporting trump. But, yesterday Impeachment Hearing where they attacked a decorated U.S. Army solider at the request of Donald Trump, was a bridge to far. I knew I could no longer tolerate those who believe trump is fit for the office of President of the United States. They behave as if they are a part of a cult and their leader is Jim Jones. Why would I want to communicate with someone who is so brain washed.

Me: Can’t argue. Your reaction is reasonable. Not criticizing your stance, just saying I have a different one. As crazy as these people are, as repugnant as their behavior becomes,I find it both necessary and disturbingly compelling to try to understand them. Lately I’ve been dipping into the whole “sovereign citizen” movement. I’m not exactly sure why I find it so fascinating, but I do. The self delusion of true believers is remarkable.
I remember reading Eric Hoffers’s book The True Believer decades ago. Very insightful. The capacity of the human mind to utterly delude itself and divorce itself from reality still bears a certain fascination for me. I suppose I am intellectually a gwaker, staring at the horrible accident out the car window and backing up traffic for miles as I slowly drive by.
Call it a character flaw.😏


A: Jim Naranjo I will give you fascinating. But ultimately maddening, depressing and just a waste of our precious time.

M: Jim Naranjo you’re curious and intelligent, just don’t get carried away😊

Me: Don’t worry. Just because I like to study dinosaurs doesn’t mean I intend to turn into one.

MG: Jim Naranjo, you mention the "sovereign citizen" movement...I had one of the weirdest (funniest?) experiences with one of them when I was working fora local city. Among my duties was answering people's questions about City planning permits etc at the public counter. One day, a guy came in with a citation notice that he'd received for a serious electrical code violation. He demanded to know what gave the City the authority to cite him, and we went round and round about that for about 15 -20 minutes. Every time I gave him and an answer, he'd take it one step further...who gave the city that authority? Answer" the state of CA. Who gave the state the authority to tell him what he had to do? etc etc. Finally, he declared himself to be a "sovereign citizen" who no government had authority over. At first, I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. I offered to call the City Attorney for him if he wanted to take the question up with them, but he declined. Still he persisted that he did not have to make his electrical service meet Code if he didn't want to and he wanted all fines cancelled. So, I suggested he speak with the Code Enforcement Officer who wrote the citation. Where are they located, he asked? Answer: In the Police Department . He left then. Guess he didn't want make his pitch to law enforcement. It was really lunatic!! And a chuckle at the same time...

Me: I’m fond of saying they are really funny, until they turn deadly. Thanks for sharing!