A colleague who is an immigrant from Mexico – and I repeat, a colleague, meaning she teaches at a public college in Illinois, got it? – turned out to be passionately pro-Trump. But what you’ll never guess is why.
She despised Obama, she says, because he always reached for his wife’s hand when they were out in public, and that means he’s not manly. Trump, however, never pays any attention to his wife. That’s a real strong man!
It’s one thing to vote for Trump or whomever. But to give control over the largest nuclear arsenal on earth because he treats his wife like shit – it’s nothing short of terrifying. If people at least knew to keep these things to themselves, but no, they think it’s ok to share them.
Now go and reread the first two words of the post to understand the nature of my predicament.
Clarissa's Blog 
These surface reasons are fascinating glimpses into other people’s psyches.
She didn’t say she liked GSLiC because he exhibited machismo or said tough things or liked his positions on anything. Or anything about HRC (that you mentioned). No, it was about some random crap a guy who was going to leave the White House anyways did in public.
I don’t want to know about your colleague’s marriage(s) or her parents’ marriage(s). LMAO.
Maybe she came up with a bizarre reason to offer to you, knowing how you feel politically?
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It’s a glimpse into could have done without. As we say, they seem completely normal until you discover that they enjoy having sex with mice.
The best part: this person always repeats she’s a feminist!
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Uh, how do you have sex with mice?
You got any links on that? 🙂
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People who manage to like Trump will easily manage to fuck mice.
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Ugh. Poor mice
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And yes, there was nothing about Hillary. As if Trump ran against Obama. But hey, she’s a feminist so it’s ok.
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I fuckin’ hate these so-called feminists who will gladly enjoy all the hard-won benefits that the actual feminists fought for, while also unabashedly reveling in patriarchy. No, you can’t have it both ways. And no, you don’t get to call yourself a feminist if you try to have it both ways.
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Today it’s fashionable to say crap like, “I’m a real feminist, I believe women should stand on their own feet and not ask for handouts in the form of maternity leave, free contraception, etc.” So dumb.
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I am so surprised by how conservative your colleagues seem to be. Are Modern Language Departments possibly more conservative than English departments? The only thing (literally) that my entire department agrees upon is that we don’t like Trump or Republicans. We don’t discuss politics too much at work of course but it does come up from time to time and 100% of us are left wing……………….And your colleague’s reason for disliking Obama is quite possibly the most insane “reason” I’ve heard yet.
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That’s why I always feel confused when people talk about “liberal academia.” Of course, I can find a colleague here and there who shares my beliefs but it’s really not a given. I have to search for like-minded people or I’m doomed to hear the kind of thing I describe in this post.
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what part of the country are you in? I am thinking the difference is clarissa is in one of the more conservative parts of the country (not the state, but the region of the state). Although the college I went to only maybe 400 miles away was more liberal and sounds like yours 🙂
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I’m in a “purple” state but my university is just outside a largish city and that city swings very blue. But given the nature of academia, my colleagues are from all over the country. Im assuming Clarissas colleagues are also from various parts of the country? Academics don’t have a ton of choice in geographic location. It’s a major downside of the job.
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This particular colleague is from Mexico, so it’s not even this country. Actually, 100% of Mexicans I know are pro Trump. It’s different for Colombians, Argentineans, etc.
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If Democrats want to appeal to the growing Hispanic demographic, they need to hire consultants on Hispanic culture. Because right now they are bungling it massively.
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what suggestions would you have? I ask sincerely. My own thought on how they perhaps are bungling it, is at least based on poll / surveys they are very religiously conservative, much more so than the leaders of the democrats. this would seem to be one issue, combined with the fact that legal immigrants often are not that supportive of illegal immigrants. Curious if you agree and also any unique insights as well. thanks!
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They don’t like to be lumped together, for instance. It’s very important to Mexicans to see it recognized that they are different from Cubans or Guatemalans or Chileans.
All of the “Latinx” and “people of color” crap is only likely to be counterproductive. What we refer to as PC is likely to repel. Plus, immigrants from everywhere tend to be very attached to the idea of personal achievement. When Obama gave his “you didn’t make this” speech, it was tailor-made to repel immigrants. And yes, that’s more likely to repel immigrants than “they are rapists, they are criminals, some of them are good people.”
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Thanks for the reply. Definitely makes sense!
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I’ve been known to have normal conversations with Trump supporters and I even have a few here on the blog. But once it gets into the realm of analyzing hand-holding patterns, I lose my capacity to be in a dialogue.
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Yes. I know you can have normal conversations with Trump supporters. I find it impressive! Maybe one day in the future I will be able to but that time hasn’t come yet. I can handle a Republican (barely) and I can even somewhat tolerate those who reluctantly voted for Trump because they want to make sure the Supreme Court remains conservative. But enthusiastic Trump supporters fill me with such deep- seated disgust that it almost makes me shiver. Truthfully, I can barely look at enthusiastic Trump supporters much less speak to them.
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🙂
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Interesting that she comes from Mexico. According to Time magazine, Trump told the Mexican president in a phone call last Friday that if Mexico didn’t get its shit together, he would send US troops to do the job. All we need is a second Mexican – American war.
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Problem is, people who left the country are likely to despise the government.
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“people who left the country are likely to despise the government.”
Well to be fair, there’s a lot to despise about almost any Latin American government. The few Eastern Europeans I knew in the US before 1989 were all huge supporters of Reagan’s confrontational style vis a vis communist governments.
I’m fairly confident that what your colleague (almost wrote ‘compañaera’) likes about Trump is some kind of BigManInCharge vibe that she gets from him.
IME no matter how ‘progressive’ Latinos are, the desire for a caudillo is never very far from the surface. Lovely people and super at interpersonal contacts but just terrible political instincts…..
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Well, we DID win the first one — that’s how we got Arizona.
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Are you joking or do you sincerely think it’s a good idea to have a war with Mexico?
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Maybe if Mexico would just give us the Rocky Point resort (which is a mere 3.5 hours drive from the Phoenix area), we could settle all this peacefully. 🙂
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Gosh, life must be really sucky in Arizona for fantasies like these to start appearing.
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Couldn’t be better — the lovely Arizona desert is as close to heaven as I’ll ever get!
But Arizona could also use a beach, and I’m tired of waiting for the San Andreas fault to break off and dump California into the Pacific.
(And if you think that’s a “fantasy,” you obviously haven’t heard Trump’s latest executive order.)
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Who knows? Maybe he’s itching to fry himself in Cancun’s white sand without sunscreen or a passport.
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So war with Mexico and now war with China is actually being discussed as a possibility? Maybe Pence and/or Ryan would be better.
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/02/01/trumps-chief-strategist-steve-bannon-no-doubt-the-us-will-be/21704928/
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Crazy fuckers. Isn’t Trump supposed to be an isolationist?
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“Isn’t Trump supposed to be an isolationist?”
Part of being an isolationist is making it appear that it’s more trouble to deal with you than it’s worth… (see North Korea).
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If you want some escapist entertainment to take your mind off the approaching doomsday, go to Netflex and download “Dr. Strangelove” or “On the Beach” (1959 version).
Both of those old movies are in primitive black-and-white — but then, so is most of the political discussion after the November 8th election.
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How strange that WordPress has pushed my “escapist entertainment” comment, written yesterday on February 1st at 10:27 PM (WordPress time) below two later comments, one written by Clarissa tonight (February 2) at 10 minutes past midnight, and a second written tonight by cliff at 20 minutes into the new night.
So somehow I seem to have gotten the last word for the night purely by default. Well, take heart: You can watch those recommended movies at your leisure, and the world will still be the same when those fantasies end.
So Goodnight & Sleep Well!!
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“So somehow I seem to have gotten the last word”
Nope.
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Yep, you managed that by seven minutes.
I still recommend those movies, though, (Definite “Goodnight,” going to bed now.)
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Finally, WordPress is on your side! 😊
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I feel for you. I have several colleagues in a writing group I co-lead that are strong Trump supporters because he makes them excited. To me the thought of a writer needing that kind of ignorance to be excited alarms me. It is frightening that naive mentality exists.
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And a college teacher? Imagine that!
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To me the thought of a writer needing that kind of ignorance to be excited alarms me.
The Venn diagram of people who think “in a certain light nuclear war would be exciting” and “Trump voters” is a circle.
Nobody ever thinks they’re an anonymous storm trooper or a red shirt in these fantasies. They all think they’re Leia or Picard or the final girl.
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Maybe we’re safe from a new Mexican American War !
“Trump tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner — a real estate executive with no foreign policy experience — with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call.”
http://m.startribune.com/trump-to-mexico-take-care-of-bad-hombres-or-us-might/412481753/?section=politics%2Fnational
If they give Cancun to America and rename it Trumpland, all will be well. One person on the Internet said, “If Hitler had twitter: Czechs think Sudetenland is theirs? WRONG!!”
P.S.
Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil woke up this morning and saw his shadow so six more weeks of winter.
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Thank God for Phil because the rest of the news is not inspiring.
Trump’s extended family is a curse on this country.
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They are not even trying to make this look good.
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I know you and Shakti were discussing something like this a few days ago. Next time you create a ‘call to action’ post, can you include this in it? This app
http://www.ibtimes.com/how-call-your-senator-new-app-directs-voters-legislators-phone-number-email-amid-rise-2484191
The non-partisan Arlington, Virgina-based startup Phone2Action Inc., which builds software to enhance engagement in activists’ campaigns, launched a new tool Sunday helping citizens quickly reach their legislators via phone, email, Twitter and Facebook.
Unlike Countable—a similar app and website, launched in 2014, that summarizes bills and legislative activity in laymen’s terms and offers lawmakers’ emails to users—Phone2Action’s tool is much simpler and goes a step further.
All users need to do is type in their names and addresses and select a communication platform before hitting “Find Legislators.” The app lists the user’s governor, senators and representatives—along with, in the case of social media and email, a box for a message with a pre-entered introduction. (The Twitter option begins its message with “Hey [@legislator] please hear me out.”) With the click of another button, the call is activated, or the tweet, Facebook post or email sent.
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Well, he’s got to deliver results for his employers so that’s what he’s doing.
I’ll never get over the irony of the FSB installing a pocket US president through the Republican party. It’s the only time I wish Reagan were alive.
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Of course, the whole australia fiasco is a distraction for this:
Remember, republicans spent years and millions of $ investigating benghazi.
https://twitter.com/ezlusztig/status/827056853062414336
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Official white house explanation of the adult baby tantrum with the australian PM was that he was ‘tired’. But yeah, it was Clinton with the lack of stamina and endless stories speculating about her health. Liberal media!
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Oh, he’s such a poor victim. All that whoring for the Russians must be exhausting.
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What was that raid even supposed to do?
How did he have the energy to send 3 am tweet rants (or to schedule tweet them) but not to watch a Seal 6 raid?
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There’s nothing there for him to rob so why bother?
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If there ‘s nothing for him in Australia, there’s definitely nothing for him in Yemen , so wtf is he sending military there for? Yemen is desperately poor,
Starbucks already has all the coffee – sorry, that was my feeble attempt at a joke.
The rest is seriously unfunny.
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