You really didn't think the rich white guy was going to face any serious consequences, like losing some of his big, shiny properties, did you? C'mon, you're not that naive.
Usually, rich white guys don't face consequences unless they rip off people up the chain from them. They can victimize people down the chain forever, and aside from a PR hit, they'll walk away with fines and cases dropped behind a file cabinet somewhere. Madoff and Epstein got in trouble because they embarrassed people richer than they were. Same with Weinstein.
Trump has made one smart move in his entire life. He's always kissed up and kicked down. What do all the people he's defrauded or assaulted have in common? They're all well down the power ladder from him. What do all the people he's bowed and scraped to have in common? They're all more powerful than him at the time.
And now, the rich people in power have to consider whether rich people can be held responsible for actions that hurt not-so-rich people. Most of the people making those decisions got to be rich and powerful by hurting not-so-rich people. Guess where their interests lie.
In the end, Trump will audit a course at “Shamon U,” get a financial haircut (which will be quietly compensated for by his backers and foreign interests invested in his name) and depending on whether he wins this election, he'll either destroy the Republic once and for all, or fade into obscurity, to have his reputation “Nixonized” years later by contrarian journalists looking for a quick dab on the best seller lists.
Don't think Trump will be turned into an elder statesman once he's out of the way? Don't think his “contribution” to “shaking up the complacent establishment” will be mainstreamed once he's out of the way or dead?
Go ahead and think that. But put an airsick bag by your TV chair.
Decadent cultures do decadent things. They get the leadership, and the political culture they deserve. We have Trump because we, as a culture created him, trained him, empowered him and continue to shower him with attention. He was out of the game before “The Apprentice” saved him, financially and culturally. It was the attention, and ad revenue generated by millions of Americans that made him a viable cultural commodity again. Millions of Americans watched him bully and fire people, just as they were bullied, degraded and fired, and clapped their hands with glee.
When you make such people culturally relevant – when you make stupid and evil people famous, there are consequences. Famous people get power and money, generally. Other people seek to emulate them. People get invested in them, emotionally, politically and financially. There are “sunk costs” to turning away from them, no matter how vile they become, so excuses are made. Consequences are avoided.
We're watching all that play out in front of us. But it's a re-run, isn't it? The plot is so obvious, the characters so stock, the tropes so trope-y that it's lost all real interest.
American democracy probably won't be renewed for another season. And the previews of the Fall line-up aren't promising.
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So relieved to find you here, found you through someone on FB and saw your post today about being here! Thanks, I've missed reading your musings filled with experience, intelligence and wisdom.
Today's post on chump and our worship of wealth, greed and the people who embody said qualities could change the world if read, digested and responded to with an ounce of willingness to survive and thrive, regardless of the effort required. Thankful you make the effort to add water to the pond, even if we won't live to see the change each drop makes in the long term.
I was hoping Dick Cheney was going to do one good deed for America, but I'm still waiting.