{"id":10002,"date":"2021-02-14T01:21:45","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T01:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=10002"},"modified":"2021-04-04T21:19:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T21:19:36","slug":"i-used-to-be-quiet-and-shy-all-moderate-and-nicey-nicey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=10002","title":{"rendered":"“I used to be quiet and shy, all moderate and nicey-nicey…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

“Quiet, shy, moderate, nicey-nicey?” That doesn’t work in the face of\u00a0armed insurrection<\/a><\/strong>…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

I started this post back before<\/em><\/strong> the\u00a0January 6 Capitol riot<\/a>. That pre-riot post started, “Now that the Trump Era is almost over<\/a>.” Which apparently isn’t quite<\/em><\/strong> true. Given the events of January 6 and after, we may be hearing a lot more – from or about – “the Donald.” (And maybe for a good long time to come.) But the quotation-and-link actually referred back to a post I did even before then. That is, on December 7, 2020. And early in that 12\/20 post I added this:<\/p>\n

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Or at least now that his first run-through as president is almost<\/strong> over\u2026 (But see\u00a0Trump\u2019s Possible\u00a02024\u00a0Bid Leaves Other GOP Candidates in a Bind<\/a>.) So to repeat, \u201cNow that at least the\u00a0first<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>incarnation of a Trump Era is almost over,\u201d\u00a0it\u2019s time to start looking back.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The post went on to talk of “Year-End Reviews<\/a>” and how helpful they can be. For one thing\u00a0such reviews are \u201c<\/span><\/span>opportunities to learn from [your] mistakes and find a better way.\u201d And so (I wrote, last December) “<\/span><\/span>It’s that time of year to both look back and look forward. To look back at the Trump era – and especially at this past year – and to look forward to a new beginning.”<\/p>\n

\"DonaldAs to going back, I noted a post from November 8, 2016,\u00a0\u2018Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump \u2013 made me a Contrarian<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. (With the image at right.) I’ll get back to that one, but there was another from November 13, 2017,\u00a0This time last year \u2013 11\/8 and 11\/13\/16<\/a>. And believe it or not, the latter started out: “It\u2019s mid-November [2017], and so time to start taking stock of the year just past.\u00a0(And what a year it\u2019s been!)”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Which was pretty much what I planned to say when the year 2020<\/em><\/strong> finally came to an end. (And in hindsight, 2020 was more “a crazy-ass year” than 2017.) But\u00a0getting back to 2016, here’s what I wondered, back in that long-ago November, right before Election Day 2016<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

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I wondered if Trump might \u201cevolve into something neither his ardent supporters nor his rabid opponents expect.\u201d I also wondered if \u201cShowman<\/a>\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u201d\u00a0had actually\u00a0played<\/a>\u00a0his \u201cfar-right conservative\u201d supporters \u201clike a piano<\/a>.\u201d And finally, I wondered if \u2013 given \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s\u00a0chameleon<\/a>-like\u00a0shifting\u00a0political positions<\/a>\u201d \u2013 he would \u201ceventually be seen as an \u2018effective elected official,\u2019 or a\u00a0funhouse showman<\/a>?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I supposed that the jury was still out on those questions. But four years later, “to be honest – I’m one of those people suffering from\u00a0Trump fatigue<\/a>.”\u00a0 (And that was even before<\/em><\/strong> the January 6 Capitol riot<\/a>.) I was – some months ago – “ready for it to be over.” And now it is<\/em> <\/strong>over – more or less – so I’ll focus on some good thoughts, from some past posts…<\/p>\n

Which means getting back to ‘Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump \u2013 made me a Contrarian<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To finish that thought: It’s been a long haul, but over the last four years I’ve evolved<\/em><\/strong>, from being a “moderate” (all “nicey-nicey”), to a Contrarian, and from there to an Independent. (Used in a sentence, “Why would anyone not<\/em> <\/strong>want to be an Independent, like Moses and Jesus and me<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. (Oh my!)”)<\/p>\n

By the way: I never would have said anything<\/em><\/strong> like that four years ago. Which is another way of saying that\u00a0over the last four years I’ve grown more\u00a0outspoken<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. Which was part of the process of struggling\u00a0with how to deal with Trump supporters. Especially since one of them was “Mi Dulce,” now an ex-BGFE<\/a>\u00a0with whom I am now still in regular contact. (And using the term “girl” loosely.) As I often ended up saying to her<\/em> <\/strong>– trying to get a word in edgewise – “I used to be all quiet and shy, all moderate and nicey-nicey. But not no more!*<\/em><\/strong>“<\/p>\n

I.e., I had to learn to speak up and speak out with her, if only<\/em><\/strong> to get a word in edge-wise.<\/p>\n

Which is one big benefit of Trump’s four years as president. (Along with making\u00a0George W. Bush<\/a>\u00a0look like a frikkin’ genius, and making Obamacare popular again. As opposed to the arch-conservative plan, “let ’em die!”) Not mention proving how strong we are as a nation. (Like, we can elect someone totally unqualified as president, and not only survive but prosper… Well, aside from all the mass-shooting deaths,* not to mention a fumbled COVID response.)<\/p>\n

But we’re digressing. Back to my\u00a0personal development<\/a>, based on four years of Trump.\u00a0The point is, “No more ‘quiet and shy, all moderate and nicey-nicey.'” At the beginning of that journey, I found out that calling myself a moderate<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>ended up\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>sounding too wishy-washy<\/a>. (As in “average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.”) So I tried calling myself a\u00a0Contrarian<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>in the mold of Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/a>.<\/em> (“Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.”)<\/p>\n

\"EmanuelOr this: As someone who “takes up a contrary<\/em><\/strong> position, especially a position that is opposed to that of the majority, regardless of how unpopular it may be.” But that didn’t sound quite right either. I wasn’t always<\/em><\/strong> opposed to popular opinion. (For example, look at the “popular opinion” of 81 million American voters in the last election.) So eventually\u00a0\u2013 over the last four years \u2013 I ended up changing from being a Contrarian to an Independent, “just like Moses and Jesus.\u201d (See July 2019’s\u00a0A reminder: \u201cI\u2019m an INDEPENDENT (Voter<\/a>),” featuring the image above right. And which included a note that – to me – the word\u00a0\u201cContrarian\u201d translates to something like \u201cpissed-off moderate.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back to where it all started, with\u00a0Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0making me an Independent. That post from November 2016 started, “It\u2019s the eve of Election Day, 2016, and thus a time for reflection.” I said that no matter who won the election, the \u201c’war for the soul of America<\/a>‘\u00a0will go on. It will continue largely unabated.” As we have discovered.<\/p>\n

I added\u00a0some words of explanation: For one thing the Internet says\u00a0Mi Dulce<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0Spanish for \u201cMy Sweet,\u201d and that’s what I called “the\u00a0lady I\u2019ve been ‘dating’ some time now.” (As well as after we parted ways for good, at least “that way.” Example: As of November 2016 she had “broken up with me at least 10 times,” in part because of her “ardent conservativism.”\u00a0(A more polite term than “Trumpie,” “Trump-humper,” Trumpanzee,” or \u201cright wing wacko.\u201d RWW for short.)<\/p>\n

Getting back to\u00a0Mi Dulce<\/em><\/strong>: When we first met, I was \u201cmoderate<\/a>\u00a0and nicey-nicey.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(Like\u00a0Aristotle<\/a>.) I used to say \u2013 or at least\u00a0think\u00a0\u2013 things like,\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s not rush to judgment!\u201d \u00a0Or, \u201cLet\u2019s wait until we get all the facts before we say anything that might be taken the wrong way!\u201d However:<\/p>\n

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The problem is that in my neck of the woods \u2013 especially with …\u00a0Mi Dulce<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 that moderate, reasoned, common-sense approach will get you nothing but\u00a0bowled over<\/a>. [As in]\u00a0hearing something so \u201cwhacked\u201d that you are rendered temporarily speechless with disbelief.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And I learned one more thing about RWWs. They tend to use the\u00a08-track<\/a>\u00a0mode of public discourse. If you\u2019re under 65, you probably don\u2019t remember this \u201cmagnetic tape sound recording<\/a>\u00a0technology,\u201d popular in the U.S. from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. (That\u2019s when \u201cthe\u00a0Compact Cassette<\/a>\u00a0format took over.\u201d)<\/p>\n

The thing about 8-track tape-recordings was that they never stopped. You never got to the end. They used a \u201ccontinuous loop\u201d system. That’s why they didn\u2019t have a rewind option. As long as you played the tape, you got the same thing over and over again. The same \u201cdata,\u201d the same songs played in the same order over and over again. Which I thought was “pretty much like trying to have a meaningful conversation with a right-wing wacko\u2026”<\/p>\n

Which I thought at the time should<\/em> <\/strong>make it easy to figure out how to best an RWW in an argument<\/a>. (In the good sense, as in a “form of expression consisting of a coherent<\/em><\/strong> set of reasons presenting or supporting a point of view.” Note the operative word, “coherent.”)<\/p>\n

But I was wrong. Those RWW’s never cease to amaze me. Like if I get stuck watching some FOX News – ordering my morning iced coffee at a local McDonald’s – I find myself thinking, “Do you guys ever get tired of lying?” The answer? Apparently not. See for example,\u00a0Donald Trump Has Told A Truly Disturbing Number Of Lies Since Taking Office<\/a>, and since the 2020 election as well. And his attorneys have taken up the “creative lie” method as well. See\u00a0Trump\u2019s Impeachment Defense: One Long String of Lies (Broken Up by Madonna Clips<\/a>.) With one note, “In fairness, their client is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, so they didn\u2019t have much to work with.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which means the rest of us have to\u00a0adapt or perish<\/a>. The good news? We – the “rest of us” – already know how to adapt. As Darwin<\/a>\u00a0said, it’s not the strongest or smartest people who survive. It’s those who can best adapt or adjust to a changing environment. Which spells bad news for\u00a0Trumpies, Trump-humpers or Trumpanzees. They are the people\u00a0least<\/em><\/strong> able to adapt or adjust to changing circumstance. (For example, refusing to wear masks at mass rallies.)<\/p>\n

All of which could be\u00a0great<\/span> news for the rest of us!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0the Wikipedia article on the\u00a0January 6 Capitol riot<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Another note from “the eve of Election Day, 2016… Whatever the outcome tomorrow, we\u2019re in for more turmoil. \u00a0The \u201cwar for the soul of America<\/a>\u201d\u00a0will go on. It will continue largely unabated… [W]hoever becomes the next president, he or she will face\u00a0rabid<\/strong>\u00a0hostility from close to half the American population. \u00a0Which means in turn that he or she will face\u00a0the prospect of impeachment, or at least a realistic\u00a0threat<\/strong>\u00a0of impeachment.” Emphases in original.<\/em><\/p>\n

The “lions and tigers” image is courtesy of\u00a0Lions And Tigers And Bears Wizard Of Oz\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0“I used to be all quiet and shy, all moderate and nicey-nicey.\u00a0But not no more!<\/strong>” I used the vernacular improper English for emphasis.<\/em><\/p>\n

RE: “W” as a genius. See\u00a0Bush says Trump \u2018makes me look pretty good\u2019 by comparison<\/a>.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: Mass shooting deaths. See\u00a0An update on \u201cTrump\u2019s\u201d mass shootings<\/a>, from May 2019, with numbers updated on August 20, 2019. (“BC,” or “Before Covid.”) The post noted a total of\u00a0652<\/strong>\u00a0mass shootings in Trump’s first two years, “four times greater than Obama\u2019s eight years, in one-fourth the time.” (Four times as many mass shootings in Trump’s two years than in Obama’s eight years.) Which brings up another benefit: Thanks to Covid the number of mass shootings went way down in 2020.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: War for the soul of America. I noted that\u00a0Googling<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cwar for the soul\u201d got me 13,400,000 results.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “Adapt or perish.” The link is to\u00a0Adapt to Change or Perish. Because those are your only options<\/a>. The full\u00a0Charles Darwin<\/a>\u00a0quote is below, but the article added the saying by\u00a0H. G. Wells<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cAdapt or perish, now as ever, is nature\u2019s inexorable imperative.\u201d The full Darwin quote:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt is not the most intellectual or the strongest species that survives, but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to or adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It’s a pretty good article on the constancy of change, something “we” need to be reminded of. (Especially those of us turning “the Big Seven-Oh” next July.) With added thoughts like: “Progress keeps picking up speed\u2026the complexity of our world keeps on increasing\u2026and\u00a0the rate of change keeps on accelerating.” And “Let\u2019s just accept the fact that our careers will be lived out in a state of constant transition.” And that we\u00a0should therefore “prepare for a work environment that is\u00a0fluid, fuzzy, and fast.” And finally that we will “forever be surrounded by uncertainty and instability.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Which is why I love blogging. “It’s so frikkin’ educational!”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: Trump supporters not wearing masks. See\u00a0Trump supporters say masks are harmful, would wear if Trump said so<\/a>. Or\u00a0\u2018Magically protected\u2019: Why hardcore Trump supporters won\u2019t wear masks at rally<\/a>: “‘It\u2019s not going to touch you at the rally,’ author Jeff Sharlet says of hardcore Trump supporters\u2019 belief in the divinity and ‘spiritual protection’ of a Trump rally against coronavirus, ‘You\u2019ll be sort of magically protected.’\u201d\u00a0Some people have said that’s “God’s Way of Thinning the Herd<\/a>,” but I would never say anything so inappropriate. See also\u00a0Urban Dictionary: Thin the herd<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As for that “great news for the rest of us” comment. It was a joke. See\u00a011 times Trump’s offensive comments were ‘just a joke<\/a>.’ Including “Trump floats injecting disinfectent as coronavirus cure,” “I am the Chosen One,” and “Obama is the ‘founder of ISIS.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Trump Fatigue Syndrome | National Review<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

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A large part of the country suffers from Trump Fatigue Syndrome. This is related but not identical to Trump Derangement Syndrome. The sufferers of Trump Fatigue aren\u2019t driven mad by the president. They are just tired of having to wake up every morning to another of his sudden attacks, reversals, exaggerations, and boasts. They want the show to end.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As to that fatigue, the link in the main text is to\u00a0Trump fatigue is setting in hard at the worst moment for his campaign<\/a>, posted two weeks before the 2020 election. But see also the thoughtful piece from November 8,\u00a0Democrats counted too heavily on ‘Trump fatigue<\/a>,’ to explain why and how “former Vice President Joe Biden\u2019s expected landslide turned into a grim, nail-biting election.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Quiet, shy, moderate, nicey-nicey?” That doesn’t work in the face of\u00a0armed insurrection… * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * I started this post back before the\u00a0January 6 Capitol riot. That pre-riot post started, “Now that the Trump Era is almost over.” Which apparently isn’t quite true. Given the events of January 6 and after, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10002"}],"version-history":[{"count":99,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10654,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002\/revisions\/10654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}