{"id":6612,"date":"2017-11-13T02:00:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T02:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6612"},"modified":"2017-11-24T17:35:41","modified_gmt":"2017-11-24T17:35:41","slug":"this-time-last-year-118-and-111316","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6612","title":{"rendered":"This time last year – 11\/8 and 11\/13\/16"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

From last November 13:\u00a0 \u201cAre you telling me\u00a0Donald Trump<\/b><\/a><\/em>\u00a0just got elected president?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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

<\/h1>\n

It’s mid-November, and so it’s time to start taking stock of the year just past.\u00a0 (And what a year it’s been!)<\/em>\u00a0 Which brings up “last year at this time.”\u00a0 Specifically, two posts from this time last year:\u00a0\u00a0Trump made me a Contrarian<\/a>,* and\u00a0\u201cTrump is like a box of chocolates<\/a>.”\u00a0 (Published November 8 and 13, 2016, respectively.)\u00a0<\/em> The “Chocolates” post noted a prediction that – having been elected – Trump would be impeached.\u00a0 But not by Democrats, by Republicans:<\/p>\n

They [Republicans] don\u2019t want Trump as president, because they can\u2019t control him.\u00a0 He\u2019s unpredictable. They\u2019d love to have Pence \u2013 an absolutely down-the-line, conservative,\u00a0controllable\u00a0<\/strong>Republican\u2026 \u00a0\u201cMike Pence in the White House would put a more trusted establishment Republican in the job.\u201d\u00a0 (E.A.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That post also asked if Donald Trump would be “the new\u00a0Simon Legree<\/a>” – as noted in the Classic Comics<\/em> image above left – but that’s a whole ‘nother story altogether.<\/p>\n

\"AThe\u00a0“box of chocolates<\/a>\u201d post further discussed my being turned into a Contrarian<\/em><\/strong> – defined in part as a \u201cmoderate with a \u2018tude<\/a>\u201d – both by the election itself and the uncertainty as to what kind of president Trump would turn out to be.\u00a0 And that<\/em><\/strong> brings up\u00a0what Tom Hanks meant when he said “Life is like a box of chocolates<\/a>:”<\/p>\n

When you open a box of chocolates, there is a variety of flavors available.\u00a0 Problem is, since they are covered in chocolate, you can\u2019t really tell what any given piece of chocolate is going to taste like\u2026 \u00a0The real lesson:\u00a0 you take what life gives you and you learn to deal with it, because \u2013 as they say \u2013 that\u2019s life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I wondered if Trump might “evolve into something neither his ardent supporters nor his rabid opponents expect.”\u00a0 I also wondered if “Showman<\/a>\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>”\u00a0had actually\u00a0played<\/a>\u00a0his \u201cfar-right conservative” supporters “like a piano<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 And finally, I wondered if – given “Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0chameleon<\/a>-like\u00a0shifting\u00a0political positions<\/a>” – he would “eventually be seen as an ‘effective elected official,’ or a\u00a0funhouse showman<\/a>?”<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems the jury is still out<\/a>\u00a0on those questions.\u00a0 (At least to some people.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

But no matter:\u00a0 I resolved in the “box of chocolates” post that I would “be a cheerful<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Contrarian.”\u00a0 Which brings up the\u00a0Trump made me a Contrarian<\/a>\u00a0post.\u00a0 I published that on the night of last year’s election – and before the final results came in.<\/p>\n

I started off by noting that I used to be<\/em><\/strong> all \u201cmoderate<\/a>\u00a0and nicey-nicey.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>I used to say \u2013 or at least\u00a0think<\/em>\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<\/p>\n

However, when dealing with people like Trump supporters, that “moderate, reasoned, common-sense approach will get you nothing but\u00a0bowled over<\/a>.”\u00a0\u00a0(In the sense of hearing something so \u201cwhacked\u201d that you are rendered temporarily speechless with disbelief.)<\/em><\/p>\n

And that’s because they\u00a0“use the\u00a08-track tape<\/a>\u00a0mode of political discourse:”<\/p>\n

The thing about 8-tracks was that they never stopped. \u00a0You never got to the end. \u00a0They used a \u201ccontinuous loop\u201d system, which is why they didn\u2019t have a rewind option. \u00a0As long as you played the tape, you got the same thing over and over again. \u00a0The same \u201cdata,\u201d the same songs played in the same order over and over again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which I thought was much like “trying to have a meaningful conversation” with a\u00a0Trumpster<\/a>.\u00a0 That led to one definition of Contrarian<\/em>\u00a0as a former moderate who has to “take a position directly opposite the person we\u2019re talking to\u00a0just to get a &^%$ word in edge-wise!”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You could also refer to it as having to \u201cout-wacko the wackos.\u201d \u00a0And\u00a0that\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>turning out to be a skill that we former \u201cmoderates\u201d are\u00a0definitely<\/em>\u00a0going to need in the years ahead.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The good news is that having to\u00a0\u201cout-wacko the wackos\u201d isn’t all that difficult, and can<\/em> <\/strong>be fun.\u00a0 (In a weird, other-worldly sense.)\u00a0<\/em> Which is another way of saying that\u00a0being a\u00a0Contrarian<\/em>\u00a0means learning how to make a\u00a0snappy comeback<\/a>.\u00a0 But because Trumpsters<\/a>\u00a0tend to\u00a0make the same arguments over and over again, your \u201cmoderate\u201d or \u201cContrarian\u201d\u00a0snappy comebacks<\/a>\u00a0don\u2019t have to be all that snappy.\u00a0 “You can\u00a0plan<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0your snappy comebacks way ahead of time.”<\/p>\n

Which translates to: \u00a0\u201cBless those\u00a0Trumpsters<\/a>\u00a0and their\u00a08-track<\/a>\u00a0political arguments\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

\u201cFactory optional 8-track stereo player \u2026 between the\u00a0center console<\/a>\u00a0and dash\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Forrest Gump (1994) \u2013 IMDb<\/a>. \u00a0See also\u00a0Forrest Gump \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, and\u00a0Life is like a box of chocolates \u2013 Wiktionary<\/a>. \u00a0The latter indicated that the book \u201cNorwegian Wood<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>by\u00a0Haruki Murakami<\/a>, first published in Japanese in 1987, and in English in 1989, has the following: \u2018Just remember, life is like a box of chocolates.’\u201d \u00a0(Some seven years before the movie.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNote\u201d also that an asterisk in the main text indicates a statement supported by a reference detailed further in this \u201cnotes\u201d section. \u00a0Thus, as to the “Contrarian” post, t<\/em>he full title of the post for November 8, 2016, was ‘Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump \u2013 made me a Contrarian<\/a>.”\u00a0 “Mi Dulce” was my pet name for the woman I was dating at the time.\u00a0 However, that relationship is\u00a0now defunct<\/a>, for reasons possibly including her status as a\u00a0Trumpster<\/a>, then and since.<\/em><\/p>\n

The “Legree” image\u00a0is courtesy of\u00a0Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>. \u00a0The full caption: \u00a0\u201cSimon Legree on the cover of the comic book adaptation of \u2018Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin\u2019<\/i>\u00a0(Classic Comics<\/i>\u00a0No. 15, November 1943 issue).\u201d \u00a0The article added: \u00a0\u201cIt is unclear if Legree is based on any actual individuals. \u00a0Reports surfaced after the 1870s that [Harriet Beecher<\/a>]\u00a0<\/em>Stowe had in mind a wealthy cotton and sugar plantation owner named\u00a0Meredith Calhoun<\/a>, who settled on the\u00a0Red River<\/a>\u00a0north of\u00a0Alexandria, Louisiana<\/a>. \u00a0Generally, however, the personal characteristics of Calhoun (‘highly educated and refined’) do not match the uncouthness and brutality of Legree.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The \u201cGump-in-uniform\u201d image is courtesy of\u00a0Forrest Gump \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a08-track tape \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>. \u00a0The full caption: \u00a0\u201cFactory optional 8-track stereo player in a 1967\u00a0American Motors<\/a>\u00a0(AMC) vehicle mounted between the\u00a0center console<\/a>\u00a0and dash.\u201d \u00a0The article added: \u00a0\u201cThe format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From last November 13:\u00a0 \u201cAre you telling me\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0just got elected president?\u201d * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * It’s mid-November, and so it’s time to start taking stock of the year just past.\u00a0 (And what a year it’s been!)\u00a0 Which brings up “last year at this time.”\u00a0 Specifically, two posts from this time last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6612"}],"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=6612"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6677,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6612\/revisions\/6677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}