TDS

It’s a view that I’ve shared on this blog before, taken from pretty much the same spot. But the view changes with the weather, with the tide, with the sunlight, with the people and – in this case – with the gulls. I like this particular view more than the previous ones. Needless to say, the photo was taken on our daily walk, a couple of days ago.

I ponder life, the world and everything in between on these walks. There’s lots to ponder, isn’t there? Today I spent some time pondering the US presidential election. I find it fascinating that Trump could possibly win more than a few percent of the popular vote in 2020. What went so wrong in America that Trump’s share of the vote could venture beyond a single digit percentage?

Trump fans like to refer to non adherents as victims of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The condition exists. But in much the same way that Trump projects his failings, so his supporters do the same with their application of TDS. It’s tragic, it genuinely is.

I’ve watched, read and listened to these folk as they insist that the Russia thing was a hoax, as they pull out the most absurd conspiracy theories and as they lament the errant ‘mainstream media’. It’s genuinely pitiful. But they can’t be reasoned with.

It’s perfectly understandable why white supremacists and dimwits are drawn to Trump. It’s more of a mystery as to how respectable persons of otherwise sound intellect found themselves caught up in the cult of Trump. How did they fall victims, so easily and with so little metal resistance, to his ‘movement’?

In the post-Trump world, which will likely begin very shortly, when normality returns, many of these Trumperists will wonder what on earth they were thinking, throwing their support behind Trump. We will put it down to a slightly drawn out ‘moment’ of madness. A temporary state of insanity. A mental health issue. And we will call the condition, Trump Derangement Syndrome.

We will call it Trump Derangement Syndrome for several reasons. We’ll do so because were kind and forgiving. We’ll do so because we would like to reconcile and bring them back into the real world, a place we must share. But most of all we will do so because the truth is just so obnoxious.

What good does it do to ask people recovering from Trump Derangement Syndrome why they embraced white supremacy? Or why they supported the seedling of a fascist regime so enthusiastically? Or why they believed so many ridiculous lies. It does no one any good at all. So we’ll just give them a pat on the back, ask how they’re doing, check if there’s anything they need and let them know it’ll be ok.

Of course, the true hard-core white supremacists and dimwits will hold true to their cause. That single digit percentage will continue on, waiting for the next wannabe fascist to cheer for. We must keep an eye on them.