Comments on: “I want to do what Mexico does. They don’t give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you’re vomiting.” https://habitablezone.com/2021/01/01/i-want-to-do-what-mexico-does-they-dont-give-you-a-test-till-you-get-to-the-emergency-room-and-youre-vomiting/ Tue, 12 May 2026 20:11:45 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2021/01/01/i-want-to-do-what-mexico-does-they-dont-give-you-a-test-till-you-get-to-the-emergency-room-and-youre-vomiting/#comment-46447 ER Fri, 01 Jan 2021 22:11:25 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=86686#comment-46447 ...but we must keep reminding ourselves that Trump's incompetence, stupidity and criminality is not what we should take away from this. In a democracy, there is always the threat that the people will elect a fool or a monster, and that the Antichrist can come from anywhere on the political spectrum. We must educate our citizens, inculcate them with good citizenship and civic pride, wean them from mindless addiction to consumerism, economic slavery and mass entertainment devised primarily as commercial propaganda; bread and circuses. Trumps will be elected in a democracy, but it is in our voters and our institutions, political, legal, constitutional, that the forces to evict usurpers like him must come from. But we cannot blame the ignorance of the voter or the ineffectiveness of our institutions for this episode in our history. Trump was aided and abetted, supported and defended by people who knew exactly who he was and what he would lead to. These were educated, intelligent people, leaders in government, business, the church and the press, who felt Trump was good for them, regardless of how he would damage the rest of our nation. These were men in power, capable and influential men. They knew what they were getting and they knew exactly what they were doing. They did it for money, and for power, to further their own interests and the agenda of those they felt were like them. They actively promoted his power, and in the past cleverly and busily prepared the ground for someone like him. And they did it because they hated and feared those who they felt opposed them. Trump's politics can be traced back directly to the post-war witch hunts of Joe McCarthy, and the social and historical precursors go back to the earliest days of the Republic and before. Trump was a monster, but he was no anomaly. Democracies get people like this. The public can be misguided, and the voter fooled, but they will soon enough come to their senses and vote their own interest. It is those who enabled Trump, who covered for him, made excuses for him, who even now continue to agitate on his behalf and ally themselves with bigots, EVEN WHEN THEY KNEW BETTER, who are the real villains in this piece. And they are still there, biding their time, and hoping we didn't notice who they are and what they did. And these people learned from Trump's excesses and their own mistakes. Next time, and you can bet your sweet ass there will be a next time, they won't make those mistakes again. RL is right. We know who these people are and we need to remind them we know who they are. Because they will be back. …but we must keep reminding ourselves that Trump’s incompetence, stupidity and criminality is not what we should take away from this. In a democracy, there is always the threat that the people will elect a fool or a monster, and that the Antichrist can come from anywhere on the political spectrum.

We must educate our citizens, inculcate them with good citizenship and
civic pride, wean them from mindless addiction to consumerism, economic slavery and mass entertainment devised primarily as commercial propaganda; bread and circuses. Trumps will be elected in a democracy, but it is in our voters and our institutions, political, legal, constitutional, that the forces to evict usurpers like him must come from.

But we cannot blame the ignorance of the voter or the ineffectiveness of our institutions for this episode in our history. Trump was aided and abetted, supported and defended by people who knew exactly who he was and what he would lead to. These were educated, intelligent people, leaders in government, business, the church and the press, who felt Trump was good for them, regardless of how he would damage the rest of our nation. These were men in power, capable and influential men. They knew what they were getting and they knew exactly what they were doing. They did it for money, and for power, to further their own interests and the agenda of those they felt were like them. They actively promoted his power, and in the past cleverly and busily prepared the ground for someone like him. And they did it because they hated and feared those who they felt opposed them. Trump’s politics can be traced back directly to the post-war witch hunts of Joe McCarthy, and the social and historical precursors go back to the earliest days of the Republic and before.

Trump was a monster, but he was no anomaly. Democracies get people like this. The public can be misguided, and the voter fooled, but they will soon enough come to their senses and vote their own interest. It is those who enabled Trump, who covered for him, made excuses for him, who even now continue to agitate on his behalf and ally themselves with bigots, EVEN WHEN THEY KNEW BETTER, who are the real villains in this piece. And they are still there, biding their time, and hoping we didn’t notice who they are and what they did. And these people learned from Trump’s excesses and their own mistakes. Next time, and you can bet your sweet ass there will be a next time, they won’t make those mistakes again.

RL is right. We know who these people are and we need to remind them we know who they are. Because they will be back.

]]>