"Donald Trump intensified his politics of nativism and xenophobia on Friday by announcing a sweeping plan to deport Venezuelans he claimed have 'infected' a once-peaceful city in Colorado."

William Lindsey :toad:

@darwinwoodka You're right. Their worldview is built around the us-vs.-them dichotomy. And we are the good, the righteous and saved, while they are the evil, the unrighteous and damend.

Old Man in the Shoe

@wdlindsy @peachfront I think this was one where he had two answers on deck and couldn't get them both out. I've debated so I could notice a more nuanced struggle with Joe that night.

William Lindsey :toad:

@jenzi @peachfront Yes. And I keep in mind that he has consistently been clear-headed, obviously keen-minded, on occasion after occasion beyond that single debate with a raving lunatic, when Biden had been traveling non-stop, engaging in important negotiations, and had contracted a respiratory illness.

Huntn00

@wdlindsy When I think about the mechanics of a DJT Presidency, how it’s being encouraged, in disregard for basically all of this Nation’s idealized standards, it feels like a Twilight Zone episode, or a 1953 Movie Invaders From Mars where people are abducted and altered to return fundamentally changed, not the reality I grew up with. It’s Like being surrounded by people you thought you knew, but don’t, then it slams you, what you’re actually dealing with. Remind you of anyone?

William Lindsey :toad:

@Huntn00 I don't think I've seen that movie, but it looks appropriately horrifying.

Huntn00

@wdlindsy I was scared watching this as a kid and in context to today, remains scary because of the theme, suddenly realizing you are surrounded by people that you had no idea who they really are or they suddenly changed.
We’ve observed the descent of the GOP for 4 decades but they completely broke in 2016 and it’s contagious, imperiling our Republic.

When We Vote, We Win

@wdlindsy The reaction "I don't care" sums up exactly how those people feel. I've talked to people like that, and they don't care as long as it isn't them. People repeatedly ask "how could this happen" and that's the answer in three words.

William Lindsey :toad:

@PattyHanson You are so right. I encounter these folks all the time, too. It's like a mantra that proves they're beyond shame, above it all: I don't care. And this is exactly why Melania chose to wear that in-your-face message jacket with the "I don't care" statement on it as she went to the border to "investigate" children being taken from parents.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Huntn00 Interesting. As you describe the plot, I think of a recurring nightmare I had as a child in which I woke in the night to find all of my family members had become vampires, then ran to neighbors' houses and found they all had changed into vampires, too. Some archetypal theme there in our psyches, I suspect, the idea that we're surrounded by monsters.

Huntn00

@wdlindsy The plot (Invaders from Mars) involves children who notice the adults around them have changed. This is a 50s movie with actors in suits with zippers, but this was cold war era and an unnerving theme, not unlike Invasion Of The The Body Snatchers. I never thought I’d experience something like this as an adult..

William Lindsey :toad:

@Huntn00 Thanks for pointing me to that film. Sounds really interesting.