Homo Trumpians

I guess we are a new species. We must be because nobody understands our language. No matter who we talk to, they misinterpret everything. At least that is what I think is happening because when the media responds to me or others like me, everything comes out backwards. 

I attended a local conference on "Guns in America" and when I suggested it might be a good idea to have a gun to protect my family, friends, or anyone being threatened by a terrorist, I was berated and yelled at. Some said I am an angry, xenophobic and mean man. How can they reach that conclusion when I was suggesting I should make every effort to put myself between trouble and my friends? Isn't that a noble idea?

During an online video conference I suggested that everyone should have equal opportunity to get an education and improve their lot in life. Within minutes I heard angry attacks on my character, describing my ideas as divisive and racist. When I asked how what I said could be interpreted as divisive, I was told in no uncertain terms that "equal opportunity" is a phrase used by white men to restrict minorities from acquiring wealth. It represents the intersectionality of white privilege and devaluation of black subcultural identity and contributes to the atmosphere of repression black Americans experience everyday. Still others said "opportunity" is a "dog whistle" for restricting lower class access to wealth, because it has qualifiers that are subtly racist. They say, the only way minorities will get ahead is when healthcare, housing and education are provided free by taxpayers (which they euphemistically call government).

Did I just come out of a coma? I no longer recognize this place, this country, this culture or this "intersectionality" stuff. Somebody has hijacked the language and culture of the country I grew up in. It seems that everything I once held dear, that I admired about my country, community and my fellow Americans, is under assault. I can't put it any other way. I am a stranger in a strange land.

And when I express my concerns about this "intersectionality" stuff, I am ridiculed. I do not feel threatened by civilized discussion in the arena of ideas, and I do not take it personally if my ideas are challenged, but I do resent the implication that my ideas are designed to hurt other people or that my intentions are anything less than altruistic. So I dared to suggest, treating me and those who voted for Donald Trump like we are a threat to survival, or like we are vermin, is fascist.

The outbursts proved my point. Tolerance is in limited supply in our modern Progressive culture. Suppression of opposing ideas is rationalized by fear: Any idea that triggers an emotional reaction by an oppressed minority is subject to censorship or outright suppression. Discussion ends when someone is triggered.

I am often called a Trumpian. I guess I am one of a new species of homo sapiens, and because of my outgoing willingness to support nationalism, self-reliance, self-interest, and personal accountability and the only man in Washington who unabashedly stands up for those principles, I am looked upon as an alien species. A threat to the status quo, or at least to the status of "progressive thinking people" around me. 

Funny, I used to be a perfect test-marketing client for survey professionals testing consumer goods and services. They liked me because I was right down the middle economically, educationally, and socially. I was a part of the majority white population and I am a male. I have been steadily employed virtually all of my life. I am married with two children. I am a third generation Californian, with a background in construction services. I have no criminal record and am active and healthy. I filled a demographic profile that consumer product manufacturers wanted to serve. If I liked the new product, the marketers were pretty sure there would be widespread acceptance. 

Suddenly I am a threat to mankind? Maybe that's why the test marketers haven't called me in a while...

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