I don’t believe in engaging Trump supporters because 1) I don’t want to get into trouble at work and 2) I haven’t been able to change anyone’s mind on anything for as long as I have lived (56 years). In fact, politics is a verboten topic where I work. But it’s interesting what a few library books on history or politics will do to entice Trump supporters to come out of the wood work. Or like sharks who smell chum in the water.
Let me explain.
I have a temporary position at the Census Bureau. And they REALLY do not want us to talk about politics. I’m fine with that. But I would like to be able to read things like Daily Kos when I am on my breaks or lunch. Unfortunately, my fucking cell phone has the world’s worst reception in the warehouse I work in. Therefore, to prevent myself from going insane, I have started to get books from my local library to read during my breaks.
I would read some fantasy book series, but I haven’t found a good series in a long time. Therefore, I gravitate to some of my other interests: history and politics. Knowing that getting a soapbox would get me into trouble, I don’t flaunt any of the books I bring in. The works I have been reading are things like Confidence Men by Ron Suskind and Jonathan Alter’s book on Obama.
Yeah, you can see where this is going.
I repeat that I did not flaunt any of these books to anyone. I just wanted to read them in peace during my breaks. It wasn’t like I was reading one of Rick Wilson’s books on Trump.
Well, two Trump supporters who are also evangelicals decided to try and engage me on Trump. And I have done my best to just listen to them and not say anything. And I mean that.
The one white guy who is an evangelical asked me if I was a Democrat. I replied “I didn’t say that I was a Democrat.” And I left it at that. Now, he has tried to bait me on impeachment and several other things, but I have steadfastly refused. He doesn’t think that impeachment is legitimate because it is all based upon lies.
I don’t reply or just have a blank look on my face.
And the other evangelical is a black woman, and she saw the book on Obama and said, “He’s a globalist.” I’ve had to listen to screeds on how global climate change is a hoax. Did you know that the Earth goes through two thousands year old cycles where it gets GREENER? And we are going through one of those times now?
Did I mention that I am a former research scientist, and I had to sit there and just go “Uh huh.” ?
I had to listen to a 40 minute non-sensical and insane tour of her mind because I couldn’t figure out a nice way of saying, “Please leave me the fuck alone.” And the scientist in me did try to discern her thought process. Literally, I got a headache.
The part that really made my head hurt was her insistence that Trump has turned to God.
You read that correctly. She said that Trump had “dusted off his mother’s Bible” and is returning to God. And we as a nation need to desperately return to God because we have banished him from our lives and laws. This nation was founded on Christianity and God and….blah, blah, blah.
You can read about the hypocrisy and delusions of evangelicals who still support Trump. It’s another thing to run into it in real life. I keep reading diaries on Daily Kos about engaging Trump supporters and hearing the talking heads on TV say that we need to reach out and find common ground with Trump voters. I’m sorry, but listening — just listening mind you — to Trump supporters is the mental equivalent of running your car into a wall at 70 mph.
Oh, did I mention that the woman evangelical wants to bring in a book about angel sightings during WWII and give it to me to read?
I am going to have to put my foot down politely and tell her that I really am not interested in reading her book. I dislike confrontations, but I am not going to take her book and take the time to read it during my breaks. I have had my fair share of listening to religious fanatics and reading some of their literature in the past.
Instead, I am going to give what little money I have to Democratic candidates in 2020. I will write diaries in support of Democrats or do any other work for Democrats that I can fit in with the time constraints in my life. But my determination is to DEFEAT Trump and Republicans. I have no intention of trying to engage Trump supporters or change their minds.
Yes, maybe, just maybe, not all Trump supporters are not as insane as the two at my work. Or as politically tribal as my rural relatives are. But Trump voters know what they are getting, and I have no patience or tolerance for them.