The Toadies of Donald Trump
A Brief Exposition on Bullying
I had a bully back in elementary and junior high. I suspect it caused me to sometimes bully, but I like to think I have always been introspective enough to know when I was being a bully and to feel remorse for it. That doesn’t excuse it when I’ve engaged in that sort of behavior, but it has helped me keep it in check.
Because we’re are obviously from the same hometown, our paths cross on social media (Facebook) from time to time. (We’re certainly not friends, nor do I follow this person, but because a friend may reply, his posts sometimes wind up on my timeline.) We clearly stand at different ends of the political spectrum, and I replied to a meme he’d posted about how Democrats could see Trump’s tax returns after they release Obama’s birth record and his transcripts and of course something about Clinton’s emails. I’ve been working to be less aggressive on Facebook, so I replied explaining that there is no “original” birth record pretty much for anyone…they are either on microfilm or digital, that in fact, even his would be one of those, and that is exactly what was produced. That the Republicans had spent millions and years investigating Benghazi and Sec. Clinton’s emails, and in the end, found nothing. I pointed out he was insulting the job Republican’s had done investigating if he was now implying, they’d not fully followed-up (and we know if they’d been able to find anything, it would have been beaten into the ground long before the election).
As a noun, a bully is defined as, “a person who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable,” and as a verb it means, “seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable).” Bullying has an aspect of real or perceived vulnerability on the part of the victim.
What I learned was that once a bully, always a bully. First was this response, “John Masters your a typical democrat.. obamma was the worst fucking person ever… keep living the lie. When Muslims are chasing you down. We tried to warn you an your idiot dim friends!!!!” (Posted as written) It’s not only aggressive but clearly deflects from the original points with the usual broad general statements like, “worst ever, etc.”
And in a follow-on comment, “You need to keep sitting on your fat ass and keep your mouth shut. Evidently you are a Democrat and people are fed up with all the BS that goes along with them.” There’s a bit of an implied threat in this one, and certainly a sense of entitled superiority.
A brief bit of research on the psychology behind bullying shows it is a distinctive pattern of harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are in some way smaller, weaker, younger or in any way more vulnerable than the bully. Bullying is not garden-variety aggression; it is a deliberate and repeated attempt to cause harm to others of lesser power. It’s a very durable behavioral style, largely because bullies get what they want—at least at first.
According to a synopsis on Psychology Today, “Studies show that bullies lack prosocial behavior, are untroubled by anxiety, and do not understand others’ feelings. They misread the intentions of others, often imputing hostility in neutral situations. They typically see themselves quite positively. Those who chronically bully have strained relationships with parents and peers. Bullies couldn’t exist without victims, and they don’t pick on just anyone; those singled out lack assertiveness even in nonthreatening situations and radiate fear long before they ever encounter a bully.”[footnote]”Just Who Is a Bully,” Psychology Today, March 15, 2019.[/footnote]
This brought into stark relief what we are experiencing on a societal scale. Frankly, I find it unsurprising that this person is a Trump supporter. I’d put him solidly at the lower-end of middle-class economically, and he’s obviously close to my age, so vulnerable if the economy goes south. Yet his need to continue to bully and to have a role model he perceives is like him causes him to vote against his own economic self-interests. Mix in a dose of culture-war hate and racism, and Trump becomes an obvious hero to someone like this person.
I suspect there are many Trump supporters who have this profile. They feed on his bullying as Grover Dill did as Scut Farkus’ toadie in “A Christmas Story.” Trump emboldens them. We see this over and over in the mass shootings attempted bombings and increasing hate crimes. I don’t know how we start to reverse this, but I know that, until Donald Trump is put in the dustbin of history, the situation is not going to get better. I’d note that the Psychology Today profile says that “Bullies couldn’t exist without victims…” So long as Trump has people he can bully (I’m looking at you Matt Gaetz, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham), and there are those who feel that bullying is ennobling, this will continue and likely grow worse.
