Bully in the Bully Pulpit

Godspeed

I feel gut punched daily when I read what we call the news. I make a wincing face, get this pinchy feeling in my left brow that hurts when I touch it and my heart races a touch faster. While it’s my choice to read the news, I feel like it’s an abdication of being a grownup to choose not to.

2016 saw our world as we know it become upended. The rules changed and the ground under our feet is shifting. No matter who you are, what side you are on or what color you bleed, this is fact.

In a few weeks, we are going to swear in the next President of the United States (POTUS). In the past year, the man who will be the leader of the free world, has managed to change the dynamics in the United States and the World in such a startling way. I, personally, feel like he’s changing it in the way that Hitler changed the world but there are many who disagree. I want nothing more than to be wrong.

I do think that we have to really sit with the fact that Donald J. Trump is a bully. A playground bully. He uses words as weapons. He intends to hurt and he is gleeful when he does. My guess is there are a lot of kitten skeletons in the backyard of where he grew up. And siblings with stories of indian burns, having their heads held under water for just a few seconds too long and painful bruises inflicted just out of sight. But, I’m just an amateur observer. I do know that the level of abuse that he has inflicted is enough to land a person in anger management classes, have stalker laws applied to them and restraining orders filed against them. There will be no surprise the day that he steps over the line and pulls a loaded gun on someone instead of a loaded tweet. It’s just a matter of time.

DJT, as he sometimes refers to himself, is a sexual abuser. A misogynist. Most simply through the objectification of women. Having his way with women, bragging about grabbing women’s genitals and then chalking such abusive, irresponsible and disrespectful behavior up to “locker room talk.” This soon-to-be POTUS is one who we will make us repeatedly place our hands over our collective children’s eyes and “ear muff” their ears to make sure that they don’t mistake him as someone to aspire to be, ever.

And, yes, the Donald is a racist. Anyone who allows a white supremacist group to hold a conference and “Heil Trump” in celebration of your election victory is a racist, through and through. I’m sure that Trump wears confederate flag boxer shorts and has a swastika tattooed on his heart. And He is a luddite. While he unleashes unprecedented abuse through twitter he is otherwise beyond ignorant when it comes to how the 1’s and 0’s align to allow him to work that bluebird.

But here’s what keeps my stomach tied in knots, my adrenaline level just high enough to keep me in sensory overload. He is outrageously dangerous. He’s abusive and leaves no rock unturned even before his paper-thin skin is pierced. A perfect specimen of a narcissist. It makes me sad to see someone who is so abusive, ignorant and angry and in so much pain. Whatever went wrong between he and his mother and father was seriously deviant.

It’s astounding that we are going to allow someone to be the leader of the free world who so openly abuses people and who so effortlessly operates above the rule of law. On this alone, I lose hope, daily.

What grown man thinks that diplomacy takes place over twitter with many of the 140 characters nothing but abusive, bullying words? What adult courts the enemy and invites them into our literal living room in spite of evidence that they are playing us for the fool? Who lies out every orifice of their body and then abuses the press who simply echo back what he says?

This man that is to be the POTUS is a bully. An abuser. A fool who is in control with an army of very dangerous and much smarter people to do his bidding.

There are just 13 days left until the surreal becomes reality and the topsy turvy feeling that we have now becomes the new normal. There’s no seat belt that’s going to make this ride feel safe.

Godspeed.

(I don’t ask a lot, but a green heart if you like this, would be awesome)