Lost in all the jokes about "I'd rather be electrocuted than eaten by a shark." -Trump
(It's right up there with "But let me tell you something that I found out: A werewolf can kill a vampire. Did you know that? I never knew that." - Herschel Walker Ah, yes, Republican wisdom!)
But lost in all the kerfuffle was another curious comment from Trump about sharks:
"I watched some guys justifying it ... They bit off the young lady’s leg ... These people are crazy."
The more they say #Biden is weak, mental problems, they are lowering people's expectations about Biden
So, when Biden does well in a debate or at a #SOTU the #MAGA folks have to accuse him of being on stimulates
KEEP DOING THIS #MAGA 🤣
"Donny continues to deteriorate, already #FoxNews and #DrPhil are having to air heavily-edited pre-taped interviews in order to make Donny appear less batshit than he is"
@futurebird Unfortunately, NYS doesn't offer the electric chair as punishment for his felony convictions. Just think of the ratings if that were broadcast with the executioner dressed as a baby shark.
With Trump it's hard to really know what he's talking about but I suspect this is about the effort to stop demonizing sharks. They are important apex predators in marine ecosystems. We probably spend way too much time thinking about them as a danger and not enough as endangered.
And of course, what do we have here? General contempt for compassion, for nuance, for learning anything beyond the most obvious knee-jerk surface reactions.
Is it annoying when someone who has thought about something more than you have points out that your intuitive understanding is pretty ignorant?
Yes it's annoying. But it's also exciting because the kind of person who explains "actually sharks aren't out to get you..." could probably give you an opportunity to experience a sense of wonder and awe that comes from learning about the world.
That wonder is what we ought to embrace. Not this anti-intellectualism.
@futurebird Trump is like Pavov's dog except with speech. When he gets applause for saying a phrase he says that phrase repeatedly without regard to context. Dementia is definitely taking a toll.
@futurebird I have had to teach myself to say "you know, you have a good point, thank you". Nothing in my upbringing encouraged backing down, even the appearance of backing down, even when there's nothing to be gained by staying in.
@futurebird The best instance of this is when the sharkficianado is 8 years old, and you've been the only one willing to recognize their sharkspertise all week. Most subject-matter experts are still that kid inside; some just look older.
@futurebird
Trying to make sense of Trump's meandering monologues is like opening a bag of salad greens trying to deduce from the mix what day of the week they were picked.
@futurebird Trump’s speeches are a pick n’ mix bag of dog whistles. In this case it’s “sharks are bad because they will nom your leg off, we should kill them despite what the libs say. EVs are also bad because they will sink your boat then electrocute you which is the future the libs want, but sharks are probably worse.”
Even extracting that amount of meaning from his blatherings is akin to pareidolia.
Remember that person who said what you were doing was bad for the environment. Or who told you not to shoot the coyotes? Remember how mad they made you? Well I hate them too!
@futurebird@johncarneyau Populist leaders have always known (probably instinctively) how to work on the feels. Well, actually, they probably don't actually "know" it - they feel that's how they get people worked up.
“Some men see things as they are and ask, "Why?" I dream things that never were and ask, "Why not?"
Robert F. Kennedy
“I say, ‘What would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you’re in the boat, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery’s now underwater, and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there?”