I love a political satire that draws attention to a serious issue, and wow, do they hit different with this administration. They’re one of the only things Trump actually seems injured by, made obvious by his endless threats and tantrums toward anyone who speaks negatively (read: honestly) about him.
Rather than letting criticism roll off or responding with any sort of leaderly or adult tact, Trump consistently slaps back online with stream-of-consciousness tantrums about fake news (please don’t make me cite this; you know how to find it).
Over the years (I don’t know how many years of this shit it’s been… like 10 at this point?) Trump has made countless attempts to discredit, manipulate, and bully mainstream media into submission. These tactics have been alarmingly effective since he regained office, only making satire more effective to a suppressed, censored, fed-up majority.
Why exactly is humor so effective at fighting back? Because laughter is contagious. Joy bonds us, helps us communicate across language and location. It helps us engage with what we’re learning. It gives us hope when the truth is dire.
As we’ve all seen at this point, Trump cannot at all handle being criticized. He completely lets his mask down, showing open hostility toward any opposition.
And it isn’t only Trump we’ve seen act that way. Having dealt with a few narcissists in the past, knowing how much being mocked infuriates him only inspires me to watch, laugh, and love my fellow human even harder. Because I know exactly what that is, and I know how hard it’s going to get before it gets better.
It is the narcissist’s thin skin and sensitivity that leads to this rage because of a deep-seated fear of being “found out” for not being the person they portray themselves to be.
— Cuncic
That sounds really scary, I know. And unfortunately, it is.
But the more fueled he is by his narcissistic rage, the more I actually believe we have to begin coming out the other side of this soon. He’s getting too bold, showing his whole ass, and it’s unsustainable. We’ve seen these behaviors before, and they’re scary as hell, but they cometh before the fall.
As the list of people Trump’s screwed with each vile, barely-discernible (yet somehow still wildly offensive) Tweet, so does the ability for our collective voice to grow louder. The more of us speak up, the easier it is for others to feel safe doing the same.
It’s getting too hard to continue defending him; people are starting to see the real-world consequences and realize they’ve been manipulated. I think a lot of people are realizing they were uneducated when they threw their support behind the wrong guy, and they’re embarrassed to admit it.
I know we’re mad at them. I get it. I do not think that anger is invalid whatsoever and I definitely have my moments. The U.S. has a lot to heal from, but we can’t do that when we’re still hemorrhaging. In any first aid training, they’ll teach you to address the immediate threat first.
We can definitely revisit the reasons why everyone ended up getting into the fight after we get this dictator the hell out of here. Hopefully somewhere incredibly uncomfortable where he can rot away into a strong reminder of the importance of facing our history.
How much is he going to hate that? Can’t wait.
While his most dedicated Flying Monkeys will simply never believe a bad thing about him, I do think the more he shows his open disgust with the general public, the more followers (and thus, power) he’ll lose.
Narcissistic rage is violent. And we are giving him so much power to explode.
I think long ago he stopped caring about certain optics, and he’s made very clear during this presidency, he’s going to do what he wants … He is not messaging this in a way that suggests that he understands what average people might be going through right now.
—David
What we need to do is break down his mob of yes men. Chip away at his network of cronies, his sense of superiority, and he loses power.
A common suggestion for dealing with a narcissist has been termed the Grey Rock Method.
This method is effective because abusers thrive on the harm and chaos they cause. Take away their joy in seeing you hurting and you take away their narcissistic supply. I’ve found this tactic to be highly effective, although it comes with a warning that the abusive behavior will likely get worse before it gets better.
The grey rock method is where you deliberately act unresponsive or unengaged so that an abusive person will lose interest in you.
— Lawrenz, L. & Fletcher, J.
Unfortunately, in the case of a dictator it’s very unlikely that the classic method of ignoring Trump will get him to go away. Trump has spent years dismantling trust in mainstream media and bending them to his narrative. When the power he’s throwing around is causing such harm to our sources of collective knowledge and community, what we need to do is a more extreme, more strategic form of the grey work method.
We need to take his power away from an entire community.
We’re already starting to see it. People are speaking out and taking action to fight back every day. Communities are fighting back together.
I know it can be hard right now, but keep laughing and keep learning. It’s bad for Trump’s health, which is good for all of ours. We can all do our part to turn this tide before even more people are harmed by his destructive actions.
Whatever color rock you’re using to smash the patriarchy today, trauma-informed education and strong support systems can be incredibly helpful during this time. Arming ourselves against lies and misinformation will help us resist and prepare for potential harm, as well as survive what we’ve already endured together.
- Find your people and stay connected.
- Participate in collective action/mutual aid where you can.
- Follow and engage with independent journalists and researchers. Learning how to recognize trusted, fact-checked resources is essential to the resistance.
Hey look, there’s one right there!