Trump is Brilliant. We Have to Be Smarter

Trump is Brilliant. We Have to Be Smarter

We have to be smarter. Yesterday Trump settled 3 civil lawsuits for fraud regarding Trump University for 25 million dollars. That’s a big news story, and it very quickly grabbed the headlines. That evening, Vice-President elect Mike Pence went to see Hamilton and was roundly booed. After the play, the cast delivered a very civil message to him, explaining that, as a diverse group of people of color, sexual orientation, and gender, the prospect of a Trump presidency made them nervous. The next morning Trump tweeted

trump hamilton

The internet went crazy. The outrage was like gasoline on a brush fire. The Trump fraud settlement story quickly faded from memory. People were understandably outraged. By the afternoon though many people began to realize that they had been had.

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A long string of stories started to hit the web from outlets like Vox, Think Progress, buzzfeed, and GQ that made it clear it was a brilliantly played move to distract people.

We need to learn to respond rather than react. When the Klan announces a victory march, and Trump remains silent, we have to figure out how to respond. One reaction might be to protest angrily. We need to be smarter. We need to send a message to the world that we won’t react to hate with rage. Trump is the master of rage. He uses it like a magician to blind his audience so that he can pull off his elaborate tricks. If we can let go of our rage, and instead respond to his actions with calmness, we can reveal his tricks in action. It seems like everyone figured this out quickly. My friend Young Jean put it this way.

From now on, whenever he does anything provocative, I’m going to ask myself, “What does Trump not want me focusing on right now?” We can’t let this guy keep winning.

We all need to be asking ourselves this question. So when the Klan comes to Raleigh on December 3rd, let’s have a plan of action that won’t give them gasoline for the brush fire.

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5 Comments
  • Susan Littenberg
    Posted at 00:43h, 20 November Reply

    Brilliant

  • Violet
    Posted at 17:45h, 21 November Reply

    You need these clowns on Dec 3rd! Creative resistance at it’s best:
    http://www.neatorama.com/2007/09/03/clowns-kicked-kkk-asses/

  • a. jordan
    Posted at 18:56h, 21 November Reply

    I have to disagree with the conclusion drawn based on this trending map. Searches for Trump University were already steadily trending downward since they peaked on the 18th. We do see the rise of Trump Hamilton… when that happened, but… A. the Trump University search didn’t take a sudden dive to coincide; it just continued its trend… and B: Trump Hamilton barely eclipsed the continued Trump University searches.

    Do I believe it could be a distraction technique? Sure. Do I think it’s effective? Not necessarily, or at least not as evidenced by the trends of these 2 search strings.

    Also, hairline type in med. grey on a light grey screen is barely legible. You should reconsider that choice.

  • Derek Bernier
    Posted at 14:18h, 28 November Reply

    So it’s like how Hillary going against everything she said in her concession speech and now not conceding to her campaign loss all of a sudden with the hope that everyones attention diverts from #pizzagate that she and others close to her are tied in with to a ridiculous recount after a landslide loss. I get it.

    • Scott Aycock
      Posted at 23:51h, 28 November Reply

      Hey Derek,

      Jill Stein is behind the recount, as well as a host of non-partisan statisticians.

      If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but endeavor to get your facts straight.

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