Today, I received a FB notification from one of the news channels covering President Biden’s announcement of his Executive Order regarding access to green card status for non-citizen spouses of American citizens. This meant something personal to me.
I have birthright citizenship, but neither my mother or father or older brother did. They were all born in Mexico. They were accepted into the United States as immigrants and subsequently as resident aliens. Both of my parents worked for decades. They paid their taxes. My mother attended a US university and achieved a license as a registered pharmacist. Years later, she became a naturalized citizen. My brother became a US citizen as a teenager while he was in medical school; he joined the Navy while still a med student. My father never sought US citizenship – still he lived the remainder of his life here.
I listened to President Biden explain the purpose of his executive order. The video image of his press conference occupied the upper half of the screen. The lower half was a rolling commentary from the online audience. I didn’t see a single positive comment.
The comments were akin to the following – paraphrased here:
- “He lies.”
- “Trump in 2024!”
- “He spends our tax dollars on two proxy wars and welfare for illegals.”
- “Trump for President!”
- “He’s old and senile.”
- “He’s the worst.”
The parade of hate porn went on and on. These broadcasts usually give the viewers the ability to send an emoji. I sent a heart. It looked lonely in a sea of such hatred. I soon abandoned the press conference and Googled “Hate Addiction,” because it seemed to me that most of the audience commenting was there to heckle the President.
I have no special knowledge of hate addiction although I have read about rageaholics. What I found online about hate addiction is that it is typically the result of victimization – real or imagined. When we feel victimized, we usually experience anger, and it is typical that we experience negative feelings (hate) toward the individual, group, or entity that we believe is victimizing us.
Trump trades in victimhood. In his own life story, he himself is a victim. He is the victim of the Deep State, of Prosecutors, of the Courts, of the Justice Department, of the Biden administration, and of his enemies. He also tells his faithful that they are victims, and they lap it up. The energy currency of the Trump’s political base is hate.
The truth is that Trump followers really are victims. They are victims of Trump’s lies and scams. And more of them are victims of the American Free Market that has been captured by the 1% or the 0.1% class. They are the victims of the influence of unlimited money in our politics.
A day or two ago, the young folks in our vacation family party went out for breakfast. My son picked up the local newspaper, and he recounted a story that he read in the paper. Estes Park, a vacation spot with an economy based largely on tourism, has become unaffordable for the people who live and work here. The existing housing stock has been bought by wealthy non-locals who rent their properties. New housing stock is created by retirees, private equity firms, and the investor class – not local residents. Most of the permanent residents of this town have service jobs that pay maybe $15/hr or so. That isn’t enough to provide the purchasing power needed to buy an $800K home like our middle-class vacation rental. It isn’t immigrants who are to blame for the circumstances of Estes Park’s permanent residents. It is the wealthy. It’s like that in most cities including my own.
Despite that reality, demagogues like Trump seem to have little trouble transforming the anger of victimization into xenophobia, homophobia, and blaming anyone but those responsible for the circumstances of a middle class falling into despair. His is a rhetorical alchemy that transforms the gold of truth into the lead of deception.
I do not know how to break the addiction to hate. What I read suggests that forgiveness is the antidote to hatred, but how do those who have been led to believe that innocents have victimized them forgive the blameless?
I think that the French Revolution may point the way. There comes a point where the corruption of the Nobility must be addressed by whatever means the victimized believe is warranted.