Remember, You Asked for This

Oooo, I especially loved the irony of their kindness being cruel!

Dude!!!! I’m mad glad to see you post something, felt like I hadn’t seen yiu on here in a while! Hoping this is the mark of a return for ya :) Was wondering about you the other day and I kind of assumed you’ve probably been working on some deep projects! hope your writing has been going well :) I’m liking this poem because the writing is outstanding as always, word choice and flow are impeccable. Your voice remains unique and powerful, as I’ve come to expect. Just want to clarify the reason why I’m liking is 100% down to the quality of your writing, I don’t want to you to think I agree with the sentiments here. I certainly don’t. chief among the sentiments I firmly disagree with is embodies in the line: “but in the vast multitude, not one untouched by malice” On one level, I love that line because the wording is so crisp! But on a deeper level: characterizing those who oppose trump as universally willing or intending to harm others is kinda bizarre actually. Most of the anti trump crowd that I know in person are not looking to harm anyone, they’re looking to reduce the harm they see trump’s admin doing across the nation and in the broader world. To be totally frank, seeing an artist I admire and look up to mischaracterize the anti trump movement is a perplexing thing to behold, especially since I’ve lately noticed a trend between creativity and leftism. As a member of “the lunatic left”, I didn’t approve of Kamala either— or many Dems. To me, the right is actively shilling for corporations and the sacrificing workers rights/ the environment for capitalist imperialism. And the Dems are doing the same damn thing, but with a smile and “inclusiveness”. K was the lesser of two evils, by any assessment I’d call fair, BUT I’m tired of being forced to choose between two evils! That’s not much of a democracy, we should be voting for people we like, not people we dislike less. But to be fair towards your lack of patience for anti trumpers I likewise find it extremely difficult to hold any patience whatsoever for people who liked trump. I’ve heard it said “not every trump supporter is sexist. But every trump supporter is okay within sexism” And I felt that. Really, we could sub out sexism with lots of other forms prejudice and hate, from religious intolerance to racism. I’ve loathed the man since the days of “the apprentice”, he has always come across as the embodiment of all that I find shameful in US culture: a rabid fixation on the self. Hyper individualism as opposed to collectivism. Ego as opposed to empathy. In short, he always seemed a totally self obsessed creep. Back then I was a kid— still actively Christian as opposed to agnostic— and a large art of my early rejection of trump came down to his glorification of wealth, which offended my firm belief that Christ called His followers and the world to reject greed in a radical way. So to find that so many Christians— supported trump when he ran in 2016? To me that’s a baffling contradiction of values. But I kind of understood the hyper nationalist crowd and xenophobic crowd elevating him, the first time around. Since then he’s become a multi count felon who oversteps his office, violates the constitution, and evades the system of checks and balances that are suppose to prevent abuses of power. So at this particular point I really don’t understand how anyone can look past his glaring offenses and actually support him. I’ve tried to “bridge the gap” so to speak with family who like him, specifically by asking “what were your reasons” and I haven’t heard anything compelling. Usually it comes down to liking his roasts. Admittedly, he’s had some good ones, but… that doesn’t mean his policies are equitable or even sane. Now, I think the most damning thing is trumps very creepy association within Epstein. I don’t know if you’ve had the courage to look at the files on the doj website. I haven’t been able to look closely because to me the most damnable, unforgivable sin of all time is preying on kids. And deep reading the contents of those files would traumatize me. Still the stuff I’ve seen has been heartbreaking. Between that and his bragging about barging in on girls in changing rooms for those creepy beauty pageants he was involved in… I know I wouldn’t trust trump around my daughter or anyone else’s daughter. So at this point I feel like trump has burned so many demographics that he should have alienated ALL support. I feel like the only group he hasn’t directly insulted is us straight white guys. But any straight white guy who’s Christian, a father, a patriot, or concerned with civil rights should be rejecting him, as far a I can tell. No valid reasons to support trump have occurred to me. All this being said, one of your central themes in the poem is “I’m not evil, I had my reasons” I would love to hear your reasons, because I really do want to understand how an intellect and a writer I admire and look up to could ever have been for trump. You dont owe me or anyone else an explanation, you made it clear in your poem you’re content to be silent, as regards your motives. But if you’re feeling bold enough to elaborate your position, I’d love to gain some insights. And if you don’t feel like a public comment thread is a safe space for this discourse feel free to email me or Instagram dm me instead! I really would appreciate the chance to read your take on why trump was a an acceptable candidate in your eyes. Also I’m not clear on whether you still support trump. Since the main points feel past tense here. If you’re one of the growing crowd who regrets supporting trump I’d also love to hear what changed your mind, if you are willing to divulge those details. I don’t mean to pressure you, but you’re a writer I respect, and from the start you have struck me as a thoughtful and intelligent guy. So I’m all ears if you are willing to elaborate :) And even if you’re not, I’ll still keep an eye out for new stories