Thursday, March 3, 2016

Spit Take Averted; Computer Saved

A liberal progressive reader recently posted the following response to one of my blog entries regarding the reasons behind the success to date of Donald Trump's primary campaign: "I find it unbelievable that any American would even consider someone as crude and rude as Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. The president is the face of America. Is Trump's scowl and "potty mouth" the way we want America represented to the world? If so, then we are in deep trouble."
Fortunately, I wasn't drinking anything at the time or the resulting spit take would have ruined my computer. The comment is so ridiculous on so many levels I hardly know where to begin.
First, a progressive lamenting "potty mouth" is beyond absurd. Since Rhett Butler said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." in Gone With the Wind in 1940, progressives have spent the last 76 years polluting our movies, literature, TV, music and culture with so much filth and violence, most of the rest of the world sees America as a cultural cancer on the planet. Today, virtually all PG-13 movies have to have an obligatory f-bomb. I doubt an American political candidate's occasional potty mouth will really have much impact on a world already being deluged with filth from the US courtesy of liberals.
Next there is the "crude and rude" concern. There are 196 countries in the world today and the vast majority are run by either murderous, brutal dictators, criminal thugs or leaders who are both. It would be quite arrogant of us to believe that much of the world has time to concern itself with the demeanor of an American politician when they are living in squalor and oppression or being brutalized by the government. Additionally, we spend millions every year for cultural sensitivity training. As someone who has attended more than my fair share of cultural training, I can tell you it is nearly impossible to generalize how an American's "crude and rude" behavior will be interpreted. Factor in language differences and I guarantee it.
Lastly and related to cultural difference is the concern over that scowl. I don't find world leaders to be a "smiley" crowd in general to begin with. Putin is not exactly a "Cheshire Cat". Further, many cultures equate smiling a lot as a sign of being a simpleton.

Look, there are many reasons to be concerned over Donald Trump as a presidential candidate but "crude and rude", "potty mouth" and that "scowl" are nowhere near the top of the list for me and I seriously doubt they are for most of the rest of the world who see the "face of America". Potty mouth? Really? Are you sh**ing me?

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