I don’t have the best dating history. It’s simply a fact, I don’t deny my ability to attract men who are just not good people. I’ve come to terms with it, and had all but stopped dating before the subject of this story and I started seeing one another.
I could tell from his social media he was right leaning, but it didn’t look ultra-right. I thought it was the old flavor of Republican, the reduce welfare program flavor, not the MAGA mouth-frothing breed.
I was so wrong.
I asked him how he politically identified, and he said, “I’m a Libertarian”. I thought I would look into it later, and we agreed not to discuss politics, and went on with our day. Fantastic. Crisis averted.
Not really though.
It seems they are MAGA in different hats, or the intended target of the propaganda that is spewed by the ultra-right. They love guns. MAGA won’t see gun rights restricted, not on their watch.
They want a government which funds only police and military factions, while children starve, and mental health services are fully rescinded. Basically, support yourself, or die in the streets.
Although the similarities had started to rear their ugly heads, I hadn’t fully given up hope. I’m known to beat a dead horse and all. Then, I mentioned the Trump documents being released in the Epstein files.
And suddenly, the waters grew dark. Murky. The truth was rising quickly to the surface, and it was horrific to watch this beast braying itself into existence before me. It was the fuel of my nightmares.
First, the whataboutism. “What about all of the other people who are named in the documents?”, he asked me. I think I must have choked on my water, or something similar, because the sound that left my throat was unrecognizable to me.
Then, the flat-out denial of the truth as laid in front of him. “If they’re true, then yes, Trump is not someone who should be president”. This after I asked, “you want someone who rapes 14-year-olds to be president?”
The accusations flew about the Democrats also named. And I informed him that the document I was reading was about Trump, and only Trump, therefore I was speaking of just Trump at the moment. He refused further discussion on the matter, citing our ‘no politics’ agreement.
He was right. I did agree to that. Before I knew I was dating a Trumper.
Perhaps there are some core differences, but the similarities are frightening. MAGA zealots and the folks who are claiming sovereignty during roadside traffic stops can’t be the same, right? While Libertarians call themselves the free will advocates, they were notably established and led by economists.
The ultra-right keeps using the buzz words of the Libertarians, like “less government”, and “free trade markets”, appealing to the “sovereign” group who love to go to gun shows and experience free trade unhindered. Therefore, MAGA’s arming themselves for their anticipation of Trump’s war isn’t something those sovereign citizens see any problem with.
But a government run under someone stating scary, dictatoresque rhetoric? I would think the Libertarians would distance themselves from anything affiliated with the fool. Sadly, they seem to have bought into the racism as an end to social welfare. And they’re supporting it whole-heartedly.
What has this experience taught me? That if the “right-leaning” stance is how a potential date aligns himself, I should stop trying to see any sign of the old Republican archetype in him. These days, all that really says is he is MAGA. MAGA who supports weed and sovereign citizen vehicle tags, typically drawn in Crayola.
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This post was previously published on April Hawkins, Ask A Bitchface.
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The author probably shouldn’t be leaping to sweeping conclusions about libertarians based on the conversations she had with one man who identified that way. I and many other libertarians (not just self-identified, but Libertarian Party members and activists) DO see Trump as a threat to democracy, and have little use for him or the nationalism and bigotry he represents. As far as children starving and all that nonsense, this is the kind of thing people say about libertarians when their goal is to smear rather than to understand. What libertarianism is really about is simply having a consent-based society based… Read more »
I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment: “The author probably shouldn’t be leaping to sweeping conclusions about libertarians based on the conversations she had with one man who identified that way.” Where I might pause for reflection would be in regards to some of the implications of libertarianism, as defined: -“What libertarianism is really about is simply having a consent-based society based on the Non-Aggression Principle. We believe consent matters in all aspects of your life”- I don’t ask this blithely or obtusely, but how much can one have a completely consent-based society, based on the Non-Aggression Principle, when basic… Read more »
This is just my opinion, but I’ve known many people who absorb and absolve criticism of some aspect their behavior or attitudes by deflecting it onto another aspect of their own behavior; and so, they can then compartmentalize any criticisms of themselves to only the parts they’re willing to have criticized. Saying that one ‘does not have the best dating history’ or that they attract people ‘who are just not good people’ seems like a way of slipping any different or more fundamental criticism by buffering it with a particularly directed self-reproach. After all, who can possibly be faulted for being plagued… Read more »