While there is really no way I can know what they would actually say, as someone who does pay attention to their rhetoric, in this case an artful use of deceit to hide their truest intentions, I do wonder how Trumpists reacted to the picture so deftly painted by Ms. Gorman at President Biden’s inauguration.
I wonder what my “friend” Janet was thinking. Since July or so, I exchanged information with a woman called “Janet” who resides in Kansas. She asked me questions about progressivism; and, I asked her about being a Trumpist. It was a truly informative exchange and I am quite grateful for it. She blocked me shortly after January 6th.
Shortly after I started the conversation with her, I became a “Trumpist” myself on Trump-friendly sites. Never trolling, I just engaged. I did, however, use Democratic programs and talking points that, when slightly reworded, made them sound as if they were Republican/Trumpist ideas. My comments were usually well received by these people.
The experience of these two experiments, plus having a lot of childhood friends, and some family, who also became “Trump-sick,” enables me to set aside my repulsion; freeing me to conjure up their words. The recent backlash against Bruce Springsteen for doing the Jeep commercial during the Super Bowl, also makes this journey into darkness a shorter, less windy one. The road to their mania is indeed a short one.
And yet, after I started to undertake my snarky little Trumpist reading, I realized I couldn’t go to those places I am sure they are at now. I am sure if I popped over onto gab.com and search for Ms. Gorman, there would be tons of hate. Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert, two Republican members of the House post nastiness and anti-America stuff several times a day.
Like I said, I began reading the words from “The Hill We Climb” and it melted my anger; it dispelled the angst I feel almost daily since Donald Trump seized control of half of our country — and still holds them by the throat. I felt too cleansed thanks to Amanda’s imagery, her pain and her hope that maybe — just maybe — one of them will hear her.
Amanda Gorman
January 20, 2021
I can only hope, but sadly something tells me I am wrong, that just a few of them listened. All it takes is one and then, infected with the optimism, and devotion to an America that existed long before there was ever The Apprentice, Janet — or someone — will tell her friends and family: Time to just be America again.
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This post was previously published on Change Becomes You.
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