Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Stupid Like Me: One Man's Journey Into Trump's GOP

The following account by Nash Whitney, a liberal writer who already has two books to his credit, is a summary of his newest book, Stupid Like Me: One Man's Journey Into Trump's GOP via a series of emails throughout 2020-2021.

You should know that Whitney's new book was inspired by author John Howard Griffin, who wrote Black Like Me (published in Oct. 1961).

Here's a brief prologue in Griffin's ground-breaking masterpiece:

"If a white man became a Negro in the Deep South," he wrote on the first page, "what adjustments would he have to make?"

He concluded, "The only way I could see to bridge the gap between us was to become a Negro."

Which Griffin did and traveled the country for a year experiencing what it was like to be black man in America at that time. It wasn't pretty.

An inspired Whitney followed in Griffin's footsteps, but with a twist. 

Instead of disguising himself as a black man, he decided to infiltrate the murky depths of TrumpWorld where Republican activists and politicians worship Trump like he's God's messenger.

Whitney noted in the prologue of Stupid Like Me, that the only way a sane person could penetrate the cult was to dress the part and mingle wherever they gathered.

Footnotes

At his first Trump rally:

"I felt odd at first wearing a red Maga hat, a t-shirt with Trump is still President on the back, and a pair of red-white-and blue trousers. But when I looked around me, I could see I blended in.

About his first Audit Protest in Arizona:

"The excitement of angry Trumpies made the air electric as they chanted "Stop the Steal!" One protestor grabbed my arm and looked deep into my eyes and asked me why I wasn't jumping up and down and frothing at the mouth like everyone else?

"It was a tense moment before I broke out into a racist chant... and he joined me! I knew I was in then."

At one of the countless Fundraisers for Trump

"It was like watching kids cavorting around a candy store as people poured over endless tables of Trump merchandize. 

One eager buyer, clutching her bag of Trump souvenirs, gave me a toothless smile and asked me if I was ready to die for Trump if necessary? 

"Imitating her bulging eyes, I responded with a hearty 'You betcha.'"

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I hope you enjoyed this little piece of satire/ parody as much as I did when writing it. Apologies to John Howard Griffin, who I suspect wouldn't have minded the comparison.

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