New Swear Word?

Forget Donald Trump’s policy controversies, though some of them violate even American law! Instead, look at the frequency with which he lies. Why then doesn’t he become the boy who cried wolf, someone (most) people stop believing altogether? Maria Konnikova has this to say:

“It doesn’t matter how implausible the statements are; throw out enough of them, and people will inevitably absorb some.”

Then there are the “lies” he keeps repeating, which as Goebbels knew, eventually become the truth. But wait, it gets even worse:

“Repetition of any kind— even to refute the statement in question—only serves to solidify it.”

Then there’s human psychology at play in emotive and polarizing topics:

“If false information comports with preexisting beliefs—something that is often true in partisan arguments—attempts to refute it can actually backfire, planting it even more firmly in a person’s mind.”

Scott Adams, author of Dilbert, wonders though if there is a method behind Trump’s apparent madness:

“(When you have) one identifiable problem, you can focus on the problem and try to fix it. But if you have a dozen complaints at the same time… the whole situation just looks confusing, and you don’t know where to start.”

Is this approach of “flooding the field” flatfooting his critics?

“You don’t know where to aim your outrage. He’s creating so many opportunities for disagreement that it’s mentally exhausting.”

It’s a bit like fighting the hydra. Cut off one head and two replace it. Even when you don’t manage to cut off the first head, new ones pop up!

On a related note, I wonder if Trump’s critics are whipping themselves into a frenzy, over-reacting to every action and tweet. During the campaign, they accused Trump of being Hitler’ish. Now that the “alleged monster” is in office, those millions have 2 options: They were “either right about Trump being the next Hitler” or “they are complete morons”. Nobody wants to admit to the second possibility; hence, asks Adams in another blog:

“I get the feeling that Trump’s critics have evolved from expecting Trump to be Hitler to preferring it. Obviously they don’t prefer it in a conscious way.”

Here is where things seem to be headed:

“When millions of Americans want the same thing, and they want it badly, the odds of it happening go way up… For example, if protesters start getting violent, you could expect forceful reactions eventually. And that makes Trump look more like Hitler… In other words, they can wish it into reality even though it is the very thing they are protesting.”

P.S. Is Trump now a term of abuse? A new swear word? Writing about the fight between Pope Francis and the Knights of Malta, Jason Horowitz wrote:

“The election of President Trump and the rise of far-right populists in Europe have ushered in an angrier era — and emboldened traditionalists inside the Vatican who sense that the once-impregnable pope could be vulnerable.”

To which Alan Jacobs angrily responded:

“Like Donald Trump, Francis makes dramatic and apparently extreme pronouncements… Like Donald Trump, Francis cuts through political complications by issuing executive orders and blunt power grabs, as when he dismissed the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta and is seeking to replace him with a “papal delegate” under his own personal control, a move of questionable legality… Like Donald Trump, Francis is an authoritarian populist: he bypasses institutional structures and governs by executive order, but believes that there can be nothing tyrannical about this because he is acting in the name of the people.”

Notice how both sides refer to the other side as being “like Trump”?