Cruelty is the point

In Mississippi recently some white frat boys surrounded a young black woman who was protesting the Israeli conflict and one of them was making gestures and noises pretending to be a monkey. These dumbasses are products of Trumpist parents who watch FOX and maybe get their Christian messaging from a version of cereal box religion where a twisted breed of nationalism takes center stage.

Many people aren't educated and not particularly intelligent but that bothers me less than the baked in cruelty which Trumpism has helped expose. Yes Trump is vile and disgusting by any metric you want to use but he is a symbol and leader to those who want to bathe in hatred and cruelty which is sign of deep rot.

Kristi Noem has no judgment but then neither do the people who screened her book and who thought it was a good idea to celebrate toughness by being cruel. Shooting a puppy and a goat in the head is worthy of some pride for a party drunk on stupidity, ignorance and hate.

Even if Biden does win in November that rot is still there and will need addressing somehow. Maybe generational change is going to help while we understand that the deeply susceptible are always going to be among our ranks.