 |
| credit: Dave Granlund BC Idonwanna: Orangeman drinkiing hydroQ again! |
In turns out Don Veto is friends with Vince McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Federation. (WWF) His hotels and casinos have played host to "Wrestlemania" events, and he has even participated in these displays of fake sport. In 2013 the WWF inducted him into its hall of fame. In his first campaign for president he adopted the familiar story line of the ring: good guys versus the bad guys, or in pro-wrestling parlance, the "face" versus the "heel". The face is often handsome and appeals for the sympathy and respect of the crowd. The bad guy heel often insults the crowd and only cares about his own glory. He plays the role of the chaotic spoiler, and also the victim. Think of Ted diBiase, the 'Million Dollar Man', or today's Kevin Owens, the schoolyard bully. Trump copies them all, down to his nearly incoherent, emotional speech patterns, intended to inflame the crowd when they hear the shared cues.
A former announcer for the Federation, Jim Ross, says Trump is "vintage WWF...everything plays out the way it would if the event were happening from a wrestling ring on Monday Night Raw...Trump was enmeshed on WWF TV in one of the most successful story lines in company history." Trump's heel persona allows him to connect immediately with the aggrieved, angry racist, and low-information public conventional candidates do not reach. These are the same people who scream themselves red in the face at the antics performed in the wrestling ring. The Apprentice in Chief is the anti-hero of 'Merican politics.
When US Person hears the descriptor, heel, his mind flashes back to the 1942 classic noir film, The Glass Key and the remarkable scene between Alan Ladd, the hero, and William Bendix, the sadistic mob henchman. Bendix repeatedly tells his captive, "Yer a heel!" Ladd has a big grin on his face as Jeff (Bendix) works up enough rage to beat him senseless. Whether that reaction is in the script, or Ladd is showing appreciation for Bendix's riveting performance is hard to say. US Person has a similar reaction to the Chief Apprentice's outrageous behavior, which has earned him the consuming attention of a corporate mass media (CMM) desperate for ratings. The national audience is transfixed by 'Der Donald's' provocative antics before the camera. Astounding to think the heel occupying the most powerful political office in the world learned his shtick by watching fake sport, or performance art if you will, on TV. But then this must be de riguer for postmodern 'Merica where truth is always relative and personal integrity never pays the bills*.
*A word about the Democratic ticket: three factors are glaringly obvious. Joe Biden will be 78 years old when he takes office, so the health and age of his replacement must be considered. Democrats want a woman Vice President. The Democratic base is substantially progressive, or at least to the left of Joe Biden, a corporate Democrat. The Sanders campaign proved that, defeating the former VP in early primaries when the field was still crowded. Progressives of all races have therefore earned their ideological representation on the ballot. These factors point to one person who can hold party factions together, transcend losing identity politics, and is capable by experience of ascending to the Office Without Corners: Senator Elizabeth Warren.
 |
| Will he hurt God? US COVID-19 DEATHS (est.): 230,000 |