Monday, September 12, 2016

Half, three-quarters, five-eighths... who cares?

Hilary Clinton recently suggested that half of Trump's supporters were a "basket of deplorables." Questionable grammar and bad metaphors aside, what's there to apologize for? 

Seriously. 

Fact: Trump has said deplorable things about a whole lot of people: Muslims, African-Americans, and Mexicans, to name a just a few groups. He still calls Sen. Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas," which is shameful on several levels.

Fact: his supporters have cheered for him at his rallies as he has said --- and continues to say --- deplorable things. 

Conclusion: those supporters are deplorable as well. 

Look, if someone says something that is patently racist or xenophobic or just plain mean-spirited and people agree with that statement, doesn't that make them racist or xenophobic or just plain mean-spirited by association? 

What am I missing here? 

Maybe she needs to apologize for the fraction she used. Maybe half of his supporters aren't deplorable assholes like the guy they support. Maybe it's only three-quarters or five-eighths of them. Who knows and who cares because it doesn't matter. He says deplorable things folks support those deplorable things; that makes them deplorable as well, regardless of their number. Ipso facto and Q.E.D.

No comments: