Okay, I broke a rule. I engaged with a Trumper and I let the responses make me angry. I felt like I was a 10-year-old being told why I should never do that deed I just did again. I did not start it. I did not finish it, but I sure felt like it.
We were having a pleasant day. We were doing our favorite pass time junking and checking out book stores and vinyl shops or trying to, kind of slim pickings. We had gotten a recommendation from my daughter about a book store she and her husband had seen but not been able to go in because it was closed the day they were there. It was open, so we went in. Nice shop. Lots of interesting books, nicely labeled and we were having fun. Then it happened.
I walked to the front of the store and kind of out of the blue the owner made a remark about Hillary Clinton. I felt myself tense up and almost did not respond. He kept going. I finally asked him what he thought was so great about the guy in the white house. His response made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He went on and on about how the white house guy had been treated unfairly by Boeing when he wanted to do a political stop at Boeing and that is how it was moved to Lynden. Since I and a group of friends were stuck in the traffic on that day, it resonated with me. He went on about how unfairly Trump had been treated and how awful Obama was. I tried to speak reasonably to him, but he just kept talking over me and "lecturing" me on what a great job Trump was doing.
When I tried to ask him how he felt about having a racist, lying, womanizing person representing our country to the world that is when it really went downhill. He stated that Trump was not a racist and suggested that I had been indoctrinated by the liberal news. I asked him if he knew anything about Steve Bannon, the friend of Trump who sat on our security committee and he did not know anything about him. When I told him about Bannon's plan to completely change our way of governing and that he was a fascist, the guy ignored me.
By this time, I was ready to go. I found Trace and told him I was going to step outside. I was trying to leave and the guy would not shut up. I told him he had a great store, it was nice meeting him, etc. By that time Trace had walked up and the guy was engaging him, so I found my opportunity and left.
This morning Trace posted a blurb from someone who sounded just like the guy yesterday.
So this is my thing. Everyone has a right to their opinion. I really mean that. I do not hold ill will against that man for not holding the same view point as I do. My problem is that they seem so indoctrinated that they will not look at a different view point and they seem to think that those of us who hold a different view point are somehow not American and standing by our President.
In the case of the man yesterday, he had been a teacher. It frightens me that he would be teaching my child. It frightens me because critical thinking is essential in making choices that match our values, morals, and integrity. When you spout doctrine without having thought about that doctrine you throw the values, morals, and integrity out the window and you can be used by whomever to further their own agenda. It is a frightening thing that is happening in our country right now. Next time, I will just hand him a glass of Kool-aid and see if he drinks it.
