Social Question

SQUEEKY2's avatar

How come some conservatives get upset when you mock Trump?

Asked by SQUEEKY2 (23401points) January 18th, 2020

Trump himself has no problem mocking people from handicap, to his political rivals.
Yet gets upset when people do it to him.
His loyal base gets all upset when people mock him as well.
I saw non stop Obama bashing during his term and now these people can’t seem to take it, why?
It’s not like Trump doesn’t ask for it with his horrible misspelled tweets, his feel good about himself rallies, his total lack of any kind of diplomacy.

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79 Answers

Lightlyseared's avatar

Because it’s un-American. They’re probably also upset the House committee on un American activities no longer exists to put people who mock trump in their place.

Dutchess_lll's avatar

Hm. Why would it be un American. What does it even mean?

Dutchess_lll's avatar

Because the teasing high lights an ugly truth that they don’t want confront. The only option is to fight. It’s diverson.

Love_my_doggie's avatar

When something can’t be reasonably discussed, because it lacks any rational basis, the only defense is anger and distraction.

longgone's avatar

Some of them might be getting upset because they believe mocking anyone is cruel. I can get behind that. There’s a higher level of discourse. It’s not actually necessary to be so full of contempt – Trump’s politics and beliefs can be dismantled without saying even one word about his hair, and the resulting climate of respect and kindness might be worth it.

Dutchess_lll's avatar

What is the difference between mocking and pointing out idiocies?

SQUEEKY2's avatar

@longgone that is a nice answer, but Trump himself mocks and disrespects everyone that doesn’t worship the ground he walks on.

longgone's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 Yes, and that exposes him to many voices of dissent. It should cost him votes, and even friendships. I don’t believe it means he should be treated with contempt, simply because allowing yourself to dehumanize even one person makes it easier to do so with others. And over time, that’s bound to lead us down the dark path.

@Dutchess_lll The difference between mocking and pointing out idiosyncracies is the level of respect and care you feel (and show). I don’t think there’s a difference between mocking and pointing out idiocies. Both imply a lack of respect for your interlocutor.

LadyMarissa's avatar

They can dish it out, but they can’t take it!!!

Dutchess_lll's avatar

I said “idiocies”...idiot stuff he does.
I saw a meme a while back that said “Cheap fast food on silver platters exactly describes this presidency.” Is that mocking?

SergeantQueen's avatar

Because people are fucking hypocrites.
I saw a Facebook thread of people DEMANDING we boycott Barnes & Nobel because they were selling a book that was calling Trump a pig, like a parody of a children’s book. They wanted to boycott because Barnes & Nobel was “anti-Trump”
I went to B&N and guess what? THEY WERE SELLING BOOKS WRITTEN BY HIS SON.
I saw an EQUAL amount of books written by democrats and books written by republicans.

I don’t like mocking. I feel that it is childish. I don’t like when Republicans do it and I don’t like it when Democrats do it. I don’t care what side you are on, it is just childish.

It’s similar to the whole “OK Boomer” joke. I never really liked it. But the same people calling Millennials “snowflakes” were the same people getting PISSED about being called a Boomer.

People who make jokes can’t always take them.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

For all of this shouldn’t Trump be setting an example ,by not mocking and showing how childish and immature it really is?

lucillelucillelucille's avatar

Some people get upset when their choices are mocked.
Others ignore it.

kritiper's avatar

When you mock a person’s main man or team, you mock them. And people are so competitive these days! They drive the same way…

Demosthenes's avatar

@SergeantQueen Preach. So unbelievably true. Hypocrisy has become a way of life.

People don’t like it when others reject or mock something they believe in or are devoted to. People do come to identify with the leaders they elect and support and when those leaders are mocked, it’s more than an attack on that politician, it’s a personal attack on them as well. It’s not something I can relate to as I have never identified that strongly with a politician or president, but some people do.

And to what SergeantQueen says, I simply can’t take the protestations of people who are hurt when their beloved president is mocked as these are invariably the same people who’ve said all kinds of horrible things about everyone who isn’t Trump.

seawulf575's avatar

I think the responses so far say it all, but not for the reasons you think. To this point, there are 15 responses. Only one of them is from anyone even vaguely conservative. And for the most part, every one of these tries to explain how a conservative thinks. In other words, it’s ignorance speaking. And pretty much, when liberals slam Trump, it is based on lies and ignorance. I don’t find it personally offensive, but it dazzles my sensibility that so much ignorance can be spewed and accepted as being valid. Amazing.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

@seawulf575 You can’t say you haven’t witnessed Trump mocking people, and at the same time getting mad when he is mocked.
We saw 8 years of Obama bashing you conservatives freaking at every dime that was spent under his administration.
Trump steps up throws tons of money at his rich friends,the military, even cost the Government 10 billion with the farmer bail out, and all is well with the world,takes the states to the brink of war and still all is well,you guys lost your minds of the money that had to spent to service the us debt under Obama , and yet we don’t hear a peep about it under Trump?
How come?

Dutchess_lll's avatar

I think their point is it is the conservatives who use the term. So what is your definition @seawulf575?

Demosthenes's avatar

@seawulf575 The reaction is universal, though. The reasons conservatives get upset when someone mocks Trump aren’t different from the reasons anyone else gets upset when a leader or public figure they support is mocked (it could probably be generalized even further than this). It’s a human reaction, not a conservative/liberal reaction.

seawulf575's avatar

@Dutchess_lll It isn’t a definition, it is a point of view. Apply these thoughts to all who are liberals that have answered so far: Are you a conservative? No. Do you think like a conservative? No. Yet you have no problem ascribing traits of how conservatives think.

When you do that, you are showing ignorance. And it is that same ignorance that shows up when you “mock” Trump. And I don’t care if you call it mocking or ridiculing or some other term. Oftentimes you ascribe traits to him that just are supported by facts. I have stated my negative opinions of the man: he is brash, obnoxious, and seems to be a bit childish in many ways. But those are my opinions. I don’t see him as a constant liar (though I have seen the media misreport many things to make him look that way) or a white supremacist or a neo-nazi or racist or any of the other lovely labels you on the left attribute to him. I find most every one of those to be lies created by the media and repeated to the point that people start believing them. And it amazes me how grown people can be so duped. It offends my sensibilities to see it going on.

JeSuisRickSpringfield's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 “Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.”

@seawulf575 It’s possible to understand something without being that thing.

seawulf575's avatar

@Demosthenes Let’s take a look at how these things go, though. I don’t buy into a lot of the hype against Trump. I question everything. Yet because I don’t jump onto the Hate Trump bandwagon, I have been accused of being a racist, a white supremacist, a nazi, Putin’s chef, a Russian spy, and many, many other things. So the “mocking of Trump” goes way beyond that and applies to anyone that doesn’t dance to that song. Of course those on the left don’t see it and even try to justify it. But when you turn it personal and then ask idiotic questions like this one (why do they get upset?) you are showing how bizarre the left has gotten.

seawulf575's avatar

@JeSuisRickSpringfield to a point. I can understand nuclear fission without undergoing it…that is true. But I cannot tell you how you think or what you feel with any real knowledge. I can react to what you say or what you do, and can attempt to apply logic to where your actions come from. And when a question is asked of how Conservatives think or feel, to have a bunch of liberals throwing out answers that are rife with foolishness shows ignorance.

kritiper's avatar

@seawulf575 “Apply these thoughts to all who are liberals that have answered so far: Are you a conservative? No. Do you think like a conservative? No. Yet you have no problem ascribing traits of how conservatives think.
When you do that, you are showing ignorance.”
This can easily be applied to all: conservatives, liberals, moderates, centrists, independents, etc., if you really want it to.

SergeantQueen's avatar

@seawulf575 My answer was based off of very extreme conservatives that I live with. I hear all sorts of things and I in no way act like all conservatives are like that. Yes, it applies to everyone. But this question is about Conservatives specifically. (Also the OP states SOME conservatives)

KNOWITALL's avatar

For the same reason calling Michelle a baboon in heels was offensive. It’s the lowest bar in discourse. I truly don’t understand the pride people take in namecalling.

Dutchess_lll's avatar

Lotta words, no answer from @seawulf.

Dutchess_lll's avatar

It’s the lowest form of humor
@KNOWITALL. They think they are clever.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

@KNOWITALL calling Michelle a baboon is offensive,for the main reason she would never do it to anyone, Trump on the other hand constantly mocks people from reporters to his political rivals , at his feel good for himself rallies, but gets mad when it is done to him.
His childish tweets.
He should be setting an example but does not.

Demosthenes's avatar

@seawulf575 Mocking Trump =/= mocking supporters. But that was my whole point: if you identify strongly with a public figure, you’re going to take comments about them as comments about you.

Jons_Blond's avatar

It is crazy. I said something about Trump and his record of sexual assault and one of his supporters didn’t like it. They took it personally and said horrible things about me. They even wished me bodily harm.

I don’t get it.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

@Jonsblond refer to the post above yours.^^^
I think that might answer it.
But then these idiots claim the left is all hate and they do things like wish you bodily harm.

SergeantQueen's avatar

But then these idiots claim the left is all hate and they do things like wish you bodily harm.

Oh boyyyyy Do I have some stories to tell about the right doing the exact same thing

SQUEEKY2's avatar

About what wishing the left bodily harm?? they just did to @Jonsblond .

SergeantQueen's avatar

I know, I meant I have my own personal examples as well. It’s ridiculous and SAD

SergeantQueen's avatar

Wishing death and violence on someone who thinks different!! Gross!!!

SQUEEKY2's avatar

I do 1000% agree with you on that.
I see it more from the right directed at the left,but all I hear is the left is all about hate.

SergeantQueen's avatar

I hear it more from the right too. I know people who talk about how all democrats should be hung and in the same breath call liberals violent and terrorists.
Other than Anti-fa I don’t see it as much as they talk about it.

seawulf575's avatar

@Demosthenes And my point is not that I identify strongly with Trump and take comments about him personally, it is that those making those comments make similar comments about me personally if I don’t agree with them wholeheartedly. Big difference. In other words, what the actual question should be is “how come some conservatives get upset when we call them names and disparage them because they disagree with us?”

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

It’s just as annoying to me as all the Obama bashing was. Can you please talk about something else. I get the fact you dislike the guy, you have told me a thousand times….

stanleybmanly's avatar

Trump is the greatest gift to comedy in my lifetime. He is for ridicule what milk is for cereal or gloves are to hands. Derision should be and IS slathered on Trump like butter on toast, and NEVER has there been a richer opportunity or more deserving target than our consummate fool. I don’t know how I missed this question when it was posted, but I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t get me started on this topic. But let me put it this way. It is ESSENTIAL that Trump be buried under all the ridicule and derision befitting a man ethically equivalent to the interior of a spittoon. He reigns as the impeccable target, a man stridently unique in freedom from a single sympathetic or redeeming characteristic, he is the guilt free ridicule opportunity of a lifetime.

JLeslie's avatar

People don’t like my answer, but I’ll take a stab at it.

First, let me say, mocking isn’t nice behavior. It’s usually seen as hurtful and mean. However (here’s the part where people get upset at me) mimicking people is somewhat innate. When we meet people we mimic to build rapport. We mimic facial expressions, accent, dialect, posture, and more. It’s not unusual to talk like someone when using their words. I’m not sure if that can be called innate, or maybe just habit. Like when quoting a line from your Southern grandmother you might drum up her Southern accent for affect. You might even hold yourself in her posture. Is it ok to do it when it’s a compliment? Or, when it’s part of a joke that everyone in the room will find funny? This habit of taking on the person who is being spoken of when used in a hurtful way is what everyone is so upset about, and I agree it’s hurtful and should not be done, but there seems to be a lack of understanding it is sometimes done without malice.

I think Trumpers maybe see the things differently or maybe have amnesia. It was suggested above they can dish it out, but can’t take it, that easily could be a good explanation also.

Anyway, back to my theory you won’t like. When Trump mimicked a disabled person I agree it was wrong of him, but I think that sort of mimicking slips out more easily than calling names like cheetoh. I’m not defending Trump, he calls people names constantly, it’s horrible. When Rosie O’Donnell mimicked Trump on The View Trump went bat shit mad.

As a society we need to tone down the name calling and teasing and bullying. It’s really not good. We know to tell our children not to do it, but the adults are not practicing what they preach.

Anyway, conservatives get upset, because no one likes to be mocked or see someone they respect mocked. The hypocrisy is a separate issue.

stanleybmanly's avatar

@longgone I believe you are wrong in advocating that our fool be treated with respect, lest we find ourselves shifted to the “dark path”. He, himself has chosen the dark path as his field of battle on the rest of us and is fully deserving of any and all contempt that can be leveraged against him, if for no other reason than it is the only
sort of language he understands or appreciates. Ours is regrettably a no quarter fool, and even a modicum of civility toward the dummy will be twisted to weaponry for his advantage.

ragingloli's avatar

Because they are special little snowflakes that get triggered more easily than a Walther 2000 sniper rifle.
They are so fragile, that on their conservative subreddit, you get banned for the slightest bit of disagreement, sometimes even preemptively if you post anti-drumpf opinions anywhere else.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@SQUEEKY I agree Trump doesn’t elevate the conversation with his tweets or comments. I wish he did.

longgone's avatar

@stanleybmanly I agree Trump has chosen a poor way of life. He doesn’t show much integrity or kindness, and that’s troubling. But I don’t want to join him there. I’d rather treat everyone with respect. It’s easy to be respectful of those you like, but I think it’s even more necessary when you are in deep disagreement.

In my opinion, the real problem is not Trump at all. I know it’s tempting to see him as the bad guy, but why did so many people vote for him? Isn’t that the bigger issue? Without the support he received for his reprehensible ideas, he wouldn’t be a threat. He would just be a single guy with a sad perspective.

My explanation for his relative success is the fear and cruelty most of us are exposed to right from birth. I think people experience so much violence and so little integrity, many of them stop feeling true empathy because it hurts too much. You can’t help everyone, and sad stories of ruined lives are all too common. Especially in countries without basic safety nets (an obvious one being easy access to medical care, for a relatively small and predictable monthly charge).

I think that fear and pain cause a mindset of “sink or swim”. People might help immediate family members or very close friends. Everyone else needs to look out for themselves. And if they don’t make it, they got what they deserved. That sort of callous attitude is a great antidote to the guilt self-preserving decisions might otherwise elicit.

I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. I want to keep every shred of compassion I have, and nurture it so it can help others. So instead of joining in and arming myself for the fight, I’m going to do what I think our politicians should do: denuclearise.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@longgone I admire that about you very much.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Trump himself shows very little respect,kindness, empathy towards anyone that doesn’t agree with him and shower him with praise, and when people call him out on it his loyal sheep get all upset and claim hate.
And I see one of our favourite Rep/cons get a bit upset when they claimed the lib/tards knew how conservatives think gee they have been telling us how we think since the Don Father took office, and when we push back they just hold up the left is all about hate sign.
@longgone I am getting to wrapped in this stuff but his idiot tariffs have devastated our forest industry here in BC.
And it’s hard to turn the other cheek when both are black and blue by this guy.
and his total disrespect for everyone that isn’t a die hard fright winger.

seawulf575's avatar

By “one of our favourite Rep/cons” I assume you are referring to me. Again…it is your hatred that blinds you. According to the testing on this link I am actually a centrist, slightly left. Just goes to show how far left most liberals have gone that I look like a far right kinda guy.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Point proven holding up the left are all hate sign.
Thanks wulfie

seawulf575's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 I believe your reading comprehension needs work. I specified YOU are all hatred towards Trump…not all on the left. And I didn’t even say ALL liberals have skewed extreme left…just most. Especially most on these pages. But I understand it is your hatred that interrupts your senses.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 In all seriousness, I would be far more likely to ask questions and research your statement if you weren’t so reactive.
We don’t live in Canada and you are the only person I’ve heard mention Trump’s tariffs hurting your forests.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

BULLSHIT, you say anyone that disagrees with the conservative way is hate.
Don’t even try and go all holy it doesn’t look good on you.

stanleybmanly's avatar

I also admire and respect that decision. I also agree that Trump is but a symbol and meme for deeper troubles. Where I disagree is on the notion that gentle tolerance or reasoning is the way to deal with him. Perhaps I’m reading him wrong—BUT I DON’T THINK SO. In fact, for more reasons than I can state here I am convinced that he is dangerous beyond description. It matters not that he appears little more than a buffoonish idiot. And here is why he must not be tolerated and must be crushed for the evil bug that he is. It irritates me when the less astute of us confuse my diatribes against Trump for hatred. I actually sympathize with a creature that has been conditioned to be vicious, but nevertheless believe it imperative that the animal be shackled. Oafish or not, Trump is a tool and a hurling of the gauntlet. He is the permission slip for all of us to ignore or rescind every decent or noble purpose or instinct ingrained in you and I since our birth. He is the living demonstration that the breathing personification of every vice we have been warned against for our entire lives can be rewarded with the highest office in the land. That the face of such a creature should hang in reverence in your kid’s classroom should upset the hell out of each of you, but the evil use to which the man can be employed should terrify you more. LOOK at what he has done, then tell me he is unworthy of whatever kick in the teeth we might muster.

Dutchess_III's avatar

I can not pretend to have respect for someone who I have the lowest opinion of. I would be a hypocrite if I did.

longgone's avatar

@Dutchess_lll I understand, and I really am not pretending. I just have a basic respect for everyone. And even when I find myself losing that respect, I work to get it back because I believe it’s the only way out of this mess. Live that respect for other humans as much as I can. Model it for children. There will always be a few people with scary and harmful ideas, but if enough of us turn away from contempt and become more thoughtful, those ideas will remain small and weak.

@SQUEEKY2 “And it’s hard to turn the other cheek when both are black and blue by this guy.”

That’s interesting. The “turn the other cheek” metaphor has always seemed misguided to me. I don’t advocate putting up with violence. I think there’s another way, and it’s not “an eye for an eye”. It’s being smarter. Calmer. And striving for integrity in everything you say and do.

@stanleybmanly Yes. I see a great deal of danger too. I am not arguing for tolerance of the horrible practices Trump has put into place. Tolerance of inhuman actions by an incredibly wealthy and powerful country is far from my mind. I just don’t think that mocking Trump (or his supporters) does any good. It may feel good. It may help get rid of some anxiety. But it comes with the high price of losing a part of yourself. You said it: “He is the permission slip for all of us to ignore or rescind every decent or noble purpose or instinct ingrained in you and I since our birth.” – well, I don’t want his permission slip.

@KNOWITALL Thanks, that’s kind of you.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

@KNOWITALL Not the forest the forest industry we have lost thousands of forestry jobs due to his tariffs.
I can see how environmentalists would like the tariffs, they care not at all for the jobs just the forests.

Patty_Melt's avatar

I see a lot of comments about Trump, rather than the topic.
I am a conservative-leaning center.

I’m going to back away from both Trump and Obama, and use an example of a president I think none of us liked, GW.

I never wanted to see him take office, but bashing him publicly was something I considered wrong. It sickened me that people from other countries were basing opinions of us according to such rudeness.
So, with me it isn’t just about Trump, and by the way, I never once bashed Obama.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 My point is that we should talk about that in depth, rather than him being a cheeto, etc…

longgone's avatar

@Patty_Melt With all due respect (and if you read my above comments, you’ll know I truly believe you are due a lot of respect), I have a question:

“It sickened me that people from other countries were basing opinions of us according to such rudeness.”

I’m reasonably attuned to Europe’s perception of Trump’s comments. Many people over here think that his demeanour is a problem. His rudeness and definitely the way he mocks others. Is that something you find concerning, for the US? Or does it maybe seem all right for the president to behave in that way, just not reguar citizens?

I’m asking to learn.

Patty_Melt's avatar

I think he gets his feelings hurt, and returns fire wrongly.

I want him to be our president, but I also want him to rein it in. However, there are all types, and that includes leaders of other countries. For some of those others, a lot of posturing is what they respect and/or fear.
As far as excess, I blame fans, media, and people around him not having the wherewithal to coach him successfully. In the eighties, being a loudmouth braggart served him well. It got his name out there. It kept him “valid”.

So, to sum up, I want him as president, I get why he’s so out there, and I wish he would tone it down.

I don’t think it is on any of us to judge him.
We can choose him or not, but without knowing what he faces every day, we cannot, must not judge. There are a great many things which take place in the world every day which most of us will never know.

SergeantQueen's avatar

^^I sometimes feel the issue goes beyond President Trump and is just how politics today are.
Nothing is as formal is it was in the 60s or 70s, or even before then when people only had voices on the radio to go off of, no faces. The rise of social media, politicians use of social media, is all very unprofessional and creates a very informal way to communicate. I’ve listened to Rallies done by the President. It is a lot of mocking. I don’t think it’s just him though.
Even some of these debates are a joke. Especially how they questioned Bernie and Warren.
Asked Bernie, “Did you ever say a woman can’t be president?” He responds with no. Then they ask Warren, “How did it feel when Bernie said women can’t be president?” It’s ridiculous. Right after he said no. They totally ignored it.

Everything is so unprofessional now, on both sides.

I blame fans, media, and people around him not having the wherewithal to coach him successfully.
It really needs to be up to the people around him more than the fans or media. He has speech writers, other people who keep up on the approval ratings who make suggestions on how to win people over, etc.
I do not like his Twitter use.
Again, the use of Social Media just makes everything unprofessional. Politicians are using it immaturely. Mitt Romney and his Twitter alter ego is another perfect example.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Sorry just saw this and couldn’t resist…....
https://youtu.be/tyzPzACz7b0

Patty_Melt's avatar

That is funny. :-) Jeff is really good.

longgone's avatar

@Patty_Melt Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Very interesting.

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cheebdragon's avatar

Let’s be honest, If Trump really cared about the opinions of others, he probably would have changed his god awful hairstyle.

stanleybmanly's avatar

I don’t believe he realizes that his hairstyle is (shall we say) less than flattering.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

One thing I have to point out with good ole stable genius , is that he 99% of the time instead of attacking a rivals ideas or views attacks the person him/her self and the problem a lot of (not all) rep/cons think this is ok because their beloved President does this.
And he and they freak when it is done to them.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 I don’t think anyone’s ‘freaking out’, it’s annoying more than anything. But it’s been 3 years now, what’s another few months.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

Because your used to it,I see rep/cons getting all bent when it is done to them, but fine for them to trash democrats because their genius does it, so they can to.

KNOWITALL's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 No, I’m not used to it since I don’t have children and am not used to adults acting like children. Regardless of party, it’s juvenile.

stanleybmanly's avatar

I would find it next to impossible to not poke fun at Trump. He is arrogant and mean, conceited to the point of being nauseating, yet so reliably bungling and inept that the opportunities for ridicule explode from the man like popcorn in a blast furnace. In truth, I wonder if the contempt and ridicule raining down on the fool approximates the venom and hatred he himself spews. And to clench matters, there is not a single sympathetic aspect to the man that would mitigate against trashing the dummy. Why shouldn’t he be treated as he prefers to treat the rest of us? You will never come across an individual more worthy of both barrels full in the face. I can trash him 24/7 and sleep the sleep of the just.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

But it upsets his loyal sheep^^^ they don’t see much or any of his mocking because he always just tells it like it is.
He insults, mocks, calls down everyone that doesn’t agree with him one thousand percent.
Even fellow rep/cons have told him it’s fine to attack the persons ideas, and views just don’t attack the person but not the stable genius he goes straight for the jugular .

seawulf575's avatar

@SQUEEKY2 ”... instead of attacking a rivals ideas or views attacks the person him/her self…” You are correct and this is one of the silly things he does that drives me nuts. He also usually does it in Twitter which is really childish. But then, I’ve said this is one of his bad points before.

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