What secret unifies Trump’s supporters?

Trump’s not-so-secret sauce? It’s the HATE.

But when you think about it that way, it suddenly becomes clear why some of Trump’s supporters might be secretive about their support. Even if you like hating people, you’ve noticed that other people object. People like me may object even when we aren’t the targets, so of course you learn to play your hatreds down, even hide your hatreds until you’re sure that you’re safe among like-minded fellow haters. Then you can start with the angry chants!

Who is the perfect Trump supporter? Here’s a partial list of who the perfect Trump supporter hates, arranged roughly from larger to smaller (for world demographics, not American, though the pejorative labels are American):

• Liberals (“communists”)
• Women (b-word, c-word)
• Yellows (ch-word)
• Poor people (“lazy bums”)
• Browns (s-word)
• Old folks (“weak”, “worthless”)
• Muslims (“terrorists”)
• Internationalists (“anti-American”)
• Blacks (n-word)
• Reporters (“fake news”)
• Drug users (“addicts”)
• Jews (k-word)
• Scientists (“smartasses”)
• Gays (f-word)
• Lawyers (“lawyers”)

Did I miss anyone? Actually, I’m sure I did. The power of hate is so strong with the Orange One. (But feel free to comment, eh?)

But nobody’s perfect and you must have noticed the problem that almost none of Trump’s supporters can hate so widely. Special problem when they recognize themselves in some of the despised groups, but in that case they can (1) rationalize that they’re a special “immune” member of that hated group, (2) avoid talking or thinking about that group, or (3) accept and internalize the self hatred, which is sadly common among some victims.

I admit this is my theoretical solution of the mystery. I stopped being able to talk with Trumpists a long time ago. Most of the ones I encountered were simple misogynists, and Hillary was an easy focus of their hatred, even though the specific reasons for hating her varied wildly, even insanely. But if someone wants to research this theory, then I think the place to start is with the seating patterns at Trump rallies. How do they sort themselves into groups with compatible hatreds? It could get awkward if you were sitting next to one of your own favorite hate targets and found your chants clashing in the middle of the (superspreader) event.

Having said that, I’m not sure what the solution is. I don’t like hating people, but that’s just me and it’s a silly form of projection to imagine that most people are like me. Actually, it’s much easier to see that everyone hates someone. Heck I confess that there are plenty of people (AKA Trumpists) that I don’t like and that it’s really hard for me to develop more positive feelings towards them. I do feel like I have to keep trying to be a better person, but I admit that I really have trouble forgiving my enemies. Kind of the opposite situation of the YUGE bundle of pardons Trump is going to give his friends, eh? The legacy of Trump is going to be a YUGE mess, even if he does go quietly, hopefully in January. Yes, the polls do indicate that most people are sick and tired of the hate, but…