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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Jochen wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:202505091928.549JSfaN084918@ame2.swcp.com">
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<p style="margin-top:0.0pt;margin-bottom:0.0pt;" dir="ltr"><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Knowing
*their* emotions could be the key. Maybe one major reason why
Donald Trump's followers find him so persuasive is that they
have the impression he knows what they feel, because what he
says fits exactly to how they feel. The most selfish and
narcissistic person who is incapable of empathy gives people
the feeling that he knows what they feel. It is a little bit
paradox, isn't it? <br>
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<p>Unless of course, he is appealing to every(wo)man's inner
selfish-narcissist? First you tweak up fear (and maybe greed in
the background) and then appeal to the (very natural?)
narcissistic and selfish sensibilities that come with that?</p>
<p>Also Trump has a penchant for a type of vagueness which makes it
easy for a motivated listener to map their own worst hopes/fears
onto everything he says (very polarizing). He blathers so much
nonsense about so many things it is easy to pick and choose what
you want to get excited (or incensed) about.<br>
</p>
<p>As for me, the (rare?) times something the Donald does or says
appeals to me I can usually find a limbic system level greed or
fear trigger of my own that he's touched on? Gilded
embellishments in the background of the White House, Supermodels
and Pornstars and Inappropriately Young Women hanging off his arm
(or waiting just out of sight) and Personal Jumbo Jets and Golf
Resorts (with fake fake-gold trophies) and outrageous rhetoric
about immigrant crime and the "unfairness" of global
trade/relations really do just the opposite for me. Total
turnoffs. But for many I think those things give them a little
tweak... gives them hope for their darkest desires and
confirmation on their darkest fears.<br>
</p>
<p>When I hear that maybe Social Security income won't be taxed, I
get a little bump to my limbic system thinking of the 2 or 3
figure savings I might get on my tax bill (unless of course I go
full tax-revolt as I preach to others). When I saw the big
fentanyl roundup in NM/AZ/NV/OR I was heartened to imagine that
the "worst of the worst" had been at least mildly subdued, even
though I'm pretty sure a careful look will see a lot of collateral
damage to people, at worst, on the periphery or victims of the
"worst of the worst" themselves.</p>
<p>Musk used to appeal to my latent (or mostly recovered) inner
libertarian, convincing me that just good old fashioned elbow
grease and innovative thinking (and acting) could save me from the
existential risks of our own thoughtless self-destructive
ambitions and the selfishness of others. I was raised on a
similar Good Old Fashioned Future SciFi canon he apparently was
(maybe the SoAfrica SciFi literary centroid was a decade or so
behind the US/Europe?). I can't tell he read anything with a
"cautionary tale" built into it though...<br>
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