What's appropriate at a Trump rally anyway?

Like everyone else, I’ve been watching this jerk Donald Trump parade around the news for too long and quite frankly he’s been getting on my nerves. I figured if I had the opportunity to say something to him, I would take it.

I attended the Trump rally last night without any expectations. I hadn’t planned on going until about three hours before the event when Don Lee put out a note on Facebook about standing in the rain and protesting. I really didn’t want to stand out in the rain, but I wasn’t doing anything else, so I thought what the hell, I’ll tag along. When we met up, Ronda Solomon hooked us up with tickets. I had not met Solomon before- but she and others were welcoming right off the bat. If anything, I was making some new friends.

I didn’t expect to go into the event, but hey, better than standing in the rain. Once inside, I found myself one of the many protestors inside yelling during the event, as you may have seen on national news reports on the rally.

There was really no intellectual or moral inclination that moved me to holler “You’re a fucking psycho” within shouting distance of the podium. And yes I’m aware that he might not fit the clinical definition of a psychopath. More of like it just rolled off the tongue nicely. Try saying it. You’ll feel better for it. Say it real loud and it sort of rockets its way through the air.

Anyway, I suppose I shouldn’t be using expletives like that because it’s kind of juvenile. After all I’m a grown man, husband and father. I try to be decent and kind to others for the most part. But I have no other words for this man. I like to meet people where they’re at- on their level so to speak.

When you get to the bottom of the barrel, there’s just trash. I know I should be a part of the solution, spread the love- that sort of shit. It’s true. But sometimes you just gotta say fuck it. What are you gonna do? Sure, I’m supposed to be better than name calling and such. But, like the Sailor Man says, "I yam what I yam."

I didn’t go looking for trouble. I didn’t really know what to expect. But this troglodyte of a human really shouldn’t get a free pass to spew his ignorant and inciting ideology. So he’s got shit to say? Well, I figure so do I. There has to be accountability.

After another “Fuck you Trump,” which is terribly uncreative, and a “What the fuck is wrong with you” (which when yelled at the top of one’s voice becomes slightly inarticulate, at least by my estimation), I was asked to leave the arena. Escorted out by quite the friendly gentleman in a suit with an earpiece, he led me to the exit where two police officers kindly told me that I had to keep moving until I was off the property. Really, I was pleasantly surprised at their friendliness. And that’s how I ended up standing in the rain with the other protesters. 

I didn’t yell, or heckle if you will, out of hatred of a man. I do hate his self absorption and divisiveness. I didn't do it to get attention. If you know me, I’m a shy dude with terrible anxiety who would prefer to sit alone at The Meanwhile drinking a beer and eating peanuts. I didn’t yell because I was moved by any moral conviction. To be honest ,I wasn’t all that worked up or anything. Like I said, I don't go actively seeking out trouble... for the most part.

But I’m no stranger to confrontation. Ever since I was a kid and told my neighbor to “go take a hike” when she was picking on me, I’ve been sort of outspoken about shit. She said I was talking back to an adult. It got me in some trouble in my teens for sure. I probably even felt justified back then- but this is the type of hubris I’ve come to learn the hard way is very damaging to a person’s spirit. I like to think I've grown up a bit.

I don’t know if I made the situation last night any better or worse. I don’t know if it made any difference. I’m sure plenty of folks thought it inappropriate. But that’s just their opinion. I thought it was appropriate.

If one thinks that what Trump has bee saying about Mexicans and Muslims is more appropriate, less offensive than the F word, then we have a serious problem. So I don’t know if it was the right thing to do. But really that’s beyond the point for me. Really. I don’t give a rat's ass. In that moment it simply came down to a “fuck that guy” type of thing. Nothing much to it beyond that. It is what it is.

I would like to leave it at that. But, at the urging of friends who told me I should write about my experience, I’ll finish with this. My wife Leana Tank recently read an excerpt from Jung’s analysis of Hitler and the reciprocal nature of the masses to a dictator. In it he describes the psychology behind how a man like Hitler exploits the masses by appealing to their fears- basically giving a voice to what people are scared of and scared to say.

I’m not going to compare Trump to Hitler. But I will say that it has a striking resemblance to what is happening today with the Trump campaign. For me, that’s unsettling. I’m amazed at how many people have bought into this rhetoric.

We’ve heard the word xenophobia thrown around a lot. But the word fits. That’s exactly what this is. It’s an infectious mentality that needs to be addressed lest we repeat the sins of the past. Donald Trump is bad news. He’s a narcissistic troublemaker who needs to be held accountable.

I wish I could be the one to offer a sincere, compassionate and humble approach to reconciling this ideologue’s rhetoric with peace, love and understanding. But that’s a job more suited to better folks than me. I’m just the guy that yells “fuck you!” I'm pretty much okay with that.