# A word on "fearful snowflakes" and Trump Derangement Syndrome (Lumpy) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 24, 2019, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951 "2019-06-24T07:10:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/1 "2019-06-24T07:10:02Z")
Hey, I realize this is from a few years ago, but I thought now might be a good time to come back to an old thread **Lumpy** made. > [@Why the extreme hyperbole over Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-extreme-hyperbole-over-trump/788476/1): > > He has not proclaimed himself president _in perpetuum_. [https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/donald-trump-term-limit/index.html](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/donald-trump-term-limit/index.html) > [@](#): > > He is not rounding people up into barb wire detention camps. [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877382](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877382) > **[An Expert on Concentration Camps Says That's Exactly What the U.S. Is Running...](https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27813648/concentration-camps-southern-border-migrant-detention-facilities-trump/)** > > "Things can be concentration camps without being Dachau or Auschwitz." > [@](#): > > He is not having critics assassinated. > **[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2018_United_States_mail_bombing_attempts)** > > From October 22 to November 1, 2018, 16 packages found to contain pipe bombs were mailed via the U.S. Postal Service to several Democratic Party politicians and other prominent critics of U.S. President Donald Trump. Targets included former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. > Other people who were sent packages included three Democratic members of Congress: Representative Maxine Waters, Senators Cory Booker and Kamal... > [@](#): > > He has not abolished the existing security organs and created a new security apparatus. > **[We’re Hurtling Toward War With Iran and There’s No Secretary of Defense. Great.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/shanahan-trump-hiring-pentagon-defense-secretary.html)** > > The Patrick Shanahan debacle is just the latest example of Trump’s incompetence in hiring. > [@](#): > > In short, if Donald Trump is a “fascist”, he is the most laughable bubblegum fascist in history. Yet to hear the left tell it, we’re in Germany circa 1933. IMHO, this only makes the left look exactly like the snowflakes their worst critics accuse them of being. In your defense, **Lumpy** : You listed a few things that haven’t happened, and some of these things have only barely happened (the MAGA bomber was inspired by Trump’s words but that’s hardly an assassination attempt by the president). But your track record on “predicting” this shit is fucking _weak_. In fact, throughout the last three years, it has consistently _not_ been those cautioning that Trump was normal but odd that were vindicated. In 2016, Keith Olbermann was [laughed at](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/17/olbermann_america_is_pretending_that_trump_isnt_going_to_build_concentration_camps.html) for saying that Trump would make concentration camps to fulfill his immigration promises. And yet, a meager two and a half years later, here we are - [concentration camps](https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27813648/concentration-camps-southern-border-migrant-detention-facilities-trump/). Now, this is not to call out Lumpy specifically. There are tons of people who agree with him! “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has been a constant refrain from the right. And this thread is to say: shame on you, anyone pushing that narrative. So far, Trump has come reasonably close to the worst expectations, and the more positive predictions have largely failed to match up with reality. And it’s quite tiresome. The left was right - Trump’s own words before he was elected painted him as a dangerous authoritarian with little to no regard for the rule of law. Assuming “it won’t be that bad” is a fool’s game. Now, three years in, and he’s consistently joking about extending his term because of a “phony” investigation (which found ten cases of obstruction of justice and indicted over 30 people with personal or business relationships with him) and shoving children into concentration camps (while arguing they don’t need soap, toothbrushes, or beds). ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/2 "2019-06-24T10:18:08Z")
“But by Pitzer’s measure, the system at the southern border first set up by the Bill Clinton administration, built on by Barack Obama’s government, and brought into extreme and perilous new territory by Donald Trump and his allies does qualify. ” Yes Trump is an incremental fascist. Incremental fascism has been the mode of the US govt since the 1930s. Mussolini and Hitler loved the New Deal. Real fascists. As for assassinating critics, we only need to go back to the political assassination of Anwar al Awlaki and his teenage son. He was an anti-US govt propagandist who ended up on Obama’s Secret Kill List. Of course they claimed he had gone “operational” but offered no proof despite his family trying to take legal action. Yes the US is in decline and has been since 9/11, the brutality of the US govt will only worsen from here on out. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/3 "2019-06-24T10:19:13Z")
Ew, who shat in my thread? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/4 "2019-06-24T11:41:19Z")
I don’t like the sound of these here “boncentration bamps”. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/5 "2019-06-24T12:31:42Z")
As I see it, it wasn’t (and isn’t) Derangement Syndrome as much as it was/is SEEING WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE Syndrome. Donnie as Prez has turned out to be much worse than I feared he would be. Early on and for a long time, there was a feeling of “it won’t be that bad,” and the sense that “any day now” he would start acting like a President. He hired some smart people and there was hope he would listen to them. Maybe it would be okay. After all, he CAN’T be \*\*that \*\*stupid and self-absorbed. He’s the fucking President of the United States! He’s got to take that seriously! HA! All of that pathetic hope is ancient history now. Right after the election, yeah, I was a bit hysterical and started several anti-trump threads. I got raked over the coals and some Dopers said I should be banned for overreacting. If you go back and read the first few pages of the now-mammoth Clusterfuck thread, you’ll see that. Turns out the hysteria was completely appropriate, and in fact, probably not commensurate with the outrageous acts that this so-called President would go on to commit/permit/promote. Who could have foreseen immigrant parents and children separated, the children and TODDLERS (FFS) uncared-for while confined to fenced compounds, denied the most basic human comfort and care, some of them even DYING from neglect? If the country had known the day after the election that this is what it would eventually come to, if we had known this before we were USED TO IT… would we have called the outrage Trump Derangement Syndrome then? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/6 "2019-06-24T12:47:37Z")
It has indeed been worse than anyone could have imagined, but here’s a scary thought: as the election approaches [he’s reversed himself on two of the most recent lunatic plans](https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/23/opinions/trump-flip-flop-iran-deportation-obeidallah/) – Iran attacks and the deportation raids – to try to project some tiny semblance of rational normalcy. Which must have been tough for him, but he does desperately want to get re-elected. The scary thought is what the second term would be like if he does get re-elected. You’ll have a complete lunatic in the White House with absolutely nothing to lose, going totally nuts. If the first term was worse than anything anyone could ever have imagined, just try to imagine the second one! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/7 "2019-06-24T13:55:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > … > The scary thought is what the second term would be like if he does get re-elected. You’ll have a complete lunatic in the White House with absolutely nothing to lose, going totally nuts… And no one to stop him. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/8 "2019-06-24T15:13:28Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The scary thought is what the second term would be like if he does get re-elected. You’ll have a complete lunatic in the White House with absolutely nothing to lose, going totally nuts… Because it bears repeating. Jesus, the Democrats have got to get their shit together. And we all know they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/9 "2019-06-24T16:44:18Z")
Just in case anyone cares, the phrasing “X Derangement Syndrome” is a very old Limbaughism, dating back to the early 1990s with “Bush Derangement Syndrome” (opposing Repubs), then “Clinton Derangement Syndrome” (supporting Clinton), etc. Anyone who unironically tosses this one off has had too much education in broadcasting. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/10 "2019-06-24T17:00:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > As I see it, it wasn’t (and isn’t) Derangement Syndrome as much as it was/is SEEING WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE Syndrome. Donnie as Prez has turned out to be much worse than I feared he would be. Early on and for a long time, there was a feeling of “it won’t be that bad,” and the sense that “any day now” he would start acting like a President. He hired some smart people and there was hope he would listen to them. Maybe it would be okay. After all, he CAN’T be \*\*that \*\*stupid and self-absorbed. He’s the fucking President of the United States! He’s got to take that seriously! > > HA! All of that pathetic hope is ancient history now. > > Right after the election, yeah, I was a bit hysterical and started several anti-trump threads. I got raked over the coals and some Dopers said I should be banned for overreacting. If you go back and read the first few pages of the now-mammoth Clusterfuck thread, you’ll see that. > > Turns out the hysteria was completely appropriate, and in fact, probably not commensurate with the outrageous acts that this so-called President would go on to commit/permit/promote. > > Who could have foreseen immigrant parents and children separated, the children and TODDLERS (FFS) uncared-for while confined to fenced compounds, denied the most basic human comfort and care, some of them even DYING from neglect? **If the country had known the day after the election that this is what it would eventually come to, if we had known this before we were USED TO IT… would we have called the outrage Trump Derangement Syndrome then?** A more disturbing hypothetical: if the country had known the day BEFORE the election…would we still have gotten this America-hating fuckstick befouling the Oval Office anyway? (The disturbing bit is that I honestly do not know the answer.) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/11 "2019-06-24T17:32:05Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > A more disturbing hypothetical: if the country had known the day BEFORE the election…would we still have gotten this America-hating fuckstick befouling the Oval Office anyway? > > (The disturbing bit is that I honestly do not know the answer.) You are so right. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/12 "2019-06-24T17:38:35Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > (The disturbing bit is that I honestly do not know the answer.) Yes you do. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/13 "2019-06-24T18:35:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > A more disturbing hypothetical: if the country had known the day BEFORE the election…would we still have gotten this America-hating fuckstick befouling the Oval Office anyway? > > (The disturbing bit is that I honestly do not know the answer.) > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Yes you do. The answer is yes; he would have been elected anyway. I’ll be the one to put that out there, clear as daylight. This country is fundamentally broken. The systems in place are not helping and occasionally are actively hurting citizens. More than half the population works to make the top 10% prosperous while being denied that prosperity themselves. The reasons Trump got in office are not because he’s racist, misogynistic or hateful; those are just gratuities. He got elected because this country is not working and people no longer give a fuck about it; why should they? ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/14 "2019-06-24T18:40:24Z")
Um, I heard Trump say that it’s Obama’s fault and Trump actually put a stop to all the children being imprisoned. Also, conditions at Kids in Kages are just peachy, thanks. Anything else you’ve heard is of course, fake news. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/15 "2019-06-24T19:11:57Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The answer is yes; he would have been elected anyway. I’ll be the one to put that out there, clear as daylight. > > This country is fundamentally broken. The systems in place are not helping and occasionally are actively hurting citizens. More than half the population works to make the top 10% prosperous while being denied that prosperity themselves. The reasons Trump got in office are not because he’s racist, misogynistic or hateful; those are just gratuities. He got elected because this country is not working and people no longer give a fuck about it; why should they? I’ll disagree with your last sentence. A large percentage of Americans is actually HAPPY rights are being denied people, and that people are being hurt, so long as the _right_ people are being oppressed. Empathy is lacking in the modern American Conservative. They are incapable of seeing that their own rights could be curtailed next, even if you spelled it out in 10 foot high burning letters. People are getting exactly what they want. And this has been building for a long time. It’s not a purely trump thing. He’s the symptom, not the cause. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/16 "2019-06-24T20:50:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’ll disagree with your last sentence. A large percentage of Americans is actually HAPPY rights are being denied people, and that people are being hurt, so long as the _right_ people are being oppressed. Empathy is lacking in the modern American Conservative. They are incapable of seeing that their own rights could be curtailed next, even if you spelled it out in 10 foot high burning letters. This doesn’t contradict what I wrote at all. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/17 "2019-06-24T22:31:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This doesn’t contradict what I wrote at all. I think what JAQ meant was that you implied that people were apathetic in your suggestion that while the country is not working, “people no longer give a fuck about it”. The disagreement is that it’s not a matter of apathy (or at least not exclusively), but rather that some people like the country not working because it leads to the oppression of those they don’t like. Contrast someone seeing human suffering and ignoring it, and someone seeing human suffering and celebrating because it’s deserved. I will suggest from my own interpretation that your statement meant to only imply that not enough people were concerned about the issues to reject Trump as a candidate. That’s inclusive of people who are apathetic as well as those who were openly supportive of his policies and statements. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/18 "2019-06-24T22:53:04Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I think what JAQ meant was that you implied that people were apathetic in your suggestion that while the country is not working, “people no longer give a fuck about it”. The disagreement is that it’s not a matter of apathy (or at least not exclusively), but rather that some people like the country not working because it leads to the oppression of those they don’t like. Contrast someone seeing human suffering and ignoring it, and someone seeing human suffering and celebrating because it’s deserved. > > I will suggest from my own interpretation that your statement meant to only imply that not enough people were concerned about the issues to reject Trump as a candidate. That’s inclusive of people who are apathetic as well as those who were openly supportive of his policies and statements. Thanks for the attempt to clarify; it’s appreciated. It isn’t that people weren’t concerned enough. It’s that people _know_ that government won’t listen and it won’t react correctly. Because that’s their experience AND that’s what one half of the political parties in the US have been telling them for more than 40 years now. That’s at least one entire generation that’s been raised from birth with half the country telling them that the government doesn’t work. Then that same party has done what they can to make sure that government doesn’t function properly, reinforcing their message. How in the fuck does anyone expect the US population to create or maintain a functioning government when the population is as deceived and beaten down as the US population has been for the last 40 years? The answer is: the people spreading that message don’t expect or want to maintain _this_ functioning government. And a significant potion of the population, through ignorance, apathy and frustration, is actively helping them. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-word-on-fearful-snowflakes-and-trump-derangement-syndrome-lumpy/835951/19 "2019-06-25T00:16:36Z")
It’s more Trump Permission Syndrome. The Republicans have been monsters for decades now, but it’s been taboo to _admit_ it no matter how horribly they act or what they say. Our entire society is a machine for sucking up to the Republican party. The Republicans have gotten as far as they have in large part because their opponents constantly defer to them, make excuses for them, and are usually less willing to criticize Republicans than other Republicans are. Trump \*isn’t \*a real Republican however, so people feel they can talk more honestly about him and what he does. Democrats and centrists who would be making excuses for a Bush or Reagan feel free to condemn Trump for doing the same kind of things.