# If I'm looking for a therapist, is it OK to ask if they are a Trump supporter?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 19, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400 "2020-12-19T14:46:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 8
### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/141 "2020-12-21T20:01:06Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> I made the point exactly for that reason, because the original question may as well have been ‘every trump fan bad, agree with me’?
I’ll answer you like I answer everybody else. You choose who you do business with. I choose who I do business with. It’s not up to you, and you’re not entitled to a justification. Deal with it.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/142 "2020-12-21T20:01:11Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> …What was the point of that reply?
If you need me to spell it out - sarcastic exasperation with tedious false equivalence, with “both sides do it” responses.
The entire problem with Trump and his supporters is that this kind of behavior is _not_ within the spectrum of normal political discourse among civilized people. This is about whether people have a fundamental grasp on reality, whether they are literally delusional; and whether their worldview is so despicable that it’s not compatible with the qualities of empathy and respect for the dignity of other human beings that are _especially_ important in a therapist.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/143 "2020-12-21T20:06:51Z")
When you buy a can of coke from the shop do you vet the cashier before you pay to make sure you both share the same politics? If they voted for Trump instead of Biden, do you go and put the can back on the shelf?
If and when you get ill or injured, I assume you’ll ask the surgeon to show a copy of their ballot card before operating, just so you know their medical credentials?
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/144 "2020-12-21T20:11:04Z")
These are all false equivalencies. An emergency is different from engaging a therapist. And the can of coke example is a terrible example.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/145 "2020-12-21T20:12:41Z")
So then, If I move to the US and decide I need to see a therapist what I really need to be looking for among their credentials is if they say they didn’t vote for Trump?
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/146 "2020-12-21T20:13:47Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> When you buy a can of coke from the shop do you vet the cashier before you pay to make sure you both share the same politics? If they voted for Trump instead of Biden, do you go and put the can back on the shelf?
If there is a Trump sign in the window, I’m not even going into that store. See below:
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> The entire problem with Trump and his supporters is that this kind of behavior is _not_ within the spectrum of normal political discourse among civilized people. This is about whether people have a fundamental grasp on reality, whether they are literally delusional; and whether their worldview is so despicable that it’s not compatible with the qualities of empathy and respect for the dignity of other human beings that are _especially_ important in a therapist.
---
### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/147 "2020-12-21T20:14:41Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> When you buy a can of coke from the shop do you vet the cashier before you pay to make sure you both share the same politics?
If that’s the level of insight you have into people’s concerns about a _therapist_, I’ll have to restate my corollary conclusion.
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> I think the corollary to this thread is that I wouldn’t want somebody who thinks I’m wrong to not want a Trump supporter as my therapist as my therapist.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/148 "2020-12-21T20:17:57Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> So then, If I move to the US and decide I need to see a therapist what I really need to be looking for among their credentials is if they say they didn’t vote for Trump?
Yes. Not being from the U.S., you may not understand completely how repulsive to American ideals Trump has been and how his supporters have threatened most of what we value. The last four years have been profoundly disturbing for many reasons, but widespread support for such a reprehensible incompetent is high on the list.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/149 "2020-12-21T20:18:31Z")
A cashier being a fundamentally dishonest person, or just a total fucking idiot, doesn’t really impact my ability to purchase and enjoy a can of coke. A therapist being fundamentally dishonest or just a total fucking idiot means I’m not getting good therapy from them.
The extent to which “Trump supporter” and “fundamentally dishonest or total fucking idiot” overlap is obviously debatable, but let’s stop pretending we use the same standards for medical professionals that we use for stock boys.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/150 "2020-12-21T20:31:31Z")
The claim that any Trump or anyone else supporter must only be a ‘quasi, semi evil, diet coke’ supporter to be a worthwhile therapist, or anything else is simply ridiculous.
Not everyone voted for Trump because he said he wanted to build a wall. Many supported him because he was seen as Anti-establishment, someone who would work for hard working Americans, any number of reasons.
If this therapist happens to be Mexican or Mexican-American, do they need to interrogated as well?
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/151 "2020-12-21T20:37:11Z")
It’s funny, I agree that not everyone that voted for Trump is evil and stupid. But watching some terrible examples in this thread almost looks like a Liberal attempt to convince people all Trump voters are idiots.
I have friends that voted for Trump. Until COVID got bad, I still hung out with them. The one is not dumb, he’s not evil. He clearly watches a lot more Fox than I do, but that is about it. He’s a nice guy and smart. He is old, past retirement age.
The other is probably average intelligence and I’ll admit he’s somewhat racist. He’s also my oldest friend so I make allowances for him.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/152 "2020-12-21T20:39:42Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> Not everyone voted for Trump because he said he wanted to build a wall. Many supported him because he was seen as Anti-establishment, someone who would work for hard working Americans, any number of reasons.
In 2016, maybe. But now nobody has any excuse - after 4 years, they can see exactly what he is, and his values.
If they are _still_ a Trump supporter in 2020 they are either extremely ignorant, literally delusional, or despicable. If somebody has the intelligence and education to be a qualified therapist, that pretty much rules out the “extremely ignorant” category, leaving delusional and despicable.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/153 "2020-12-21T20:41:28Z")
Stop trying to sound all psuedo intellectual Mike Tyson in your posts.
Someone voting for Trump doesn’t make them an untrustworthy person.
The election was still fairly close after 4 years of Trumps apparent fuckwittery, was it not? Nearly half of voters still would prefer him to Biden, you’re smarter than all those people though.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/154 "2020-12-21T20:49:26Z")
As the OP, I would like the thread to be focused on _therapists_, thanks. If that’s too much to ask of the valiant defenders of Circle-K clerks and other soda dispensers, then I’m fine with it being closed as _I_ consider the question answered. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/155 "2020-12-21T20:52:06Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> Stop trying to sound all psuedo intellectual Mike Tyson in your posts.
I’m confused, are you saying Mike Tyson is the archetype of the pseudo-intellectual? Or that I’m a pseudo-intellectual _version_ of Mike Tyson? Although either way, I think I may have follow-up questions.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/156 "2020-12-21T20:59:10Z")
What do you hate about Trump so much then, his covid strategy, or, what?
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/157 "2020-12-21T20:59:44Z")
This is really taking the thread off topic. Please don’t go here.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/158 "2020-12-21T21:00:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> As the OP, I would like the thread to be focused on _therapists_, thanks. If that’s too much to ask of the valiant defenders of Circle-K clerks and other soda dispensers, then I’m fine with it being closed as _I_ consider the question answered. Thanks!
Agreed. The point if this thread is what matters in finding a therapist, and whether it’s legitimate to ask if a therapist is a Trump supporter. Not whether any trump supporter can be good, or whether you’d buy a can of coke from one, or what’s bad about trump, or biden, or…
If the thread keeps drifting off into the weeds, I will close it.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Hoogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Hoogly)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/159 "2020-12-21T21:01:58Z")
Then you could learnt about those value systems best from a trump supporter no?
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/160 "2020-12-21T21:04:50Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#):
>
> Then you could learnt about those value systems best from a trump supporter no?
No official warning, because I assume you posted without seeing my last two notes. But please stop posting to this thread. Your last several posts have been attempts to drag the thread off topic. If you are actually interested in engaging with the core questions here, PM me to discuss. Do not post again to the thread without explicit mod permission.
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