My friend has gone over the edge into Trumpdom

The BBQ Pit
1

I’m not quite sure who I’m pitting here: her, myself for not doing something or the evil forces corrupting her.

Let me set the stage. This woman is a professional with a doctorate so presumably intelligent but a sucker for any fad or crackpot theory that crosses her path. Over the years, she has tried to sell me on “Eat Right for Your Blood Type”, “chronic yeast infection”, the “Cookie Diet” as well as trying to sell me a “much better and more cost effective electricity service” and of course “a seminar that will make your business so much better, besides it’s run by Donald Trump”. Usually, I wait it out and she drops the latest crackpot theory in a few months. Meanwhile, I like to keep abreast of the latest woo my patients will invariably be pitching. She is not, however, racist or evil or uneducated. However, she was not shy about supporting Trump in 2016 but I figured she would come to her senses.

About 6 months ago we met for dinner and she mentioned that she had recently been to big city X for a convention that she was apparently helping to run. I assumed it was in her field. When I asked what it was about, she said it was for QANON. I don’t know whether she assumed I would not know what it was because none of the other mutual friends at the dinner did. I was trying to be polite and not get into a fight but she did call me out for rolling my eyes. I changed the subject and managed to get through the night without fighting.

Last week, I was invited to a small party where she would again be present. I vowed to myself to not talk politics and made my friends swear to head me off if the conversation veered that way. I tried. I really really tried. When she brought out her Trump straw I couldn’t stop myself from commenting that if you want to bring your own straw you might as well get a reusable one. However, when she commented that it was reusable I bit my tongue and said nothing. When she casually mentioned how congresspeople were all corrupt, I changed the subject. Then, however, the topic of Facebook came up.

“I’ve been banned from Facebook” she cheerfully volunteered. “Who gets banned from Facebook?” I asked. “All of my friends have been banned” she said. “For some reason they think I am a Russian troll.” Again, I tried to deflect the subject, mentioning how I am not on Facebook because I don’t want my personal information to be used for their marketing purposes. “Oh, I don’t post any personal information,” she said “I only post the memes they tell me to post”.

Now I would love to think that she is just trolling me but I am absolutely convinced she is serious. I managed to get out of there again without a fight but I need to vent somewhere so here is apparently the place.

WHAT THE #%^&$*% DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU ARE A SUPPOSEDLY INTELLIGENT WOMAN AND YOU CAN SUPPORT WHATEVER CANDIDATE YOU WANT BUT CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE THAT YOU ARE TAKING INSTRUCTIONS FROM RUSSIAN TROLLS TO POST THESE MEMES ON YOUR FACEBOOK??!!! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO UNDERMINE OUR DEMOCRACY? DO YOU HATE AMERICA THAT MUCH? THE WORLD IS GOING TO HELL. WE HAVE ABANDONED OUR ALLIES. WE WILL NEVER EVER REGAIN THE RESPECT OF THE WORLD WE HAD BEFORE THIS PRESIDENCY. OUR COUNTRY IS LESS SAFE WITHOUT ALLIES WE CAN DEPEND ON. SHOOTERS ARE RUNNING WILD IN THIS COUNTRY, KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR OR FAITH OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T EVEN PRETEND TO NOT BE CORRUPT. THE NEW MOTTO OF THE DAY IS “GET OVER IT!” MEANWHILE TRUMP IS RAISING RECORD AMOUNTS OF CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM MORONS LIKE YOU. CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE HOW UNHINGED AND UNSTABLE HE IS? ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO MAKE THE LIBTARDS LIKE ME CRAZY? CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE FINALLY SENT ME COMPLETELY OVER THE EDGE!

2

I’m glad that you still kept enough sense of sanity to be posting this from a place of safety and not from the local jail while you wait for a lawyer. You are, right?

3

I* think* I have a similar problem. My oldest friend (close to 40 years) has been cold and distant for a year or two. I think he has gone to the stupid. It’s too bad.

4

Quite obviously your axiomatic premise is false.
Trust me on this : any retard can get a diploma. I should know, I have a few of them.

OK, that’s not really helpful, let me restate : the sort of intellectual capacity that is required to tick the checkboxes required to get a given diploma are not indicative whatsoever of proficiency in checkboxes that aren’t required for that diploma. E.g. I’m somewhat good at critical analysis of the written medium. Like, really good. Like rockstar good if I’m being honest. I’ve got the tools and the methodologies and the frameworks and the semantic and linguistic expertise and the geography and philosophy and art analysis sidegigs. I’m in the top tier of all my classes.
I still fell for “Loose Change” at one time. For 20 minutes. In 1920.
No but seriously, I’m still not quite great about trans folk. I don’t understand social media dynamics. You can lose me entirely with entry level maths. I know fuck all about child psychology (which is somewhat problematic, seeing as I’m studying to become a teacher). I struggle with routine social interactions, am terrified of dating and haven’t had sex in 3 years.

I’m a completely dysfunctional person, objectively speaking. But I do gots me them diplomas !

Well see, this is where research and education about a given subject gets you. If you’d known what that was about, you’d have known this was your immediate cue to smile awkwardly while your eyes darted to the nearest exit.

And this is where all my smartassery is for naught. Because it’s all really, genuinely sad. Because that person is utterly lost into a rabbit hole and it’s painful and you don’t feel like you can do anything about it because any attempt you make at reaching, connecting will be met with triple strength defense mechanisms designed to either ignore you, hurt you out of the picture, or both.
It really is a cult at some point. By which I mean it really is a systematic alienation from whoever isn’t in the cult ; itself billed as proof that being in the cult is good.

I don’t know how you solve that.
One of my… well she’s not a friend really but merely saying she’s the relative of a friend isn’t enough either… what’s the word for “a person I know enough to give a genuine shit about but who’s not part of my life in any real sense” ? Anyway she was browbeaten by her family that she was addicted (to what exactly is hazy - she never was drunk nor took drugs), sent into some sort of cultish rehab AA-adjacent group facility for a few months and emerged utterly convinced she’d been wrong her entire life and henceforth trying to convince everyone around her to come to the meetings and help themselves and see the real truth to become happy about life.

If that sounds disjointed and concerning, that’s because it’s how it sounded.

She’s, thankfully, moved past that since. I didn’t confront her, my friend didn’t either, I’m really not sure whether someone eventually managed to reach out or whether she escaped on her own. She’s still fucking weird about many things, she still latches onto various amounts of woo. She’s now the single mother of the child of a guy she met at those meetings. She’s still fucked up about a lot of things and hurting and resentful about things that were ultimately her choice at the time and apart from that she’s struggling to raise that kid while being generally unemployed. Her kid is an absolute nightmare because she feels bad about telling him what to do or not do or screaming at him.
I know she’s unhappy. I know she’s hurting. I do not know how to help her or what to do about her. So I just… don’t. I don’t anything. I haven’t contacted her in over a year. I tell myself that I should focus on myself getting better first, and anyway it’s not really my problem and we never were really close.
I feel shitty about it sometimes.
Then I question whether it’s just my depression trying to find ways for me to be shitty at myself or whether I’m a legit bad person about all that.

5

Jesus christ OP you are so fucking dumb and hysterical.

“ThE RuSsIaN TrOlLs!!!”

I would imagine this lady you speak of can read in you the distain that oozes from your pores and probably is trying to piss you off & wind you up.

And you would be better served to keep your mouth shut about what people choose to do, for example telling her that she should have brought a reusable straw.

And whatever you say about her, you have definitely been manipulated by fake news, political hysterics, hyperbole, and bullshit.

In essence, you are the mirror image of her, only of the stupid-ass lefty variety.

6

Good baiting. 8/10 from the Czech judge.

7

What exactly is her doctorate in? Philosophy? Art history? Guidance counseling? Something else as equally useless?

8

Oh, go fuck yourself with Donald Trump’s flaccid micropenis ( you’ll have to knock Ivanka off it first) you worthless piece of troll shit. You’d piss in your own water supply if it would make a liberal mad, then you’d drink it, too. All while taking Sean Hannity’s cock into your tight troll asshole, because liberals HATE it when Hannity gets some. Go Fuck Yourself

9

I think you misspelled “ex-friend” in your thread title.

10

And that jackass Annoyed removes all doubt.

11

Dear Annoyed:

The word you are searching for is “disdain”. You know, kind of what just about everyone feels for you.

12

Aren’t you the poster who used to be mentallywellbalancedbunny?

But I understand. My extended family has always been conservative, but it was sane, small-government, personal responsibility conservatism.

They’ve just tossed all those values out the overton window.

13

Someone hasn’t had their coffee yet.

14

Psychobunny: If that woman annoys you so much, why do you still allow her to be a part of your life? Why do you get so riled up about a person you can just walk away from?

15

Does Annoyed bring anything to this board with his posts?

16

Just do what I have done and make believe they’re dead.

17

Wow, I can undermine Democracy simply by posting memes to my Facebook page? Looks like my weekend plans are made!

18

This fact cannot be deduced from the evidence presented; Donald Trump’s micropenis is equally flaccid whether he has had his coffee yet or not.

19

No.

Anyway I never ever ever ever ever ever thought I’d say this about anyone, but it’s too bad the $cientologists didn’t get to Psychobunny’s friend first.

20

Ann, this is all very homophobic and not becoming of a female liberal.

You really need to calm down.