# Where draw the line? (on stigmatizing Trumpists) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450 "2021-01-13T14:36:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/41 "2021-01-15T04:23:17Z")
Has the word _fungible_ been struck from the dictionary? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/42 "2021-01-15T04:26:29Z")
The owner and head chef of my favorite restaurant in town spent a good ten minutes delightfully talking to us after our meal this evening, and in the last couple of minutes, expressed admiration for Trump. I’ll still go there, because I like him, and I like the food and the service. If I cut out _everyone_ in my life who supports Trump, I’d have to find a new place to live, after all. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/43 "2021-01-15T04:28:36Z")
> [@lum\_s\_husband](#): > > Has the word _fungible_ been struck from the dictionary? It was there last week when I looked it up. Lovely word. [OxfordDict.] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/44 "2021-01-15T04:45:11Z")
There ia no practical difference between Nazi’s and Nazi-enablers. “Ich habe es gewusst aber er war so ein netter Kerl” really isn’t a very good look. Get in their face. If they kick you out - fine. If you agree to disagree - fine. It is not your role to convince everybody, but sitting there and saying nothing is literally killing democracy. Do not sit there and pretend that it is normal for people to declare they support someone who is actively striving to become dictator for life. Who want to kill democracy dead. You are not visiting a batty relative, where you should keep the peace for your mothers sake. You are entitiled to you opinion. If you are afraid to speak your mind in their restaurant it is even worse-- You know for sure you are silently enabling that kind of behaviour. Man up. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/45 "2021-01-15T05:08:30Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > The owner and head chef of my favorite restaurant in town spent a good ten minutes delightfully talking to us after our meal this evening, and in the last couple of minutes, expressed admiration for Trump. Since this within the last week – i.e. after the American Coup – I would have no trouble at all not going there again no matter how good the food is. To use **WalterBishop** ’s example above, if I knew some restauranteur was a Trump voter because I saw a bumper sticker on his car, no big deal. If I walk in though, and the place is festooned with Trump/Pence flags and _especially_ newer Stop the Steal flags, I’m gonna eat somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/46 "2021-01-15T05:24:17Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > It is not your role to convince everybody, but sitting there and saying nothing is literally killing democracy. Yeah, I would not be comfortable letting somebody think I agreed with them about admiring the President inciting a mob to commit terrorist acts. I wouldn’t turn the event into a political shouting match, but a bewildered/disgusted look if somebody these days expresses admiration for Trump is the bare minimum they’re going to get. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/47 "2021-01-15T07:17:25Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That’s why virtue- _signaling_ is used as it is. People aren’t about to give up their oil or their literally slave made cheap goods. I’m with you on giving up oil. Lots of it comes from Oklahoma after all. But I’m more upset with Trump being okay with a murder ordered from the highest level of the Saudi government. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/48 "2021-01-15T11:03:51Z")
Comments about “virtue signaling” and “convenient cancel culture” are pretty silly stuff. Individual “boycotts” are by their nature partly symbolic, and no one is going to starve to death before spending a nickel in a MAGA-supporter’s restaurant. But we’re all free to choose a restaurant based on our impressions of the owner’s politics, and all else equal, politics seems to me as good a way to choose as any. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/49 "2021-01-15T14:24:16Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But merely knowing that somebody voted for Trump, even twice, does not automatically imply that they support him now. (Or would if they have any idea what he’s doing. We tend to forget how astonishingly low-information many citizens, and even voters, can be; though to be fair again, plenty of them have their hands full even without political awareness.) Good thinking. But I’m going to argue that voting for Trump in 2016 by a vast swath of Americans can be mostly excused as voting for the (R) after his name. Come 2020 that reason/excuse had worn very, very thin. IOW you had to be orders of magnitude less informed, and/or orders of magnitude a worse person to vote for Trump in 2020. The hard-won experience of the previous 4 years certainly sure ought to count for something. Further, since all of these choices are binary, consider the decision process of Trump vs Clinton compared to Trump vs Biden. The former was highly polarizing, even on the left. The latter not so much. All of us on the left need to remember what happened here as a cautionary tale. Many on the right were willing to hold their nose in 2020 and vote for “(R)” despite the word “Trump” in front of it. At some point in the future the Ds may well put up an equally defective candidate. All of us need to be able to say “I’d rather vote for a decent R than a dangerous D” Far too many Rs lacked the ability to do the same. To everyone’s detriment. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/50 "2021-01-15T16:53:31Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Honestly, I feel sorry and sad for them more than anything else. They’ve been fed so many lies and have been living in a fantasy world for 4 or more years. They weren’t force-fed the lies. They bellied right up to the buffet, ignoring clear warnings that the food was poison. I have no sympathy for them. The argument that, “Its understandable. Its what their leaders told them.” is complete BS. They are still stuffing their faces. I don’t know of a single Trumper who has said, “Damn! They lied to us”. The best I can get it “It went to far.” Screw 'em. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/51 "2021-01-15T17:09:50Z")
I’m a simple man. I see Trump merch, I boycott. Every person and company who I know supported Trump or Republicans gets boycotted, if it’s feasible. The people who have been steadily dividing the country and gloating about it these past 4 years do not get to cry “what about muh healing and unity”. You sowed this, and you’ll reap those consequences. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/52 "2021-01-15T18:11:54Z")
I can’t really do it that way. It’s all about the individual and what they supported or enabled. You don’t need to look at the chain, because it’s not about Trump per se, but what he supported and enabled. It’s too complicated to create a neat formula, though I will say “friend of a supporter” or “friend of an enabler” are pretty tenuous connections. What matters is if that friend was a supporter or enabler. If not, they could be someone trying to stay friends to pull them back from the brink. I will say I can’t see the chain going beyond a few links except in very special circumstances, but I don’t think that having any one hard limit really works. It really depends on how bad what they actually did is. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/53 "2021-01-15T18:16:11Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > There ia no practical difference between Nazi’s and Nazi-enablers. This is also a good point, given that they are at the very least the most fervent part of Trump’s base, and enabling them is essentially being a Nazi themselves. The same result happens either way if Nazis or Nazi enablers win. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/54 "2021-01-15T18:28:17Z")
I saw a well dressed senior citizen whose 2020 Lincoln had a Trump decal in the rear window and another decal that said she loved to watch Liberal heads explode. She is a Fellow Traveler in the anti American insurrection. She should be publicly shunned and shamed. The Fellow Traveler label needs to be widely applied to Trumpist traitors. What was appropriate for the campaign is traitorous during the ‘stop the steal’ movement. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/55 "2021-01-15T22:50:12Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > They weren’t force-fed the lies. They bellied right up to the buffet, ignoring clear warnings that the food was poison. I have no sympathy for them. The argument that, “Its understandable. Its what their leaders told them.” is complete BS. They are still stuffing their faces. I don’t know of a single Trumper who has said, “Damn! They lied to us”. The best I can get it “It went to far.” Screw 'em. That’s not _entirely_ fair - cult indoctrination can be awfully insidious. The end result is pretty much the same, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/56 "2021-01-16T01:28:16Z")
The rhetoric is becoming goofy. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/57 "2021-01-16T12:40:21Z")
Perhaps so ---
**Author:** ![Delayed\_Reflex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/delayed_reflex/32/3172_2.png) [@Delayed\_Reflex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delayed_Reflex)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/58 "2021-01-16T13:36:11Z")
What are your thoughts about boycotting any business that employs Trump supporters? There are only so many business owners - how do you hit the pocketbook of rank-and-file employees who happen to be MAGA fanatics? Should employers be pressured to fire anyone who is an outward Trump supporter post-Jan 6th? I think an interesting question, in addition to how far out you draw the circle for enabling Trump supporters, is would you, as a worker or business owner, refuse service to Trump supporters? As far as I know, political affiliation is not a protected class - Sarah Huckabee was refused service at a restaurant once which caused some hullabaloo. It’s one thing to say “I don’t want any of my money going to Trump supporters” - how about “Trump supporters’ dollars aren’t welcome here”? What about the next level up, organizing a ring of businesses to refuse service to any Trump supporters? How about collecting names and pictures of Trump supporters (say off a Facebook group), and sending this information to businesses and asking them to refuse service to these people? Personally, I feel like these last two points are going too far, but am curious what others on the forum think. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/59 "2021-01-16T17:17:02Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > What are your thoughts about boycotting any business that employs Trump supporters? […] > > I think an interesting question, in addition to how far out you draw the circle for enabling Trump supporters, is would you, as a worker or business owner, refuse service to Trump supporters? […] > > What about the next level up, organizing a ring of businesses to refuse service to any Trump supporters? How about collecting names and pictures of Trump supporters (say off a Facebook group), and sending this information to businesses and asking them to refuse service to these people? […] I think there are two separate axes of variation here: 1. What kind of Trump supporters are we talking about, and 2. How far are we going out of our way to do this stigmatizing. Anybody who’s actively instigating or committing criminal acts, including irresponsibly promoting outright lies to supply some supposed justification for such criminal acts, is not entitled to social tolerance for their behavior. (Naturally, they’re not entitled to legal tolerance for it either if they’re involved in the actual commission of crimes.) The worse their behavior, the harder the social and legal pushback that’s appropriate for it. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450/60 "2021-01-16T17:18:25Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > If I find out that a restaurant I like is owned by a guy who voted for Trump twice, I’m not going to say or do anything to make him suffer for those choices. I agree with this. However, there is a restaurant that I _used_ to like that put a big Trump flag up, and put his picture behind the counter. That’s more than just voting, and I don’t go there anymore. Sad, as I really liked their gyros. I live in Trumplandia, I pretty much assume that nearly anyone I interact with probably voted for Trump. As long as _they_ don’t make an issue of it, neither will I. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-draw-the-line-on-stigmatizing-trumpists/930450.md?page=4)