Progressives Still Burdened by What Has Been

In many respects the small community I live in is a microcosm of "progressive" jurisdictions across America, which makes sense because roughly half of residents are boomer American expatriates, a good many of them draft dodgers. Their political views were shaped in the 60s when extreme circumstances provoked extreme reactions. For most of them Canada was not a destination of choice but an escape hatch. A haven they knew little about.

I know dozens of them. Six from California. Two from Ohio. Two from Wisconsin. Two from Colorado. Two from Oregon. One from Indiana... the list goes on. If I threw a stone 5O feet in the air it would have a good chance of falling on one of them. Their personal stories are interesting and varied. But a common thread runs through them. They live in a time warp. They have not moved on. The animus they had for assorted now-deceased Republican villains in their college days remains intact. The burning ember of anger and resentment that drove them here has not been extinguished. It is always there lurking beneath the surface. They cannot be characterizes as 'liberal goodwhites," as an American friend described his Democrat nieces, but illiberal angry-whites. In many cases they are like seniors who harbour anger toward the partners they broke up with a half century ago. I am painting a broad picture here, but it is largely accurate. Mere mention of Trump is incendiary. Someday in the distant future, perhaps, researchers will discover the cause of TDS. It is not uncommon or unnatural to hate a politician. Or despise him. But the obsessive all-consuming nature of this particular fixation confounds me. It is beyond hatred.

Yet American expatriate Trump haters are not exceptional. A majority of Canadian-born folks here hate the man as well. Most of them, especially women, love Kamala. In fact, I am the outlier, not them. They are among the 74% of island residents who voted for one of the two Far Left parties in the October election. The 26% of us who didn't keep a low profile, for good reason. We tend to think that if we don't give voice to our opinions, progressive bullies will forget that we exist. Some obviously have. They interpret silence as consent.

So when I went to the local supermarket on Wednesday, the morning after, it was like I walked into a morgue. In fact, the whole village seemed to be in mourning. People were downcast and sombre. It was reminiscent of the day when Kennedy was shot.

Subsequently, I took a walk along a seemingly deserted forest trail. The first and last person I encountered was a man in his late 70s whom I had seen before, but did not know. He greeted me with one remark, a question. It was not "good morning" or "How are you?" but "Well, did you drink away your troubles last night?" Then he moved on without waiting for a reply. He assumed that I was as mortally depressed about Trump's victory as he was. As everyone was. Everyone in his universe, that is. Echo Chamber Island.

I imagine that this kind of Group Think is characteristic of hundreds of other progressive enclaves in North America as well. And that, I think, accounts for the fact that progressives are so shocked about the scale of Trump's victory. As some incisive pollsters report, a significant number of conservative voters feel so intimidated that they will even lie to pollsters about their intentions.

How did I feel? I was so ecstatic on Tuesday evening that I could not get to sleep until 3 am, woke up at 7 and remained buoyant and energized for the duration of the day.

I will remember to the end of my days the moment when the TV station I was watching called the winner. It was precisely 9:46 PM PST. It was the moment of deliverance. Deliverance from the tyranny of wokeism. I think my parents had that same feeling on VE Day.

As Churchill said after news of Rommel's defeat at El Alamein, it was not the end, or the beginning of the end, but perhaps the end of the beginning. The totalitarian horde has been beaten back, and one can sense that we have turned a corner. Who knows. Once liberated, Americans might come to the rescue of Europeans trapped in tyranny, as they did eight decades ago. But I would prefer that they liberate Canadians first.

Totalitarian regimes or dictators make themselves more vulnerable by suppressing or punishing dissent. Over time, unheard grievances accumulate and suddenly there is an eruption. It catches them by surprise. They are stunned, confused, and outraged. They had forgotten that the silent majority was made silent by censorship and coercion, and began to assume that silence was an indication of contentment. How many times have we seen that played out across continents and generations? Ceaucescu on his palace balcony in Bucharest facing an angry assembly was a classic case, Progressives have been shielded from public outrage for so long that when it surfaces, they react hysterically. That is why they were so upset when Elon Musk was able to buy Twitter. Imagine having to debate with deplorables on an even playing field. 

PS: Unfortunately, deliverance from population overshoot, peak everything and ecocide is not on the horizon. And obviously it won't be Trump or his team who will save us from those perils.

The Incurable TDS, by Deborah C. Tyler, American Thinker, 17 November 2024.

Never Trumpers in Trumpian Times

Explaining Trump Derangement Syndrome - TDS

The Incurable TDS, by Deborah C. Tyler, American Thinker, 17 November 2024.

How Trump Derangement Syndrome Saved America, by Steve McCann, American Thinker, 27 November 2024.

5 minute video: Why Do You Hate Conservatives?, PragerU.