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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
I mean I've seen the normal raft of people going on about how this is the latest thing that proves he's going to win the election in a massive landslide.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Never Trust
So they convinced him to put on a mask by convincing him it made him look like The Lone Ranger? What is he, seven?
Trump delenda est
Whatever it takes to get him to wear the damn mask. Let him think he looks like a cowboy or an outlaw or whatever. Hopefully it'll get more of his followers to wear the things, too.
You know, the ones that look to Trump for medical advice.
Edited by SilentColossus on Jul 12th 2020 at 4:23:10 AM
It’s not out of character, they reportedly bring big trucks (fire trucks and similar) to the White House to improve his mood when he’s feeling down.
From what I have seen of the mutterings of his base, some of the crazier Trumpettes are convinced that him wearing a mask means he was subverted by the Deep State and is now lost.
The sheer amount of mental hoops his base will jump threw not to wear a piece of cloth on their face is so fucking stupid.
The CBC asked psychologists to comment on his niece’s book psychoanalyzing him, and the ones who were willing to comment (most weren’t, due to a combination of ethics concerns, fear of professional consequences, and fear of Trump supporters) said yes, he’s a prototypical narcissist with psychopathic tendencies.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-niece-book-1.5646052
Edited by Galadriel on Jul 12th 2020 at 8:43:39 AM
Redmess
Yes, that was what I thought was behind it. Trump just feels wearing a white mask looks stupid, and that's why he wouldn't wear one.
Often the simplest explanation turns out to be the closest to the truth: he just didn't like how it looked.
Optimism is a duty.
For the first time, we have a poll of likely voters (rather than registered voters) showing Biden ahead in Texas:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/texas/
It’s just one poll, and I’m still skeptical of the chances of Texas going blue, but it’s noteworthy. The pandemic going out of control there certainly won’t help Trump.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
To no ones surprise
Redmess
And those ethics concerns are very legitimate. You just dont psychoanalyze someone from a distance. That is very dangerous territory.
I'm not saying those analyses are far off the truth, but you certainly should not take them as the full truth, either.
Optimism is a duty.
When somebody starts slurring, their face droops on one side and they struggle to stay upright, you're pretty much allowed to suggest they're probably having a stroke.
And call an ambulance, preferably before yelling "they're having a stroke!" at the prize idiot trying to tell them off for being drunk.
Mental health really should be no different. The more taboo we make flaming obvious issues like Trump's blatantly destructive narcissism, the harder it gets to sort the fallout out.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Jul 12th 2020 at 2:10:40 PM
Redmess
You can say something seems wrong, sure, but you can't just make a diagnosis from a distance. That is just irresponsible.
You wouldn't like people psychoanalyzing Biden based on his gaffes, would you? Or Clinton because she had a bad night?
Optimism is a duty.
People actually did the latter. A moment of wooziness or illness being made to look like some mental issue back during the 2016 campaign. I even had someone I know on Twitter try to use that as a reason why she would've been a bad President, using an article from Breitbart as his evidence (and after I'd specifically said I'd be wary of overly biased sources).
While I agree with you in general, there's a difference between cherrypicking one night and analyzing the persistent patterns of someone's behavior - on public record - over fifty-plus years.
It's been fun.
Oh, bother.
It's also different when it's actual psychologists doing it.
Edited by M84 on Jul 12th 2020 at 9:31:50 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Still, we should be careful of "I've never met the man but I've diagnosed him on TV"-type scenarios.
Oh, bother.
In this case though it's not based on TV. It's based on his portrayal in that book.
Disgusted, but not surprised
There's an actual APA medical ethics rule about this sort of thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater_rule
Oh, bother.
The article actually mentions that rule. It also mentions that psychologists (as opposed to psychiatrists) aren't bound by said rule, though it's still an ethics minefield.
Psychology does not have the same so-called Goldwater rule but does have professional standards discouraging public speculation about people's mental health.
Edited by M84 on Jul 12th 2020 at 9:32:21 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess
I wouldn't trust a psychiatrist who is willing to diagnose someone based on TV and second-hand sources alone.
You wouldn't want to be diagnosed through your forum posts and social media accounts, would you?
Optimism is a duty.
Oh, bother.
We're not talking about social media posts here. We're talking about an entire tell-all book.
Since when does that ever stop anyone?
Edited by Reflextion on Jul 12th 2020 at 9:38:04 AM
Does it matter? Really, does it actually matter if Trump could be diagnosed as X or Y? It’s not going to change what he does, or help the vulnerable groups he’s harming. It just gives you the ability to say “Trump is mentally ill”, which is just.... not really helping anything.
Redmess
So if someone writes a book about you, could we then psychoanalyze you based on the book? Without ever talking to you? Of course not.
And you could easily do something similar with Biden, if you wanted to. The man has had enough gaffes for an unconscionable psychiatrist to work with.
Optimism is a duty.
I know I'm being General Obvious at this point, but just how childish Trump can be still boggles my mind.