I know, I know, I don’t want to be talking about this shit either.
I’d rather be talking about literally anything else.
Puppies. Sunshine. Empanadas. Butt plugs.
(Not coincidentally, those are also the nuclear launch codes.)
Anyway, short post, but here it is:
If you’re a person out there who supported this president and who supported the political party to which he supposedly belongs, here’s your chance to get off the ride. Well, first, fuck you, because you should’ve known better. Smarter people told you this was bad, that he was a mean, evil dope. He told you that he was a mean evil dope when he called Mexicans rapists and he copped to sexual assaulting women and making fun of a disabled reporter and pushing the Obama birther conspiracy for miles past its already ludicrous inception point. We all knew he was the human embodiment of two rats fucking inside an old clown shoe. That pantsuit lady with the emails also told us all who we were dealing with. She warned us about Russia. She warned us about a guy you can bait with a tweet. She told us who he was even as he also told us who he was. The newspapers told us. The experts told us. Little children told us. We knew.
We totally knew. You knew, too.
But hey, let’s pretend you didn’t know.
Let’s say this is your period of amnesty.
This period of amnesty — and this goes toward voters, politicians, businessfolk — is a very small window. Like, so small the window is closing as we speak. So small you’re going to have to leap through it like Indiana Jones grabbing his hat before the catacomb door comes slamming down on his hand. (Indiana Jones, by the way, is one of many pop culture heroes of ours who punched Nazis. Just in case you were confused about what we once believed was good and just.)
We know who is in the Oval Office.
We know he’s a kiss-ass quisling who wants to sell us to Russia.
We know he’s a guy who can’t get anything done except tweet.
We know he’s a hypocrite who does everything he has ever criticized.
We know he’s a mean evil dope.
And now we know that he is a white supremacist who stands with white supremacists. He will not condemn them. He will condemn everyone but them, just as he won’t condemn Russia. He is compromised politically, morally, emotionally. He stands up for Nazis more than he stands up for the common man. He stands for two of our past enemies, and not for our present allies.
He is a danger. He is a craven cur. He is a con-man. He is a grease-slick turd. He’s King Midas with poopy shit-fingers instead of a gold touch.
It is time to get off the train.
Because right now, it’s up over the hill. It’s on the downward slope. It’s gaining speed as it roars down the tracks. You can jump out now, maybe sprain a wrist, maybe scuff your knees, but you’ll live. Our democracy will live. But you stay on this train? It’s going to crash hard into a wall. Just as we told you who you were electing, we’re also warning you know that the wall is swiftly rushing up to greet us — oh no, not his wall, not the wall across the border, but the wall that will end his presidency and, if our luck does not hold, our democracy. This is real. It’s happening. Get off now or you’ll be onboard when it crashes, too.
If you’re not one of those people, you probably know some who are. Friends or family. People on Facebook. The media you watch, the writers you read. Even the politicians who represent you. Confront them. Condemn them. Let them know that you will not stand by them if they choose to stand by this administration. If they continue to stand by it, then they need to go. They must get gone. Because either they’re mean, or they’re evil, or they’re dopes, too.
This is it, folks.
Up over the hill, rickety-clack down the tracks we go.
(P.S. — above image is Photoshopped.)
(P.P.S. — if you have not seen the Vice documentary out of Charlottesville — well, go watch it. It’s not an easy thing to watch, but if you can stomach it, I suggest you try.)
(P.P.S.S. — if your response to this is some kind of LESS POLITICS MORE FUNNY BOOK STUFF rebuke, trust me, I wish that’s where my head was at right now, but it’s not. I’m going to talk about this stuff because it’s real and because it matters and because it matters a lot more than where you put a comma or whether or not write what you know is a thing or whether or not that character on Game of Thrones is faking her pregnancy. You can read the blog or not, you can buy my books or not. You can engage with what’s going on around you or not.)
macdowelltaylor says:
Thank you for saying the words I can’t give voice to. Calling all my politicians now.
August 16, 2017 — 3:11 PM
James says:
That post wasn’t actually that short.
But I agree on all fronts. The man is scum, we knew he was scum a long time ago, and I think it’s time for people to accept that. I know a lot of people were just desperate for something else that they took him and his people at their word, but they need to understand that he’s dangerous.
August 16, 2017 — 3:15 PM
terribleminds says:
For me, under 1000 words is pretty short, but in comparison to, say, a tweet, no, it wasn’t short.
August 16, 2017 — 3:18 PM
ina says:
Thank you.
August 16, 2017 — 3:15 PM
mandyhager says:
Well said!
August 16, 2017 — 3:16 PM
Michael Patrick Hicks says:
Excellent words as usual, Chuck. Thank you.
August 16, 2017 — 3:18 PM
Lynda says:
Thank you.
August 16, 2017 — 3:24 PM
multiversalbeta says:
Thank you for fightin’ the good fight on Twitter and via your blog, sir. Well-said….
August 16, 2017 — 3:29 PM
socalvillaguy says:
This times 10**100.
August 16, 2017 — 3:48 PM
Richard Winks says:
You’ve expressed my feelings very well. Thanks.
I was considering writing something similar before I read this. But with so many many folks now piling on, I’m sure my scribblings would not add any additional energy to the fire.
August 16, 2017 — 3:49 PM
Laura says:
Love ya, Man!
August 16, 2017 — 3:50 PM
Todd Besant says:
Dear Chuck,
The 63 million people who voted for Trump knew. And they don’t want an amnesty. They’ll likely double-down, because he’s what they want. They knew. They’re him.
Sadly, the train has been off the rails for a while. Trump isn’t a result, he’s a symptom of a badly broken political system. Gerrymandering. Voter suppression. Propaganda & lies. Underfunded and overwhelmed newsrooms. Politics as entertainment. Money as freedom of speech. He’s a symptom of a grotesque social and economic system built on genocide, slavery, racism, sexism, class warfare, environmental degradation…
Trump doesn’t deserve to be your President. America deserves better. The world deserves better. But removing him from office won’t solve much. Those of us who are opposed to what he stands for have to understand this and keep it at the forefront of our thoughts.
Remove Trump (Impeachment? Coup? A brokered resignation?) and the absurd headlines will go away. (Maybe.) And everyone will take a deep breath of relief, and then you’ll have Mike Pence, who supports Trump’s position on Charlottesville (http://ind.pn/2vE0P8E).
But keep blogging about it. No person of good conscience can remain silent. Because it’s going to get worse before it gets better and it’s going to take a long time to put the train back on the tracks.
Best regards,
Todd Besant
August 16, 2017 — 3:53 PM
B. Blue Marbe says:
While I agree with your larger point, if I thought I was living in a country where 63 million people knowingly voted for… that, there’s a good chance I would off myself (I know that’s a horrible thing to be flippant about, but I don’t know whether I’m being flippant, so).
The president is a conman, and his whole life has been a long series of long cons. His entire life revolves around exploiting others for his own gain, and constantly jerking his own ego to sooth his insecurities because he knows that one day he will die, and his children will die, and his legacy will turn to dust, and, eventually, no one will remember him at all (we should be so lucky). Some people fell for it, some people are still falling for it. Some people couldn’t stomach voting against their party, even if they hated the candidate, and justified it as voting “for the lesser evil,” which… yeah. This is how that’s working out. Cool.
I am now living in a time and a place where standing against Nazis is being portrayed as being exactly as controversial as actually being a Nazi. I just hope the New 20’s aren’t going to be like the previous 20’s.
August 19, 2017 — 7:03 AM
Todd Besant says:
I hope you’re being flippant–better to be flippant than not.
You’re right, his life is a long series of long cons. But he’s always had racism at it his core, too. (Central Park Five, being sued for discrimination for his housing rental practices.)
As for the rest, I just can’t make a distinction between voting for a racist because they might do a few things you like or you’re “only” being loyal to your party. (Especially when the only “policies” they promote consistently are the racist ones: the wall, deportations, increasing police powers.) That voters didn’t walk away right after the “Mexicans are rapists” statement, well, I just can’t get past that.
So I don’t make the distinction between enabling racists and being one. Too many American citizens have died or put their lives on the line for equality for other’s to get a pass by saying “I’m not a racist, but I voted for Trump because (insert presumed “benefit”).
For the 63 million who voted for him, well, if any non-racist candidate–or not voting at all–isn’t the lesser evil, well, I have a hard time believing most of them fall into the “not smart people” column.
August 22, 2017 — 2:20 PM
Paula says:
Yes, Yes, Yes.
August 16, 2017 — 3:57 PM
kkellie says:
This presidency, and what happened in Virginia, it’s our mess. We have to clean it up. On a side note, that got me thinking of little Virginia Hanlon, the YES VIRGINIA letter she wrote to The Sun…
My post, but I can imagine you writing something like that.
August 16, 2017 — 4:02 PM
Ken McGovern says:
So the thought is that all people who voted for this person has to go? Go where? Are we gonna round em up and get rid of them all because they are no good for our country? This sounds very familiar and is uncomfortable every time for me. But I guess that broad generalizations are ok when applied by “smart people”. And who are these smart people? Are they the people who think and act upon the same dogma as “us”? Its them over there and us over here and they want to ruin us so we should ruin them first. Preaching hate never eliminates hate, it just continues the cycle.
I used to really like coming to this post. I liked the feeling of inclusion that was expressed here. Lately the political fervor and hatred for anyone who doesn’t prescribe or challenge the “smart people’s” ideas has to go.
I didn’t vote for the buffoon in office, but I also don’t believe in mob mentality and broad generalizations about people.
I hope you go back to being the old Chuck someday.
Adios.
August 16, 2017 — 4:09 PM
Jessa Martell says:
He wasn’t talking about all the people who voted for him, there, he was talking about the politicians who continue to support him. And they do need to go–straight out of office. Read more carefully.
August 16, 2017 — 4:27 PM
Carl says:
Er, that’s not what this post says, that’s not what it says at all. It’s not telling anyone that they have to leave, only that they should, while they have the chance, detach themselves from the Train of Doom that is Donald Trump and join the rest of us here in sanity land.
August 16, 2017 — 4:36 PM
pulplives says:
Pretty sure that the whole “get off the ride” thing meant “please stop approving of this psychotic shit-show,” rather than “we’re gonna hunt you down.”
On the other hand, saying “Don’t fight hate with hate” is genius. After all, if you said “Don’t fight bigotry by disliking bigotry,” people might realize it sounds like bullshit.
August 16, 2017 — 4:54 PM
Ken McGovern says:
Let’s apply a metaphor. If a kid is punching other kids, do you tell that to make the punching stop he has to punch as well?
August 17, 2017 — 9:37 AM
Tia RAGEFACE MCAVOY (@tiakall) says:
As someone who was bullied in early school years, until they magically started leaving me alone after I hauled off and punched a bigger one – yes. Bullies are cowards. They don’t care about your noble martyrdom or your words. They care if you make it clear you will cause them physical pain back. Like very stupid animals, they only learn what not to touch by touching it and then getting burned.
I’m all for love and peace and non-violence – when it works. To work, it means *both* sides have to have rational actors who can settle things through words. When the other side doesn’t care about your words, your *only* option is to punch back.
August 17, 2017 — 10:44 AM
CongdonCraft says:
Obviously not. You tell the kid that, when punched, he should meet his attacker’s eye and say “I’m not judging you, but please help me understand why you’re punching me. Is it my face?”
It works a’charm, every time.
August 17, 2017 — 1:26 PM
pulplives says:
Here we get caught between philosophies. On one side, we have ye old “Violence only begets violence.” On the other, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.”
Both of these are quite subjective in their application. “Violence begets violence” usually suggests that a violent response to an otherwise peaceful (if heated) argument will only turn the other side violent and make common ground impossible to find. The “triumph of evil” bit suggests that against an objective threat, violence is the proper answer.
Both of these apply to what we’re seeing in Charlottesville and the political arena. The crowd that came to protest the removal of the monuments 1) willfully refuses to openly say that the statues represent objective evil (being slavery)*, and 2) bear the symbols of objectively evil causes (being anything remotely connected to both white supremacy and Nazism.) Their standards are ones of historical atrocity. The threat they offer is objective. Therefore, philosophy 1 is not appropriate. As far as philosophy 2 goes, we actually had a couple wars over removing overtly violent aggressors. Information on those conflicts can be found in books.
* Before the States Rights argument comes up, the South wasn’t particularly interested in the rights of other states to ban slavery. In particular, they wanted slave-hunters to be able to track down fugitives in free states, in defiance of those states’ laws. Southern states pushed for the use of federal power to violate the rights of free states, culminating in the Fugitive Slave Act. That would be the equivalent of, say, ISIS demanding that their agents be able to hunt refugees in other countries. Here are a few sources for that: http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fugitive-slave-acts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Slave_Act_of_1850
http://www.nationalcenter.org/FugitiveSlaveAct.html
August 17, 2017 — 1:50 PM
The Urban Spaceman says:
“And who are these smart people?” — the people who read the post correctly and didn’t infer that it meant everybody who doesn’t denounce Trump should be shipping out of the country. Although I do love the poetic irony of Trump supporters bring inflicted on Mexico (even if Mexico doesn’t deserve such cruelty)
August 16, 2017 — 5:27 PM
Ken McGovern says:
Oh you mean this? “Friends or family. People on Facebook. The media you watch, the writers you read. Even the politicians who represent you. Confront them. Condemn them.” or ” If they continue to stand by it, then they need to go. They must get gone. Because either they’re mean, or they’re evil, or they’re dopes, too.”
Maybe you need to read the whole post.
August 17, 2017 — 9:41 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
I read that as “gone from positions of authority/your social groups”. However, I can’t speak for the intent behind the post; only Chuck can clarify whether he’s advocating the mass deportation of pro-Nazis.
August 17, 2017 — 9:52 AM
terribleminds says:
Haha, uhh, no, I’m not advocating for deportation or killing or anything. I’m advocating shuttling those people:
a) out of positions of power (politicians voted from their seats, media stations so low in the ratings none watch, advertisers asked to bail, etc.etc.)
b) out of your lives, as in, if they are family and friends who you still count as family and friends, it may be time to reconsider that, because they continue to commit to this very scary, very anti-American, very troubled administration.
— c.
August 17, 2017 — 9:55 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
Which I see he already did, in the post below this one. Which you don’t appear to have read yet. Or maybe you did read it and decided it would be more fun to continue to troll the other commentators. Last I checked, Chuck wasn’t a member of the Mafia. He doesn’t say “This person needs to be gone” and then wake up the next morning to find that person floating in the Hudson with a suicide note stapled to his forehead.
*scribbles down idea for next story*
August 17, 2017 — 9:56 AM
terribleminds says:
shit, if only
August 17, 2017 — 10:01 AM
Jessa Martell says:
Yes. Mass deport Nazis straight into space. I hear Mars is lovely this time of year.
August 17, 2017 — 9:57 AM
terribleminds says:
This reeks of begging us to tolerate intolerance, which is nonsense. This site, under me, has never been about some hippy-dippy doe-eyed version of inclusion for all people — very specifically, it has summoned anger time and time again for those who would seek to take away equality and inclusion, and those behind this administration are precisely that, and those who support this administration are tacitly there, too.
No, I’m not speaking about rounding people up, where did you get that? I’m saying we need to vote out the politicians, and if we have family or friends who support this, then they need to be off our family-and-friends list.
Please don’t lecture me about “the old Chuck.” I’m the same me I was before, Ken.
August 17, 2017 — 8:32 AM
Ken says:
I must admit, I came here hoping that a discussion would start up and that you would be interested in my point of view (note interest doesn’t include agreement). After reading your blog for years and being the same age I felt a connection with you and the other people who came here.
I wasn’t lecturing, I was offering an opinion to a someone I felt kindred to in age and disposition. I realize now that I was mistaken. My hope was that maybe you would consider my point of view rather than attack me. I was hoping for a conversation. I used to see that here. Now what happens is attack, attack and echo, echo.
Yeah I believe in love and understanding and if that makes me hippie-dippy doe than so be it. My impression of educated people are people who seek to understand not judge (a great example would be Fred Rodgers), Go ahead and vent you anger on me for pointing out that consideration of another opinion doesn’t have to be toxic. Beating someone down for a “group” they are in (for this blog it is all people who identify as Republican) doesn’t make them listen more, it makes them listen less, become less engaged, less open-minded, more likely to withdraw. It widens the rifts that exist in our country.
I do not identify as a Republican. I don’t believe in supremacy of any kind (race, nation, culture, even political party) I think more progress is made with consideration and thought than with anger and threats. “Last Chance to Get Off the Ride” seems pretty much like a threat, makes the reader wonder “What happens if I don’t get off whatever the ride is?” Its subtext Chuck. But you know that because you are a professional author.
August 17, 2017 — 10:05 AM
terribleminds says:
This is where it reads like a lecture, Ken. Because you’re telling me about some magical wistful time at this blog where I was a different person, but you look back, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’ll continue to be. It may not be the best way to be, I dunno, but I’m comfortable at least that I’ve been consistent.
If I told you, “Wow, I remember Ken when you’d come here and leave nice comments, not comments like these, attacking your very nice blog host,” that would be me lecturing you. “I miss the Old Ken,” I’d say, very clearly lecturing you.
Here’s the thing about the rifts in this country — I didn’t cause them, and I’m not going to fix them. I don’t mean I’m willfully against fixing them, I mean, any blog post I write isn’t going to fix them. Terribleminds is not the magic thread that will stitch it all back together, and I’m not really interested in trying that.
Nor am I interested in hugging it out or opening the tent flap to people who continue to cling to what is very clearly a hateful ideology — I don’t know if you heard, Ken, but Charlottesville was this place where a bunch of Actual Nazis showed up, and then our president* made a statement only half-assedly disdaining them before then holding a press conference where he then half-assedly welcomed them. And this is an ideology that wants to exterminate wide swaths of people while undeservedly lionizing one group of people: white people. Mostly, white men, and largely able-bodied, cisgendered, straight white men, to boot. It is a narrow worldview from narrow-minded ape-men whose aim is not only rude, but is brutal. And against everything America stands for.
I am not throwing all Republicans under the bus, but I am throwing anybody who will not disavow this administration under it — Trump is a flaming shit-meteor, and anybody who STILL EVEN NOW EVEN TODAY holds onto that meteor or is afraid to acknowledge that the Meteor Is Bad — well, I got nothing for those people. I have no acceptance. I have no tolerance. If now, after everything, someone is still willing to give that shit-meteor a chance to not, say, smash into us, then they are free to fuck off.
But I won’t sit here and tolerate that, and further, I won’t accept from you some revisionist history where I have been openly accepting of All Points of View. I don’t accept all points of view. When anti-LGBT people swarmed AFTERMATH, I didn’t write a post saying, “I understand you don’t like my books but I think we can all come together.” I said, hey, hi, go to hell. I don’t tolerate intolerance, full-stop. I don’t think Nazis get to have equal space and equal time, I think they deserve equal shunning. Which used to be normal, by the way, that Nazis were not tolerated. But we’re rounding a corner here, dude, a very dark, very shadowy corner, and once on the other side, we may not be able to get back. Okay? We need to slow down. We need to turn around. But turning around isn’t going to happen with softball, ooh-ahh we can all come together if we just hold hands kind of nonsense. People need to know, that if they continue clinging to the shit-meteor, then I’m not with them. And none of us sane-minded folk should be with them either. We need to send that message — and no, the message isn’t, YOU WILL BE DEPORTED OR KILLED or whatever it is you think I said. That message is simply: you don’t belong in my circle, I won’t give you attention or love or money or votes or whatever it is you desire. I’ll give you only my back as I walk right the fuck away.
— c.
* I mean, “president”
August 17, 2017 — 10:20 AM
Ken McGovern says:
Well then i owe you an apology. I wasn’t lecturing you, I was stating my perspective of your blog which is an opinion and subjective, I understand this. I feel the way i feel about your blog and you have the right to disagree. I still stand by my several other points however. I wish you well in the future and hope that you still enjoy a good hug even though that is for hippie-dippy does.
August 17, 2017 — 11:43 AM
terribleminds says:
I am certainly a fan of hugging, as long as I’m not hugging Nazis. I mean, I guess I’d hug a Nazi, as long as the hug was in the form of, let’s say, a trash compactor slowly crushing them to a garbagey cube like those you find in Wall-E.
August 17, 2017 — 12:17 PM
B. Blue Marbe says:
@Chuck | Jesus Christ. Did you just pitch the new children’s film Garbagey Nazi Cubes? Is Pixar getting in on this? If not, they are missing out.
August 19, 2017 — 7:21 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
Discussion is fun!
So, since this is the first time Chuck has alienated you personally by expressing his fuck-you opinion, what is it about this blog post in particular that has caused you such distress? Opposed to, say, his Star Wars Boycott ran…errr, post, (here: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/10/19/about-that-dumb-star-wars-boycott/) in which he also gives the proverbial middle finger to people planning to boycott Star Wars because of their racist/sexist/whateverist opinions?
I’m sincerely interested in understanding why, after years of reading this blog (and the angst that has gone with it), you’ve suddenly felt your bromance dissolve into little bro-bits. Is it because this is “real” while Star Wars is “fiction”? Is it because you misunderstand “get off the ride” type sentiments and believe it’s a call to physical arms rather than proverbial arms? Is it something else entirely?
August 17, 2017 — 10:47 AM
KJen McGovern says:
Because here he is saying if you are a Republican you need to go. But yeah I see the bully echo chamber is locked and loaded. Good for you being an internet tough and setting the world right with one bit of sarcasm at a time.
August 18, 2017 — 8:30 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
@Ken
I did a Ctrl-F and the first mention of “Republican” was *your* use of it. Chuck never said all Republicans should be shipped off to the 7th layer of hell, or anything like it; he said people who are *still supporting* Trump after recent events needs to be denounced as the fascist-supporters they are. So, your straw man kinda falls over right here.
I agree that sarcasm isn’t going to fix the world’s problems; but neither is ignoring fascism and allowing intolerance to pass without addressing the innate wrongness of it. And I’d rather be sarcastic than a coward.
August 18, 2017 — 9:28 AM
Ken McGovern says:
I find it funny that your first notion to take since I disagree is to label me a “coward” and a Nazi supporter. I am neither. I just believe the ideals and morals I hold other people to should also be applied to me. i don’t think that just because someone is “evil” gives me the right to be evil to them.
I can oppose Nazi’s by not alienating everyone who has a different view than me. Notice how I haven’t called anyone here a name (I did refer to the President as a buffoon though) or taken their actions and made a generalized label of them. I proposed a view that differs from yours and then you and several others went to the “shout those people over there down.” I have seen this action before and it’s use to me is counter-productive and counter-intuitive. You dont open ears by striking someone on the head. If you don’t consider another person’s point of view than why should they consider yours? And again I am not talking about Nazis or hate groups. I am talking about my point of view towards this blog. I don’t believe that everyone that voted for Trump is a supremacist or a Nazi and I reject the mass generalization of them or any other group of people. I also don’t believe in threatening someone.
August 18, 2017 — 11:08 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
“I don’t believe that everyone that voted for Trump is a supremacist or a Nazi and I reject the mass generalization of them or any other group of people.”
I find it crazy that you ask for discussion, then fail to listen to the people who try to talk with you. The original post never said EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP IS A NAZI—but it did condemn those *who continue to support him following recent events* I’m pretty sure some really decent people voted for Trump and are now regretting some of the things he’s said and done. And I note Chuck also expressed a similar opinion further down in the comments when replying to somebody else (I don’t expect you to have got that far, since once this thread stops, it ceases being All About You).
I gave you a chance for the discussion you craved. You then went on to misrepresent the original post, and completely ignore the points other have raised by holding up straw-man arguments. I can see now that your desire for discourse was likely brought about by your need for attention following the alienation you felt after “Old Chuck” fell off whatever crazy high pedestal you put him on. This will be my last post in response to you, so feel free to get the last word in if it makes you feel validated or whatever.
August 18, 2017 — 11:21 AM
CongdonCraft says:
I’m an open-minded person and I value other opinions, but it’s fucking ludicrous to suggest that we should “seek to understand” Nazis. They deserve to be judged and condemned. This is one area where we really don’t need to pause to think about it, because Nazis.
I mean…Nazis. Jesus Christ.
Maybe you weren’t talking about understanding them specifically, but in the end that’s what this all boils down to. Chuck is addressing people that are still clinging to the Trump train, which is a train that has failed to adequately condemn…Nazis. Remember them? From back in Dublya-Dublya Eye-Eye? This isn’t the time or place for understanding. Sorry.
August 17, 2017 — 11:14 AM
Ken McGovern says:
No what this boils down to has nothing to do with Nazis. If you look at my original comment I find the language here used against people who voted Republican eerily similar to speech used by the old Nazi’s and the nea Nazi’s. Veiled threats to “those other guys over there” to get in line “or else”. I dont think two people shouting at one another can find peace or come to an understanding. Seems like the choice here is shout em down shut em up and ship em out.
August 18, 2017 — 8:37 AM
Dirck says:
Magnificent entry. It is somewhat terrifying, from a perch on your northern border, to watch events in the US unfolding as they are; we can’t even call a representative in government, because it’s not our government that’s the problem. Let us up that this is, at last, sufficient to nudge the necessary mass of people there into active opposition to the apparent Acme Rocket-Sled Of Failed Democracy plan the Trump administration is pursuing.
August 16, 2017 — 4:13 PM
xenalunastitch says:
Love you, Chuck … and, by the way, your blog posts popping up in my inbox are among the few things that are keeping me going these dark days. I don’t always click through to read them here, but they are read and they are manna. Seriously. Point being, please keep it coming … despite what your metrics might be telling you. And, thank you!
August 16, 2017 — 4:19 PM
Jessa Martell says:
I’m a writer, and I can’t think of anything else but this. Your metaphorical train hurtling down the tracks, about to go off the rails into a wall, is apt. I feel like it’s two bullet trains playing chicken, though. There are two parties, and one of them supported this turd weasel, and neither want to blink. If we keep going at this rate, and our leaders and politicians and the people who voted for him, don’t condemn him, taking actual steps to remove him from office, with expediency, we’re going to be one of those crashes that makes world headlines. “Millions killed” “devastating aftermath.” Our country destroyed. And if we’re very unlucky, while we are left to dig through the debris, searching for wounded, finding corpses, Donald Trump won’t suffer a damn thing. You’re right. It’s almost to late.
I wish you were able to talk about something else, too. But this is life and death for us. Thank you.
August 16, 2017 — 4:24 PM
Paul Weimer says:
Thanks, Chuck.
August 16, 2017 — 4:26 PM
Jessica Barrett Halcom says:
Hmmm….I really like your blog, but this post gave me pause. Furthering the divide between “us” and “them”, quite outright claiming yourself among the “smarter” of the two sides, isn’t helping anything. Who defines whom is smarter, and what are those criteria? That’s a ludicrous rabbit hole to be sure. Perhaps you’d better serve your audience by suggesting ways we can bridge the divide, not point fingers, call names, throw insults, and the like.
August 16, 2017 — 4:37 PM
Lois says:
Why does it bother you that he says the people who paid attention to what an evil idiot Trump is are smarter than the ones who bought into Trumps lies? Seems to me that’s pretty obvious.
August 16, 2017 — 5:59 PM
Jessica Barrett Halcom says:
Because they’re not stupid, and they’re not Nazis, and they’re not full of hate. I’ve lived in the south for 10 years and have friends who are conservative Christians who truly believed that the Republican party best aligned with their value system, so they sucked it up and voted for the idiot they were stuck with. They honestly didn’t see it playing out like this. Lumping them all into “oh, every Republican is a Nazi” is unfair and completely untrue.
August 17, 2017 — 3:29 PM
terribleminds says:
The idea that I should be serving my audience is a puzzling one, because it suggests I’m some kind of service provider? I’m not. I’m a novelist, and those novels exist, and people can read them. When I blog, it costs me, but is free to you, so there is no audience to serve — I’m not a waiter, I’m not a maintenance guy, I’m not an investment broker. I’m speaking my mind about what’s going on, and I’m not here to open my arms wide and try to Hands Across America this thing so we all find safety and peace in the human chain we create — I’m trying to tell people that this is getting really stupid, really bad, and it’s time to get off that train if you are presently riding it. Because that train is going to crash.
August 17, 2017 — 8:40 AM
Jessica Barrett Halcom says:
You’re right. Absolutely right. This is your platform and you should do whatever the hell you want to do with it. I apologize. I was offended because I have friends and family I really care about, who are good, decent human beings, certainly not Nazis, who voted Republican, and their party let them down in a way they truly never believed it would. I don’t believe they’re “less smart” than those who voted differently. More conservative, yes. Different perspectives, obviously. But not Nazis, and not hate filled, and not stupid.
August 17, 2017 — 3:22 PM
terribleminds says:
I don’t think people who vote Republican are idiots — nor do I think conservatives are idiots, either. Or evil. But I think we’re at a part here in history where they need to take a hard look at where they’re at and who they’re with and if the party is really their party anymore.
August 17, 2017 — 3:51 PM
Jessica Barrett Halcom says:
True.
August 17, 2017 — 3:57 PM
Charlotte Grubbs (@literary_lottie) says:
I have no problem saying that people who reject Nazis are smarter and better people than those who tolerate Nazis. Do you?
August 17, 2017 — 1:43 PM
Jessica Barrett Halcom says:
No problem at all. But I know that the friends and family I have who voted for him didn’t do so because they’re Nazis. Most of them are conservative Christians who really felt that the Republican party was still the way to vote, despite Trump being the choice they were stuck with. I promise none of them believed it was going to get this bad. I, too, hope that they aren’t still in support of him now, however, to say that they’re less “smart” is unfair. They did what they felt was best aligned with their values, and their party failed them.
August 17, 2017 — 3:06 PM
terribleminds says:
If Trump — who at the time of his election had already called Mexicans rapists, who already copped to sexual assault, who pushed the birther movement well past its margins, who made fun of a disabled reporter, who [inserts endless list of sins] — aligned with their values, then they should very seriously reconsider their values.
Or, they should reconsider their intelligence level.
Because, bad news, it’s one of those two things.
Either:
a) they’re not good people
or
b) they’re not smart people.
I’m willing to err on them not being smart, because sometimes, people aren’t. That is the kinder judgement, because the other way says that all this *waves hand over the kingdom of dumbassery going on in America* is actually what they wanted in the first place.
August 17, 2017 — 3:10 PM
Jessa Martell says:
See… this is what I don’t understand. I was raised as a Christian by staunch republicans. I have since parted ways with the Republican “ideals,” and I thoroughly condemn Christians who claim they voted for Trump because he lines up with their ideology. I am in the same position with many of my friends and family as you.
Throughout Trump’s campaign, he was thoroughly and clearly racist, sexist, nationalistic, etc. He mocked a disabled reporter, he’s on the record as continually belittling, assaulting, and threatening women, encouraging violence, making racial slurs, lying CONSTANTLY through his teeth, and the list just goes on and on and on.
Therein lies the problem. I do not believe you can honestly claim to be a Christian, and support a man who behaves that way. They make value judgments on things like “pro-life,” but ignore things that are absolutely horrific and wrong. They may not march with white supremacists, or buy into neo-nazi propoganda, but they sure as hell supported them by voting for Trump. And ignorance is no excuse. If they ignored every single thing that came out of his mouth, which is the only way they could be oblivious to the kind of person he is and what he really believes in, that’s on them. And it’s as far from being a Christian as Neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville.
August 17, 2017 — 4:31 PM
Jo ann woodford says:
Well-said.
August 16, 2017 — 4:42 PM
Paula says:
“That’s a ludicrous rabbit hole to be sure. Perhaps you’d better serve your audience by suggesting ways we can bridge the divide, not point fingers, call names, throw insults, and the like.”
There is no “bridging the gap” between Nazis and the rest of us. That’s the point. The bridge has been crossed.
And there is and will be a problem to deal with about what to do about the monsters among us. But they ARE monsters. There are moments in time, in history, when you have to choose sides. This is one of them. Some belief systems and holders of those beliefs must be condemned and rejected, unequivocally. What happens AFTER that is a different question.
August 16, 2017 — 4:58 PM
CongdonCraft says:
Thank you!
I get it. Lots of people were duped by Trump and I have nothing against those people — I don’t even necessarily think they were stupid. No harm no foul. I’m stupid a lot of the time, too. But if you keep on sticking with bad decisions, at some point we’ve all gotta take a minute to consider whether you might not be working to remain as stupid as you are. If your stupid-level requires a daily maintenance commitment, then I’m sorry, but please go the fuck over there.
I’m here with open arms for anyone in the bitter process of realizing that they were duped by a narcissist pig. Come on over, ladies and gents. We might not agree on a lot of stuff, but that’s okay. As for Nazis, the door is closed. Fuck you, Nazis. I don’t even know where to direct you, because you’re all shitheads and you belong precisely nowhere. So go be nowhere. Disappear, Nazis! Go form a Nazi space colony on the sun, for all I give a shit. Good luck burnin’ up, ya dildos.
August 17, 2017 — 1:18 PM
Joyce Tate says:
Thank you!
August 16, 2017 — 5:02 PM
Kathy says:
“He’s King Midas with poopy shit-fingers instead of a gold touch.” You have such a way with words. Here’s hoping that people manage to swallow their pride, admit they made a terrible mistake in supporting him, and condemn Trump for the morally bankrupt, inept, would-be dictator that he is. And thank you.
August 16, 2017 — 5:12 PM
Leslie says:
I appreciate this post and I bought one of your books today – so win-win for me!
August 16, 2017 — 5:23 PM
terribleminds says:
Thanks!
August 17, 2017 — 8:28 AM
districtraw says:
Thank you! I am going to save this and post it in response to every asshole who is still defending him.
August 16, 2017 — 5:27 PM
lhazelgold says:
Ah, last stop before civil war… For the sake of my USian friends and relatives, I hope it doesn’t come to that.
August 16, 2017 — 5:35 PM
The Urban Spaceman says:
I’ll be glad when you can get back to telling me where to put my commas, because that will mean that All Is Right with the world (or at least, All Is Slightly Less Fucked Up) and I welcome the day that you don’t have to post about LGBTQ+ rights, or women’s rights, or PoC rights, or how Nazism is, yes, still evil—because that will be the day that the world in general has started to take steps in the right direction. Until then, never stop raising awareness, because [insert appropriate quote about evil triumphing when good men do nothing].
I hope I didn’t screw any of my commas up!
August 16, 2017 — 5:37 PM
Lisa says:
Bravo!
August 16, 2017 — 6:31 PM
Deborah Makarios says:
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” I don’t think anyone would deny that Mr King knew first-hand what he was talking about.
There always needs to be a road back, or the only way to go is further on into extremity. Condemn movement in the wrong direction, but never block the road back.
August 16, 2017 — 6:47 PM
Tru says:
MLK loved them so hard that they shot him dead. Read Letter from a Birmingham jail and stop assuming you know what Dr. King would be advocating now.
This post *is* offering a way back. It’s up to Trump supporters to choose the way.
August 16, 2017 — 8:25 PM
Charlotte Grubbs (@literary_lottie) says:
I don’t see this post as blocking the road back – in fact, it’s practically begging Trump supporters to take that path back into the light. But there *does* come a point where there’s no going back, when the violence can no longer be stemmed, and we’re rapidly approaching that event horizon.
Also, since we’re quoting the Reverend King now, I recommend you pick up DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone, a novel that explores the nuances of King’s views in the context of today’s social justice movements. It might deepen your understanding of his writings.
August 17, 2017 — 1:51 PM
eataylo1 says:
Wonderfully said!
August 16, 2017 — 6:47 PM
Aislynn d'Merricksson says:
Well said!
Events lately terrify me. We have two children waving nukes around, and Nazis in our streets. My grandfather fought in both World War II and the Korean War. I’m so glad he’s not alive to see it all coming undone.
Keep reminding us, Chuck. We need all the people possible keeping this to the fore.
August 16, 2017 — 7:02 PM
Patrice Fitzgerald says:
You can drop your mic now, Chuck.
August 16, 2017 — 8:13 PM
BABYBOOMER johanna van zanten says:
Keep up the good fight. I have already resigned to not visiting the US anymore while this man is in office, even if some writing award would be extended to me.
August 16, 2017 — 8:26 PM
gregm91436 says:
God damnit, I wish we could go back to the heady days of 2016 when I could call you out for being a giant bag of spiders in a human-suit and wonder why nobody else realized it. But today, I am proud to stand with you, spiders-in-a-human-suit-who-call-themselves-Chuck. This is bloody good writing.
Even if you are a set of spiders.
August 16, 2017 — 9:16 PM
Diane says:
Preach
August 16, 2017 — 9:25 PM
Phoebe Gates says:
Right on, Chuck! And also write on, Chuck! You make me think and you make me happy.
August 16, 2017 — 9:48 PM
Raney Simmon says:
Amen to all of this.
August 17, 2017 — 1:03 AM
M T McGuire says:
Either extreme – left or right – is seriously bad news. Failure to out and out, unequivocally condemn them sends a very worrying message. If you guys set up a Kickstarter and it went viral maybe enough cash could be raised to bribe Trump to leave office.
August 17, 2017 — 8:25 AM
B. Blue Marbe says:
Kickstarter won’t go for it—it’s apparently not a “creative project” or some shit like that?
GoFundMe might work though. Their FAQ says, under “What can I raise money for?”: “DO raise money for personal causes that are purposeful, exciting and inspiring to others. DON’T break any local laws […]” It’s definitely the first part, and it’s only the second part if you keep using words like “bribe.” So maybe?
August 19, 2017 — 7:51 AM
M T McGuire says:
Mwahahahaaargh I wish!
August 19, 2017 — 5:38 PM
mocando says:
Thank you for putting this country before your work. I know it has cost you. I’m planning to go out today and buy your Star Wars trilogy today in support of your work. (So, I planned to buy it when my “to-read” pile was smaller but I’m not waiting, now.)
I encourage everyone to help Chuck and others who put their own financial well being at risk for the sake of this country and the people who live here.
To Simon & Schuster, thank you for your continued support.
August 17, 2017 — 8:29 AM
Daniel T says:
Agreed. We are seeing a lot of people, jump trough that window, thank all gods anyone has ever believed in (even the caffeine god i pray to in the morning. his name is coffee, praised be his name). It leaves a small hope that maybe most humans aren’t that bad.
August 17, 2017 — 9:48 AM
suttope says:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHaoHAYXsAA68rz.jpg:large
Philosophically speaking we shouldn’t tolerate the intolerant
August 17, 2017 — 10:35 AM
mlhe says:
Even rocks and cacti and sewer slime in America is drunk from incomPOTUS leadership. Even the riders on their ride are on a Dark Disney roller coaster reject made of bent steel, old money and slave labor.
August 17, 2017 — 11:30 AM
Aspen says:
Chuck, this might be a good time to promote your Atlanta Burns novels; just in case ANYBODY is still unclear as to your long-held stance on Nazi-punching.
August 17, 2017 — 11:37 AM
churnage says:
Chuck, keep up the good work.
c
August 17, 2017 — 12:13 PM
Caroline Clemens says:
Wow. I dunno what to say. It is your blog, your say, your way and you can piss off anyone you want. I followed you because you gave writing tips back in 2011 when I came to the net to learn to write. I didn’t know I wanted to write. It just hit me and so I did.
Opinions are just that, they don’t define the person. Actions do. Give people a chance but don’t hate someone because they disagree, else half the US would be in your prison or an outcast. I think these evil doers are low in numbers, probably will always exist and we must deal with them appropriately. Like the cops should have intervened instead of letting them duke it out between each other.
I was told to FUCK OFF yesterday for a rather peaceful comment on Facebook. Makes me want to leave social media. I thought social media would be enlightening. Geez, you can’t even comment without a fallout. Seems to me people are looking for a fight.
Thanks for your help in writing Chuck, and if you don’t like me or my comments, then that’s your loss. You have never responded to one of my comments so thanks but no thanks. I still wish you well and lots of sales of your books. You probably have helped lots of would be authors, and I appreciate the time you take to help others. I don’t know if I’ll ever sell anything-that hurts but I tried and I did get better.
I’ve lived my whole life caring for others, nobody needs to tell me how I should feel or who I should like or not. Wht’s this last chance to get off the ride? Am I supposed to quit your blog or else?
August 17, 2017 — 2:04 PM
terribleminds says:
To clarify, you believe you’re being told to get off the ride because… you’re a Trump supporter, or a white supremacist, or what? I’m confused as to why you think I’d be talking to you.
Regardless, you are free to continue to read the blog or not as you see fit. I’m not going to block your IP or anything. You can stay for the writing advice and not read the political stuff or you can read all of it or none of it and really, that’s up to you.
This site is free, costs you nothing, which also means I owe you nothing, not an answer, not a clarification, nothing. I know that sounds harsh, and I don’t mean it to — I just mean, it is what it is, this place is this place and I am who I am. I apologize if I have not responded to a lot of your comments (though looking back through them I don’t see much that required a response on my behalf), but truth is, I’m very busy, and I have just enough time to write posts most days, which leaves me little room to actually talk back. Generally speaking I like to hope that the commenters talk to each other as part of a community, and not only to me, as the blog author.
Good luck with whatever you decide, here.
– c.
August 17, 2017 — 2:16 PM
Caroline Clemens says:
Thanks for response-best wishes in your endeavors! PS I’m not a supremacist n you don’t owe me a thing.
August 17, 2017 — 2:46 PM
Caroline Clemens says:
Your title says something about getting off the ride, so you want us to change our mind or leave? That was my question. You were speaking to your crowd of followers!
August 17, 2017 — 3:55 PM
terribleminds says:
If you read the post, no, I’m not speaking specifically to my followers. I’m talking broadly about the people who are still supporters of the president and this administration — family, friends, media figures, other politicians, and onward.
I did take a look at your Twitter, though, Caroline, and I find there that you seem to be a current supporter of the president, true?
— c.
August 18, 2017 — 9:02 AM
Caroline Clemens says:
I voted for Barack Obama and supported him, and yes, I voted for Trump (was fond of Romney, felt we needed a business mind), and support him to make the country fiscal and strong. I think the news is dividing the country, causing and promoting divisions. I know you don’t agree and that’s okay. It’s just my viewpoint. I’ll leave you alone. Why would you block me, I never caused you any harm or uproar? Good luck to both of us. I have a family crisis.
August 18, 2017 — 9:38 AM
The Urban Spaceman says:
“I thought social media would be enlightening.” <– It's not. It's a troll-pit*, where Opinions tend to attract bridge-dwelling monsters in their droves. If you seek enlightenment, you'd be better off finding a forum for the topic you wish to discuss, where people can engage in in-depth conversation using words longer than two syllables.
*not all social media users are trolls. Some are intelligent and decent folk. But there are a lot of trolls. The only places worse are the comments sections on Youtube.
August 18, 2017 — 9:40 AM
Caroline Clemens says:
Thank you for these comments. I suppose I stayed too long and didn’t find enough like minded individuals. It’s difficult when someone can’t understand what you are trying to say. My time to leave. Once again, thanks for your kind remarks. Bien.
August 21, 2017 — 1:23 PM
The Urban Spaceman says:
If people can’t understand what you say, sometimes it’s just a matter of finding a different way of saying it. Then again, not everybody who listens want to hear. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
August 21, 2017 — 1:40 PM
Paula says:
The argument about “violence begets violence” and “you can’t stop hate with more hate” — true/false — is not really the point. Those things are true. But context is everything.
At the root of this rise in Nazism, as well as everything that is horrible about the current administration, is dishonesty. Those who promote these acts/philosophies are first and foremost LIARS. They are dishonest in every possible way, and use dishonesty to convince the unwary of their claims. And when they go unchecked for too long they create a whole lot of very bad stuff.
We are there. At this point in time, “understanding” is misplaced. First you stop the violence. You stop the “acceptance” of violent beliefs. You shun. You call-out. You end relationships. You don’t sugercoat, you don’t gloss over and you don’t pretend to be superior by trying to empathize with people who are so encrusted with lies they can’t see straight. You get them out of power; you do what you can to keep them from hurting others.
Then and only then do you “try to help” those who are helpable. But not while they’re threatening people.
August 17, 2017 — 2:31 PM
chacha1 says:
YES.
August 17, 2017 — 7:53 PM
Gareth Skarka says:
Even now, with Nazis marching in the streets, and Trump supporting them, there are people who don’t want to face what they’ve enabled by putting him there.
To the point where they will whine about feeling persecuted for being clearly told that they need to see it, and recognize the mistake they made. They’ll dig in, or double down.
This is why the country is going off the rails, and perhaps will not recover.
August 17, 2017 — 4:16 PM
Taj says:
I’ve been reading your blog for years, and I hope you don’t go back to being “the old Chuck”–whatever people think that was. I hope we all only go forward. There’s not supposed to be a divide between one’s ethics and one’s creativity–they inform each other, make each other stronger. I can’t think of any reason why someone would want you to put your ethics on the back burner and concentrate on just entertaining them, unless it’s that they’ve put THEIR ethics aside, and need a distraction from that sad fact.
I love your writing advice, and the addition of this political talk just reassures me that I’m taking the advice from someone who’s got their head (and heart) in the right place. You’re seriously helping those of us who want to fight with our words. So thank you.
August 17, 2017 — 8:32 PM
eporter70 says:
Well said (of course). And yet good people of good conscience still can’t abandon the Star Wars wallpaper, to borrow from Jimmy Kimmel’s comparison. Is it that hard to admit you made a mistake, that you’d rather equate Nazis with every other type of protestor, than admit “I done fucked up”? Jeez-ow!
August 18, 2017 — 12:15 AM
Bella Higgin says:
There’s something else that baffles me about this whole clusterfuck. Even if people STILL can’t see how dangerous this orange shitstain of a man is, how can they possibly not see how totally and utterly incompetent he is?!
He would rather send rage-tweets defending his own fragile ego than actually do anything to properly run the country. He would rather claw together more shreds of power for himself than do anything that would help the general public. He would rather throw angry orange tantrums than try to learn and develop and actually become a human being.
He is shockingly selfish, spectacularly self-obsessed, and totally lacking the maturity, intelligence, and moral fibre that should be a basic requirement to run any country, let alone one with the power and influence of America.
August 18, 2017 — 7:20 AM