They Are Coming
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hey’re the only moments that give him relief. A man too insecure and too isolated to properly function as President needs the cheers and the adulation to reassure him that everything’s going to be alright. He may bill them as ‘rallies’, or ‘campaign stops’, but the purpose of these gatherings is to create masturbatory melees that will let him relax for a couple of minutes. The word ‘ejaculation’ has two meanings. For him, they are one.
But now, as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton recede into the memories of his frenzied supporters, he’s left with one recurring fantasy to fuel them—evil journalism. His “mainstream media”, his “fake news”—he claims they diminish both him, and his rabid dogs in the process. His message is clear: “they are making me less…and thus, they are making you less.” (If you want to see this in action, and you subscribe to Showtime, stream episode three of the documentary The Fourth Estate, about 18 minutes in, for a true taste of what’s happening.)
Simply put, blind hatred + stupidity + deadly weapons = a bad mix. That’s the threat that journalists fear right now. It’s a threat that seems certain to become reality after these midterm elections—no matter what happens. If Republicans lose the House or the Senate, it will be time for revenge. If they hold both, Trump’s nutjob mob will feel emboldened, convinced they can do anything to anyone. And the first ‘anyone’ will be the press.
The largest national outlets can afford to expend some funding to protect its employees and facilities. Most everyone else cannot.
No responsible Republican official is unaware of this; but predictably, none is courageous or American enough to stand up and condemn it. (Karl Rove, the bete noire of the last GOP administration, did call on Trump to back off--but not because the baiting is dangerous. He only fears that this may be turning off important mainstream voters.)
In the end, the jeering will turn to physical jostling. Someone will be tripped and knocked to the ground. Some steel-toed boot will “accidentally” break a couple ribs. There will be cheers. The man in the White House will say nothing. Rocks will crash though the windows of certain living rooms. “Packages” will be left in the lobbies of certain office buildings. The most unhinged will go even further.
Journalists have long been taught that it is their job to report the news, not be part of it. Too late. That time is past. The Trump-fed fanatics have put reporters in the crosshairs.
And they are coming.
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