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Saturday, February 20, 2016

Writing in Trump and then a Toni Morrison Quotation




I have written a Trump speech that I believe would do for any occasion in any state and is equally useful for TV interviews. I’m sure you could write one, too, because we have been and continue to be battered by his relentless words. The media has afforded us tens of thousands of opportunities to see his performances.  Many, many, many, many of us could not only write in his language but mimic his delivery easily, if we keep in mind that he excels in rage and dismissiveness. (His charming, thoughtful, and reverent shticks need a tremendous amount of work.)

Donald Trump has taught us his speech:

We will win, win, win like you wouldn’t believe, destroy them then take it back, take all of it, fix it like it’s never been before, make it tremendous, huge, so many times bigger, better, richer, greater, the greatest you’ve ever seen, the greatest God’s ever created.

It’s a disaster, the worst we’ve ever seen, a huge mistake, huge, the worst deal I’ve ever seen, pouring over our borders in tens of thousands, stealing from us, taking our jobs, taking our money, criminals, letting them in, millions are trying to get in and we don’t even know what they are, we’re dying, they’re beating us and we’re losing, we don’t even have a country, you can’t have a country if, America’s dying and it’s losing.

She’s a liar, lies about everything, many, many, many, many lies, a cheater, has a problem, huge problem, a loser, is so wrong, so wrong about that, about everything, stupid, hates me, I used to think he was a nice guy, not a nice guy at all, I’m so disappointed, you’d be disgusted, look at the polls, look at how he’s/she’s doing in the polls, America’s losing, losing like it’s never done before.

I’m richer than you wouldn’t believe how rich, tens of thousands of people working for me, they love me, they love working for me, they love me all over that state, I’ve been there many, many times and I have so many friends there, I’ve known him for many years, they love me here like you wouldn’t believe, I will make the best deals, it will be the best deal on the planet, I would do that and go a lot further, I’m winning everywhere, when I’m President America will be great again, so rich, everyone will have huge, tremendous. And I love the Bible. 

So. There you have it. My Trump speech. Creepy, isn’t it? Practicing Trump talk sleazes me out as much as those insidious internet ads you click on and then have the devil of a time getting out of (I’ve gotten better at avoiding them, but sometimes they entrap me.) So something else—on Thursday I read a glorious speech, a creeps-banishing speech:


February 18th was Toni Morrison’s birthday. I celebrated by reading her 1993 Nobel Prize lecture. Her theme was language and here is an excerpt I particularly liked:

“The systematic looting of language can be recognized by the tendency of its users to forgo its nuanced, complex, mid-wifery properties for menace and subjugation. Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.” ... “It is the language that drinks blood, laps vulnerabilities, tucks its fascist boots under crinolines of respectability and patriotism as it moves relentlessly toward the bottom line and the bottomed-out mind.”

“the bottom line and the bottomed-out mind.”     Huh.








         

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting quote by Toni Morrison. She says "Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence", which is pretty much the opposite of what Lenny Bruce said in one of his monologues: "I was just trying to make a point, and that is that it's the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness." Who's right? Should we limit language or embrace every word and rob it of the power it might hold over someone?

david coyote said...

I confess: I've never listened to a Donald Trump speech. Respecting intelligence, I've forgone abusing my sensibilities and patience by ignoring the buffoonery of the current right's political circus.

In retrospect, I wish I'd had the pleasure of spending a little time with Toni Morrison. I thank her for leaving her Nobel Speech for the world to contemplate.

Thanks for this blog.

Mathew Paust said...

Never heard a Trump speech either, but, because I have an idea where he's coming from and what he would do were he ever to seize the presidency, I like your parody.

I like Toni Morrison's quote, too. She's lamenting, as I see it, the brutalization of language rather than, as it seems Lenny Bruce was saying, brutalization by language. As such, her "oppressive language" would be that which has been robbed of its complexity.

Got me thinking today. Thanks, Nonnie.

Unknown said...

Please sit through a Republican gut wrench. It's painful but necessary to understand the nuances of what is not being said, the clear silencing of moderation, the media's delight in empty, sound bite sensationalism and the vulgar abuse of the 1st amendment. Then look at the smiling, adoring faces in the front row of a Trump rally and see if that's not the real horror. Nonnie, too freaking true.

Unknown said...

Please sit through a Republican gut wrench. It's painful but necessary to understand the nuances of what is not being said, the clear silencing of moderation, the media's delight in empty, sound bite sensationalism and the vulgar abuse of the 1st amendment. Then look at the smiling, adoring faces in the front row of a Trump rally and see if that's not the real horror. Nonnie, too freaking true.