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:
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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