• TheBananaKing@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The best part is how his followers will turn on him once he starts to fail.

    The key to their worship is untouchability. In their eyes, getting away with shit is the holy fire, the pure essence of status. Poor losers get in trouble, rich winners are teflon, and deserve to be, as befits their power.

    All the gotcha moments and demonstrations of sociopathy and hypocrisy the media clung onto only boosted his popularity, because what his followers saw was an invulnerable superman that trouble just wouldn’t stick to. Look, he can strangle underage russian prostitutes and doesn’t even get arrested, see how he rises above the common man!

    But oh, once the glow fades. Once trouble actually finds him, and they’re left with a big doddering pile of failure in diapers - failure is the one crime they will not forgive. Embarrassment, humiliation, betrayal, disgust, anger, hate. It will be absolutely glorious to watch.

    Martyrdom won’t work. He’s going to try for it, but “see how they attack me!” doesn’t work with a broken nose.

    • Midnight@slrpnk.net
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      8 months ago

      I wouldn’t be so confident that his support will wane. People love a martyr and thats what hes protraying himself as.

      All that isnt to say he shouldn’t be prosecuted, but I’d expect his support to jump in the short term.

      • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        You don’t understand. We’re not talking about just any people here. Republicans want to win. They don’t want to lose.

        Martyrs gain support for ideas. Republicans don’t have ideas or policies. They like and support hierarchy. Remember, the original conservatives were monarchists and helped the British against George Washington.

        It’s like a sports team. If you win, people like you more. It doesn’t matter if everyone is against you. Winners are liked more than losers. No one buys someone’s jersey because they’re a martyr.

        • Midnight@slrpnk.net
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          8 months ago

          Plenty of people rooted for the Lions and they wore brown bags over their heads.

          Trump lost and people are still buying flags and hats.

          I think we’ll be stuck with this cult for awhile.

          • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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            8 months ago

            Yeah, that’s because Trump’s image is being rich and successful. He didn’t build his brand on being president. He’s loud, crude, and gets away with it because he has money. Take away any of those things and no one will care.

            Like imagine if he lost his voice. Or suddenly became less crude. People would lose interest. Remember when he got Covid and had no energy? He looked a shell of his former self. People stopped listening to him.

            Him losing money is just like that. His fans would stop caring about him.

      • TheBananaKing@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Think Scar and the hyenas. Or think Redmask and the K’Chain Che’Malle, if you’re that way inclined.

        While their glorious leader is being assailed, they will fight and die in his name, definitely. How dare the weak attack the strong?

        But once his plot-armour falls off and the punches actually land? The plot-armour is what they worship in the first place. That’s their whole MO, their entire paradigm. They need a bigger, more-invulnerable bully above them to give them cover, and an underclass of vulnerable-therefore-contemptible victims beneath them to make them feel both powerful and vindicated every time they oppress them.

        If you upset that whole structure, and show their leader to be vulnerable… where does that leave them? How do they regain their honour?