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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit."
A friend posted this on FB. Quite delicious and accurate!
Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"
Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trumps limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.
I dont say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, its a fact. He doesnt even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesnt just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. Its all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we dont. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
Hes not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
Hes more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, its impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: 'My God what have I created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."

SheltieLover
(72,131 posts)Lovely alliteration!
BootinUp
(50,128 posts)orangecrush
(25,868 posts)Wicked Blue
(8,149 posts)The British have such a gift for description
Amaryllis
(10,594 posts)3catwoman3
(27,247 posts)...remains so. Exceptionally well written.
Paladin
(31,122 posts)"He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart."
Profound thanks and eternal admiration to Nate White.
mnhtnbb
(32,668 posts)This was written for the orange a$$hole's first term.
What blew me away was that after four years of seeing how accurate this assessment was, he could win a second term. How could people not see who he is, or see him for what he is and still vote for him!
We are well and truly fu*ked as a country, and we've done it to ourselves.
twodogsbarking
(14,618 posts)Someone tell them.
NJCher
(40,834 posts)And thanks Babylon sister for posting with a subject line indicating the topic.
Found on Facebook never gets a click from me.
This post makes my day!
dalton99a
(89,588 posts)Beacool
(30,434 posts)I have always despised people like Trump. Dumb bullies who mock and belittle people because at heart they're insecure and know that they are neither as intelligent or successful as they claim to be. Frankly, ever since he bought Mar-a-Lago, and my mother lived nearby, I have disliked him. I can't stand stupid, ignorant people who try to put others down to hide their inadequacies. He's a horrible human being. I will never forgive those who voted for him and foisted this abomination on the rest of the country. A pox on their houses.
Wednesdays
(20,591 posts)I'm guessing this is at least seven years old. But just as relevant today as ever.
rubbersole
(10,168 posts)When the truth really hurts. America will never get its "shining city on the hill" reputation back. Letting money equal free speech led to this.
bmichaelh
(880 posts)MENENIUS
There is no more
mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger.
--Shakespeare, Coriolanus 5.4.28-29
PISANIO
[His] tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile.
--Shakespeare, Cymbeline 3.4.34-35
PORTIA
When
he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he
is worst he is little better than a beast.
--Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice 1. 2. 82-84
THERSITES
Idol of idiot-worshippers!
--Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida 5.1.7
Buns_of_Fire
(18,617 posts)Martin Eden
(14,664 posts)I've shared this a number of times over the years.
Vinca
(52,453 posts)niyad
(125,553 posts)mjvpi
(1,726 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(12,056 posts)A TOTALLY British take. One could never read that and think anyone other than a Brit had written it.
Celerity
(51,126 posts)Quora bots deleted the question soon thereafter.
Here is White's profile:
Here is the link to the question:
https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Why-do-Brits-hate-Trump-I-am-a-Brit-myself-and-I-admire-what-he-is-doing

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Brits-hate-Trump-I-am-a-Brit-myself-and-I-admire-what-he-is-doing/answers/121698610

Here is the earliest link I could find to another site that highlights White's answer (it was posted less than a month after White's Quora answer went up):
March 8, 2019 ~ THE HOBBLEDEHOY
https://thehobbledehoy.com/2019/03/08/british-writer-pens-the-best-description-of-trump-ive-read/

Someone on the question-and-answer website Quora asked Why do some British people not like Donald Trump? Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:
A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trumps limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing not once, ever.
I dont say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, its a fact. He doesnt even seem to understand what a joke is his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesnt just talk in crude, witless insults he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. Its all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we dont. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
Hes not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
Hes more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff the Queensberry rules of basic decency and he breaks them all. He punches downwards which a gentleman should, would, could never do and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority perhaps a third of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
You dont need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, its impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
My God what have I created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
Martin68
(26,221 posts)football hooligans, the most deprived yellow press in the world, and world-class racism that extends right up into the royal family. Their shit smells just as bad as our does. American liberals have ideals as high as any in England.
rubbersole
(10,168 posts)Upthevibe
(9,671 posts)Thanks for the post.....
"Even his flaws have flaws..."
Shipwack
(2,787 posts)"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire"
Minus the virtue part, if course... Since he has none, unless you count a certain instinctive urge for survival at all costs...
pamdb
(1,427 posts)My people.
progressoid
(51,669 posts)Picaro
(2,126 posts)This is worth the read.
FakeNoose
(38,021 posts)For example they all seemed to think well of Barack Obama, even Queen Elizabeth was quite fond of him. I believe they liked Bill Clinton, at least in his first term as President. They thought Dubya was a clod, but so did we all.
It's easy so see why they dislike and distrust Chump. I'd say that NATE WHITE really nailed it.
mdbl
(7,017 posts)markie
(23,523 posts)and so well put!
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,731 posts)A very elegant dressing-down of one of the world's worse people.
Thank you, babylonsister.........
SunSeeker
(56,227 posts)pansypoo53219
(22,439 posts)we used to look up the president. now we gotta have a beer buddy. or the media craves fame as much as the sheeple. the apprentice was complete bullshit.