Written By:
Colonial Viper - Date published:
2:02 pm, October 8th, 2016 - 49 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, flip-flop, health and safety, law and "order", parody, political alternatives, Revolution, scoundrels, sexism -
Tags:
It is inconceiveable that Americans would consider voting for a violent sociopath like Donald J Trump as President of the United States.
The sheer physical violence that Trump exhibits in this clip where he, totally unprovoked, attacks an unsuspecting and defenceless bystander, his willingness to show off in the light of the obvious suffering of others, and the sheer sadism of restraining, humiliating and mutilating a helpless man with chemical and physical torture instantly disqualifies him from the White House.
We cannot tolerate this kind of arrogant sociopathic populist machismo near the levers of power.
(Trigger warning: this youtube clip contains senseless simulated violence, as well as simulated senselessness)
PS at it’s peak Wrestlemania and other WWE events had a following of at least 10 million to 20 million Americans. At a guess, most of these fans were blue collar voters with a larger proportion of males to females. And who have less time and patience to answer phone pollsters than other people.
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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“The sheer physical violence that Trump exhibits in this clip where he, totally unprovoked, attacks an unsuspecting and defenceless bystander”
You do know that this was the show, surely?
You acknowledge it as simulated violence yourself.
WWE isn’t my sort of thing, but you know, it’s a ‘performance’ of a type. Portraying it as anything else would be like accusing Muhammad Ali for a “totally unprovoked, attacks an unsuspecting and defenceless bystanders” in the ring.
Jesse Ventura did this sort of thing for years, but no one ever holds that against him in his political career.
disclaimer…I am not in anyway claiming Trump is ‘OK’. But this is just a sideshow.
Maybe we could talk about Hillary Clinton reaction to Gaddafi’s death…fully psycho reaction to a horrific death…not exactly Presidential. (Shout out to ‘Observer Tokoroa’ who I know is a big fan of my Hilary comments)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/20/muammar-gaddafi-killing-witnesses
That’s the problem with this election…both candidates are borderline psychopaths.
“A new study of psychopathic traits by Oxford University psychologist discovers that Donald Trump ranks above Adolf Hitler and only just below Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and Henry VIII. Hillary Clinton ranks between Napoleon and Nero.”
i think CV is taking the piss…as was Trump ( i hope)
Heh 😛
Just thought I would show another side to Donald Trump. Less than 10 years ago.
Today of course, some desperate lefties think of Trump as the New Nuclear Hitler but I think they might be over-egging it slightly.
Oh God, your right…sorry. I was slightly confused.
No probs it’s so hard to tell from a web page without seeing if someone is keeping a straight face…
“It is inconceiveable that Americans would consider voting for a violent sociopath like Donald J Trump as President of the United States.”
yep well said – although I’m more concerned about his tiny hands on the red button he longs to push and his vow to go after the families and children of his enemies. I’m not so worried about his obvious delight in being putins gummy bear and I’m mediumly concerned about trump and people of difference whether a different ethnicity, sex, gender, class, financial trickery, ability to lie and so on. Still I never really saw him as directly violent just a projector (like many of his supporters), a weak person unable to confront the obvious demons inside. Still only 5ppm eh.
“And who have less time and patience to answer phone pollsters than other people.”
So you’re unskewing the polls, then.
🙄
Also, WWF is redneck ballet.
“redneck ballet” – *snort*
yes, the ballet of the deplorable irredeemable rednecks
More likely Trump supporters at play.
http://www.vice.com/read/nothing-wrong-with-rolling-coal-711
WWE, there was a lawsuit over it
the coastal liberal elite wouldn’t know the difference
Was Trump faking it with this one?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/10/07/the_1997_lawsuit_alleging_donald_trump_groped_a_woman.html
For those who think wrestling isnt legit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvMOf3hsGA
By Max (son of John) Landis
I don’t understand this post at all.
As for the “lol rednecks hurr hurr” comments, people may be interested to know that while WWE’s viewership does slant towards less academic and less financially well-off, it’s also nearly 40% women (hi there), and over-represented in terms of younger, black, and Latino viewers – so in fact probably not Trump voters, as a rule.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/04/22/In-Depth/Fight-fan-avidity.aspx
People would rather fallback on cliches but the WWE does a lot of good:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make-A-Wish_Foundation#In_popular_culture
“Professional wrestler John Cena holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual, with over 500 wishes. Singer Justin Bieber has volunteered in over 250 wishes”
Which is not bad considering how often he wrestles:
http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=691&page=22
The rock recently put a vid out of his first match and it was interesting to hear him talk of those early days.
Cena’s workload is indeed ridiculous.
“Mr. McMahon” is a trained wrestler. Not a particularly good one but he knows how to take a hit properly. He’s no innocent bystander. He wrestled his own daughter on pay per view lol
That unprovoked attack, or “bump”, would have been planned and practiced, mainly so DT didn’t injure himself and cost them millions.
What many people don’t know is that there is a bit of trick to taking hits and moves, Its so that you can all get up again in the morning and go to work. In other words: don’t actually hurt your opponent. Its the worst thing you could do. He/she has a life to get on with once the performance is over. Its nothing more than a muscled soap-opera and they are all well aware of that.
Yes another female fan here. The Battle of the Billionaires segment wasn’t my cup of tea but its always fun seeing Mr. McMahon get his comeuppance. Too bad it was at the hands of DT. Ugh.
I know he’s a trained wrestler and he’s definitely no stranger to taking bumps.
I still don’t understand this post. It reads like it’s trying to be “ironic” about Trump, but how can you be ironic about something so obviously staged? What is the point? What am I meant to take away from it? Who is being satirised? It’s a mystery.
My take is it’s a diversion from the news about Trump’s 2005 hot mic vileness.
…. oh.
Actually it’s a comment on the ridiculous parodies of Trump that some people are currently pushing – Trump as a woman hating, racist, literally new Hitler, but a new Hitler who has a nuclear button that he simply cannot wait to push because “temperament.”
Purely based on statements Trump has made, you know the actual words, there’s nothing ridiculous about it.
I’m all ears to know what’s not “woman-hating” about a man who has routinely attacked women, degraded women, and been shown up as *at best* a total misogynist creep and *at worst* a rapist.
http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/10/7/13206174/trump-leaked-lewd-pussy-comments-women-rape-sexual-assault
It’s also hilarious to see this as a “different side” of Trump. He’s an arrogant billionaire who loves being the centre of attention, which is why he gets on fabulously with Vince McMahon, a guy who when directly controlling the WWE creative team pulled stunts like having Lita “striptease” for someone she was in a feud with and making Trish Stratus (a) kiss him on camera and (b) crawl around in the middle of the ring barking like a dog.
I like professional wrestling, but I’m not blind to its horrific past treatment of women – which Vince and his best buddy Donald “I don’t hate women, I just think men should assault them sexually” Trump delighted in.
I think CV is satirising himself, but doesn’t realise it yet.
Most insightful comment yet from Lanth’ @ 6.2.1.2
Replied in the wrong place oops
what a BAD BAD bastard Trump is
‘ ‘Grab them by the p***y’: Leaked audio of Trump causes GOP backlash’
https://www.rt.com/usa/362006-grab-them-trump-comments/
…”2005 was a big year for the Donald, it seems. Not only did he marry Melania, but he also appeared on both the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as well as entertainment news show Access Hollywood. But Trump may be regretting the latter, as he was caught talking on a hot mic with host Billy Bush.
“I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Trump is heard saying on a recording obtained by the Washington Post and released Friday. While he had recently married Melania at the time of the recording, it is never specified when the events he described took place or the identity of the woman he is referring to.
(I’m sure John f Kennedy never talked about a woman that way)
“I did try and f*** her. She was married,” he continues. “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’”…
Trump’s campaign is in damage control mode and Trump has apologised.
Wow, that looks like a hostage video.
Yep. Pretty sure his campaign team had to tie him down to the seat to make him do this.
LOL. Vote for Donald Trump or we won’t let him off this chair… 😉
It’s probably all his campaign has left at this point, now that the RNC has bowed out.
Aw go on with ya ! L0L !
Staged . Completely , and no different then Bill English taking to the ring , – except in English’s case it was real blows being exchanged.
If you know the difference between combatives, Krav Maga , Greco Roman , Jujitsu ,… and this joke they call ‘wrestling’ ,… you will understand. This is staged entertainment and nothing more. Having done 6 martial arts, and mainly Japanese Jujitsu , …I cant even sit and watch that stuff. Its a joke, and tedious,… like big kids playing at wrestling.
The point of professional wrestling is that it’s entertaining. People who sneer at professional wrestlers for not being “real” athletes just look insecure and uninformed.
The facts still remain, it is entertainment, nothing more. No doubt many in their past did do wrestling in a proper sense, but the entertainment aspect would be far more lucrative. It is pure showmanship and designed as such.
It has no bearing whatsoever on military combative’s or the actual reality of deadly force harnessed as a sport to minimize severe injury such as mixed martial arts.
That’s just the facts. Entertainment purposes only. You do not get serious fighters carrying on with this sort of bravado and over acted displays of braggadocio such as the above.
Brock Lesnar.
Alberto del Rio.
To quote myself, People who sneer at professional wrestlers for not being “real” athletes just look insecure and uninformed.
Yeah mate,… I guess the Israelis teach WWW wrestling techniques to their military instead of Krav Maga.
Look, if you want to argue a ridiculous point all day long I don’t. And if you want to imply things by getting personal ie: ” People who sneer at professional wrestlers for not being “real” athletes just look insecure and uninformed ” … go over to Israel and tell em their military’s doing it all wrong. Better yet , have a wee talk to our SAS , I’m sure they’d be most impressed with your recommendations.
No ones insecure here, just trying to point out the fact that that particular style of wrestling is designed for pure entertainment. Underline the PURE bit. Not serious combative’s or even realistic combative’s remodeled for sporting purposes, sure they may be athelete’s , and sure they may have been wrestlers prior to that , but it is designed for pure entertainment. . And Trump and the other billionaire guy was clearly part of the script. The whole thing is not to be taken seriously.
But if your content with being all snaky about it, all power to you. As for me, last comment, its a boring circular thread anyway.
I think you might be missing the point that although it is primarily entertainment, broadly scripted and cooperatively improvised on the night, WWE wrestilng is still highly athletic and does involve real injuries – often worse than anything blinglish risked. But after taking the hits the wrestler still logs a performance, unless completely unconscious.
Thanks McFlock. I don’t know why it was difficult for WK to get that.
It’s not usually my cup of tea, but when it’s done well it’s outstanding theatre. ISTR the real heyday with the best characters was in the 1990s.
It’s also a weird combination of real violence and injuries taken for entertainment, but my biggest reservation is over the steroids. Wresters seem die younger than a lot of rock stars. Very much “twice as brightly, half as long” territory.
But when they get going with the developed characters and archetypal plots, it’s like watching a great orator who’s seven feet tall and hits people with chairs. All you can do to make it more outrageously awesome is to make it “Nazis vs Cowboys” or something 🙂
The 90s was much more over the top. Things got a little boring in recent years (fewer flashy gimmicks, “ordinary” pseudonyms) but now they’re ramping it up again and women’s wrestling in particular is in the best place it’s possibly ever been.
They crack down much harder on steroid use these days post-Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit’s deaths. Also don’t allow chair shots to the head.
Japanese jujitsu eh, nice.
The wrestling stuff certainly has more in common with the various demonstration/sports/dance “martial” arts which are around, but its physicality and athleticism should not be underestimated.
For those who sneer at pro wrestling as not being “real” watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WaDvzM49UQ
and then note how many continued the match
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. The Bad and the Good
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Look, I am pleased to get a thought or two from Siobhan. As you know she writes really well. Currently of course she is taking a load off CV by painting a halo around the strange head of Donald Trump. CV has sycophantic writers cramp at the moment. Nasty
The virtuous, flawless, self sacrificing and humble man Trump is a shining light compared to that dark, dishonest, corrupt witch Hillary Clinton.
it is so so wrong that Saint Trump should be forced to be up against Eve Clinton.
But the reality is that, Trump is not a saint. Just a self absorbed filthy scumbag. He majored in Connivance.
I would have thought that a female President of USA is a good idea. Especially a woman who has worked within world politics at very high levels for a number of years. And survived.
I am aware that women often do not like other women. Out of spite they will paint them in exaggerated dark colours floating in rivers of accusing blood.
However, I would like women to put the stink pot down for a bit, and welcome a highly competent Woman into the Presidency of the United States.
Hillary is not perfect. Stupidly, she was silly enough to go to a good school for Girls. Shame on her. But she is miles better than the women who spit on her. and who have never carried anything like her task load.
Yeah. Kick her out Siobhan. Abuse her like Trump does. Scratch her out. She’s only a woman after all.
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I still don’t understand this image-based attempt from some who are ostensibly on the left to paint Trump as not worse than Hillary for workers just because he talks about how hard white working people have it, when he wants to completely gut the taxes paid by the wealthy, thinks shifting tax onto the working class by avoiding income tax is “smart,” and he doesn’t have to be bought by Wall Street because he’d voluntarily give them what they want anyway.
Hillary might not be great or even good overall, and she’s absolutely likely to be corrupt on issues such as regulating Wall Street, and will deliver Reform In Name Only. But Donald Trump is objectively worse, with demonstrable instances of fraud, current allegations of rape, is under audit by the IRS, and has constant leaks from people called in to advise him on policy because they are shocked that he doesn’t even pretend to listen to them!
Even if his policies were theoretically better, (which they’re not) even if his personality was stable enough to implement them reliably, (which is in so much doubt that Wall Street and much of the Republican establishment is openly backing Hillary Clinton, or at least not supporting Trump) the fact that he seems incapable of listening to advice from experts should alone be enough to disqualify him from being a serious candidate, especially when taken together with the race-baiting and flirting with authoritarianism. (Loyalty pledges anyone? Threats to abuse his power against his enemies? The way he treats the press? Pre-emptively calling election fraud with no evidence? These are the things that authoritarians in tinpot nations do, not democratic leaders)
I still don’t understand this image-based attempt from some who are ostensibly on the left to paint Trump as not worse than Hillary for workers just because he talks about how hard white working people have it,
You’re forgetting two other factors that seem to make someone pro-Trump:
1) He’s anti-TPP. Which sounds great on paper (“look, Donald’s just like Bernie!”) until you realize that every statement Trump’s made on the TPP is followed-up with rhetoric that the TPP is unfair to US corporations – he wants them to have more, not less, power than the TPPA offers.
2) There’s a bizarre meme that Trump is the candidate of peace. I honestly have no idea where this comes from, but it seems almost entirely isolated to posts and comments on The Standard and Brietbart. I mean, Trump is a candidate whom has advocated outright war crimes (killing the families of terrorists), engaged in a metaphorical pissing contest with Cruz during the primaries over which candidate would make middle eastern sand glow more brightly, and appears to have zero understanding of why the US doesn’t use it’s nuclear arsenal in a first-strike capacity.
Honestly, CV, your flirtation with Trump is sickening.
An attempt to make light of how the election Donald Trump is a very real threat to the lives to millions of Americans serves the interests of no one who the left stands on the same side as.
Hillary Clinton and her cadres of neocon advisors are a threat to the whole world.
Do you have any idea what Hillary’s policy of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria that she announced at the second debate actually means?
It means the US destroying Syrian and Russian air defence systems, aircraft and airstrips, killing Syrian and Russian soldiers in the process. This would be done in order to establish uncontested US air superiority over Syrian airspace.
This would then allow the Americans to bomb Syrian Government forces into smithereens, removing Assad, and allowing ISIS and al-Nusra to take Damascus.
For you to describe Trump as the threat in this instance suggests you need to re-think through what is important to the safety and population of NZ.
At least Trump will de-escalate with Russia and China, and try and cut business like deals with them, instead of trying to surround each of those countries with extra aircraft carriers, military bases and missile systems.