Uncles have a bad reputation. They are blowhards. Their claims ring from the roof tops. Whether car stereos or nuclear medicine, they know all about it. I have some old Soviet era books from the Stalin era, where no matter the topic, the initial paragraphs that all from that point on is owed to the groundwork laid in that field by Comrade Stalin. Apparently, no book could be published without acknowledging the fundamental mastery of the field by The Great Leader.
Mary Trump describes well the bent personality of her Uncle Donald. A twisted man living in constant fear of humiliation. Roy Cohn and his father were his teachers: attack, never admit the truth, never show weakness by apologizing, f- them before they f- you because they will if you don’t.
Such a bleak world view lurks in most families, some person broken by life in a way that calls forth all the defense mechanisms. Men tend toward a pretense of mastery, a show of strength, a use of aggressive, even violence laden language. Just listen to Trump talk about all he is going to do to NATO countries, to Asian alliances, to Black Lives Matter activists. Remember George Wallace? Just you you watch if a protestor lies down in front of MY car. Stalin cynically asking how many divisions the Pope has. Trump rhetorically asking his rally-goers if they wouldn’t like to just punch ’em. Who has Trump ever punched? Stalin never killed anyone himself. But to hear your Uncle Harry tell it, he was the terror of eighth grade, right?
Pat’s Polemics
On-going brilliance
