My morbid fascination with US politics.
An interview with Donald Trump's niece (that's the daughter of his older brother), a psychologist.
It all makes so much sense when you look at it like that.

edit:

The sound file comes with an accompanying web page:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/p...ct-mary-trump/
I originally did not link it because I didn't like the sub-title of her book:
"World's most dangerous" is typical US American self-centeredness, giving the Orange Baby too much credit.
I'd have prefered "How My Family Created the World's biggest Bully".

I've been listening to the interviews as audio files (podcast), but the whole thing is apparently also available on video:
The Choice 2020

IMO, amongst 4 interviews, the one with Mary Trump was the best, most concise, least rambling.

It's not your fascination that's morbid.

It's our politics.

I don't think it is as much politics being morbid as our Education and in many areas but as it applies to Politics I think kids should start learning in Elementary School that the Primary Elections are the most important.

I agree fully regarding education, at least here in the States.

The misguided focus in the US on STEM education during the dot.com boom left many students woefully ignorant of topics such as how we got here (AKA history) and how the polity works (AKA government or political science or civics, take your pick). I'm not saying that STEM is not important, but am saying it was emphasized well out of proportion to the detriment of other topics important to living in a civilized society.

For example, a friend of mine today received a message from her daughter, who currently lives abroad (her husband manages PXes) and is preparing to file her absentee ballot, full of questions about what the electoral college is and how it works--questions that a proper civics education would have made unnecessary.

(I advised her send her daughter a link from a reputable source--I suggested Britannica.com--about the electoral college.)

Agreed on both points.

The sound file linked in post #1 comes with an accompanying web page:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/p...ct-mary-trump/
I originally did not link it because I didn't like the sub-title of her book:
"World's most dangerous" is typical US American self-centeredness, giving the Orange Baby too much credit.
I'd have prefered "How My Family Created the World's biggest Bully".

I've been listening to the interviews as audio files (podcast), but the whole thing is apparently also available on video:
The Choice 2020

IMO, amongst 4 interviews, the one with Mary Trump was the best, most concise, least rambling.

I have to say I'm really getting sick of the common Holier-Than-Thou attitude rather common toward US Americans from those outside. Nobody has a monopoly on Pros or Cons. We are ALL essentially family members by blood. If you haven't lived here for years then you are just as out of the loop as I would be (and likely am) living in another State or Country judging yours. How about a little compassion and tolerance for your cousins?

Perhaps even better, how about judging individuals instead of lumping everyone that was born in a particular region as One? It should be entirely obvious given the silly but intense battles between poles (and polls) that not only are there differences there are rather extreme differences dividing the poles and polls... just like everywhere else where there is actual freedom of speech to make it possible to gather anything remotely statistical.

I wish US American politics would take these satements to heart when dealing with the rest of the world.
Sorry if you took it personally, it was not meant like that.

I certainly think that I'm "holier" than the Orange Baby, though. Sorry for that, again.

I said "typical" - I thought that was good enough to specifiy that I do not thing that all US Americans are the same. Sorry again, but it really is sort of (stereo)typical for US Americans to extrapolate from their own country to the whole globe: "what's best for us must be best for everyone!" - a flawed principle applied time and again with detrimental effect.
Again: the last bit was political, not personal.

I find it interesting that the person who's been the subject of close to four years of relentless smears by an almost unison media is being accused of being the bully in the room.

I actually didn't take it personally. I am rabidly against prejudice and mindless collectivism everywhere including in my own country.[/quote]

No need to apologize. Trump is a wild card enigma. Everybody, excepting his most ardent supporters, is aware that he is emotionally childish, lacks training in Law and certainly in civil conversation, but he is exactly what his supporters voted for, a "new face", a guy that has completely disrupted and changed possibly forever what it means to be a politician. I actually think that upstart situation was needed and that it has the potential to test the way Checks and Balances functions, and cause it to self-correct and mature. Is he often embarrassing to me? Yup. Has his every move been a disaster? NO. Is he dangerous? Probably but all change is. TLDR I think both Political Poles are way too caught up in Party Politics to be objective. Even Stalin and Mao or <insert your favorite despot here> did some good. History determines if that is a net gain or loss.

This I might take slightly personal because you don't identify who thinks "what's best for us must be best for everyone" or why any country should be concerned with everyone at all. Frankly I despise the idea that some Americans applaud the whole idea of the US as World Police. I have no problem with my country being primarily concerned with what's good for us, and yours for you. It seems to me that's exactly why governments exist.

Not just politicians. I have observed that most of us Americans are quite ignorant of the cultures, histories, and politics of other countries, even those right next door to us.

Heck, I don't know for sure whether Justin Trudeau is prime minister or president (I think he's P. M.) and I can't name the current President of Mexico. And many of my fellows don't realize that persons from Puerto Rico are U. S. citizens and that Puerto Rico has been a U. S. territory for well over a century.

^ Now you're embarrassing me, because it sounds like you assume that I know all these things...

You have to leave your country to realise that these stereotypes actually apply to you, too.
I was pretty annoyed when people called me out on my German-ness - but I had to admit that there was some merit to that.

The USA are pretty famous for agressive foreign policies that do not much care about understanding the local situation, and are fueled by opinion inside the USA, which rarely looks beyond its borders. So here mentality breeds policy.
We (the considerably larger rest of the world) have been looking at this forever.
I am glad things are changing, clearly the era of the USA "protecting" the world is over.
Sometimes I fear to see what will replace it.

I have no problem with being called out for "being mean" to good ol' Donald.
Don't take my word for it - there's an all-US-american article in post #1 that merits listening to.

Interesting subject for the thread, 'psychology of a bully,' when it was actually about a politician...

Not sure how this is surprising given the things that come out of his mouth. He has publicly made some terribly racist comments, not to mention the daily stream of garbage on Twitter. He deserves every bit of negative press he gets.

I find this very odd, because I've personally never read/heard any such thing.

I've heard lots of accusations, sure, but no actual quotes that could be deemed racist in the slightest.

He told 2 US Senators to "go back and fix the countries where they came from". Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, both of whom are US citizens. AOC is from New York so not sure what he meant by that, other than being ignorant of her nationality or country of origin. This was on Twitter from his account. He stated to a crowd in a speech/rally "immigrants are taking your jobs".

These are not the only instances of his outright racism. He is very careful not to make actual slurs but uses veiled comments that mean the same thing.

This is before he was president but shows his general attitude about immigrants. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ing-your-jobs/

What he doesn't realize is that every single person in the US is an immigrant or has lineage that came from another country, unless you are Native American. He himself comes from immigrant lineage. That is what formed the US and why we are a great melting pot, so to speak. HIs words have, in my opinion, empowered white supremacist groups here in the US. Racial hate crimes have also risen. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgo...-the-data-say/