Johnny Guitar wrote: IF Hillary Clinton had lost the popular vote but won the electoral vote, a lot of liberals would be gladly rejoicing, and there would be a lot of very official and SINCERE thinkpieces explaining how the electoral college is a valuable necessity for the safe preservation of democracy in a large, diverse nation-state.
Exactly, and I will say even more: if Hilary Clinton had won (by a narrow margin, as this was such a surprisingly close race) both the popular and the electoral vote, we'd be obviously relieved - but the problem would still be there. There'd still be a HUGE portion of Americans who thought Trump should be THEIR President. And ignoring this - as some still seem to do - means that A Trump would sooner or later happen anyway. This was my point. Such America exists - it existed even before Trump decided to get into politics. It didn't have a name, it maybe didn't seem so pervasive - but it existed. And it existed - this is shocking to some here - even on this board, which is mostly composed of open-minded, well-educated and, certainly by American standards, left-wing people (in Europe, as you certainly know, Hilary Clinton would be a moderate).
It existed in their way of thinking, it came out instinctively in their reactions - I saw it. The point is: why didn't they? And why are they so angry when I humbly, shyly even, try to explain this?
In Italy there's mafia, right? We all know that. There are lots of movies about mafia, so you must be familiar with it. It's mostly in the South of the country, it kills people, it's a big economical (though illegal) power with its own rules, etc. Of course, not all Italians are mafioso. Part of us are - a minority. Yet, we'd be naive and hypocritical if we didn't recognize that, especially in some areas of Italy, there's a diffused "mafioso" mentality - a way of thinking which, while not necessarily connected with the mafia as a criminal institution, is clearly the fertile ground where it can, and did, develop. It's in our behaviors, in our way of seeing family, the male figure, the approach to work, etc. Difficult to explain to foreigners (and you don't find it in movies maybe) - but we can see it. It has its historical, social, cultural, economical reasons, yet it must be contrasted, and it can't be contrasted if we don't fiirst realize that it's there, inside us.
This is what, it seems to me, Americans can't do, even now (there are exceptions of course): It's always someone else's fault. Fate, even, or the election system. Or on this board, Italiano, who should be ignored, evicted. I find this fascinating, but also EXTREMELY dangerous. Because if you look at it, it is exactly the way Donald Trump thinks - and behaves; the enemy is outside, always. And I think that, in order to prevent a Trump from happening, one should "eliminate" the Trump aspect inside himself or herself. And then maybe analyze why this aspect exists (and, like it or not, is so dominant in America - yes, Mister Tee, I know, he got 1000 votes less than Hilary in Alabama or wherever. Please...).
Donald Trump is a fascist. Trust me, I'm Italian, I know a few things about fascism. And he's a fascist. America has a fasist President. Now, I know that, unlike Italy back then, the US (and even Italy today) has ways to prevent him from becoming a fascist dictator - thank God. But this doesn't mean that he can't be dangerous anyway. And you are right - my European approach may sound pessimistic compared to America's famous optimism. Pessimism may have its historical reasons but it's never too healthy, and optimism is a better approach to life - I admit this. Still, if optimism doesn't come after a serious, uncompromising analysis of what the are and why we are like this, Zach, it can also be an act of self-deceit. I hppe you agree on this.