Don't Stop Believin'

 Trump Lies: A Thurber Brigade Sidestep

As noted in several previous blogs, males compete constantly with each other.  Whether in a sports setting or an argument over sports, we guys always want to best our opponent. You can clearly see this when a young child gets in an argument and his knowledge is limited.  He will suddenly blurt out anything that pops into his mind no matter how ridiculous.

For example, he might state his father could whup King Kong or that he has exploding ping pong balls that create a big flash when they hit the ground (I admit, I uttered the latter one—hey, I was eight).

As we get older, we tend not to exaggerate or make up things in arguments because we know they'll easily be destroyed by facts from our opponent.  Donald Trump seems to still be in the adolescent state.

He lies all the time.  When something doesn't go his way, he will make up some excuse that is clearly a lie.  For example, he is still so freaked out that he lost the popular vote by the biggest margin in US history (by someone who won the electoral college) that he has blurted out that over three million illegal votes were cast.

It's a lie.  However, since he's the president the news media gives him the benefit of the doubt and although they will acknowledge there are no facts to back him up, they still give the issue extensive coverage as if it was legit. It's not. He's lying. He just blurted out some nonsense to win his argument.

We've known he's a liar for some time. In fact, there's an extensive article in a Canadian paper that lists all his lies and gives the facts to refute them.  They have over 550 listed!

Some of the whoppers you've undoubtedly heard include:
- the voter fraud mentioned above
- his tax cuts would be HUGE for the middle class
- the US trade deficit was HUGE
- Clinton hired protestors to attend his events
- he was HUGELY popular with African Americans
- the murder rate in the US is HUGER than before

Well, the list is exhaustively HUGE.

The bottom line is that everyone needs to stop believing him.  Stop giving him credence by paying undue attention to his lies. When he tells another one, instead of asking him for something to back up his claim (he doesn't have it, he'll just put it off until later), just say something like "welp, there's #603" and move on with the conversation. It's the sarcastic way to say he's lying.  Or just tell him he's lying.

By not calling him out, it gives credence to his lie.  In effect, it validates him to his devoted followers. It becomes big news (headlines even) when instead it should be a small sidebar that states he's lied yet again.

As president we can't just ignore him.  However, we don't have to accept everything he says as gospel. We don't have to give him or his lies the incredible attention that the press keeps giving him (they made him by giving him unrelenting attention in the primaries as noted in a previous blog). Stop believing him.

However, don't stop believing.  In decency. In justice. In human rights. In the American sense of fair play. In America.  We used to be a shining beacon to other people, we need to return to that status. So keep protesting his administration. Keep standing up for American values such as freedom and equality. Keep calling him out on his lies.

Ahhh, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade does not apologize for this sidestep.  For one thing, we've been warning about it for a few blogs.  Also, surely everyone would expect radical, progressive satirists to be chomping at the bit to hit The Orange One.  We'll get back to the important dialogue about relationships between men and women in no time.  And we'll get Mexico to pay for it.  Also, yes, the blog title is taken from an 80s Journey song of the same name.  Yes, we're still stuck in the 80s.

Fashion (There's a Brand New Dance)

Years ago, my brother and I made a trip to Europe. We were pretty poor then (not that we're rich now) so went on the cheap. That meant that we went in the off-season in November. Yes, the cold off-season. One of the big things I noted was the difference in fashion between Paris and Munich.

In Paris the women (and a few men) dressed in very elegant and skimpy clothes. I distinctly remember this very cute—but fashionable—woman who stood waiting for the bus in freezing weather. Her teeth chattering and her body trembling from the bitter cold.

In Munich the women bundled up in heavy winter coats, scarves and stocking caps and actually seemed to like being out and about in the  breezy, winter weather. Many joining the men in spontaneous snowball fights. In other words, the women in Munich dressed practically and for the weather, the ones in France dressed to be fashionable no matter the weather.

Here in the US the same distinction about fashion applies for the difference between men and women. In other words, there's a big difference.

As noted in a previous blog, women actually dress for other women.  They know that they don't have to dress up to attract a guy. They could just as easily catch our eye with a pair of tight jeans and a cutoff T-shirt as with a fancy Parisian dress. So women don't dress for men, they dress to prove to other women that they are more fashionable—and therefore superior—to other women.

Men will dress to attract a female, but only while in the hunt. I should point out that sometimes men will also dress to prove they are superior, but that's usually in a business setting and again boils down to us being super competitive about everything—as I've mentioned before.  However, the majority of the time we dress to project an image.  Usually, that image is of a macho male. That's why the grunge look caught on so easily.  We wanted to look like tough Paul Bunyan types.

For the most part we guys don't care how we look.  That's why you'll see us lounging around the house in sweats. A female might do this too, but the difference is that if a woman knows another female is about to stop by, she'll either put on fancy leisure clothes or fashionable activewear. A guy wouldn't change his clothes no matter who came over. However, he might hide some of his beer.

You'll also note a clear difference in fashion between men and women at sporting events. Typically men will dress macho-like as mentioned above, or dress in support of their team. You know, team jersey or team-logo T-shirt. If you see a male in a suit at a game it is either because he sneaked out from work or he's going to a friend's wedding as soon as the buzzer sounds.

You may spot women in the stands at a game in team-logo wear too—but only if attending with a male doing the same.  Women

not forced to attend a game by their mate but there on their own volition will either wear very stylish clothes appropriate for a sporting environment, or will wear fashionable clothes they can use to impress their female friends who they'll meet up with at a nightclub after the game. In other words, once again not trying to entice a male, trying to impress females encountered post-game.

So fashion can be complicated. Not for the male, obviously, but for the female. Fashion is situational and will always be something to further distinguish the crazy interaction between the male and female worlds.

 

Ahhh, James Thurber!

We at The Thurber Brigade would like to apologize for this skimpy blog about a complicated issue. Perhaps we'll ad-dress (best pun we could come up with) this further at some other time. However, we strongly believed we needed to get something out there in the blogosphere as there may very well be an upcoming notorious sidestep due to The Orange Top coming to power. We also would like to apologize in advance for that one. Sorry. BTW: yes, the title is in honor of David Bowie. Beep, beep.