March 5, 2016

"Psychologists and massage therapists are reporting ‘Trump anxiety’ among clients."

Writes Paul Schwartzman (who "specializes in political profiles and narratives about life, death and everything in between" in The Washington Post).
“[My middle-aged businesswoman patient] was so upset and worried that she could have a sister — someone so close to her — who would have zero problem with Trump,” [said Judith Schweiger Levy, a psychologist on New York’s Upper West Side]. “Another patient — also a woman — all she could talk about was Trump and how he’s crazy and frightening.” Ruminating on Trump’s effect, Levy said, “Part of the reason he makes people so anxious is that he has no anxiety himself. It’s frightening. I’m starting to feel anxious just talking about him.”

Another psychologist, Paul Saks, who practices in Greenwich Village, said Trump’s recent refusal to immediately disavow David Duke, the Ku Klux Klan’s former Grand Wizard, has riled one of his patients who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. “This is really resonating with him, and troubling him,” Saks said. “Just that Trump has survived and that there’s such a cataclysmic shift in the Republican Party — an institution that’s part of our way of life even if you’re not a Republican — is going to disturb a lot of people.”
And it's making me anxious that psychologists are telling us what their patients say. Is that appropriate?

Also quoted in the article is some L.A. businessman, a Democrat named Ken Goldstein, who heard somebody express support for Trump: "You just realize you have nothing more to say to that person... Who are these people? Are they at the grocery store, are they sitting next to me at Dodger Stadium? That makes me nervous."

It makes me anxious that so many Americans are anxious about their fellow Americans. I'm looking around and seeing lots of people looking around and asking "Who are these people?" And they don't know how many of "these people" there are because these people can see that there are so many other people who ask "Who are these people?" and they're anxious about being seen as one of the people those other people don't want to sit next to at Dodger Stadium.  

127 comments:

Big Mike said...

Some people were even proud of voting for Barack Obama. Who were these people. Could they include the young woman struggling to make change for me at the grocery store even though the cash register already computed the amount for her? Could they include the people sitting next to me at a Nats game? Could they include psychiatrists who make up stories about patients fearing Trump?

No way to get away from stupid.

buwaya said...

This goes both ways of course.
One type of person goes to therapists, other sorts order M16 clone rifles and thousands of rounds of ammo online.
I suspect there are orders of magnitude as many of the latter as of the former, but the NYT isn't interested in their anxieties.

Sydney said...

Ha! They did this with George W. Bush and the War on Terror, too, if I recall correctly. I guess we just have to vote for the person these delicate souls want us to vote for if we are to keep the sanity in this country.
I've decided that all of this Trump angst is great hyperbole. He is no more a fascist or the next Mussolini than Obama was a communist or the next FDR/Kennedy/Lincoln.Just as the media and talking heads exaggerated the accomplishments of Obama, so they are exaggerating the dangers of Trump.
I am no longer worried.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Meade said...

I know someone who loves Trump and I absolutely love sitting next to her.

n.n said...

As long as they don't name names, they are respecting their patients' privacy, and it can be assumed they are projecting their own anxiety.

That said ____, refusal to immediately disavow ____, has riled ____ who is ____.

It's a Madlib, Madlib, Madlib, Madlib political playground.

MadisonMan said...

People on the left who are so alarmed by the Prospect of Trump remind me very much of people on the right alarmed by the reality of Obama.

Meade said...

Several years ago, as a Reds enthusiast, wearing my Cincinnati cap, I went to game at Wrigley Field and sat in the middle of a lot of Cubs fans. They were some of the friendliest people I've ever encountered. Had a great time

Paddy O said...

We like to think we're great judges of character. That's how we navigate through our highly socialized worlds. So, when other people are singing the praises of someone we see as having major, and to us clear, problems it causes serious cognitive dissonance. We realize we're living on the same planet but in a very different world than other people.

This is why it's good to be around people with different backgrounds and perspectives, as we get a chance to discover their rationality. Insular people assume their the only rational ones so don't know what to do with people who are different, even if their insularity trumpets a supposed worldliness.

That said, if people are having Trump anxiety they're really just having displaced anxiety.

YoungHegelian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fabi said...

I think that Meade's 1:40 is a trap! lol

YoungHegelian said...

Did ya ever wonder how folks such as Marie "Let them eat cake" Antoinette could have ever lived in such a bubble world, disconnected from the world around her?

Well, it looks like bubbles aren't going away any time soon.

Bob Boyd said...

Trumpophobia

Fen said...

Yah, these people have greater mental problems than Trumphobia.

Rob said...

If someone expresses anxiety about the Trump campaign to a massage therapist, she should reassure him it will all have a happy ending.

William said...

I hope to God that none of these people learn that Hillary went to Trump's wedding. Trump seems to have socialized with a fair number of movers and shakers without any of them realizing that he was a psychotic madman. Our movers and shakers are none too perceptive .

Bob Ellison said...

I, too, don't like the idea of medical providers talking overmuch about their patients' issues.

I know a few providers in various disciplines. Some are really quiet about patient stories, and others more talky. I suspect that even the quietest ones talk about patients to close family, like spouses, and nobody I know names names. But they sometimes give detailed descriptions. A little research could probably get names and addresses. My own providers are quite vague to me as their patient-- "I have had patients who had similar problems, and sometimes this therapy worked, and other times we've had to switch to this one." That seems harmless and beneficial.

The talky ones probably blab a lot more they let on.

But a provider should not supply stories and quotes from patients on the record, to a journalist, with attribution to the provider's name. What will the patient think when he/she finds about it?

amielalune said...

Love it, love it, love it. Those sheltered brain-dead liberals deserve all the angst that Trump causes and more. They are the older relatives of the precious snowflakes at our universities who need safe spaces and Hello Kitty to make it through the day. I love the sound of exploding heads in the morning.

Anonymous said...

Of course Trump and Trump's popularity makes people anxious. There are too many similarities between Trump and Hitler. And I don't care who is bothered by my comparison. Millions of people have observed the similarities and those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, as someone once said. If Jews of Europe would've been more anxious perhaps more would've left Europe early enough not to get caught in the antisemitism that culminated in the Holocaust. Enough intelligent people didn't take Hitler seriously and thought his buffoonish appearance and behavior would be rejected by the majority and he wouldn't ever be in a position of real power. How wrong they were.

Well I'm going to speak out now. And I will continue to speak out. We can not allow the hateful ideology that is so rampant in the current political race to seep into our minds and plant the seeds of hatred that will grow into another holocaust. We are Americans.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

As an American citizen, I'd like to invite the candidates to tour the museum. For all our sake.

JackWayne said...

Here in Texas where we just got open carry, a person has to have trust in their fellow humans. Maybe NY and CA could try it as a "tough love" therapy for all that Trump "anxiety"?

Lydia said...

If I were a Jew and heard Louis Farrakan say he likes what he "looking at" re Trump, especially that he's not taking "Jewish" money, I'd have a very sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

buwaya said...

Amanda,
If your side is so concerned, perhaps they should see their way to making great efforts into relieving the anxieties that are making Trump popular.

Lydia said...

he's

Anonymous said...

And before someone points out that Trump's daughter married a Jew and converted to Judaism, it's not Jews that are in Trump's sights. It's Muslims and Hispanics and probably African Americans. White supremacists gravitate toward him for a reason.

pm317 said...

Wow liberals are not so liberal after all. Or is this their usual condescension on steroids? Just listened to a caller on CSPAN who was really unhinged about Trump, she thinks he represents kkk. I blame Twitter.

buwaya said...

Amanda,
Again, consider "root causes" here. Or is that too much to ask?
Society is a matter of give and take. If things get out of balance, thing break. I recommend the first two-three chapters of Beevor's Spanish Civil War.

amielalune said...

Bob Ellison: Medical providers can talk all they want about anonymous patients as long as they don't disclose any protected health information. There are 18 identifiers for PHI, besides names, addresses and photo, and all of the others are numbers (telephone, fax, email, SSN, DL#, License plate #, Health insurance member number, etc) which would make it possible to identify a specific individual. Many don't say much at all because they have been so intimidated by the myriad HIPAA rules that they are afraid that if it isn't illegal today, it might be tomorrow. Or that they will slip up, because many of them don't know the rules -- they leave that to their office assistants.

I'm not sure what kind of things the doctors say that make you think you could identify a person with a little research, or, for that matter, what research you think you could do to identify names and address, other than hack the medical office software?

madAsHell said...

Obama opened the door for Trump. Maybe this Trump anxiety is really coming to grips with Obama being an utter failure.

Anonymous said...

http://forward.com/news/334964/donald-trump-compares-jewish-federations-to-white-supremacists-adl-calls-cl/

Pesidential candidate Donald Trump defended his refusal to repudiate white supremacist groups by comparing them to Jewish charities — a claim that the Anti-Defamation League denounced as obscene.

"I don’t like to disavow groups if I don’t know who they are,” Trump said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” I mean, you could have Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in groups.”

The ADL slammed Trump’s comparison of Jewish groups to white power groups, noting that they refer to blacks as ‘mud people’ and brand Jews as ‘Satanic.’ “It is obscene to even mention a Jewish organization in the same breath as these white supremacist groups,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL. “Mr. Trump needs to acknowledge that the rhetoric of these hate groups is appalling and does not belong in any political discussion.”

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob Boyd said...

Tough times ahead for short-fingered massage therapists.

trumpintroublenow said...

Sounds like a business opportunity for Donald to franchise -- "Trump's big hands massage"

traditionalguy said...
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traditionalguy said...

He is a difficult problem. He is a rare educated half Scots-Irishman and half Dutchman seeking to win by establishing a smart set of borders and enforcing them.

His fault lies in having way too many talents to be a calm and patriarchal President. He thinks very quickly, understand other's weaknesses, seems to reason around the corner into the future, leads men, seduces women, and is loyal as a black Labrador to his friends while he is a junk yard dog to his enemies. And he expects perfection.

I expect that gets him many Democrat votes from the Jim Webb Dem Sect, and they are everywhere. Add to that Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, California, in addition to the South from South Carolina and over to Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina. Then add to that his two home states of New York and Florida.

The only way to stop Trump is slander, but too many people have known the man for too long and testify that he is a good man for that to work. Too bad, so sad for the establishment guys and Canadian Ted's whose best efforts at slandering will go down the same drain as JEB's did.

buwaya said...

Why do you want to suppress the rhetoric of "hate groups"?
This is an extremely poor policy.
You just validate them if you demonstrate they have a powerful enemy, and create subconscious agreement among people who, given the opportunity, will generate a " preference cascade" in the wrong direction.
Everybody with a beef has a legitimate beef of some sort.

Michael K said...

"People on the left who are so alarmed by the Prospect of Trump remind me very much of people on the right alarmed by the reality of Obama."

No, the reality of Obama was apparent pretty early and some of us were alarmed that the media ignored it, like Rev Wright.

The Trump thing is hysteria as they realize the treasonous felon is in deep shit with the feds.

Trump is being targeted for all these fake stories just like Goldwater was. The big difference was that Goldwater could never explain his vote against the Civil Rights Act. He had a principled reason but it was lost in the uproar.

Bob Ellison said...

amielalune, if I were an unethical person who wanted to find out the identities of the patients named by that psychologist in Manhattan, it would be possible. Not terribly difficult.

You say that "Medical providers can talk all they want about anonymous patients as long as they don't disclose any protected health information."

Even with HIPPA, they probably can talk all they want under the conditions you cite, but they probably shouldn't.

I don't expect people who work in health care to be ethics experts, but the example cited in the WaPo article was way over the line. Patients have a right to expect more than privacy than "well, my therapist didn't name me".

Anonymous said...

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/current-kkk-head-lauds-donald-trump-as-the-pick-of-the-litter-he-fuels-anger-which-is-a-good-thing/


Current KKK headlauds Donald Trump as ‘the pick of the litter’: He ‘fuels anger’ which is a ‘good thing’

"Despite 2016 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump belated disavowal of the Ku Klux Klan, the KKK hasn’t tuned its back on the candidate, with the current leader of the white supremacist group calling him “the pick of the litter.”

In an interview with the Arkansas Times, Thomas Robb, the current national director of the Knights of the KKK, said the New York billionaire is the best of the Republican field — all of whom are preferable to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to Robb, Trump is still his favorite.

“As far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump is the pick of the litter,” Robb explained in a phone interview. “The image of the Klan that is portrayed by the media is hateful people. What I suspect that they’re really disavowing is the image that most people have conjured in their minds when they hear about the Klan or the KKK.”

Yes, we are being unfair to the KKK, aren't we?

fivewheels said...

I'm not what you'd call a Trump supporter. He wouldn't have been my top choice, or even on the short list. But he drives exactly the right people crazy, and I do mean crazy. The apoplexy and genuine fear and the tears ... it's really the only thing in his favor for me, but it's kind of shameful how big a thing that is. It's awesome, literally.

I doubt much good will come of a Trump presidency, but I'm at least as doubtful that anything too bad will come of it either.

fivewheels said...

I anticipate something about as benign as the Schwarzenegger governorship. He wanted to do some good things to fix systemic problems, but the gridlock and entrenched interests mostly stopped him.

Saint Croix said...

Interesting how there really seems to be a realignment going on.

amielalune said...


Bob Ellison: Please elaborate on how you would find patient info if you were "unethical."

Otherwise I shouldn't argue with you because I didn't read the WaPo article and have no desire to. :)

Anonymous said...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/marking-eighty-years-since-hitler-took-power-in-germany-a-880565.html

"The political situation now is so complicated and is subject to so many psychological factors that it is impossible to make any definite forecast," George S. Messersmith, the United States consul general in Berlin from 1930 to 1934, wrote in a dispatch to the State Department on Feb. 3, 1933.

Four days earlier, Reich Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher had been dismissed just weeks after his election. His replacement was Adolf Hitler. "It may, I believe, be accepted," wrote Messersmith, "that whether the Hitler regime lasts for a few months or for a longer period, it is only a phase in the development towards more stable political conditions and that this government will be followed by one which will show greater elements of stability than any which Germany has had for some years. The people are politically tired."
Along with other observers, diplomats in Berlin in 1933 did not immediately recognize that the appointment of the new government marked a historical turning point. At that early stage, no one predicted that the Nazi regime would last for 12 years and end with a disaster on the scale of World War II. Initially, Hitler's cabinet was viewed as just another in a series of more or less short-lived German governments."

Amadeus 48 said...

Here is a partial list of of probable Trump supporters:
A guy who got in trouble at work for telling a bad joke and his extended family members;
People who were appalled by Bush and Obama's embrace of CAIR;
People who lost good manufacturing jobs to offshore production;
People who were appalled by the government's rush to rescue banks that made foolish loans to home borrowers;
Savers who have been forced to accept zero interest rates to prop up the stock market;
People who believe that both parties support open borders and condone illegal immigration;
People that are appalled that Dem operatives like Chuck Todd and George Stephenopolis are considered newsmen;
People that believe that China has not competed fairly in international markets;
People who were appalled at Bush's ill considered leap into Iraq and Obama's throwaway of the hard-earned surge victory;
People disgusted by Obama's feckless embrace of Iran.
I could go on.

Now, the real kicker is that the GOP is not offering an alternative to Trum on these issues.

Unknown said...

How funny! So today I'm in the super-market, taking my sweet time in the cereal aisle trying to figure
out healthy v. sugary (I chose healthy and sugary!)

And this typical Westside gas-bag liberal old lady in a jogging suit, was SCREAMING ON HER PHONE
"Trump is a Nazi! The voters are so stupid!" and I wanted to say something but also didn't want
to say anything because there was this uber hot gay dude also checking out cereals and while
#MAGA, I'm not stupid.

But this typical entitled leftist who thinks that she can shout and yell her opinions kept bumping into me!

Finally after like the fourth bump, directly in her face I said "Make America Great Again" and just stared.

And she literally ran away. Now she's probably going to tell people "Oh my goodness, this awful Trump supporter
blah blah blah". It's really so interesting that for decades we've lived in a country where people on the LEFT can
loudly and with no consequence to their careers, personal life or whatever, spout and shout the most hateful and
creepy and unpopular opinions.

That's why people are voting Trump, for this freedom to apply to us all, and not just the left.

In any event, the hottie as it turns out is a Cruz guy! Which is hilarious. He kept going on and on about 'constitutionalism'.

:-)

#MAGA

Anonymous said...

"Toward the end of March 1933, French Ambassador François-Poncet wrote that, in many respects, "the Nazis demonstrate a certain double tendency. Some are destructive, grasping, power-hungry and willing to satisfy the needs of the revolutionary zealots of the SA," referring to the paramilitary group known as the "brownshirts." But others, the ambassador added, want to present themselves as having moderation, reason and spirit of political reconciliation and are keen to win over the high-minded members of the population.

Under the circumstances, reliable predictions were out of the question in those first weeks. But attacks on the Nazis' political opponents -- non-conformists and, first and foremost, Jews -- became more frequent. Observers were in broad agreement that the snowballing violence and "practically unrestricted persecution of a race," as Messersmith put it on the eve of the boycott on Jewish businesses introduced on April 1, would at some point lead to acts of international aggression."

buwaya said...

Amanda, you are perfectly correct, the US is approaching a pre-revolutionary situation.
Which is why your lot desperately needs to back off, as the reaction could well be terrifying. I prefer the analogy of the Spanish Civil War, being as it maps better to the regional diversity of political attitudes and interests.
For the sake of us all, stop trying to make the people with guns your enemies.

Bob Boyd said...

I'm very sympathetic to the feelings and motives behind the Trump movement and I'm enjoying the panic of the GOPe, but when it comes to him actually being President, I'm not so sure he...
Let me put it this way. I think Trump would be a short finger in a deep pie.

cubanbob said...

fivewheels said...
I anticipate something about as benign as the Schwarzenegger governorship. He wanted to do some good things to fix systemic problems, but the gridlock and entrenched interests mostly stopped him.

3/5/16, 2:34 PM"

All of the hysteria aside yours is the correct observation in my opinion. Trump makes deals. Presidents usually make deals with Congress. Keep the Congress Republican and Trump will become a more amenable and successful Berlusconi. Trump's selling points resonate with most of the public: we don't have a labor shortage or shortage of poor people so we don't need to import more poor people or people to compete with Americans. And as for Muslims, what is the immediate imperative to allow them to come unless we can somehow insure radicals don't come?

Paco Wové said...

"perhaps they should see their way to making great efforts into relieving the anxieties that are making Trump popular."

I find that what really makes me receptive to someone is when they call me Hitler a lot.

Unknown said...

Amanda,

You forgot my category!

Liberals who are g-d sick to death of only people on the LEFT being able to shout and spout their opinions, no matter how unconstitutional, impolite, impolitic, crude, mean, ragey, sick, creepy (I could go on)

WITH ZERO effect to their professional and personal lives.

PC can't only work one way.

If we want PC, fine, then it has to apply liberally to everyone or not at all.

It's been weaponized by the LEFT and the Media to bludgeon their policy, political, and aesthetic opponents.

And that is the #1 reason I'm #MAGA

It really is becoming Orwellian with a twist of Court-of-Versailles-ritualistic-to-get-ahead.

the proles are revolting! And my revolt against the illiberalism & linguistic deadening is to vote Trump.

#MAGA

pm317 said...

Driving and listening to Trump and laughing our heads off at him, with him, and mostly at the people scared of him, for hating him.

rehajm said...

has riled one of his patients who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors.

What might happen to this person if he saw Democrat Hillary Clinton 'endorsing' Senator Byrd?

pm317 said...

Oh I am not driving.

buwaya said...

Amanda, if you are afraid of the Tiger, why do you keep poking it with a stick?

pm317 said...

@ Bob Boyd they all have had short fingers, this one would be no different, IMHO

Birkel said...

The people of Kansas will require no counseling, judging by election results.

Nyamujal said...

"Psychologists and massage therapists are reporting ‘Trump anxiety’ among clients."
On the Guardian:
"'Not even my wife knows': secret Donald Trump voters speak out"
"No Joke, Trump can win plenty of Latinos"

The plural of anecdote isn't data.

Things will become clearer after the parties pick their nominees and we have good polling data. And when the data are available, sites like fivethirtyeight are extremely good at picking winners. It's just funny seeing everyone lose their minds this early in the game.

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

For fuck's sake, Amanda. Get a grip already.

walter said...

traditionalguy said...He is a difficult problem. He is a rare educated half Scots-Irishman and half Dutchma..
--
Trad guy, this isn't the first time you alluded to his lineage. Why is that important to you?

walter said...

Amanda, the Statue of liberty phrase would suggest completely open borders, zero criteria for entering.
Is that what you want us to go back to?

Amadeus 48 said...

On a different note, we should never forget that a significant portion of people seeing psychologists are (at some level) crazy.

Anonymous said...

Paul, for fuck's sake wake up. Are you so arrogant that you think it couldn't happen here?

Barry Dauphin said...

They might have Trump anxiety, but it's a beautiful anxiety-- the best anxiety they've ever had! It will be wonderful and many people will wish to have that anxiety. It is a really big anxiety, and if Trump gets the nomination, it will be a bigger and better anxiety than they've ever had!

Meade said...

Birkel said...
"The people of Kansas will require no counseling, judging by election results."

So far, Cruz is way overperforming, and Trump way underperforming the latest polls.

Anonymous said...

As much as I dislike Cruz's politics, it is reassuring to see Kansans haven't fallen under Trump's spell. Maybe it'll be a trend. America needs to repudiate people like Trump. He doesn't represent American values.

walter said...

Therapists getting more business. Winning!

Meade said...

Kansas might drive Trump into the hands of a massage therapist.

walter said...

They will do what their told...

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traditionalguy said...

Walter...It is important to understand his ways and thought processes. Those two are easy ones for me being 1/4 German and 3/4 Scots-Irish. I can read their body language and almost their thoughts like they are my cousins. And I know their weaknesses too.

You have to start somewhere in getting to know people. After seeing people on their up days and on their down days over many months and years in many crisis and many tragedies, then you can say that you know them. We humans are alert to others from a long distance.

A famous truth is people are not seen in their acts that are staged, but are seen in their candid reactions when you are not pointing the camera at them, so to speak. That is the real person.

Thank God, most people are good people. But some are out to get others, even to get paranoid people.



Amadeus 48 said...

Barry Dauphin--
And they are going to love it! Everyone loves to be associated with the best, and that is what they do at the Trump organization. It is full of top, top people. The anxiety they arouse is the best!
Let's make America great again.

walter said...

Ah..so his ways are a playing out of his cultural mix...or you are correlating your attraction to him with such.
Any other high profile folks of similar background that you feel support this?

buwaya said...

Every country breaks down in its own way.
Germany failed in a general organized semi-hostile takeover, much like the Prussian state did. There is a new order immediately after the old order.
Spain failed in a general class/faction/regional breakup, as Spain is complex. This paralleled all previous Spanish breakdowns, where factions set parts of the country against others.
Sri Lanka was a pure ethnic war.
Burma has been in a constant high or low state of ethnic war for at least 500 years.
The US? My bets are on secession/s, maybe with Civil War2. More Spain than Germany because of the regional issues.
Stop poking the Tiger.

mccullough said...

I'm surprised he could even go to a Dodgers game. Clayton Kershaw is a devout Christian. It must be very, very hard to watch him pitch knowing his beliefs.

Michael K said...

"He wanted to do some good things to fix systemic problems, but the gridlock and entrenched interests mostly stopped him."

Arnold made a very bad decision early when he decided to run a series of ballot propositions to rein in the teachers' union. That was OK but he scheduled a special election and the union bashed him unmercifully on the idea that it was a waste of money to hold a special election. That was bad enough but he really blew it because he seems not to have realized that the union would be most of the voters in such a low turnout election.

Had he waited for the June primary, he probably would have won and they were pretty good ideas.

After that, he gave up and partied the rest of his term.

Bay Area Guy said...

Chuckle, chuckle - to have the neurotic NY Times report that neurotic psychologists are worried that their neurotic patients are paying $150 - 200/ hour to express their neurotic concerns about Donald Trump is pretty amusing. It gave me a good laugh on this rainy Sat afternoon.

Trump Anxiety Disorder (TAD) is definitely on the rise.

Paco Wové said...

"The US? My bets are on secession/s, maybe with Civil War2. More Spain than Germany because of the regional issues."

There is regionalism in the U.S., but I've often wondered if the cities of each region are like the cities of the other regions, and the rural areas likewise have more in common with other regions' hinterlands. Ergo, if the U.S. were to break up, it would be an ugly, messy, Balkans-like splintering of city vs. country rather than, or maybe on top of, a more regional fracturing.

Anonymous said...

Meade: So far, Cruz is way overperforming, and Trump way underperforming the latest polls.

Looks like the cross-over/closed primary analysis is holding up well.

Jon said...

So we are back to 1964 and "Fact" magazine, which (claimed to have) wrote/written (pardon my grammar) 12,000 psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. and got 1800 responses knocking BG.

The Left never learns, never changes, never quits. They are pathetic!

walter said...

For those noting Trump's new flexibility regarding H1b etc:
The Impact of "High-Skilled" Immigration on U.S. Workers

mccullough said...

There won't be an active civil war. It will be a Cold Civil War. You can already see some hints of this. Police forces throughout the country are having difficulty attracting qualified candidates. You'll see the same thing with military combat units and CIA clandestine services. Large groups of people will quietly withdraw from the social institutions of society, starting with universities, which are now 60% women. Soon enough, there will be a shortage of doctors and teachers.

We can't treat vast swaths of society like shit and expect them to just endure it.

walter said...

"Large groups of people will quietly withdraw from the social institutions of society, starting with universities,"

Not so long as the gravy pipe stays active.

Dr Weevil said...

Since Amanda keeps whining about Trump's KKK endorsement, I'm going to quote something I posted on the Tavis Smiley thread just four days ago that she needs to read and ponder:

"Does Amanda know who was endorsed by top leaders of the U.S. Nazi Party and other White Supremacist hate groups? (Rhetorical question: of course not.) The answer is Barack Obama, in 2008 at least. This 2008 Esquire article is hilarious, at least if you have a taste for twisted humor. Of course, Obama was also endorsed by the U.S. Communist Party, at least in 2012. (I haven't checked to see whom the Nazis endorsed in 2012 and the Communists in 2008. Who cares? They're evil morons.) Did Amanda vote for Obama? If so, is she embarrassed to have voted for a guy admired by evil and vicious men on both ends of the political spectrum?"

While trying (and failing) to Google the comment quoted above, I found that YoungHegelian had linked the same article in Althouse comments a few years ago. Thanks, YH: I'd forgotten where I'd seen it.

By the way, bad as the KKK is, it could be worse: when that asshole-who-shall-go-unnamed killed nine black churchgoers in SC, he had to do it himself because he couldn't get the KKK interested in actually killing anyone. That puts the KKK ahead of hundreds, if not thousands, of political movements in the world today, some of which I suspect Amanda supports.

rcocean said...

Anyone who mentions the following in reference to Trump is a Clown:

-Hitler
-Mussolini
-Fascist
-KKK
-David Duke
-White Supremacist
-Racist.

mccullough said...

Walter,

People are catching on that the value of most college degrees is a net negative. And I'm not just talking about income. Students aren't engaging in open, thoughtful discourse that would at least help them be better citizens, parents, and community members even if the career return on the value of tuition isn't good.

There are fewer professors like Althouse who are thoughtful and open minded every year.

Michael K said...

"Looks like the cross-over/closed primary analysis is holding up well."

I didn't realize these were all caucuses. They will be less useful as indicators as caucuses usually involve GOP activists and there is no hiding your preferences.

The primaries will be better tests of the "Bradley Effect."

Anonymous said...

Paco Wové: There is regionalism in the U.S., but I've often wondered if the cities of each region are like the cities of the other regions, and the rural areas likewise have more in common with other regions' hinterlands. Ergo, if the U.S. were to break up, it would be an ugly, messy, Balkans-like splintering of city vs. country rather than, or maybe on top of, a more regional fracturing.

I think that's more and more the case. U.S cities used to have a marked regional flavor, but that started being less and less true even in the '70s. I remember when, e.g., Atlanta was Southern and Denver was a cowtown (I mean that in a good way). In some areas even born-and-raised city dwellers no longer have regional accents; one must go out to the hinterlands to hear them now. And of course, large parts of many American cities look exactly like large parts of other American cities. (Depressing.)

I suspect this parallels an inexorable leveling of attitudes, too.

Michael K said...

"Large groups of people will quietly withdraw from the social institutions of society, starting with universities, which are now 60% women. Soon enough, there will be a shortage of doctors and teachers."

A lot will depend on what happens with student loans. If there is some system of penalizing universities for useless degrees, maybe that will help, but the shortages of doctors will be coming soon, I think. I see students, who are now 60% female, and ask them if they are using loans and all say yes. I ask them if any are interested in military service financial aid and none are. That will change, I suspect, as they realize that Medicine does not pay enough anymore to pay off those loans.

Law schools are already seeing collapsing enrollment. Plus, of course, female doctors work about 30% less than males and males work less than we did. Incentives matter. Not to Socialists, of course, but to people who have to do real work.

Michael said...

Anglenlyne

I believe you are right about the cities melding into look alikes. They are, however, all very much the same in one respect. In each and every city and town in America there are a group of people who believe their ancestors hopped off the Mayflower which shored up right there on the Chattahoochee or Mississippi or Colorado or Wolf Creek. And in every town and village across this great land these aristocrats will spend a dollar to keep the newcomer from making a nickel.

Anonymous said...

Michael: I didn't realize these were all caucuses. They will be less useful as indicators as caucuses usually involve GOP activists and there is no hiding your preferences.

Are they all caucuses today?

At any rate, not all caucases are public - I've lived in states where the Republican caucuses were private ballot. (The Dems were commie peer-pressure public-shaming exercises. Just kidding. Sort of. But they weren't private ballots.)

I'm curious now and will have to go look this up this caucus/primary and private ballot thing by state.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I don't think I've ever met a middle-class White liberal who wasn't somewhat prone to hysterics. I used to work in a distinctly Leftist occupation and it gave me no particular anxiety at all, but even hearing Limbaugh on the radio could reduce my co-workers to quivering, near-hysterical indignation. It was weird and fascinating at the same time.

Bob Ellison said...

How many voters in vote in both Democrat and Republican caucuses and primaries? The answer is obviously greater than zero, and must vary from state to state.

But how many?

Fernandinande said...

'Trump anxiety’ among clients

Three of 'em!
“[My middle-aged businesswoman patient]"
“Another patient — also a woman —"
"riled one of his patients"

And it's making me anxious that psychologists are telling us what their patients say. Is that appropriate?

Good point, but first, the first question: is it true?

Anonymous said...

At any rate, to clarify for the curious, what I meant by the "cross-over/closed primary analysis" is the prediction that Trump would do well in states with open primaries, where independents and disaffected Dems (or Dem ringers) could cross-over to vote in Republican primaries. In closed primaries (or caucuses, same effect) he would underperform the polls. Seems to be holding up for n of 1 Kansas, anyway.

Fernandinande said...

Fen said...
Yah, these people have greater mental problems than Trumphobia.


I'm guessing they're of the class of people who project their xenophobia, homophobia, whateverphobia onto others.

Dr Weevil said...

Ace of Spades' Decision Desk (www.decisiondeskhq.com) has detailed and (I think) up-to-the-minute numbers. Four points:
1. This weeks Republican contests are not all caucuses: Kansas, Maine, and Kentucky are, but Louisiana (today) and Puerto Rico (tomorrow) are primaries.
2. Cruz isn't just winning in Kansas, he's crushing Trump by almost 2-1. It was 50-26 the first time I looked, and 49.5-25 just now, with 14.5 for Rubio and 10.1 Kasich. In Maine, only 18% is in, so DDHQ hasn't declared a winner, but Cruz is way ahead so far: Cruz 45.2, Trump 36, Rubio 10.6, Kasich 7.2.
3. Cruz was supposed to be strong only in the Deep South, so I'm guessing he's likely to win LA and KY. If he sweeps the four states, that should make all those people who have been saying "It's too late! Trump's already got it sewed up! We're all doomed!" (or "You're all doomed!" for Trump supporters) feel at least a little sheepish.
4. Judging by the KS and ME numbers, Rubio and Kasich are not doing well.

Birkel said...

Did rcocean just self-identify?

Fabi said...

Trump should easily win Louisiana. Kentucky didn't have much polling -- so who knows. Good day so far for Cruz!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dr Weevil @4:31. The "closed primary" predictive model does seem to be being resoundingly vindicated.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Well, maybe not yet "resoundingly". Does seem to be holding up very well so far, though.

JaimeRoberto said...

These people are doing there darndest to make me vote for Trump. Why would I want to vote the way a bunch of bedwetters want me to?

Meade said...

@JaimeRoberto, because you are making the common error of confusing correlation with causation.

Michael K said...

"Are they all caucuses today?"

No, Louisiana is a primary.

I'm not yet on the Trump bandwagon but I am concerned that the anti-Trump hysteria on the right is overblown and may very well result in a loss.

I cannot think of any worse outcome than a wounded Hillary as president.

Biff said...

Deja vu. I remember articles about liberals going for counseling and therapy because they couldn't handle the reality of a George W. Bush administration. Who benefits from articles like these?

Saint Croix said...

Interesting take from Rubio about Trump as a media creation.

I'm still a big fan of Marco. But man, I am so glad that Cruz kicked some ass today.

Lewis Wetzel said...



Another psychologist, Paul Saks, who practices in Greenwich Village, said Trump’s recent refusal to immediately disavow David Duke, the Ku Klux Klan’s former Grand Wizard, has riled one of his patients who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors.

I also am the grandson of Holocaust survivors. To be frank, the Holocaust passed without notice in Sedalia, Missouri. My holocaust surviving grandparents themselves had parents who survived the wrecks of both the Titanic and the Lusitania. What are the odds of that?

Michael K said...

"Trump’s recent refusal to immediately disavow David Duke,"

This is horseshoe. Why doesn't somebody ask Hillary to disavow Robert Byrd, who really was a Klan officer ?

Todd Roberson said...

Without question: best thread ever. Where's my good friend R&B?

Todd Roberson said...

Also ... Fivewheels is pretty good. See my comments on March 4.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Robert Holmgren said...

Trump's campaign has me cowering in fear. I'm unable to work, dress or eat fresh locally grown food as a result. You see, my cousin's neighbor has an accountant that knows the nephew of a Holocaust survivor.

rcocean said...

You know what People who are "Grandchildren of Holocaust survivors" need to shut up.

Really. Stop claiming victim status when you're not a victim. Or even the child of a victim.

There's a radio host in California who for years claimed he was a 'regular old American'. Then after being on the radio for 20 years, he suddenly started talking constantly about his Jewish identity, and how "as a Jew"" he felt this or that. Now, in the last few years, he's now become not just a Jew but a "son of Holocaust survivors". Except his parents left Germany in 1935 - before the Holocaust.

If you're the grandchild of Holocaust survivor's you're like him, only worse.

Jason said...

I'm the grandchild of Nazi killers. :-)

Jason said...

These libs are absolutely pathetic. Years ago they had Bush anxiety syndrome. When Bush won his re-election in 2004, my liberal Greenwich Village and Upper West Side born and bred friend and editor told me she felt like Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were running the country.

If it weren't for Trump, these same people would be in the same therapists' office with Cruz anxiety.

It never stops with these Safe-Spacers.

tim in vermont said...

The important thing is that the Democrats win, not that the nation remains a nation resting on a foundation of brotherly love.

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...

How will folks get by without Ken Goldstein in their lives? How?

Roger Sweeny said...

Oh, my God. I'm getting flashbacks to 1964. "These people who support Goldwater ..."

Unknown said...

I feel somewhat this way about any Sanders supporter above the age of, say, 25.

Lewis Wetzel said...

I had an ancestor who died in a nazi death camp.
He fell out of a guard tower :)

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Ivanka anxiety makes me want to have a very particular kind of massage therapy.

JamesB.BKK said...

If you work to create huge intrusive government, a potential Trump result is inevitable and foreseeable. You get what you deserve.

Kirk Parker said...

Amanda,

Of course it can happen here! Why do you think so many of us jealously guard our right to keep and bear arms?

You're just lacking the self-awareness to realize that if tyranny does come, it will come at the hands of people like you, not people like Trump.

jr565 said...

I'd feel more scared about trump being hitler if Amanda and her crowd hadn't previously said bush was hitler. And Reagan was Hitler. And every republican is hitler.
The endless use of Republican as hitler cards is starting to lose its effectiveness.

Alphaeus said...

I like to tell the liberals that I for one am looking forward to enjoying the regime of Adolf Trumpler. I don't tell them that I actually prefer Ted Cruz because then their heads really would explode, because I live in the San Francisco Bayarrhea California, see?