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I Wish Donald Trump Nothing.
Wishing him well and wishing him harm are both “what they want us to do.”
Twitter is ablaze. Facebook is on fire. California is probably still burning too, but, different story.
Social media is self-immolating over whether it is “right” to wish the president a speedy recovery from the Coronavirus. Wishing your oppressors well is a slight variation on Stockholm Syndrome, isn’t it? Subscribing to the politeness, the decorum, the social niceties that uphold inherently oppressive systems such as the patriarchy and white supremacy is to buy into those systems, to validate their power.
“Fuck Trump. I do not wish him well.” has become a ringing battle cry across my Facebook page. Choruses have joined in agreement in the comments sections.
I agree, to an extent: I don’t understand why people’s lives suddenly become sacred in the moment they are threatened. I don’t understand Joe Biden pulling negative campaign ads “out of respect” for the president’s condition. Did contracting the Coronavirus erase all the shitty things he’s done? Acts of sudden and contrite deference for people who fall sick implies that we should criticize them, not on the morality of their actions, but based on whether they’re well enough to “take a hit.” It implies, weirdly, that our criticisms and anger cease to be valid when the other party becomes unequipped to retaliate against them (side note: Trump seems perfectly capable of tweeting from his taxpayer-funded hospital bed, so we’re fine on that front).
There’s no denying that the “well wishes” from the Democratic front ring hollow and contrived. The sad truth, probably, is that probably nobody wishes Trump well.
And this is where I have to differentiate my broad compassion and love for all living things from a wish for Trump to “be well.” I do want Trump to be well, but that has nothing to do with his COVID diagnosis. I want him to go to therapy and seek mindfulness and accountability. I want him to take deep breaths (probably a tall order right now) and ask himself “Why do I feel angry? What does it mean to be fulfilled?” (an even taller order).
I wish, as I do for all people, for Trump to be a positive, loving force in the universe. I wish, in general, for…
