No, this post is not about IBM (those posts are here). Rather it is a probably ill-advised foray into the political, which usually involves too much ranting even for me. However, I have a practical suggestion for an uncertain nation grappling with how to deal with the giant pile of shattered political norms on its front lawn. But first, a little ranting…
When confounded, seething, and/or depressed about the state of the world, I sometimes think about President Donald Trump’s performance review (as a citizen, I’m in his management chain). A performance review is more than a simple thumbs up or down., assessing progress against objectives, strengths and areas for improvement.
My initial take on Trump was “Manchurian Cheeto grifter”. While holding up quite well, that take neglected any assessment of two fundamental attributes we desire in our employees: being smart and able to get things done. So I’d probably amend the original with “imbecilic incompetent”.
And I’d also want to add amateurish, bullying, corrupt, divisive, feckless, illiterate, mendacious, phony-tough, reprobate, shallow, thin-skinned, and unbecoming,
From there it becomes a deluge: amoral, artless, blusterous, callow, careless, compassionless, compromised, couch potato, cowardly, crass, cretinous, crooked, crude, cruel, deceitful, delusional, derisive, devious, dishonest, disingenuous, disloyal, disrespectful, dull, duplicitous, embarrassing, entitled, fake, fatuous, feeble-minded, feckless, flat-footed, flighty, fraudulent, gaslighting, hopeless, ill-considered, illogical, ill-tailored, impulsive, imprudent, inarticulate, inattentive, inchoate, incoherent, inconsistent, inconsequential, incurious, indecent, indifferent, inhumane, innumerate, insecure, insensitive, irresponsible, jeering, juvenile, kakistocratic, lacking in moral compass, lawless, manipulative, mendacious, meretricious, misleading, moronic, narcissistic, nasty, nepotistic, nihilistic, offensive, oleaginous, opprobrious, overbearing, petty, petulant, polarizing, quixotic, reckless, reprobate, scatterbrained, self-aggrandizing, self-dealing, self-important, selfish, shameful, short-fingered, short-sighted, slipshod, subpar, thin-skinned, thoughtless, tiny, tone-deaf, traitorous, transactional, treasonous, trolling, uncaring, undignified, undisciplined, unfit, ungrammatical, uninformed, unlettered, unreflective, unscientific, untethered, useful idiot, vain, venal, vindictive, vulgar, woolly-headed, xenophobic, yam-tinted, zymotic, etc., etc.
Despite identifying a significant number of areas for improvement, I fear none of this feedback will penetrate Trump’s thick carapace of self-regard.
But there is one term that might get his attention: Loser. In the absence of so much else, he is certainly competitive and revels in “so much winning”. “Loser” is Trump’s own most cutting and revealing epithet, perhaps because he “projects about almost everything”.
Where the word “loser” becomes useful is in Trump’s aftermath. The nation stands at a crossroads: will Trump’s modus operandi prove a deeply humiliating and never-to-be-repeated aberration or will it define a new and greatly diminished ceiling for our political institutions and discourse? Can we restore some shared common values, dignity, and focus on the commonweal or is it all downhill from here, playing out as a reality TV reenactment of the twilight of the Roman Republic? Can we move beyond endless performative political theater and make a responsible and competent effort to address our ever-growing backlog of real challenges?
Having already obliterated countless political norms, we do have to be careful that Trump’s departure doesn’t smash even more. The American democratic tradition assumes peaceful transitions of power, without banana republic-style retribution against the previous regime. But Trump is different, in his disregard for those democratic norms and blustery contempt for pesky little laws. Debate rages over how vigorously to pursue his misdeeds versus caution about setting precedents for future Presidents. Regardless, he is destined to spend a lot of time with lawyers (one of the lesser known, but most dreadful of the biblical plagues).
But as those debates and prosecutions play out in the political and legal arenas — hopefully as exemplars of the values and processes to which we aspire — we also need to address Trump on Trump’s terms. So less procedural and syntactic, more visceral and succinctly pejorative. Normally, former Presidents deserve to be treated with respect, but Trump has, needless to say, forfeited that honor with his own lack of decorum.
The modest proposal: Trump should always be greeted in public, as he shuttles for the rest of his life between court dates and bankruptcy filings, with jeers of “loser”.
“Loser”, beyond being a term Trump understands, is a great word. It is acoustically versatile and has good mouth feel. It lends itself to a curt and abrupt “loser” muttered under the breath in a chance passing. But it also plays well in Trump’s favorite venue, the arena. Crowds can deploy it either as a long, draw-out “luuuuuuzzzer” or as a rhythmic, two-syllable chant (‘lu-zer, ‘lu-zer, ‘lu-zer…). Feel free to try it at home.
Loser!!! Hopefully we can start this practice on November 3.
