Let’s talk for a moment, shall we?

If your newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter is anything like mine, all those precious kitten memes have been replaced by memes of Donald Trump.

As a writer and a curious person, someone who tries to understand motivations of others, I have sought out conversations one-on-one with people who are Trump supporters. For the record, I have several family members and more than a handful of friends who are voting for Trump.  I have even lost some friends over my opposition to Trump.

I know, crazy, huh?

If this were a typical election year, I’d be distraught over the loss of those friendships and I’d worry about offending family members over my remarks about Trump. But this is not a typical election year and Trump is not a normal candidate.

He’s not even Republican. He’s a poser. And a very bad one at that. Republicans are beginning to distance themselves from Trump. only weeks after all that hoopla of nominating him. Even Newt Gingrich, arguably the grandfather of the Republican party and one of Trump’s potential VP picks, has come out and declared Trump  “unacceptable” according to the Washington Post. 

“Trump is helping her (Hillary) to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is, ” Gingrich said.

Grinch said Trump has only a matter of weeks to reverse course. “Anybody who is horrified by Hillary should hope that Trump will take a deep breath and learn some new skills,” he said. “He cannot win the presidency operating the way he is now. She can’t be bad enough to elect him if he’s determined to make this many mistakes.”

I could write reams about Trump’s egregious behavior toward Gold Star families, but Mr. Khan has gone home. He doesn’t want to do any more interviews. I know how heavy his heart must be. I have had a glimpse of how vitriolic people can be at times. So for now, I’ll spare you all my thoughts and feelings about how Donald Trump has pissed on the families of the fallen.

What I want to talk to you about, however, is the one of the most common reasons that voters who continue to stand with Trump cite as an explanation for their support.

His general appeal to the masses is that he is perceived to be a very good business man. (We don’t, in fact, have any proof of that, given that he refuses to release his taxes or be held accountable.)  He’s had several Chapter 11 bankruptcies. We don’t know Trump’s financials. We don’t know how he makes his money. And let’s face it, it’s not like he started out with $400 in high school graduation gifts and his granny’s pass down car.

Capitalists are indoctrinated from birth to be drawn to wealth. It’s ingrained in us.  We have to fight against this attraction to the material life if we are to be any kind of decent person at all. It is not true that the boy with the most toys wins in the end. Your toys don’t go to the grave with you. The relationships you build do.

Donald Trump is not a relationship builder.

If Donald Trump were our neighbor, he’d be the asshole who pays to have a load of gravel dumped in our driveway  just for kicks. He’d be the one filing suit in court claiming that our fence line crossed his property by half-an-inch. He’d be the one whose friends parked up on the curb, blocking our drive for 24 hours. His wife would be the one who sunbathes nude in the backyard and then calls the police claiming we were Peeping Toms. Donald Trump would be the kind of neighbor who would report our dog for barking loudly as he stands at the fence poking it with a stick.

People who would never want to live next-door to Donald Trump want him to be their president.

What they say they love most about him is his unbridled tongue.

His supporters say that the thing they love best about Trump is he says what he thinks ( A gracious assumption on his supporters’ behalf. We have no factual proof whatsoever that this man thinks at all and a lot of evidence to the contrary.)

But let’s accept that assumption for a moment, shall we, and really consider what that means.

Trump supporters, who are dwindling with each passing day, have praised their candidate for having his say. They love that he is no respecter of person or position (as if this is somehow something to be valued). He is not beholding to anyone, they claim. Nobody owns this man. (We don’t know that for sure, but that’s been the claim of his supporters.)

Just recently a friend I cherish said to me that what he likes best about Trump is that he speaks his mind without regard for anyone.

Well, we’ve certainly seen proof of that in spades, haven’t we?

The thing I can’t quite wrap my brain around is that the people who are praising Trump for speaking his mind are the very same people who would have a stroke if their own grown children spoke to them the way Trump speaks.

Raise your hand if you would like to hear your son or daughter disrespect the families of the fallen the way Trump has done this week.

Raise your hand if you would like for your pastor to stop in the middle of his sermon and tell you to get your crying baby out of the sanctuary because, whether you understand it or not, he’s trying to make a point and your baby is distracting him.

Raise your hand if you would like your brother to go around calling you a crooked, no-good, lying cheat.

Raise your hand if you would like for your uncle to pass around nude photos of his wife during Thanksgiving dinner.

Raise your hand if you would like to go to the mall with your grandfather calling out “Terrorists” every time he sees a man or woman of Middle Eastern descent, or “Rapist” every time he sees a Mexican, or “Nigger'” every time he sees a tall thin black man, or “Whore” every time he sees a woman older than fifty.

Raise your hand if you would like to have a pastor stand in the pulpit and talk about how hot his daughter is, and how if he wasn’t her pastor and dad, he might like to date her because she’s got a great body, nice boobs.

Raise your hand if you want to be on the golf course with the guy who spends 18 holes telling you how he’s going to kick your ass, how he’s going to win the game.

Raise your hand if you want to work for the man who doesn’t want to provide you with health insurance, or family leave or pay you a competitive wage. Or even a living wage.

Raise your hand if you want to do business with a man who refuses to pay you what he owes you.

Raise your hand if you want to  be friends with the man who coaxes a disabled veteran into giving him a Purple Heart and then brags, “I’ve always wanted one of these. Boy, this was a lot easier to get than yours was, huh?”

Yeah. I didn’t think so.

Remember when your mama used to tell you that if you didn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?

Remember when your father gave you the silent treatment for a week because you talked back and he wanted you to know that you should never talk ugly like that to him or anyone else?

Remember when your granny taught you the Scripture verse “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles”?

Remember when you said something ugly in front of your grandfather and he responded with that  verse out of Matthew:  “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Remember when self-control was a trait to be admired in others?

Remember when the people we all respected most were the quiet and dignified among us?

The question Newt and other GOP leaders keep asking each other is “Why won’t Trump just shut up?”

Of course, the bulk of voters are wondering the same thing.

Tell me again why you think Donald Trump would make such a fine president.

Karen Spears Zacharias is an author and journalist. She will not be voting for Donald Trump for all the obvious reasons.

For a closer look at how unbridled is the tongue of Donald Trump supporters, click here. 

http://nyti.ms/2b2Vpbk