NEO-KNOW NOTHING REPUBLICANS (KNICKERS)
I LOVE
For a filmography and more about Steve Richards go to his director page.
The other day I had a friend of mine say that he would vote for Hitler if he ran on the policies that my friend favors. Words that for the first 50+ years of my life one would never imagine anyone saying to them with out the words “I would never…” first. This was a shock. Not just because the words were uttered by my friend but because I realized that it didn’t surprise me all that much that he said it. His mouth editor had clearly been worn down over many years in a Facebook addiction of sorts, as well as other media and social influences. I remember cluing him several years before that he was having ongoing conversations with bots (cyber robots – not real people) though he couldn’t believe it. He was just loving it.
I know how it is. I’ve had to distance myself from Facebook (I post but don’t read much) so as not to accidentally run into posts from family members going at each after, or friends that I will simply have to engage if I see something I find offensive. And sure enough, right after the election I wandered in only to see a stickered post from a family member that said not only did she dislike Biden but that he was also a pedophile. Stopped me in my tracks. I left it alone and have only been back a couple times since.
These are just two of the most recent such engagements I’ve run into. There have been many over the Trump years since that long slow ride down the escalator. I am definitely in the middle of this war – and want to be a diplomat.
Of course, I also have friends and family that are highly charged on the left. But it’s not quite the same. For instance, no one has offered a vote for Stalin. Personally, I have voted for a mix of Republicans and Democrats going back to Reagan.
I’ve been equal parts bewildered and alarmed by all this. I value harmonious relationships with my loved ones and long for the days when politics were just not that big a deal all the time. I try to be understanding of the fact that there are lots of tough things going on, including relentless cyber attacks from adversaries and other subversive punches that are clearing landing. But we are Americans and as such are some of the luckiest people in the history of the world. If we can’t be happy then who can?
With so many catching this trend I decided that there must be more to this than them all simply watching Fox News and spending too much time on Facebook. I have traveled this country far and wide over the past five years or so (Trump’s time) and know it is more complicated. And that the folks that I would like to dismiss as monoliths are much more complicated in their view of the world. This is not just the old Republicans that originally shocked me with a reference to CNN as the Communist News Network all those years ago.
This film therefore has two purposes. First, a deep dive into what may be a new third party in American politics as Trump’s devotees (Neo-Know Nothing Republicans I call them), many who are not particularly devoted Republicans to begin with, split from the remaining Republican leadership that remains after Trump eventually leaves office. Or perhaps it is the old Republicans that will need to split – like the Lincoln Project folks perhaps.
Secondly, and likely more valuable is a personal account of what many millions of Americans are experiencing who are trying to navigate the minefields that their personal relationships have become.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but I only have so many friends and family members to begin with and I don’t want to lose any of them. I’ve already had to keep my distance from many friends since a little discussion about anything related to politics can quickly go off the rails. I lost a board member from the non-profit I run because they didn’t like something I wrote related to Trump. I almost had a fist fight over a dinner conversation that went south shortly after Trump was elected in 2016. In my own house! I’ve hardly seen that friend over the last four years because he simply cannot avoid some mention of Trump, and again the conversation quickly goes off the rails. So, I choose to simply avoid these folks to keep the peace. Better an old friend I see little than an enemy I may never see again.
So, I decided to make this documentary to capture the realities of where our society is, and where it goes. A kind of focus group that might help others similarly surrounded by Knickers and are also perhaps looking for ways to better understand their loved ones.
I know how it is. I’ve had to distance myself from Facebook (I post but don’t read much) so as not to accidentally run into posts from family members going at each after, or friends that I will simply have to engage if I see something I find offensive. And sure enough, right after the election I wandered in only to see a stickered post from a family member that said not only did she dislike Biden but that he was also a pedophile. Stopped me in my tracks. I left it alone and have only been back a couple times since.
These are just two of the most recent such engagements I’ve run into. There have been many over the Trump years since that long slow ride down the escalator. I am definitely in the middle of this war – and want to be a diplomat.
Of course, I also have friends and family that are highly charged on the left. But it’s not quite the same. For instance, no one has offered a vote for Stalin. Personally, I have voted for a mix of Republicans and Democrats going back to Reagan.
I’ve been equal parts bewildered and alarmed by all this. I value harmonious relationships with my loved ones and long for the days when politics were just not that big a deal all the time. I try to be understanding of the fact that there are lots of tough things going on, including relentless cyber attacks from adversaries and other subversive punches that are clearing landing. But we are Americans and as such are some of the luckiest people in the history of the world. If we can’t be happy then who can?
With so many catching this trend I decided that there must be more to this than them all simply watching Fox News and spending too much time on Facebook. I have traveled this country far and wide over the past five years or so (Trump’s time) and know it is more complicated. And that the folks that I would like to dismiss as monoliths are much more complicated in their view of the world. This is not just the old Republicans that originally shocked me with a reference to CNN as the Communist News Network all those years ago.
This film therefore has two purposes. First, a deep dive into what may be a new third party in American politics as Trump’s devotees (Neo-Know Nothing Republicans I call them), many who are not particularly devoted Republicans to begin with, split from the remaining Republican leadership that remains after Trump eventually leaves office. Or perhaps it is the old Republicans that will need to split – like the Lincoln Project folks perhaps.
Secondly, and likely more valuable is a personal account of what many millions of Americans are experiencing who are trying to navigate the minefields that their personal relationships have become.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but I only have so many friends and family members to begin with and I don’t want to lose any of them. I’ve already had to keep my distance from many friends since a little discussion about anything related to politics can quickly go off the rails. I lost a board member from the non-profit I run because they didn’t like something I wrote related to Trump. I almost had a fist fight over a dinner conversation that went south shortly after Trump was elected in 2016. In my own house! I’ve hardly seen that friend over the last four years because he simply cannot avoid some mention of Trump, and again the conversation quickly goes off the rails. So, I choose to simply avoid these folks to keep the peace. Better an old friend I see little than an enemy I may never see again.
So, I decided to make this documentary to capture the realities of where our society is, and where it goes. A kind of focus group that might help others similarly surrounded by Knickers and are also perhaps looking for ways to better understand their loved ones.
Views on Donald Trump
I was a lifelong Independent until the election of Trump, after which I became a Democrat as I felt that the Republicans had lost their way. I have voted for many Republicans over the years and was a loyal Ileana Ros-Lehtinen supporter because of her environmental stands with the Everglades. I did not vote for my new Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar but remain open and wish her well.
Since Trump’s defeat I have re-registered and am back to being non-affiliated.
I began studying Trump in the mid-1980’s as a young marketing research specialist for John Hancock in Boston. I saw that screwing folks over and coming out on top were not mutually exclusive outcomes as he demonstrated with Atlantic City back then. Later I flew regularly for a time on the now defunct Trump Shuttle from Boston to NYC in my role as a software entrepreneur. I never watched the Apprentice but like most everyone else in America was accustomed to Trump in the press.
I am definitely a “Never Trumper” I suppose. Primarily because I tend to vote the environment. I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about him over the past few years as I completed a Trump version of my study, Economics in the Gospels to see how Trump stacks up when imagined at the center of the Gospels economics lessons.
For more check out the Trump and the Gospels blog here.
For more about me please check out my page here.
I was a lifelong Independent until the election of Trump, after which I became a Democrat as I felt that the Republicans had lost their way. I have voted for many Republicans over the years and was a loyal Ileana Ros-Lehtinen supporter because of her environmental stands with the Everglades. I did not vote for my new Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar but remain open and wish her well.
Since Trump’s defeat I have re-registered and am back to being non-affiliated.
I began studying Trump in the mid-1980’s as a young marketing research specialist for John Hancock in Boston. I saw that screwing folks over and coming out on top were not mutually exclusive outcomes as he demonstrated with Atlantic City back then. Later I flew regularly for a time on the now defunct Trump Shuttle from Boston to NYC in my role as a software entrepreneur. I never watched the Apprentice but like most everyone else in America was accustomed to Trump in the press.
I am definitely a “Never Trumper” I suppose. Primarily because I tend to vote the environment. I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about him over the past few years as I completed a Trump version of my study, Economics in the Gospels to see how Trump stacks up when imagined at the center of the Gospels economics lessons.
For more check out the Trump and the Gospels blog here.
For more about me please check out my page here.