Trump built up an administration of likewise cabinet members who seem to run off their own revenge cycles. He will blame them as well as the rest of us. They in turn may blame him or their own leaders in the administration to make the case of being a victim of complicity when all is said and done. What a wicked web this is turning into. Hold on for a bumpy ride.
CC... it really is one sick, twisted cycle of behavior and emotions.
If there is anything I want people to be critically aware of...as we go into the Midterms...it's this:
1. Dominating the election is a MUST for Democracy to prevail.
And...
2. Dominating in the election will likely find us facing even HARDER times...and it can really be no other way. Going through even harder times is most assuredly going to be a very natural and necessary part of our path to a healthier country.
It's not that things will get even tougher...that would be the problem. The real problem...would result...from not KNOWING this...and being mentally and emotionally prepared for it...AHEAD of time.
I've always seen that as one of my PRIMARY roles with this newsletter: To prepare people...so the hell we encounter...will be a less hellish experience...subjectively.
Jack this was such an interesting and factual study that i could follow as i like things to make sense. The one DOJ guy saying no looks like he had his awakening...He will probably be charged with "something" for not carrying out orders. Maybe he decided his law degree was still worth something and he could reinvent himself into a "good" guy. I agree as others have said as we get closer to November we will see escalation intensify. We all better buckle-up for the ride...
For the most part, having been immersed in the field of psychology and the social sciences for over thirty years...I've found that the better we UNDERSTAND how things work...the less frightening they become, and the more we believe we might have a shot at either ALTERING how the future unfolds...or...COPING with it more effectively.
"We all better buckle up for the ride" indeed.
It's going to become shakier...for sure. The more we can realize that is a necessary and unavoidable aspect of getting to the "other-side" of this nonsense...and to something healthier...the more we will make the MAKE the MOST of it...and see it as a sign of PROGRESS...and NOT "backsliding."
I certainly don't like where all this leads, but I so appreciate the writing, Jack, and your insights. Long past time for people in this country to get serious about ousting this regime.
I would invite you to consider this: it can lead...ultimately... to something SPECTACULAR...compared to what we've experienced over the last 10 years. (Because Trump/MAGA never really went away during the Biden Era)
When we have a bad infection, we certainly don't like getting an IV and/or a blood culture to identify the pathogen. Big needles are never fun.
Yet...when we've been sick for some time...and feeling ROTTEN...we just want to feel GOOD and be healthy again, and once the Dr. tells us that identifying the "bug" making us sick will allow them to give us the treatment that will most effectively get us THERE...we don't give the needles a second thought.
We just feel RELIEF...BEFORE we've even had the injection that will ultimately find us feeling GOOD again.
That's exactly how I'm looking at the hell that may lie ahead. Given the president...and Congress we have...that mess is about as unavoidable as the needle to sample our blood.
From your keyboard to God's ears. I am super concerned that there aren't enough members of Congress who will kick it into high once the avalanche hits to keep us on that path to healthy you describe. Like, the momentum will just fizzle and we will be back to writing strongly worded memos, kind of thing. We won't survive that; we need to make this one count as it's never counted before....
Oh gosh, Jack, that makes so much sense. And, in a way, it makes it easier to understand his actions. Now, how to break the cycle of addiction? #HoldingFast (And did anyone else smile thinking that the researcher's name is JAMES KIMMEL? Do you think he might have a nickname?)
It will be interesting to see how the intersection of Trump's addiction and the Republican PArty's desire for financial and political gain proceeds. More than anything else the politician wants to remain in office. The office and the power associated with it is a drug, just like Trump's. Understanding what is going on will be the glue that keeps us from falling apart as Congress disassembles itself. Sane minds must prevail, though few of those minds are in a position to do anything about it. If congress doesn't rediscover its purpose, I fear the government collapse being predicted might just happen. I have an opinion as to what will happen once this starts, but I am reluctant to discuss it until I can gather my thoughts.
This will escalate.. the Orange Asshole will escalate.. that’s who he is.. his malignant narcissism won’t let him step away.. he feels powerful and all knowing.. and that drug is very very dangerous.. hold on everyone.. this is going to be a very bumpy ride into the midterms..
Americans continue to remind me of my passive father who sat by, watching my crazed, mentally ill mother create brutal chaos in my family for 17 years. I lived with her random terror.
No, that's NOT "why I became a doctor," but because of that, I became a much more effective advocate in PREVENTING and THWARTING potential sources of harm to my patients.
I've spent the last 26 years in a 3rd-world country, working with others to prevent or ameliorate the damage to also unwanted children.
No, I did not have to become noisy about it very often. Frequently my medical credentials allowed me to be quite influential. For sone, i was instrumental in prov8desca structure in preventing the children from going up in the chaos.
This is scary shit, and it makes a lot of sense. The scariest part is there is no one in a position to do an intervention that is willing to do an intervention. It’s looking more and more like he will leave the WH in either a body bag (natural causes) or straight jacket. Handcuffs won’t do any more.
I grew up in house with addiction (alcohol) and decided to do the work because I thought there was something wrong with me. Definitely have my issues…. and….. when I start down the whole victim road it’s a “self, wtf are you doing…. you know this isn’t true”….. And….. I’m here to tell ya’ the stance is absolutely insidious. It crops up in ways that blow your socks off when you least expect it.
In regards to t….. we definitely need to buckle in as it’s gonna get bumpy….. which is why establishing community with people that might not have the same beliefs gets important.
I’m not sure how we heal all of it. Seeing each other as humans first that, for the most part, want pretty much the same things is a start. And giving someone grace when you can….. you never know… the idiot that just pulled a real dick move in traffic may have just gotten REALLY bad news and simply wasn’t paying attention, nothing personal.
T is so damaged and the sycophants around him are NOT inclined to pump the brakes. Don’t know what the answer is…. getting lots of hugs from loved ones maybe? We need to prepare, do as much internal work on ourselves as we can. It could get ugly. Oh… And. F**king. VOTE!!!
Thank you, Jack for this article. And as someone has mentioned….. it’s NOT lost on me that the researcher is Kimmel….!
Jack another great and timely post! I have spent a good deal of time in the past few days thinking about the extreme response I expect will be coming if Trump and the Republicans suffer overwhelming losses in the midterms and, the resulting embarrassment, that will only add “gasoline” to the already burning rage that is eating at him. If there is a Blue “tsunami” I suspect the response will be immediate and crushing…he will attempt to “burn it all down”, knowing that his accountability, and that of his regime will be on the near horizon! I would put nothing past this madman at that point…launching a nuclear attack against Iran or worse!
What is the quote? "Revenge is a double edged sword" or something like that. So it resonants that that revenge is like a drug. We do have to look at all the triggers aimed at us, stoking our rage and fueling that desire for revenge. I personally, have shut of the political texts and emails from PACS that sell us victory and dire reports while asking for money. I will give directly to a candidate but not the machines that generate the fear and panic.
Trump and his whole administration are vile, cruel, greed fed corrupt grifters. Does Trump believe he is truly been persecuted and wronged? I believe he absolutely does because it fuels his narrative and speaks to others that feel that they have somehow been screwed over, and HE gets them. Perhaps the blinders have fallen off some of them. I hope that the midterms go the way I want. I am preparing myself for the countdown to them to get uglier. We have already seen illegal bribery and people pledging fealty to Trump at his convention.
What I do know is that I personally have learned to control what I can. Put my energies toward educating, informing and breathing deeply every day. #Holdfast
Jack, I had undiagnosed Lupus since I was 13 years old, nephritis and pernicious anemia were the bell ringers. When I was 28 a guy I was dating and would someday marry, said, try this, it will help with your fatigue and the litany of other problems that I was cursed with. It did. For several years. Until it didn't. I became addicted to cocaine to literally save my life, and then instead of it being my life saver, it became my executioner waiting. I quit using it cold turkey at about the same time a doctor finally diagnosed me at 38 with Lupus. So, I do know a thing or two about addiction. And, as the author said, the dose needed increases. trump has more than one addiction: Revenge definitely, power obviously, drugs probably, and young girls without a doubt. Each time his demand for revenge fails, he escalates -- the Reflecting Pool being a good example along with seashells on the seashore.
oooh! I've read this book, The Science of Revenge, and had the opportunity to talk with James Kimmel. He's an interesting and warm person to speak with. He's run his NonJustice System in a prison where we work and with a group of our staff. It's a fascinating exercise!
Let me actually say more about what’s fascinating about the exercise.
In the book, Kimmel lays out a hypothetical scenario designed to provoke visceral anger.
You dog sit for a neighbor in a pinch who has an aggressive dog. Your neighbor’s dog turns out to be a good boy, and you bond. Later, you ask your neighbor for a return favor. When you return, you neighbor apologetically tells you that your dog escaped at the dog park and he hasn’t been able to find it. Your neighbor helps you for weeks searching for your dog.
Weeks later, you get a drunken phone call from a stranger, asking if you can procure another dog for a fighting ring. You find out that your neighbor, who was watching your sweet rescue dog, brought him into a dog fighting ring and his fighting dog killed it. And lied. He dumped your dog’s body in a dumpster.
Later, Kimmel introduces his NonJustice System, or the Miracle Court, in which you take all of the roles of a courtroom…prosecution, defense, verdict, punishment, and final justice. The very last step asks you to reflect on the verdict and punishment you imposed in front of a different judge, who, to me, seems coded as a God-like figure.
I read through it and tried to imagine myself in that court. But it doesn’t compare AT ALL to having someone tell you to close your eyes and lead you through it.
In the punishment phase, you can imagine ANY punishment…not just something imposed by a real court.
When I did this with Kimmel and a group of my colleagues, keep in mind that we work with incarcerated populations. All of us are empathetic and working toward criminal justice reform, and there are a disproportionate number of MSWs in the group.
Because of the group composition and the work we do together, when Kimmel went around and asked our punishments, most people were pretty restrained. My colleagues wanted to take away the neighbor’s dog and give him a year of community service or something like that.
Perhaps because I knew what the next steps were, perhaps because I wanted not to play it safe and push my colleagues’ thinking, perhaps because I just wanted to be provocative, I shared the punishment that honestly leapt to my mind and didn’t self-censor.
I was specific. My punishment was intentionally survivable but brutal. I put the neighbor into a cage for 15 minutes positioned between a black bear and her cubs. Notice that it’s a black bear, not a grizzly, and a limited period of time.
My colleagues were like, “Damn, Julie!” Kimmel then pointed out that in groups of psychologists, MSWs, and other “helpers,” he often gets people cheering for punishments that put the neighbor into a dog fighting ring.
I don’t regret going out on a limb because the rest of Kimmel’s exercise asks you to reflect on that impulse to revenge. It’s cathartic. I think he’s positing that you can carry out the worst possible revenge in the court of your mind and learn to let it go.
And no, I don’t think this would work for Trump, so everything Jack is forecasting is real. Trump will escalate. But Kimmel has found a way to break the revenge addition for the rest of us.
Trump built up an administration of likewise cabinet members who seem to run off their own revenge cycles. He will blame them as well as the rest of us. They in turn may blame him or their own leaders in the administration to make the case of being a victim of complicity when all is said and done. What a wicked web this is turning into. Hold on for a bumpy ride.
#HOLDFAST #OUTLAST #STANDFAST
CC... it really is one sick, twisted cycle of behavior and emotions.
If there is anything I want people to be critically aware of...as we go into the Midterms...it's this:
1. Dominating the election is a MUST for Democracy to prevail.
And...
2. Dominating in the election will likely find us facing even HARDER times...and it can really be no other way. Going through even harder times is most assuredly going to be a very natural and necessary part of our path to a healthier country.
It's not that things will get even tougher...that would be the problem. The real problem...would result...from not KNOWING this...and being mentally and emotionally prepared for it...AHEAD of time.
I've always seen that as one of my PRIMARY roles with this newsletter: To prepare people...so the hell we encounter...will be a less hellish experience...subjectively.
#HOLFAST #OUTLAST #STANDFAST
-Jack
And of THAT, Jack, you DO!!
Jack this was such an interesting and factual study that i could follow as i like things to make sense. The one DOJ guy saying no looks like he had his awakening...He will probably be charged with "something" for not carrying out orders. Maybe he decided his law degree was still worth something and he could reinvent himself into a "good" guy. I agree as others have said as we get closer to November we will see escalation intensify. We all better buckle-up for the ride...
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri...it really is.
For the most part, having been immersed in the field of psychology and the social sciences for over thirty years...I've found that the better we UNDERSTAND how things work...the less frightening they become, and the more we believe we might have a shot at either ALTERING how the future unfolds...or...COPING with it more effectively.
"We all better buckle up for the ride" indeed.
It's going to become shakier...for sure. The more we can realize that is a necessary and unavoidable aspect of getting to the "other-side" of this nonsense...and to something healthier...the more we will make the MAKE the MOST of it...and see it as a sign of PROGRESS...and NOT "backsliding."
#HOLDFAST
-Jack
I certainly don't like where all this leads, but I so appreciate the writing, Jack, and your insights. Long past time for people in this country to get serious about ousting this regime.
Maggie...I get it. I do.
I would invite you to consider this: it can lead...ultimately... to something SPECTACULAR...compared to what we've experienced over the last 10 years. (Because Trump/MAGA never really went away during the Biden Era)
When we have a bad infection, we certainly don't like getting an IV and/or a blood culture to identify the pathogen. Big needles are never fun.
Yet...when we've been sick for some time...and feeling ROTTEN...we just want to feel GOOD and be healthy again, and once the Dr. tells us that identifying the "bug" making us sick will allow them to give us the treatment that will most effectively get us THERE...we don't give the needles a second thought.
We just feel RELIEF...BEFORE we've even had the injection that will ultimately find us feeling GOOD again.
That's exactly how I'm looking at the hell that may lie ahead. Given the president...and Congress we have...that mess is about as unavoidable as the needle to sample our blood.
-Jack
From your keyboard to God's ears. I am super concerned that there aren't enough members of Congress who will kick it into high once the avalanche hits to keep us on that path to healthy you describe. Like, the momentum will just fizzle and we will be back to writing strongly worded memos, kind of thing. We won't survive that; we need to make this one count as it's never counted before....
Oh gosh, Jack, that makes so much sense. And, in a way, it makes it easier to understand his actions. Now, how to break the cycle of addiction? #HoldingFast (And did anyone else smile thinking that the researcher's name is JAMES KIMMEL? Do you think he might have a nickname?)
Roberta...fascinating, eh?!
I'll have to admit...I stopped...and grinned more than once...about the Jimmy Kimmel/James Kimmel thing. Amusing at the very least.
#HoldingFast...is absolutely a KEY factor...in how we move forward. No doubt about it.
-Jack
I did!!!
It will be interesting to see how the intersection of Trump's addiction and the Republican PArty's desire for financial and political gain proceeds. More than anything else the politician wants to remain in office. The office and the power associated with it is a drug, just like Trump's. Understanding what is going on will be the glue that keeps us from falling apart as Congress disassembles itself. Sane minds must prevail, though few of those minds are in a position to do anything about it. If congress doesn't rediscover its purpose, I fear the government collapse being predicted might just happen. I have an opinion as to what will happen once this starts, but I am reluctant to discuss it until I can gather my thoughts.
Keep swinging Jack.
This will escalate.. the Orange Asshole will escalate.. that’s who he is.. his malignant narcissism won’t let him step away.. he feels powerful and all knowing.. and that drug is very very dangerous.. hold on everyone.. this is going to be a very bumpy ride into the midterms..
#HOLDFAST and #RESIST
Americans continue to remind me of my passive father who sat by, watching my crazed, mentally ill mother create brutal chaos in my family for 17 years. I lived with her random terror.
No, that's NOT "why I became a doctor," but because of that, I became a much more effective advocate in PREVENTING and THWARTING potential sources of harm to my patients.
I've spent the last 26 years in a 3rd-world country, working with others to prevent or ameliorate the damage to also unwanted children.
No, I did not have to become noisy about it very often. Frequently my medical credentials allowed me to be quite influential. For sone, i was instrumental in prov8desca structure in preventing the children from going up in the chaos.
My father's NEGATIVE example.
The worst excuse is "I'll pray about it."
This is scary shit, and it makes a lot of sense. The scariest part is there is no one in a position to do an intervention that is willing to do an intervention. It’s looking more and more like he will leave the WH in either a body bag (natural causes) or straight jacket. Handcuffs won’t do any more.
I think it was the Other Jimmy that said trump now wants to name the strait after himself, but this time the straight is a jacket.
Yes, yes and yes…..
I grew up in house with addiction (alcohol) and decided to do the work because I thought there was something wrong with me. Definitely have my issues…. and….. when I start down the whole victim road it’s a “self, wtf are you doing…. you know this isn’t true”….. And….. I’m here to tell ya’ the stance is absolutely insidious. It crops up in ways that blow your socks off when you least expect it.
In regards to t….. we definitely need to buckle in as it’s gonna get bumpy….. which is why establishing community with people that might not have the same beliefs gets important.
I’m not sure how we heal all of it. Seeing each other as humans first that, for the most part, want pretty much the same things is a start. And giving someone grace when you can….. you never know… the idiot that just pulled a real dick move in traffic may have just gotten REALLY bad news and simply wasn’t paying attention, nothing personal.
T is so damaged and the sycophants around him are NOT inclined to pump the brakes. Don’t know what the answer is…. getting lots of hugs from loved ones maybe? We need to prepare, do as much internal work on ourselves as we can. It could get ugly. Oh… And. F**king. VOTE!!!
Thank you, Jack for this article. And as someone has mentioned….. it’s NOT lost on me that the researcher is Kimmel….!
#HoldingFast (sometimes by a thread…. lol)
Jack another great and timely post! I have spent a good deal of time in the past few days thinking about the extreme response I expect will be coming if Trump and the Republicans suffer overwhelming losses in the midterms and, the resulting embarrassment, that will only add “gasoline” to the already burning rage that is eating at him. If there is a Blue “tsunami” I suspect the response will be immediate and crushing…he will attempt to “burn it all down”, knowing that his accountability, and that of his regime will be on the near horizon! I would put nothing past this madman at that point…launching a nuclear attack against Iran or worse!
#HoldingFast and #Resisting
Christie
What is the quote? "Revenge is a double edged sword" or something like that. So it resonants that that revenge is like a drug. We do have to look at all the triggers aimed at us, stoking our rage and fueling that desire for revenge. I personally, have shut of the political texts and emails from PACS that sell us victory and dire reports while asking for money. I will give directly to a candidate but not the machines that generate the fear and panic.
Trump and his whole administration are vile, cruel, greed fed corrupt grifters. Does Trump believe he is truly been persecuted and wronged? I believe he absolutely does because it fuels his narrative and speaks to others that feel that they have somehow been screwed over, and HE gets them. Perhaps the blinders have fallen off some of them. I hope that the midterms go the way I want. I am preparing myself for the countdown to them to get uglier. We have already seen illegal bribery and people pledging fealty to Trump at his convention.
What I do know is that I personally have learned to control what I can. Put my energies toward educating, informing and breathing deeply every day. #Holdfast
Jack, I had undiagnosed Lupus since I was 13 years old, nephritis and pernicious anemia were the bell ringers. When I was 28 a guy I was dating and would someday marry, said, try this, it will help with your fatigue and the litany of other problems that I was cursed with. It did. For several years. Until it didn't. I became addicted to cocaine to literally save my life, and then instead of it being my life saver, it became my executioner waiting. I quit using it cold turkey at about the same time a doctor finally diagnosed me at 38 with Lupus. So, I do know a thing or two about addiction. And, as the author said, the dose needed increases. trump has more than one addiction: Revenge definitely, power obviously, drugs probably, and young girls without a doubt. Each time his demand for revenge fails, he escalates -- the Reflecting Pool being a good example along with seashells on the seashore.
##HoldFast
Sue
oooh! I've read this book, The Science of Revenge, and had the opportunity to talk with James Kimmel. He's an interesting and warm person to speak with. He's run his NonJustice System in a prison where we work and with a group of our staff. It's a fascinating exercise!
Let me actually say more about what’s fascinating about the exercise.
In the book, Kimmel lays out a hypothetical scenario designed to provoke visceral anger.
You dog sit for a neighbor in a pinch who has an aggressive dog. Your neighbor’s dog turns out to be a good boy, and you bond. Later, you ask your neighbor for a return favor. When you return, you neighbor apologetically tells you that your dog escaped at the dog park and he hasn’t been able to find it. Your neighbor helps you for weeks searching for your dog.
Weeks later, you get a drunken phone call from a stranger, asking if you can procure another dog for a fighting ring. You find out that your neighbor, who was watching your sweet rescue dog, brought him into a dog fighting ring and his fighting dog killed it. And lied. He dumped your dog’s body in a dumpster.
Later, Kimmel introduces his NonJustice System, or the Miracle Court, in which you take all of the roles of a courtroom…prosecution, defense, verdict, punishment, and final justice. The very last step asks you to reflect on the verdict and punishment you imposed in front of a different judge, who, to me, seems coded as a God-like figure.
I read through it and tried to imagine myself in that court. But it doesn’t compare AT ALL to having someone tell you to close your eyes and lead you through it.
In the punishment phase, you can imagine ANY punishment…not just something imposed by a real court.
When I did this with Kimmel and a group of my colleagues, keep in mind that we work with incarcerated populations. All of us are empathetic and working toward criminal justice reform, and there are a disproportionate number of MSWs in the group.
Because of the group composition and the work we do together, when Kimmel went around and asked our punishments, most people were pretty restrained. My colleagues wanted to take away the neighbor’s dog and give him a year of community service or something like that.
Perhaps because I knew what the next steps were, perhaps because I wanted not to play it safe and push my colleagues’ thinking, perhaps because I just wanted to be provocative, I shared the punishment that honestly leapt to my mind and didn’t self-censor.
I was specific. My punishment was intentionally survivable but brutal. I put the neighbor into a cage for 15 minutes positioned between a black bear and her cubs. Notice that it’s a black bear, not a grizzly, and a limited period of time.
My colleagues were like, “Damn, Julie!” Kimmel then pointed out that in groups of psychologists, MSWs, and other “helpers,” he often gets people cheering for punishments that put the neighbor into a dog fighting ring.
I don’t regret going out on a limb because the rest of Kimmel’s exercise asks you to reflect on that impulse to revenge. It’s cathartic. I think he’s positing that you can carry out the worst possible revenge in the court of your mind and learn to let it go.
And no, I don’t think this would work for Trump, so everything Jack is forecasting is real. Trump will escalate. But Kimmel has found a way to break the revenge addition for the rest of us.
Check it out: https://nonjustice.org/the-nonjustice-system/
And also, read this book!
What ALL of us are finding out in real time...
NEVER EVER TRUST A BULLY..
because they are SO insecure narcissistic and paranoid that sooner than later EVERYONE becomes one of their TARGETS!!
Interesting book...The Gift OF FEAR by Gavin De Becker....
Talks about Survival Signals that protect us from violence!
A good read.
Powerful piece and a must read.
My question: Does the good doctor have any suggestions to break the spell? How did he prevent his own mass shooting?