12/06/2020

My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,

            Do you like being bemused? It’s the B between A & C. It’s kind of like being Amused but not quite as fun. It’s not nearly as bad as being Confused. It’s the state of being puzzled - what Piaget called “cognitive dissonance” when the neurons are firing but hitting some interference. It’s a humbling experience so perhaps you avoid it. I welcome it, because it’s my learning zone & I always come out of it feeling better.

            Today I was bemused reading Ligaya Mishan’s piece in the NYT on Cancel Culture. I am intrigued by the idea because I continue to wonder if I should persist in being a fan of the Oz books after learning that Frank Baum suggested that Native Americans be exterminated. The books were wonderful read-aloud books for my daughter with short, engrossing chapters written with a vivid plot line & big words. We both enjoyed them being innocent of the author’s darker side. I have qualms about Picasso’s paintings & Bill Crosby’s humor, too. What do you think? Do you appreciate the art produced by flawed people or should we cancel them?

            Mishan’s piece was bemusing because she wrote about Pharmakos & scape goats & renrou sousuo, weaving together philosophy & linguistics to explore the implications of people being “hounded, verbally flogged and effectively expelled from the community.” She wonders “what explains the urgent need to not just call out but condemn?” I wonder about that, too.

I especially wonder why you feel the need to publicly shame your former friends. It really troubles me to see the way that you are treating GA Gov Brian Kemp (BPK). The poor guy is grieving & he’s trying to do the right thing. Mishan writes that scapegoats, “relieve the condemners of the burden of wrestling with their own wrongs.” Is that why you are being so hard on BPK?

            I hope you’ll reflect on that today. Perhaps you, too, will be bemused.

            HYITL,