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    Trump should be hospitalized to prevent his mental pathology from inciting another episode of group violence

    Madeline Taylor and Bandy X. Lee
    January 12, 2021

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    Trump's daily rallies reveal the staggering number of battleground states in play this election: analysis
    President Trump concludes his campaign speech at the rally in the Bojangle's Coliseum. (Jeffery Edwards / Shutterstock.com)

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    Madeline Taylor and Bandy X. Lee

    Even before the nation could recover from Donald Trump's violent insurrection at the Capitol, a QAnon propaganda video calling for a "great reawakening" in the U.S. ahead of the coming Jan. 20 inauguration was posted—seemingly inciting more violence before it was taken down. A string of social media platforms have banned Donald Trump and his hateful followers.

    But will this be sufficient to stop him from being a danger?

    No. The assault on an entire branch of government, both physically and metaphorically, now no longer allows us to dismiss Trump's pathology as mere idiosyncrasies, just "Trump being Trump," or his being little more than a "jerk". He is exhibiting serious symptoms that pose a profound danger to society. Seeing him as "merely" a brutish and bad politician may seem to work for a while, but does not explain the intense emotional responses Donald Trump arouses from his followers.

    The assault on an entire branch of government now no longer allows us to dismiss Trump's pathology as mere idiosyncrasies.

    By what mechanism do they abandon all reason in such strong attachment to him, that they would unquestioningly adopt his false beliefs, commit crimes, physically attack police officers, threaten the lives of members of Congress, and ransack the People's House in response to him? That for a man who, after telling his followers, "I'll be there with you," got into a bullet-proof limousine and returned to the White House, where he held a watch party of the violent insurrection on television.

    Mental pathology defies the imagination and does not make rational sense to most persons who are untrained in it and do not deal with it on a daily basis. When people wonder how Donald Trump controls the emotions of his followers, "unconscious" mechanisms are dominant. What is not commonly known is that, according to brain scientists, over 95% of mental activity is unconscious. When the conscious, highest-functioning part of the mind is impaired, "the primitive brain" takes over greater control, operating on a relentless, often violent, survival mode.

    Regressed Children

    The regressed, injured child in Donald Trump speaks unconsciously to the regressed, injured children in his followers. They likely have legitimate, "archaic" grievances, which are grievances going back to the earliest stages of their infancy and early childhood, and now, in the present moment, those grievances are symbolized in the political situation. They feel wronged, as if something had been "stolen" from them, and their voice, their honor, and the respect they deserve are at stake.

    Donald Trump frequently speaks in generalities, and his listeners fill in the blanks about what he means, how he feels, and what they are supposed to do for him. As president, he does not have to give direct orders for his followers to understand what they are supposed to do, including attack, kidnap, and possibly even kill. He can be a terrorist by means of proxy through his words. Charging his followers to "liberate" the economy, Trump sent them to exhort governors in the same manner that Henry II once dispatched a group of knights after his target by merely suggesting: "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

    When Donald Trump strengthens his position of parental omnipotence, which he does when he suggests: "we've taken care of things. We've done things like nobody's ever thought possible." Anyone else "should not be in there, and our country will be destroyed." In an infantile attachment for their own security, their sense of self is a mirror reflection of his. His needs are their needs, and his perspective theirs; and they live to please him, which is why they would also give their lives for him.

    Pelosi as Mother Figure

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), on the other hand, could be experienced as the "bad mother," the disinterested, unempathic mother who does not respond to their emotional needs and does not care about them, no matter her actual policies or sentiments. Vice President Mike Pence could symbolize the preoccupied, villainous figure who has failed to support the legitimacy of their surrogate self, which is Donald Trump and is now the target of their retribution.

    German Chancellor Adolf Hitler did the same thing, according to Polish-Swiss psychologist Alice Miller. He was horribly abused as a child, beaten daily by his father and unprotected by his mother. The German people were largely raised the same way, which gave him a ready audience that grabbed onto his permission for their rage and pain, as well as a self-righteous attitude.

    Seeking Daddy Approval

    Donald Trump's insurrectionists similarly seek daddy's approval and protection. The out-and-out fascist symbolism, physical brutality, and Nazi-type T-shirts saying, "Camp Auschwitz" and "6MWE" (which stands for "six million weren't enough")—as well as a gallows and other hangman's ropes—show that they resonate with this type of psychological "activation".

    We are not used to talking about unconscious processes in everyday life, but to analysts of the mind, they are a highly useful concept. They help explain disorders of arrested development, as well as the collective "regression" that arise in times of socio-economic and political distress, when these characteristics may temporarily become very prominent in a population.

    How will Donald Trump's followers respond in his absence from social media? As the separation brings them closer to the reality of his imperfections, and the deprivation causes them stress, there will likely respond angrily and defensively. He, too, will be fighting for his lifeline and, without proper containment, may find a way to reach his followers and to give them another message for violent upheaval. Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, could become another day of great danger.

    Our recommendation is now that demands for resignation, impeachment, and 25th Amendment hearings all happen simultaneously and forcefully while ensuring guardrails. If proper guardrails cannot be arranged, an involuntary psychiatric hold for immediate evaluation is recommended. He is likely to suffer progressive deterioration of his mental state and impulse control over the next hours and days, and hospitalization will prevent him from directing another episode of group violence. The safety of our nation and the world may be at stake.

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    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Trump doesn’t have a legal team or any kind of plan for his impeachment: report

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 21, 2021

    President Donald Trump left Washington Wednesday morning while most of his former aides were still asleep. But he's going to need some help moving forward.

    CNBC reported Thursday that as the Senate readies to take up the impeachment trial, the ex-president doesn't have a legal team or a strategy for dealing with it.

    "The failure to prepare for the trial is consistent with Trump's behavior this month, where he did little actual work related to the presidency," the report said.

    Among his final acts in office, he reportedly instructed staff not to pay Rudy Giuliani for legal services, which included months of attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. Giuliani has already said that he can't be on the legal team for Trump since he's named as being part of the case.

    "Senate Democratic leaders as of Thursday morning said that they did not know when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will send them the article of impeachment passed last week by the House," the report said. "Ten GOP House members joined all Democratic members in approving the impeachment."

    Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that he hopes there is a legitimate trial this time, as opposed to the previous impeachment where Republicans refused to allow witnesses to be called and evidence to be submitted.

    "You know, it isn't like, oh, did somebody come into the Capitol," Durbin said. "We know the Capitol policeman was killed, and we saw the damage that was done."

    "In that respect, it isn't like what in the hell was going on in that telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president?" he also said of the trial.

    Democrats hold control of the Senate in a 50/50 split, but there are Republicans who indicated they opposed the insurrection attempt on the Capitol and the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. Americans overwhelmingly oppose the insurrection and last week, 57 percent of respondents said that it was an act of terrorism.

    A Trump impeachment may seem useless since he is no longer in office, but if convicted Trump couldn't run for office again in 2024 and he would lose up to $1 million annually in pension, health care and staff. It would take 17 Republicans and all Democrats to convict Trump. For Republicans hoping to run for office in 2024, getting Trump out of the way would be helpful but it would kill them with Trump's voters.

    Read the full report.

    'Are we on another planet right now?' Liberal pundit laughs in Fox News host's face over Biden complaints

    David Edwards
    January 21, 2021

    Left-leaning activist Nomiki Konst pushed back against Fox News host Harris Faulkner after she complained that the press has not been tough enough on Joe Biden during his first 24 hours in office.

    "President Biden's White House press secretary is facing mostly friendly questioning," Faulkner said. "A stark contrast for what we were seeing for President Trump's press secretaries."

    Conservative pundit Matt Schlapp argued that Trump was never given a "honeymoon" period by members of the press.

    "Half of this country adores what President Trump had to put up with," Schlapp opined. "The persecution of Trump and his supporters with impeachment, it is terrible politics for Joe Biden. If he wants healing, stop the madness."

    Konst responded: "I'm not sure how [White House Press Secretary] Jen Psaki treating the press like they are actual reporters has to do with not healing the country. I lost the logic there."

    "Nomiki, let me just step in," Faulkner interrupted. "Are you honestly saying that you don't see the percentage being higher of negativity in terms of coverage for President Trump than already we have seen with Biden?"

    At that point, Konst burst out in laughter.

    "It really is obvious," Faulkner continued. "So the question is, doesn't the country deserve to see transparency at this point, which is what Jen Psaki offered? So it does further divide the country if we're not getting the truth."

    Schlapp agreed that Faulkner's assessment was "exactly right."

    "Being a press secretary for a Democratic president is night and day between being a press secretary for a Republican president," Schlapp said. "They just are against our policies! And what's funny about the Trump policies is they're very popular."

    "Matt, Trump should have hired you to be press secretary," Konst chimed in before laughing involuntarily. "Again, this is day one and I can't believe -- I'm like, are we on another planet right now? She's had one press conference where she literally just introduced herself to the press corps. And we're suddenly saying that there's a double standard!"

    Faulkner, however, was not convinced.

    "They asked Jen Psaki about the preferred colors inside the White House," the Fox News host noted. "Shots in arms! We were promised a million a day by the new president. Might have started there."

    Watch the video below from Fox News.

    A law to crow about: France upholds rural 'sensory heritage'

    Agence France-Presse
    January 21, 2021

    From crowing roosters to the whiff of barnyard animals, the "sensory heritage" of France's countryside will now be protected by law from attempts to stifle the everyday aspects of rural life from newcomers looking for peace and quiet.

    French senators on Thursday gave final approval to a law proposed in the wake of several high-profile conflicts by village residents and vacationers, or recent arrivals derided as "neo-rurals".

    A rowdy rooster named Maurice in particular made headlines in 2019 after a court in western France rejected a bid to have him silenced by neighbours who had purchased a holiday home nearby.

    "Living in the countryside implies accepting some nuisances," Joel Giraud, the government's minister in charge of rural life, told lawmakers.

    Cow bells (and cow droppings), grasshopper chirps and noisy early-morning tractors are also now considered part of France's natural heritage that will be codified in its environmental legislation.

    "It sends a strong message," said Pierre-Antoine Levi, the senator who acted as rapporteur for the bill.

    "It can act as a useful tool for local officials as they carry out their educational and mediation duties," he said.

    The law is emblematic of growing tensions in the countryside between longtime residents and outsiders whose bucolic expectations often clash with everyday realities.

    Corinne Fesseau and her rooster Maurice became the image of the fight when she was brought to court by pensioners next door over the animal's shrill wake-up calls.

    Critics saw the lawsuit as part of a broader threat to France's hallowed rural heritage by outsiders and city dwellers unable or unwilling to understand the realities of country life.

    Thousands of people signed a "Save Maurice" petition, and a judge eventually upheld the cock-a-doodle-doos.

    In another case from 2019, a woman in the duck-breeding heartland of the Landes region was brought to court by a newcomer neighbour fed up with the babbling of the ducks and geese in her back garden.

    A court in southwest France also threw out that case.

    © 2021 AFP

     
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