GSCENE 53
WALL’S WORDS BY MIKE WALL
GAY WISDOM BY GAY SOCRATES
PRESIDENT CHUMP, SORRY I MEANT TRUMP
WARNING: YOUTH ADVICE ALERT!
) What would the world be like with Donald Trump as President of America? I know that it sends a shudder down my spine and back up again every time the concept pops into my head. A colleague of mine said the other day that “within six months it would be like the world of Mad Max, but with Donald Trump as Mad Max or perhaps as Tina Turner”. The notion of Trump wearing a leather body-hugging suit, high stilettos and standing in the thunderdrome shouting “two men enter, one man leaves” made me laugh out loud. But then a few seconds later I was thinking to myself, shit that might not be too far from the truth.
) The great queer Faerie poet-film-maker James Broughton once said: ‘Crazy old men are essential to society. Otherwise young men have no suitable role models’.
I can't stop thinking of the four horses of the apocalypse, death, famine war and conquest. Trump is all four rolled into one globulous ugly mess, with a squirrel tail for hair. Recently he came out with the statement that he would deport 'criminal illegal immigrants... within one hour of swearing-in’. How exactly does he possibly think that he could even begin to set that in motion? How many people would he need to assist him in rounding up the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants that live in the USA?
A young friend told me that he’d recently had a tarot reading and from this he learned that he needed a teacher. How do the young learn from the old? Eight years ago, when I first conceived of my GaySocrates blog, my stated intention was: ‘from an experienced and seasoned perspective, to wisely corrupt the gay youth of today with love’. Back then, in my late 40s, I felt that a number of factors had conspired to keep me from accessing the elder wisdom of my queer tribe. Firstly my very queerness had inoculated me against trusting any form of authority. Secondly, I was aware that elderly queers had lived through hard times; their fundamental nature had been criminalised and construed as illness to be medically attacked so they were highly likely to have been f***ed up by this. Thirdly, for me, AIDS had wiped out a whole swathe of what might have become ‘big sisters’ to me and my generation. All the potential advice and guidance they might have offered had gone up in a sad puff of crematorial smoke. And last, but by no means least, there was that creeping ageism out in our wider society which was becoming especially pernicious out on the gay pub and club scene which meant that most of the older folk I might have bumped into over a drink or two were voting with their feet and staying at home with their friends and partners. So that’s how the blog and subsequently this Gscene column came about. I wondered if there would be any value in putting my aged musings out there for the perusal of any youth, who like me, felt a kind of ‘elder deficit’. I’ve learned a lot over these past 8 years.
“I can’t stop thinking of the four horses of the apocalypse, death, famine war and conquest. Trump is all four rolled into one globulous ugly mess” And, he is still going on about getting the Mexican Government to pay for an "impenetrable and beautiful" wall between the two countries, and I quote - “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” This is also the man who said that the Mexicans were only sending people with problems to the USA; drug users and rapists. What is wrong with this man?
1) Probably the most important lesson has been to stop looking for the amazingly wise teacher who will offer all that advice and those fabulous make-up tips! At least for me, the idea that this person exists is a mirage. 2) Instead my learning has come from the rich tapestry of friends and relationships (old, young and in between) I’ve encountered in Faeriespace away from the gay cis-male monoculture of the scene. 3) Anyone who ever purported to be a teacher of wisdom for me, probably learned far more from me than I ever did from them! 4) There is great value in appreciating the flaws of a self proclaimed guru. As Leonard Cohen famously said: ‘Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in!’
He was also once quoted to have said "My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure; it's not your fault." Don’t worry Donald; I don’t think anybody is feeling insecure. Another confusing quote of his was “I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.” What does that even mean? That he has gay friends or that he is a traditionalist and therefore he doesn’t approve? Whatever he meant I worry that if elected his next aim would probably be to deport the gays too. I have often thought that perhaps he secretly wants Hillary Clinton to be the next President and that is why he comes out with these truly insane statements. If this is the case, he has sadly and mistakenly expected a lot more intelligence from his fellow Americans. It is terrifying to think that a man filled with so much hate has so many supporters. I understand that a lot of people cannot stand the idea of Hillary Clinton becoming President, but please… Donald Trump?
Having said all this please be warned: ‘Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.’ - Baz Luhrmann