The Sign Against The Donald

Trump took a couple of hits tonight – losing Maine was a surprise – and apparently he did as well as he did only because of big leads in early voting, faring much worse among those who voted on Election Day. Still, he’s more likely than not to be the Republican nominee – just above three in five, according to the latest odds – and he has a strong claim to being the most personally loathsome character ever to get this close to the Presidency. So there’s a patriotic duty to help take him down.

Anyway, everyone wants to see a bully get what’s coming to him.

What the country really needs right now is a public meltdown by The Donald. And clearly the two things that most drive him around the bend are (1) ridicule and (2) any challenge to his masculinity.

So here’s a simple idea. Every time anyone mentions Donald Trump, make this familiar – and entirely proper – gesture.

Just as the superstitious make the Sign Against the Evil Eye to ward off misfortune when speaking or hearing words of ill omen, let us all make The Sign Against The Donald whenever we say or hear the accursed name.

If you’re feeling creative, you might incorporate The Sign, with the Trump name or image, into a T-shirt, cap (presumably in red), or poster.

Better yet, if you’re bold enough to go to a Trump rally, or fortunate enough to encounter him in public, don’t shout rude slogans; just hold up your hand and make The Sign Against The Donald.  For extra bonus points, you could do so while whistling the Colonel Bogey march.

Update An early adopter.

The meme is taking off.

 

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

11 thoughts on “The Sign Against The Donald”

    1. As opposed to the candidate making comments about his genitals on national television?

      1. You're right, the original jab against him was juvenile, but he should have ignored it.

        Doesn't mean continuing it isn't juvenile.

  2. I wonder if it's accurate to interpret a better showing in early voting than on election day as a sign that a candidate's support has waned. That assumes that the early voters are a random sample of the population, just as if they were a poll sample. But one can imagine many ways early voters are different, such that the difference observed is driven by other factors than time.

  3. he has a strong claim to being the most personally loathsome character ever to get this close to the Presidency.

    Richard Nixon? Spiro Agnew? And there are candidates from earlier American history as well. Calhoun, Jackson?

    Trump has many unattractive qualities, but he is neither a murderer nor a slaveholder.

    1. …and he has a sense of humor, which puts him ahead of some of his current competition.

  4. It feels kind of gross to mock someone for their (implied) genital size. Yeah, I know that's the type of thing that will genuinely piss Trump off, but still . . .

    I'd rather just call him a faker, demand to see an audit of his wealth. Keep saying he's lying about how rich he is.

  8. Why doesn't he-man Trump promise to introduce sharia law and legal polygamy?

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