
A predator in the animal kingdom is defined as an animal that kills or eats other animals for food. The most successful predators are not necessarily the biggest and the strongest. They are the ones with the sharpest predatory instincts. They are fast. They have heightened senses. They have good camoflage. They can attack without their prey ever sensing that they are in danger.
Richard Heinberg has studied predators. Human groups have “preyed” upon one another via two main pathways—intragroup and intergroup—which have often intersected or run parallel. Members of a complex society can “prey” upon other members of the same society via slavery (including sex slavery and debt slavery), caste, class, taxes, rents, crime, and debt; on the other hand, one society can “prey” upon a different society through raid, invasion, plunder, conquest, colonization, or (again) debt.
Humans have been predators or scavengers throughout our evolutionary history, in that we are animals that eat other animals. But as we humans have come to harvest more and more of Earth’s productivity, we have become, in effect, “super-predators.”
Life in the Boomer Lane has read countless descriptions of Donald Trump. He is obese. He has an orange face and a hairstyle that defies the laws of physics. He has an extremely limited vocabulary. Both his written and verbal communications are indicative of someone who has not fully mastered the English language. He has a non-existant attention span. He has little ability to conceptualize. He is a child. He is a demented child. He is incapable of empathy. He is evil. He is thin-skinned. He is vindictive. He is a bully and a womanizer and a narcissist and a fool.
What he makes up for in all these failings is his instinct for predatory behavior. It is an instinct that has allowed him to survive and thrive in a real estate business that he doesn’t actually understand very well. He doesn’t need to. He only needs to decide what is best for him and to then be the scariest person in the room, someone with good lawyers at his disposal, who hurls threats that he may or may not follow through on. But you don’t want to take the chance.
As president, he doesn’t have to understand the Constitution or how our government works. He doesn’t have to know our history. He doesn’t have to read daily briefings or listen to advice. He doesn’t have to understand that others countries share the planet with him. He only has to decide what is best for him and to then be the scariest person in the room, someone with good lawyers and a vast military at his disposal., who hurls threats that he may or may not follow through on. Nobody wants to take the chance.
The country is his stalking ground. The population is his prey. There is no part of the country or of its people that serves any other purpose for him. His vision is quite simple: to stalk, to consume, to continue to feed his hunger. He differs only in one respect from a traditional predator. He demands that his prey adore him and to be grateful for being consumed.
Kamala Harris knows a predator when she sees one. Many others do, as well. Let us hope that, come November, enough people make the decision to be something other than Donald Trump’s prey.
montanalulu
August 21, 2020
bravo! great column today! dump tRump!
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Thanks. I wish he didn’t inspire me so much.
Anonymous
August 21, 2020
Two thumbs up! If I had more, they would all be yours.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Ah, thank you. I’m overwhelmed.
R.E. Berg
August 21, 2020
Reblogged this on A Berg's Eye View.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Thanks for the reblog!
jlheuer
August 21, 2020
Very good. Shared to my FB page.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Many thanks for that.
Phyllis
August 21, 2020
Wow what a powerful piece. You have hit the mark in a way that I’ve not read before. Well done!
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Thank you, thank you. xxoo
Peter's pondering
August 21, 2020
Well said Renee. You’ve hit the nail on the head!
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
Many thanks. I would make a comment about hitting something on the head, but I’m afraid federal troops in unmarked cars would be arriving at my door.
Keith
August 21, 2020
Renee, I will not argue with your assertion. When two-time Pulitzer prize winner Bob Woodward was looking for a title for his book on the Trump White House based on 750 hours of interviews, he saw an interview by NBC’s Lester Holt with Trump. Trump said he likes people to “fear” him. So, Woodward found his title “Fear.”
There are too many stories about why the president is such a corrupt and deceitful person, but one that serves as a metaphor is when Trump had a signing in his office with a handful of Republicans, one of them looked down and saw a list of names of Republicans. These were people who did not vote for the bill being signed. It was a hit list, not to kill any one, but to punish them. That is Donald Trump in a nutshell.
Keith
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
I am gratified and completely creeped out by reading this. I have lost track of how many people I have said the following to: Here’s what will happen if Trump is re-elected. He will spend all of his energy punishing every single person/city/state/business who he believes disrespected him. You better believe he keeps track of it all. And vengence will be his, all in the name of patriotism.
Keith
August 22, 2020
Renee, I saw a part of the David Muir interview with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Muir started reading all of the terrible names the president called her. First, she started smiling and then starting laughing. She correctly pointed out that is how he distracts from all the damage he is doing. Maybe that is the answer, we just start laughing at his name calling, which is what a child does, or his blame on the deep state or some nefarious being or person for troubles he has caused or not addressed.
Maybe by laughing at the inanity personified by the actions and verbiage of the US president, we can avoid crying that our country has president that has damaged our civility, credibility and trustworthiness. Keith
Andrew Reynolds
August 21, 2020
Well said, I’m with you.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
I hope many million of others are, as well, come election day.
that little voice
August 21, 2020
Sorry to say I agree.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
I wish I were wrong.
Sasha from Camac Street
August 22, 2020
It’s difficult for me to accept that so many people find this dangerous narcissist, not just palatable, but God-like. Too much to think about at 5 AM. back to bed.
Life in the Boomer Lane
August 22, 2020
The Predator-in-Chief has amasses a loyal following, indeed.
Gail
August 24, 2020
I am totally with you and grateful that you are able to put my thoughts into words. But should we be bracing ourselves for the unthinkable? I, along with most like-minded people, were shell-shocked in 2016. What will we do if he is victorious in sabotaging our election system, undermining our postal system and deploying whatever other corrupt mechanism he possibly can? That’s what scares me the most. This four-year fiasco is a cautionary tale. We all need to vote.
Ilona Elliott
August 30, 2020
A very salient post. Sharing it to my FB page.