Trump and Musk worship on steroids in South Africa

Some like to understand what they believe in. Others like to believe in what they understand.

– Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

The only thing more insufferable than Trump and Musk are their fawning supporters. Many South Africans across racial divides seem to have an unholy attachment to both these miscreants.

I get the American fascination with them. Americans are weaned on a culture of celebrity worship. The South African connection is not linked to celebrity worship but something more odious. I recently came across this gem from someone called MARSHA MELLOW on Facebook:

Oh, honey, imagine being so breathtakingly stupid that you take one look at this treasonous, traitorous, bargain-bin Bond villain—this corrupt, self-serving, ignorant clown—this racist, semi-literate moron with all the charm of a clogged toilet—this sexually-assaulting, pathologically-lying, feeble-minded, morally-bankrupt, constitutionally-illiterate simpleton—this bloated, waddling can of expired spray cheese with his cotton candy combover, Cheeto dust complexion, and overall aesthetic best described as “Dumpster Fire Chic”—and think, “Now THAT is a man I admire.”

Baby, at that point, just go ahead and lick the nearest electrical outlet. It’ll save us all some time.

For many years, I have avoided using the word stupid to describe people, no matter how egregious their obtuseness in the face of objective reality or evidence contrary to their way of thinking or belief.

Meanwhile, I have been called stupid on multiple occasions on public platforms like Facebook. Other insults ranged from being called antisemitic to woke (yes, there are still people who think it’s an insult). The insults come mostly from White people who take offence when the bigots they admire are criticized. Sometimes, it’s simply for having empathy for others, whatever their circumstances. At other times, the insults come from people who seem surprised, outraged even, that someone would have the audacity to ask for evidence for their assertions.

While the main object of their affection has been either Donald Trump or Elon Musk, or both, most right-wing or conservative types and fascist or religious extremists also command loyal approval from this segment of the South African population. Predictably, they exhibit a nostalgic yearning for a past tainted with racial oppression. Whether they realize it or not, I cannot say. Most will not admit it. However, at least one person was brazen enough to state it unequivocally, even if he found spelling challenging.

Over the last 15 months, however, their hatred, thinly veiled racist ire stemmed from criticizing Israel for its conduct in the vengeful military campaign against the Palestinian population in Gaza. The object of their devotion unsurprisingly ranged from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his right-wing cabinet and the IDF soldiers on the ground committing serial war crimes. Those who are apologists for genocide are unsurprisingly also apologists for apartheid.

Apartheid did not die in South Africa. It went into hibernation but exists in a virulent form. I can’t really ascertain how rife racism and bigotry are or whether it’s being practised by a minority. The preponderance of online comments are definitely hateful and negative. Most people steer away from these platforms, but I’m eternally grateful to those who actually bother to call out racism and bigotry whenever it rears its ugly head.

While I’m familiar with the catchphrase, “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience,” I feel a compelling urge to set them straight. It is distressing to me that they don’t or can’t recognize the bigotry and entitlement in their responses.

I must admit that I can give as good as I get without resorting to crude ad hominems. I get a sense of satisfaction and feel vindicated when someone deletes their comments (as frequently happens, which is why I tend to keep screenshots) after a savage comeback from me. Does that sound perverse?

It’s occurred to me that maybe I’m indeed the stupid one for persisting with this unrewarding enterprise. With that in mind, I decided to investigate further and found that a certain Carlo M. Cipolla proposed five basic laws governing stupidity. An explanation of each law can be found on the linked page.

1. Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
2. The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular, non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places, and under any circumstances, to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

While it appears there is something to this trait, I’m not at all sure if that’s the reason for South Africans to swoon over Trump and Musk. For them, it seems to be about confirming their biases, unlike Americans who have a tendency to worship celebrities.

In any event, I’m now satisfied that my previous disinclination to call out stupidity is unfounded. The jury, however, is still out. You decide…