Our high-tech striking capabilities are pretty precise, and yet, we bombed a school. Hmmm… But then again, we allow weapons of war to slaughter school kids here in this country. And the Felon 47 Regime has endorsed child rape. And they’ve decimated SNAP benefits, Medicaid coverage, and still have no plan to provide kids with healthcare. 

So, of course, we bombed a school.

Don’t get me wrong, Democrats are dumb as dirt. If you can’t figure out how to spin child rape to your advantage, you shouldn’t be involved in politics. Or public service of any kind. You should crawl back to the private sector, see if a think tank will hire you, or write a tell-all, but get the hell away from policy work that’s destroying what it means to be a child in America. 

But Republicans are now the Grievance Oligarch Pedo (GOP) Party, which is still the worst of the two.  The Non-Law and Order, Pro Foreign Wars, and “I love it when the dude I voted for screws me royally in public, then bullies me,” party.  

Damn. Who’s their dominatrix? They do have a safe word, right?  That seems to be their only way out – feeling the pain that is.

Conditional empathy isn’t a good look. Egocentrism, only objecting once harm reaches you personally, is how authoritarianism spreads—quietly, one unaffected person at a time, because when egocentrism replaces empathy, democracy becomes a spectator sport.

Historians are going to have a field day with us, but until then, I’m going to let this week’s Shrinking episode (Season 3, Episode 5: Hold Your Horsies) inspire the rest of this post (#IYKYK).

It’s as if MAGA is waiting for permission to think independently. They’ve allowed a catalyst in their lives, who’s forcing them to abdicate their common sense and rubber-stamp all of Trump’s decisions. On top of that, they get pissed and triggered when we dare point out how wrong the decisions and their hypocrisy are.

Gaby creates a safe space for her patients, just like Felon 47 creates a grievance space for his cult members. Because Gaby is a therapist, it’s her job to provide safety (and a personal perk to stay in control, never be vulnerable, and not get hurt). Whereas Donnie’s grievance space doesn’t provide safety as much as it creates a distraction, so that straight, white, Christian MAGA will keep falling for his grift, allowing “The Donald” to stay in control, never be vulnerable, and not get hurt.

But as we learned from Paul and Gaby last week, “The truth about tough decisions is you don’t know whether your choice is right or wrong until you make it.” 

Paul’s right, but when it comes to PUBLIC POLICY decisions, he’s forgetting two things. Sure, MAGA’s lack of empathy keeps them from knowing the obvious outcome of a choice until they make it. But it’s their privilege that keeps them from feeling the pain of their choices, even when the rest of us not only feel the fallout immediately, but publicly share how it’s affecting us.

Empathy has always been a problem for those at the top. Until recently, the idea that walking a mile in my shoes would inspire others to care for, worry about, or protect me gave me comfort. The problem occurs when that walk results in a completely different reality. Because apparently, if a Republican doesn’t experience it, they can’t possibly believe it occurs.

Empathy means believing people anyway. And because “good people” can limit their compassion and understanding rather than offering it universally, conditional empathy keeps them in the cult longer, hurting more people.

So we wait for: Latinos for Trump to get deported; Women for Trump to be assaulted; Military Families for Trump to be touched by war; Old People for Trump to be kicked out of Nursing Homes; you get the idea.

Of course, we bombed a school. And of course, everyone from paid pundits, right-wing podcasters, politicians, and journalists will turn themselves inside out defending it.

And of course, I’m an asshole for being surprised because this week on the pod, we’re still talking about the Epstein Files! Why? Because our government continues not to give the victims justice or put any perps behind bars. And there’s a good reason to believe this war is to distract us from that.

Our latest podcast, “Trigger Warning”, Season 2, Episode 9, is out now.