I’m splitting this post into two parts. Hope you read both.

No, I’m not talking about that BDS, I’m talking about Trump Derangement Syndrome vs Biden Derangement Syndrome. 

I have a serious case of TDS and a mild case of BDS. I am politically homeless. Even if you have a leftist political home, I want to offer up what I’ve learned about Biden Derangement Syndrome just because I think it’s useful to consider “the other side.”

I get why some people are just not Democrats and don’t see the same dangers in Trump that I do. It’s harder for me to understand why some people love Trump. But I attribute it to our tendency to consume only media that reinforces our biases, something that we all do, even when we try our best not to. 

Today, I’m hoping to sort out the concerns that lead many of us into the mental territory of “derangement syndrome” in which we just can’t get beyond the, “but, but, but he…” sort of stammering that doesn’t clarify anything. Let’s look into BDS, Biden Derangement Syndrome. We don’t hear about this as much as we hear about TDS, but it’s a thing, and a few Trump voters have helped me understand why some people just cannot vote for Biden. 

In the past I’ve viewed Biden as a genial, experienced politician who would be at least acceptable as a president even to those who didn’t vote for him. In other words, he wouldn’t scare people. People would disagree with him, but they wouldn’t be chewing their fingernails in a state of constant anxiety if he were in office. Well, that’s wrong. Some really do worry that the country is in danger with Biden in the oval office. It’s possible to see Biden as an existential danger just as I have viewed Trump as an existential danger. How? I will do my best to explain.

Wokeness in General

In Trump’s last year in office he banned DEI training in federal departments. Given that DEI, i.e. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, sounds sufficiently benign to many people, why would Trump prohibit it? Chris Rufo takes credit for educating Trump on the evils of DEI by educating Tucker Carlson about it in a Fox interview. He hoped Trump would be watching, and, indeed, Rufo was invited to the White House soon thereafter.

Wokeness re: Crime

Those of you who live in big blue bubbles around the country may have noticed more drug-addicted unsheltered people in your midst. You may have seen with your own eyes (as I have on multiple occasions) shoplifters walking away with bundles of goods while clerks stand by without even calling police. Perhaps you’ve seen, as I have by my favorite gelato shop, a drug dealer whistle to alert customers, exchange cash for product with many people for about ten minutes, then vanish while one customer stays on the corner and puts a flame under a foil to inhale the fumes. The gelato shop was one of the survivors of the pandemic, popular with families. But now? Do you want kids watching this scene? 

You may be aware of freeway shootings, organized retail theft rings (when a team of thugs carry valuable items out of a store to a waiting car, load up the car, and escape with no worry of a police chase), or assaults by a person recently arrested, but not held while awaiting trial for another crime. My former city stopped enforcing shoplifting laws because a disproportionate number of BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color)  people were being arrested. Likewise with arrests for minor drug crimes. Hence the increase in these crimes in broad daylight. Voices arguing against these changes in law and practice were silenced. This is wokeness in action.

The progressive left will not be satisfied until equal percentages of all races get arrested. King County (WA) suspended fare enforcement on all forms of transit because a disproportionate number of black and brown people were getting ticketed despite the existence of programs for low or no fares for low income people. Actions like this rile up folks who believe that rights come with responsibilities. 

Wokeness re: Gender

The gender aspect of wokeness is being challenged because of concerns about social and medical transitions of children. Though medical personnel involved in gender medicine insist that there is consensus about the safety of their practices, there is not. This is another situation in which people urging caution have been silenced, but now voices of de-transitioners, concerned counselors, and wary doctors are finally surfacing and urging caution. 

It turns out that trans rights activists cannot make everyone believe that trans women are the same as natal women. In addition to concerns about children, the fallout of self-ID laws (laws which allow any person to claim to be the opposite sex by just saying so) are slowly surfacing. Stories of men in women’s prisons, changing rooms, spas, and shelters are coming to light. We are learning that male-to-female transitioners really do have an advantage in sports, to the disadvantage of women athletes.

If you regard wokeness as the opposite of rationality, you can begin to see how some people might regard a woke president as dangerous. Though Biden campaigned as moderate, his actions as president have been full woke on the gender issue. 

Wokeness re: Merit

Another aspect of wokeness that drives opponents into derangement syndrome is the attack on merit. I favor a society in which immutable characteristics such as sex, race, or disability do not keep anyone down, a society in which all people can thrive. But I do not expect employers to hire and promote an even M/F share, or an even BIPOC share of employees in all job categories. Why should we expect an even distribution in any situation? 

If K-12 accelerated programs do not have equal percentages of students from both sexes and all races, then schools need to make sure that all students have access, all students are encouraged to apply, and all students get the support they need to thrive. Instead schools that cannot balance enrollment in these programs are simply eliminating them. What does that solve?

Biden does not control all of K-12 in the US. But when the Democrats are in charge in DC, DEI policies are supported, and merit takes a back seat to equity. Again, to many, de-emphasizing merit in all situations, both in education and employment, constitutes an existential threat to the US. Just saying.

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I broke this post into two parts because it was getting too long. Didn’t want to succumb to the TL;DR bug. Please continue on to Part 2 when time permits. And don’t forget to comment.