{"id":9608,"date":"2016-11-15T09:03:27","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T17:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=9608"},"modified":"2016-11-15T14:58:45","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T22:58:45","slug":"9608","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/9608\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Comment from an Angry Reader:<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m sure it was fun exercising your giant brain, but my surprise and I imagine most \u201cliberals\u201d was that enough Americans were willing to vote for what appears to be a sociopath.<\/em><\/p>\n

He disqualified himself for me when he openly espoused physical violence against those who disagree with you. Basically the root principle justifying fascism\u2014when the entity being disagreed with is the state.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0No matter what the real Trump turns out to be\u2014even the greatest president that ever was\u2014anyone who voted for him is no better than a Nazi.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Don\u2019t bother to answer, I don\u2019t give a shit what your rationalization is, or indeed the rationalization of anyone who equates Clinton and Trump as two equally bad choices.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Richard Waddle<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply:<\/h3>\n

Dear Angry Reader Richard Waddle,<\/p>\n

Are you referring to Trump\u2019s intemperate remarks to protestors disrupting his rallies? I thought that unwise, but we learn post facto that such use of disruption was paid for by operatives in pay of the Democratic National Committee, and the architect of the project was a frequent visitor to the Obama White House. Did that fact, given it was actual, not verbal, disqualify Clinton from being the President, not to mention the current president of the United States?<\/p>\n

I would like to have replied to your charge of \u201cfascism,\u201d but you realize that your formulation here is utterly incoherent. What exactly does your half-thought mean: \u201cBasically the root principle justifying fascism\u2014when the entity being disagreed with is the state.\u201d Hieroglyphics or English?<\/p>\n

I was wondering when the Nazi charge would come, and was surprised that you held off until half your rant was finished. How exactly is voting for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton\u2014roughly half the country did the same\u2014synonymous with starting World War II and exterminating 6 million in death camps?<\/p>\n

And again, you are seriously confused: the statement \u201cNo matter what the real Trump turns out to be\u2014even the greatest president that ever was\u2014anyone who voted for him is no better than a Nazi\u201d is internally inconsistent. A president greater than Washington, Lincoln, or Roosevelt obviously is antithetical to Nazism. For example, do you mean to imply that a president who might be greater than the man who warred against and defeated Nazism is a Nazi?<\/p>\n

And why so emotional?<\/p>\n

Passion without self-control only leaves you confused and adolescent-like. Take you exclamation, \u201cDon\u2019t bother to answer, I don\u2019t give a shit what your rationalization is, or indeed the rationalization of anyone who equates Clinton and Trump as two equally bad choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you took the trouble to write, but do not wish an answer?<\/p>\n

Was the point of this incoherence just to rant rather than to take anti-anxiety medications or to visit a campus safe space lamentation center to pet puppies and play with toys? Note that I never \u201crationalized\u201d my vote as something equating Clinton and Trump as \u201ctwo equally bad choices.\u201d They are not. Clinton was worse. Her crimes occurred as a public servant, undermining the idea of equality under the law. Tragically, the Clinton Foundation was run as a veritable crime syndicate that used the cloak of charity to enrich the Clinton family. In contrast, Trump\u2019s excesses were as a private citizen and more rhetorical than factual: what Clinton did is a matter of record; what Trump might do is a matter of conjecture.<\/p>\n

After the Nazi smear, I was waiting for the other requisite leftwing trope of obscenity, but again was surprised \u201csh*t\u201d came so late in your diatribe.<\/p>\n

You confirm the old adage the Left loves humanity in the abstract, but does not like people in concrete; in your case, that works out in decrying supposed violence in theory, but in the fact of your writing revealing yourself to be both crude and violent minded to the degree you were occasionally coherent. Quite sad, but also disturbing.<\/p>\n

Sincerely, VDH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comment from an Angry Reader: I\u2019m sure it was fun exercising your giant brain, but my surprise and I imagine most \u201cliberals\u201d was that enough Americans were willing to vote for what appears to be a sociopath. He disqualified himself for me when he openly espoused physical violence against those who disagree with you. Basically […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s466Sb-9608","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11242,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/06-25-18-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":0},"title":"06-25-18 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: What is wrong with you? You see what Trump is doing over 3000 lies and yet you still can condemn Hillary! \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 Dear Angry Reader Rhonda Welsch, First, congratulations. You get only a 1 out of 10 on the Angry Reader Scale (for silly exaggeration [e.g.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11650,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-02-05-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":1},"title":"Angry Reader 02-05-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: You, sir, are a traitor, To call the FBI and the representatives of the United States \"Bolsheviks\" when the POTUS you seek to defend consistently lies about contacts with GRU officials; whose chief strategist Stephen Bannon claimed to be a Leninist because he was advocating the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11757,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-04-03-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":2},"title":"Angry Reader 04-03-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Well, a quick scan of your website revealed you actually have a whole section dedicated to \u201cAngry Reader\u201d mail. One would think, a man of your so-called intellect, would perhaps have a small moment of introspection and realize the true damage Donald Trump and the current\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9661,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/9661-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":3},"title":"From an Angry Reader: I\u2026","author":"Megan Ring","date":"December 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"From an Angry Reader: I love the Angry Reader section of your website, particularly your responses. I want to be an Angry Reader and see what you have to say about my valid, thoughtful points so here goes. How can anyone support Donald Trump (I call him DT because he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10197,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":4},"title":"Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"From an Angry Reader: Mr. Hanson, Normally, I would find a credentialed resume such as yours quite impressive and interesting, however, the deluded and incredulous nonsense I witnessed you spouting on FOX News with Tucker Carlson, that Russian involvement with the Trump campaign exists only as a 'trumped up' Dem\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12220,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-02-28-20\/","url_meta":{"origin":9608,"position":5},"title":"Angry Reader 02-28-20","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Subject: Gray Matter Your articles are so offensively lacking in context, thoughtfulness, and reflection on history--basically simpleminded attack ads-- that I am going to erase the National Review\u2019s bookmark from my browser. And there is no case for Trump any more than there was a case\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9608"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9608"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9617,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9608\/revisions\/9617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}