And in today's psycho analysis of a psycho... this guy seems to really delve into all the craziness that is The Donald. It made me think of how now we are in this world where we really go deep into people's minds, rather than just taking them for their actions. I mean, how many articles were there entitled, "Hitler? WTF is this guy's problem and does it stem from a traumatic childhood?' or "Hitler? Concentration camps? We're sorry we didn't like your paintings, but come on..." But here we are in Trumpland where this guy's neoroses are all too obvious and the whys and hows are too real. Domineering father, alcoholic brother. White male privelege. Rampant bigotry and racism, but in rich circles where it's all part of his charm. Below is the author (I realize, he looks pretty dismal, but he studies some depressing shit).
But what he says below is what made me think...
"However, let me add a point here: In the same article that you cited, John, I also talk about Hillary Clinton’s childhood trauma. Basically, America had two traumatized candidates running against each other for the most powerful office in the nation. The extent of Hillary’s trauma was shown when she had pneumonia in the summertime, she pretended that everything was fine. She pretended she wasn’t sick until she collapsed in public. Such behavior is the result of a traumatized childhood where her mother forced her to suck it up when other kids were tormenting her. There’s an overflow of unresolved trauma in our society, and this is a question that needs to be addressed." (Gabor Mate)
I agreed with this on many levels. Hillary was conditioned to hide her pain and her troubles, and in doing so, came off as standoffish and secretive. But whereas a man doing that would be described as stoic and private, she was demonized. I've come to learn, and this is part of growing up in this era especially, that every plus for a man is a minus for a woman. Being smart for a woman is deemed as "a little evil." Being called sexy, for a woman, always comes with being called a tramp or a slut. Being called beautiful often implicates dumb. And being called ambitious... well that is maybe the biggest insult ever. That makes you Eve, or Lady Macbeth, or Scarlett O'Hara. It's unforgivable.
So although this author is comparing two nominees and their traumas and how it affected them, I don't think we should ever consider that they were ever under the same lens. Hillary and other girls are taught to suck it up in some way for their entire lives, and from an early age. Being a girl and growing up, in many ways, is learning that although in your childhood, you couldn't see any indication that boys were smarter than you or superior in any way, you were going to have to step back someway. In some ways, you'd have to work 10 times harder for the 1/10th of the prize. Or maybe you'd have to pretend you weren't as smart because it didn't make you attractive to boys. Or maybe you were so attractive to boys that your parents worried about your virtue, so you had dress plainly. Or maybe you'd have to pretend to not be interested in sex while your husband (let's say Bill Clinton) ran around like a sex maniac. Not to say Hillary or most people had his sexual appetites, but in Arkansas, the women there didn't even like Hillary using her maiden name, so Hillary was stifled in many regards. Whatever it is, girls and women have to repress. They have to suck it up. And I hope that's what ultimately changes.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/addiction-in-society/201112/the-seductive-dangerous-allure-gabor-mat
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