ProudKangaroo
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The Sandstorm is coming 🎵Doo doo doo doo🎵
Posts: 21963
Meeanjin (Brisbane)
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There is no such thing, as in, no actual recognised syndrome, as "TDS". Not Trump Derangement Syndrome, not Trump Devotion Syndrome.
"TDS" is a rhetorical prop. Trump supporters wield it to swat away legitimate criticism they can't refute, can't defend against, or simply can't stomach. Those critical of Trump toss it back to describe that very behaviour. That's all it is, a label used as a shield or a sneer, depending on whose turn it is.
Some will harp on about it endlessly for one reason only, to provoke. It's the online equivalent of throwing rocks at a caged animal, then preening when it reacts. It's not clever, not insightful, and certainly not brave. It's the behaviour of people who mistake manipulation for wit and cruelty for strength.
The targets of this rage bait are usually the ones still trying, however imperfectly, to argue in good faith or simply exist without swallowing the hook. Their "crime" is not having their guard up every second against bad-faith actors. That's the trick, rage baiters exploit human nature, weaponising the instinct to defend one's self or one's values, then ridiculing the very reaction they've engineered.
It's a coward's sport, relying on contrived outrage from a safe distance, never facing the mess they create in the real world. They're guilty of the same emptiness they accuse others of having, which is why it's almost funny. As usual, it's all projection: too small to improve themselves, so they insist everyone else is just as pathetic, if not worse.
And why wouldn't they? The figure they idolise is cut from the same cloth, deeply insecure, incapable of growth, and happiest tearing others down as a substitute for achievement.
They're best ignored. But sometimes it's worth reminding them, and everyone else, that their desperate need for attention comes from a place of deep personal rot. They don't just want the reaction, they need it, because without it, they vanish.
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