"Other countries are laughing at us"

[Thunderbeast]

This was the most worrying part of Trump's justification for withdrawing from the Paris Accords.

It show his emotional framework for decision-making. It exposes a deep-seated immaturity.

I recall that at the Correspondent's Dinner a few years back, Obama told humiliating jokes about Trump while he was in the room. Trump did NOT laugh. From that dinner on, he was focused on revenge. Trump doubled-down on his Birther nonsense, and converted that movement into an unlikely, but successful Presidential campaign.

Psychologists has a meme that is often quoted when referring to the different ways that fears are processed by each gender.

"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them.......Women are afraid that men will kill them".

The fear of humiliation can be very powerful in someone lacking in emotional maturity. Trump's tweet tantrums about Rosie O'DOnnell and Steven Colbert are telling.

This man owns the nuclear codes. Will we annihilate the species because a foreign leader laughs at him?

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. If he can he will kill every Obama voter, every person who makes fun of him.

[Initech]

2. I'm worried that if California ever attempts secession...

Trump would launch nukes and take out LA, San Francisco, and San Diego, and the rest of the country wouldn't care, because those cities are run by teh evil liberals. We're trapped.

[palustris]

3. View from another country

During the elections there were lots and lots of Russian trolls here in Finland. All of whom were enamored by Trump and Russia. All of them are also, unsurprisingly, very supportive of the nationalistic and isolationist far-right parties and groups in Finland.

Putin is supporting many of these groups in Europe financially and by destabilizing Middle-East with Assad and the resulting refugee crisis. Lots of effort is then placed to "alternative news" sources and social media to exaggerate the strain on economy by these refugees and problems.

Fortunately these groups haven't been gaining much ground here at least yet.

But it's still pretty scary. How these trolls seem work is that they present themselves as "patriots" or "anti elitists", "EU-critics" or "white Christians". Or whatever common ground they can find with various groups from left or right.

They seem try to subvert these groups by associating first common policies with Russia as bridge point. Then increasing admiration of Putin and Russia and it's policies, until these groups are subverted and basically toe the Kremlin line. It's been scarily effective.

I think this subversion is what has at least somewhat happened to the middle-American Trump voters and with the Republican voters as a whole.

Locally people are perhaps bit scared about Trump presidency. My opinion is that even if Finland isn't part of Nato, I think US has been stabilizing force for good in Europe as a whole.

Now Russia will try move in to fill the power vacuum left behind by increasing American isolationism. Destroying transatlantic co-operation was one of Soviet Union's long term goals with the west as well and it's now succeeding.

And with 1200 km border with Russia, I don't find the prospect too appealing. Especially as Putin has long wanted to divide the European Union as well and even succeeded somewhat with Brexit.

Overall neither Trump or Putin don't seem to command much respect here though.

I checked local tabloid's comment section about Paris accord news and the comments were about "orange Trojan" and how "master is defending his dog" (referring to Putin with Trump as his dog). And these were on the more positive side.

So no respect, but not much laughter either.

Sorry for the long post.

[Gothmog]

4. No-these countries are laughing at trump