Why We Should Stop Using Donald’s Last Name

image from National Review

Guest Post by Nate Mezmer

Donald is his name.

I will no longer refer to the current president by his last name and I encourage you to do the same. His beefed up bravado is a sham, a con, and his strength is all about image and brand. His last name is a big part of the scam. It was well crafted over decades of marketing campaigns and brand placement. Built up to equate to wealth, success, and luxury. But the quality of his name is no more real than the quality of his character or the content of his words (the same goes for his steaks). We continue to be shocked by his belligerence and dishonesty but his behavior at this point is predictable. He functions much like a classic African dictator, repeating false claims over and over again until they begin to sink into our public consciousness with some level of relevance. It’s all about a commitment to repetition. And even when the masses pushback against the lies, he doubles down and reinforces them with intimidation and threats. Historically, these tactics are essential to the spread of Fascism. Even when we know the rhetoric is false, it stokes fear and uncertainty and creates confusion as to what to make of it. While the opposition spends time defensively refuting the false claims, the Fascists march forward controlling the narrative and consuming more power.

The same is true for the repeating of his name, constantly in newspaper headlines, on TV, radio, and social media. Like his lies, the more you say his name the more he is legitimized and the more powerful he becomes. But he doesn’t own all of those buildings and hotels. He merely licenses out the name to create the appearance of superiority. It’s pomp and circumstance. A powerful name that was served up on a silver spoon, built upon housing discrimination, extravagant hype, Central Park fear mongering, bankruptcy, tax evasion, a phony university, pageantry, misogyny, racist witch-hunts, dog whistle politics, and a false promise to working class whites to make America great again.

Like a corporate takeover of the American dream, “it was all a scheme” (**Biggie voice**). A scheme of Madoff-level proportions with exponentially greater consequences, that if left unchecked could quickly metastasize in the form of concentration camps or even mushroom clouds.

So I will call him Donald.

President Donald, if I feel like it.

As often as his name rings out loud in lies, ricocheting like stray bullets in our heads and throughout the headlines, I will do my best to forevermore refer to him simply as Donald. A man with such extreme Narcissism that he worries just as much about the size of his crowds as the size of his hands, but cares nothing about things like the Constitution, Justice, Equality, or reading books; exhibiting no ability to be concerned about anybody other than himself. It’s all about Donald. So I will call him Donald.

I will call him Donald and I will speak out.

I will call him Donald and I will organize.

I will call him Donald and I will mobilize.

I will call him Donald and I will resist.

#IWillCallHimDonald
#RESIST