discerningyogini-blog

[discerningyogini-blog]

Trump Ain’t Doing Sh*t for You

I paid little mind to the older blond woman on the treadmill in front of me. I was cranking out a HIIT workout and using the dumbbells. For at least a few minutes, we remained in our own exercise bubbles, me cranking out resistance reps, squats, lunges to dumb pop tunes while she walked briskly on the treadmill to the sounds of the "The View." I never understood women who watch "The View" and similar shows full of inane chatter about the latest celebrity gossip and self-improvement trends. 

Our exercise bubbles shattered when the gym door opened and in walked another blond older woman. Instantly, the first blond happily called out to the second blond and lowered the volume on the TV drastically. 

"Everyday is a good day in America," declared the second blond and my stomach instantly cringed. I could not tell you how I knew this was code for Trump supporters. Both blonds were almost identical in age, shape, height and clothing. Both wore real diamond studs and sported 3 layers of thin delicate tennis bracelets on their wrists. Even their gym clothing matched, some designer athleisure wear white pants and matching pastel jerseys. 

The second blond hopped up on the empty treadmill beside the first blond and began walking at the same pace. I cranked through a grueling rep of goblet squats and bicep curls hoping the burn would block out their conversation. It did not.

"I had to defriend a bunch of people on Facebook," complained the First Blond. "These liberals are such goddamn babies. I'm so sick of the whining and the crying."

"Me too!" The Second Blond agreed and added her litany of liberal horror. "I thought my Jewish client was more reasonable but she's been so shrill and vicious since the election. I'm seriously thinking of dropping her as a client. And she's one of my best clients but I can't take her."

I inadvertently grunted as I ramped up and powered through the last 15 seconds of lunges and tricep kickbacks right at the perfect moment. Damn. The grunt coincided much too nicely with my opinion. I tried to tone it down a bit.

"But you know what," the Second Blond continued, "let the babies be babies and let them whine and cry all they want. Now that we won, we can get back to work and fix this mess our country is in. Trump is going to fix it, he's going to fix all of Obama's mess."

Another grunt. Oops. Now I powered through step-ups, gasping for breath. Nothing like mild pylo exercises to leave me breathless. Oh well.

"Yes, yes!" exclaimed the First Blond, "Trump IS going to fix this. He's a businessman. He's a strong leader who believes in America and who believes in hard work. No more free passes for babies and freeloaders. This is our country." 

Somehow I managed not to grunt. Trump ain't gonna fix shit, I thought. I eyed their designer gym wear, perfectly bleached blond hair and Tiffany tennis bracelets. Sure, they undoubtedly shared Trump's status in the top 1% of wealth in America. But what a vast divide between Trump's billions versus their paltry half-million dollar coop apartments, quarter-million dollar stock portfolios, few hundred thousand in jewelry, a vehicle and some high-end designer clothing and shoes. They occupied the bottom rungs of the top 1% and must still fret about the economy because they do not know how long their standard of living will last. As older boomer women, they face a long retirement, potential disability and the very real possibility that their portfolios will run out before they do. I did not recall Trump addressing any of these issues in a real and substantive way.

"Yes, yes, yes," the Second Blond chimed in. "This awful race stuff will be over and those people won't be coddled anymore."

I cranked though mountain climbers, acutely aware of my non-European genetics and let myself grunt loudly. Trump's hateful rhetoric during the campaign certainly appealed to people's basest and bigoted instincts while short-circuiting any intellect or reason. Somehow this "awful race stuff" threatened the core of these women's privileged yet tenuous existence more than other, obvious things, such as the economy, corrupt banking policies, globalization, or the lack of oversight on the financial sector.

Ten seconds left of the last grueling mountain climber set. Time to ramp up my intensity and let the burn of the impending Trump presidency manifest in my exploding lungs and shaking muscles. Because Trump ain't doing shit for you, me or anyone, except his cronies and Vladmir Putin. Just kidding but not really. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a naive and pathetic fool who drank the Kool-Aid of bigotry and fear. If only he had stayed where he belonged, as celebrity fodder in the reality TV realm and tabloids that shill gossip and useless products to the masses instead of egotistically spouting hateful rhetoric to attain the highest office.

It's still hard not to be sick. But Presidents come and go and the pendulum swings this way or that. Once his presidency is underway, his luster will fade while business as usual goes on.