Help me out here. What are the characteristics of people we like the least? Who is the person we are most likely to avoid, much less nominate for a position of honor or power?

No one likes a bully, right?

No one likes men or women who boast all the time, exaggerate or lie to make themselves look good. Most of us pride ourselves on being able to detect bullshit when we hear it.

How about whiners, people who complain about everything and constantly see themselves as a victim? No one likes a whiner. (Speaking of whiners, read Andy Harris’ letter about me in The Sun today!)

And the humorless bore — the kind of person who drones on and on, always talking about himself, and never asking about you, never saying anything funny. Such a guy, totally lacking self-awareness, is really hard to take.

What I’ve just described are baseline personality flaws — the person who bullies others, lies, whines or bores. Those are mostly just turnoffs, not violations of criminal law.

Of course, most of us don’t want to be associated with criminals — the sexual predator, perpetrators of fraud. But, according to polls and election results, his MAGA following looks past Trump’s alleged criminality, and they’ll probably nod in agreement as he whines about the $83.3 million in damages awarded to E. Jean Carroll yesterday by a New York jury.

As I said in an earlier post, MAGA is a cult, and that probably explains everything.

Still, I go back to the baseline — the threshold acceptance or non-acceptance of a person we would take into our company (or not). I listen to Trump, read his Truth Social posts and wonder why so many Americans think a bully, bull-shitter, whiner and bore (not to mention sexual predator) should be president. It all still feels surreal.

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Published by Dan Rodricks

Dan Rodricks is a former long-time columnist for The Baltimore Sun, winner of numerous national and regional journalism awards, a radio and TV personality, podcaster and fly angler. His narrative memoir, "Father's Day Creek," was published in May 2019 by Apprentice House at Loyola University Maryland.

7 thoughts on “The kind of person we little care for”

  1. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Am hoping that how Kaplan ran his court rubs off on all the other court cases brewing. P.S. Hoping you write a come back to Andy Harris’ letter to the Editor I read this morning. Trying to take advantage of the new ownership. Had to laugh, he spouts off how the Sun needs a Republican columnist…guess he’s too stupid to know that Smith’s partner is a Republican columnist.

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  2. Well, some of the reasons:

    They’re really dumb and all they see of him is what goes on at his rallies, and they like the strongman because they believe he’s, well, strong.
    Many in this country are unbelievably racist. He appeals to them.
    They’ve been supporters for so long they don’t want to admit they’re wrong.
    Truly, the cult issue is real. Tim Miller’s book Why We Did It was an interesting window for me.

    BUT—I believe more people do see that he’s bad in a million ways.

    Pamela

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  3. These were precisely my sentiments leading up to the 2020 election:
    “I’m tired of arrogance and name-calling. I’ve had it with the smug attitude and the pandering to a select group of Americans.
    “I prefer hope over fear, kindness over anger. I choose inclusion instead of exclusion and honesty instead of deceit.
    “In a word, I want light, not darkness.”
    https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2020/11/02/20201102_op-ed_an_election_of_light_vs-_darkness/

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  4. You are sooo right,in every way.
    I cannot understand the mind set
    Of the MAGA people.
    I recently had an acquaintance say
    “Trump has do e a lot of good for this country WHAT!! PLEASE NAME ONE THING,SHE COULD NOT

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