Life, Love & the Little Things Inbetween

America Who?

I met an American guy a few days after arriving in Hua Hin. He showed me around and offered advice on various aspects of living in Thailand. One day, we were eating lunch at a small Thai street food vendor, and he told me about his experiences with Thai sex workers. I asked him if he used condoms, to which he said no. I then asked him if he had been tested for STDs and HIV. His response was swift and a little angry. "I don't have AIDS."

"I didn't say you have AIDS, Dan. But don't you think it might be a good idea to get checked?" Was my somewhat bewildered reply.

On another occasion, I visited his house and noticed (how could I not) a huge TRUMP banner hanging over the front entrance. "Just my luck." I thought. I tried not to talk politics with Dan, but once he realised I didn't share his political beliefs, he would send me YouTube links of right-wing propaganda videos...even after I asked him to stop.

Dan returned to the US to have back surgery. He is a veteran, and it has crossed my mind a few times what happened to him with the Department of Veterans Affairs due to the cutbacks by the DOGE. I also wonder if he has been tested for HIV...but not enough to ask. We stopped talking after Trump won. I couldn't deal with the fact that half of America thought Trump was worthy of another term, and once the result was in, I blocked Dan on my phone. I had a feeling of what was coming, so I sold all of my shares and began contemplating how bad it might get.

Of course, no one could have imagined just how bad it would be, and after only four months in office, the world is a very different place. The US government now blames Ukraine for the war with Russia. They also blame the Palestinian people for what Hamas did in Israel. The Biden administration, Canada, Mexico, the EU, and the world...everything that is wrong in the United States gets blamed on someone, but never, not once, have I heard the Trump administration accept responsibility for anything bad.

The blatant lies that are told by the White House spokesperson and by his cabinet members are for American audiences only. No doubt, there are still those who think Trump is going to make America great again, but the rest of the world sees the truth and is reconfiguring new partnerships and alliances without US involvement. And the reality is, how could we ever trust the US again, because even after Trump is gone, someone like him may win office in the future. Recent elections in Germany, Canada and Australia reject Trumpism and send a clear message to the oligarchs, racist billionaires and their cult-like followers that decency, compassion, empathy and fair-mindedness will win over tyranny and greed...always.

Trump doesn't care about the American people, and this time around, he is determined to make himself and his billionaire friends as much money as he can, while he can. We shall see if he becomes a full-blown dictator. I can see a day when he flees to Russia, perhaps taking up residence somewhere in the vicinity of Assad. Meanwhile, the rest of the world turns its back on the US.

I feel for the half of the American people who didn't vote to make a convicted felon, sex predator, misogynist, narcissist and possible Russian asset to become their preferred leader. The United States is no longer respected or liked by the countries that once stood by its side in conflict and trade. Trump has his followers in every country. They are mostly uneducated people who live in fear of anyone different to them. White supremacists and hard-right-wing extremists make up the majority of MAGA cultists...the rest who voted for Trump must have seen no other option. I have the feeling that in the coming months and years, many will look back and realise that when they thought things couldn't get any worse (under Biden), just how wrong they could be.