@Nzall I don't understand why this is news.

@Elva shrug it feels like a weird thing to focus on

@Unionhawk It's one of those things where it feels weird that we are focusing so much on his health etc - it edges very close to that idea where villains are always the ones who weigh too much and eat horribly and/or omg look at him he's such a child he can't even eat right - honestly, it's just yet another reason to mock him and make other people feel good about themselves in comparison, which...considering all the real harm he's doing, I feel like this just serves to distract/detract

from the real harm he's doing

Exactly

I get that we reaaaally like mocking Trump right now, because he's being a monster in a lot of ways, but the more we go "oh hee hee look at him what a child" the more he can get away with a "well what did you expect he can't be held responsible" response

and with the cauliflower thing, it's like...how many of us have horrible eating habits? Why does this matter, in the grand scheme of...everything else?

(It also felt like a weird way to get attention for the fact that the former doctor dude is running for whatever, which I suspect is more the point of the thing)

@Nzall We can't really judge any of that though based on this one statement about potatoes.

Like...maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but armchair doctoring/diagnosing doesn't help either - it absolves him of any personal responsibility, it demonizes the diseases that actual people have to deal with, etc.

@Nzall .....

People who aren't trained to diagnose, poking at his actions like this, isn't going to do anything helpful.

Maybe he's got mental stuff that's in decline, maybe he doesn't, I don't know, I'm not his doctor, but none of the people judging his every public move are either.

@Nzall You can't diagnose someone from some videos and hearsay! That is not how medical science works.

Again, even if they are they're not his doctor, they don't have authority, and it won't change the fact that even if they say that, they don't have the power to actually do anything with the info, or even confirm it's correctnes

@Nzall well, yes, but since it is my computer, in my house, that I can touch and take apart, it's within my purview

Trump is not anyone's property.

This is honestly ridiculous, and does nothing to actually help people or deal with his actual stuff he's doing, it just gives people something to do to feel special and it ultimately gives him a really easy way to go "oops well it was my brain in a blender I don't have to be responsible"

@Nzall this is a bad analogy and doesn't make sense.

And tbh, did you post it because of that, or because, as you said in the Bridge, it's clickbait?

Because calling attention to it like that kinda feels....not so great

shrug

The mashed potatoes thing is not even news. It's just...this dude using his status to make clickbait to get attention for whatever he's running for.

@puzzlepiece87 I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

Oh, no, I don't think they're making anything worse from a political perspective, or changing anything

I am just exhausted by this sort of armchair diagnosing and the idea that it's suddenly okay because it's the President and not your next door neighbour or whatever.

(although I guess you could frame my worry that this will allow an absolution of guilt as a political perspective thing, maybe)

@Nzall There are things about duty to report, yes, but that gets reaaaally sticky if they're not under your direct care etc.