I am enjoying life in beautiful, warm, sunny and Jew friendly Miami, Florida. We are renting a condo for 2 months and somehow managed to miss a freezing, snowy Toronto.
We had our grandkids stay with us for 2 weeks. We and they had a blast. My routine when they are gone is pickleball in the morning for a few hours, swimming in the ocean followed by swimming at our beautiful pool that gets sun all day long and is facing the stunning Intercoastal water way.
Here is a photo of me (on the left) and my pickleball friends:
The people I've met both at Haulover park where I play pickleball and at our condo have been lovely.
Our condo offers Sabbath services and many of my new friends are Jewish (some orthodox) and are right wing (including the Christian ones). They love Israel. They love Bibi Netanyahu. And they love Donald Trump. They are totally on board with Israel and the US war on Iran.
Yesterday at the beach we met a nice American couple from Long Island, NY. We talked about our respective families, life styles, etc. He told me that he's Jewish but that his first wife was Catholic. He told her that she can raise their future children anyway she likes as long as they were good kids. After divorcing from his second wife he found his Jewish girlfriend who we met at the beach.
Eventually my friend eluded to President Trump ruining the country. I let his comment slide. But later back at the pool, he again made a negative comment about Trump. I needed confirmation on where he stood so asked him: You don't like him? No I love him he responded with a smirk. And then he confirmed that he thought he was the worst president ever. His partner quickly agreed. My wife and I both responded that we loved him. As per the usual response I get from Lefties, they were shocked at our response. How dare we love him or even like him?
They said all kinds of nutty things. For example: because we are Canadians we don't really understand what he's doing to the US. That Trump was an antisemite. That polls show that most Americans don't like him. His girlfriend mentioned that Fox News doctored a video of Trump at an event that he hosted. They removed his cap and replaced it with a more respectable hat. Wow, how terrible!
We didn't want to get into a confrontation with them especially in the pool with others nearby but we refused to say nothing. When we said that Trump is Israel's best friend, look at how both countries are taking on the terror state, Iran and that his daughter married the very Jewish Jarred Kushner, his response was that Trump is a great actor. Then he finally said it. 'Look at what he's doing with Cuba. He is trying to take over the world, just like Hitler!'
Rather than lose my temper, I just swam away. My wife pointed out that they will not have a pleasant stay for the next 2 weeks if they reiterate those insane accusations at the pool. After they left, I told my friend's at the pool what just happened. One of them said that she will let him have it if he says anything like that to her. Her point was that now when the safety of the world and especially the Jewish world is at stake, we can't be silent. She's right!
If you've read my blog you know exactly how I felt about Obama, Biden, Harris, Trudeau, Carney and other leaders on the Left. I really despised Obama (my new 'friend' said that he was the best president ever). But I never called him or any of the rest Hitler. Hitler almost got away with wiping the entire Jewish population off the world and was responsible for millions of people dying and suffering in the most gruesome way. As much damage that these leaders did, especially the Democratic presidents I mentioned, they were not Hitler. Calling them that diminishes the true historic nature of exactly who Adolph Hitler (let his name be forgotten) was.
Furthermore, I would never insult or want to inflame my opponents who adored them (Obama, Biden, et all) by calling their heroes Hitler. That gross, inflammatory insult is not how one conducts a discussion.
I don't recall anyone on the right every accusing those leaders of being Hitler. Feel free to check the Fox News tapes. You won't find any mention of that.
I certainly understand that people on the Left have every right to not like the leaders that I do. That they specifically dislike President Trump's brashness and un-saintly like behaviour. Believe me, I get it. But they need to rein in their insanity and TDS (Trump derangement syndrome) and show respect to a new found friend when having a disagreement. Calling him hitler crossed the line. They know that I like him a lot because I told them so. Are they calling me a hitler lover? How else can I interpret it? A son of Jewish Holocaust survivors no less!
If I see my 'friend' again (I will not be looking for him, I assure you) I will not talk about politics as I'm not looking for a fight. But should he start, I will ask him pointedly: How would you like it if I called your hero, Obama, Hitler? Would you still want to be my friend?
And that is how I'd end our 'friendship'.
8 comments:
Leon, it’s not worth talking to these benighted leftist liberal Jews. They’re the ones that elected the likes of Mamdani. To conflate Hitler and Trump shows a certain naive mindset bordering on stupidity.
Leon, as I’ve said many times before, if Donald Trump was President and still a democrat,
The dimocrats would be bowing down to him, kissing his ring, bragging that he’s the greatest president the USA has ever had
And saying they love every single thing he does! I know this is true
And you do too!
Leon my friend! I can’t believe you swam from this ignorant piece of shit.
Swam away
The next day I met him at the pool. He held out his hand in an apology for his previous days words. He said that he meant no harm and that he's a 'free spirit'. Not sure what that means but I accepted his apology for now. I don't expect that he'll talk politics with anyone at the pool.
Hi Leon, gareat to read your comments. First off, I hope that you are having a wonderful time in Florida. I look forward to seeing you upon your return. I think we have touched upon this in the past, and there is no doubt that someone with the personality of a Donald Trump elicits strong feelings on both sides. He is very far from a typical politician and his nature (as you can agree) can be extremely abrasive. Regarding war in Iran and the Middle East, let's hope that the conflict does not last very much longer and that ultimately it leads to more peaceful times for Israel and the region in general.
Amen
Hi Leon,
glad you are enjoying your time down south and look forward to seeing you once you are back. I have been a bit of an American politics junkie since your (figurative) choice for president came on the scene. Describing him as "extremely abrasive" in my opinion minimises the extraordinary weaknesses within this individual's character: compulsive liar, sexist, arrogant, narcissist, insulting etc. The time he has spent arguing the results of the election lost, arguing the number of people in the crowds at his events, and putting his name and face on things must be embarrassing to many Americans (although obviously not to him). Every quality I admire and respect in a human being I find void in him. However, those are just the reasons I don't like the man.
From early in his first term, two things worried me most about him as the world's most powerful leader: 1 - the number of well respected people in his first government that resigned under his leadership and 2 - how he seemed to alienate and insult many of the US's allies often because of some insult to his large ego. I worried that his fracturing relationship with our European allies would put us as Canadians in a difficult position, and I believe it has. His short attention span and flip flopping with issues like tariffs and the multitude of territories he would like to take over are current issues within this administration that concern me greatly.
I do believe Trump has had some very satisfactory accomplishments, some "Right" leaning ones (border security, middle east accomplishments etc.). My concern is the motivation that got him there. The whys and the hows. If the US went to war and made decisions after consultation with experienced, knowledgeable allies and a larger variety of government officials, I would be more comfortable with the decisions made.
Although I am a bit of a podcast and reading junkie (all sides) on our southern neighbour and our relationship with them, I have never written a comment to anyone on the topic. I felt compelled to comment here because I felt that some of the comments made were a bit insulting to those with an opposing point of view. I would argue that someone who doesn't like Trump isn't necessarily a "lefty" or worse with the adjectives some of your other commenters chose to use. I would argue that it is not "nutty" to suggest a Canadian may not have as much insight into the effect Trump has on Americans as an American, nor that some polls show "Americans don't like him". Debatable opinions for sure, but not "nutty".
From previous words and actions, I believe one could successfully argue that the man does have some racist bones in his body. Anti Semite though? Likely not. I certainly hope Jared and Ivanka have a long happy marriage so we don't have to find out.
Be well Leon!
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