What Does Kerra Seay: I can't quit you, Trump

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: GAGE SKIDMORE ON FLICKR (CC BY-SA 2.0)
I admit it. I'm obsessed.

I’ll admit it, I’m guilty. I’m guilty of writing column after column after column about President Donald Trump and whatever scandal he managed to get himself into in the past week because I continuously deem it the most interesting political news story of the week. But after following the headlines over the last few days trying to find my next story I came to what should have been an obvious realization.

I, Kerra Seay, am obsessed with Donald Trump.

I just can’t help it. Whether I’m reading articles about his policies, following his tweets, watching late night hosts and Saturday Night Live make jokes about him (I literally watch Seth Meyers or John Oliver while I do my makeup in the morning) or write these ridiculous editorials, my whole life is starting to revolve around him.

And yet, I just can’t stop. Just like during the campaign, when we thought it couldn’t get any worse and yet each week it did (remember “grab her by the p*ssy”? Yeah I forgot about it too), with each passing day with Trump as president it seems that things are becoming even more of a fustercluck than the day before.

Worst of all, now all our sources are oversaturated with news about Trump (yes I am aware I am also contributing to it, let me live), and especially oversaturated with news that fulfils our own political bias and makes us feel better about our own situation. Because let’s be honest here, people; reporting about the terrible things Trump said during the campaign didn’t do anything, so why do we continue to focus on the ridiculous crap he says and does now?

It no longer serves the public’s benefit to talk about how Trump eats his steak with ketchup, or how Kellyanne Conway sat with her shoes on a couch in the Oval Office, or how some retailers are no longer selling Ivanka Trump’s brand, or how Trump has a ridiculous handshake, or how he is refusing to go to the Correspondents dinner or literally anything else that is not policy related. And yet these are the headlines that dominate the news because a-holes like me are addicted to them. We fall for the click-bait every time.

We are only distracting ourselves with “news” that will make us laugh and confirm our bias and then we move on with our day, ignoring some of the real issues that President Trump has already stirred in the short weeks he has been president. President Trump is a hard pill to swallow, but by resorting to humour we are diminishing the negative impact that his policies are having on real people, and not just Americans.

His policies have negatively impacted the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth, the Muslims community, refugees and asylum seekers (many of whom have resorted to making a treacherous trip across the U.S.-Canada border in freezing temperatures, sometimes even losing extremities in the process), immigrants and more. Trump and his government are enacting real policy changes that will have a negative impact that may be felt generations from now, but instead of remembering that we distract ourselves from the horror of this situation by cracking the same tired jokes.

My name is Kerra, and I have a Trump addiction. But the good news is it’s not permanent and we can do better.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.