When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
— Maya Angelou
Several times at his rallies, Donald Trump has done something out of character — he has delved into literature to make a point, specifically poetry. Ironically, the poem Trump has chosen to recite to refer to the immigrants he dislikes so much was written by a black 1960s soul singer and social activist, Oscar Brown Jr.
The other day, in front of the White House lawn, a huge crowd of supporters gathered, and once again, Trump recited the words of “The Snake:”
On her way to work one morning
Down the path alongside the lake
A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake
His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew
“Oh well,” she cried, “I’ll take you in and I’ll take care of you”
“Take me in oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake
She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk
And then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk
Now she hurried home from work that night as soon as she arrived
She found that pretty snake she’d taken in had been revived
“Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake
Now she clutched him to her bosom, “You’re so beautiful,” she cried
“But if I hadn’t brought you in by now you might have died”
Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight
But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite
“Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake
“I saved you,” cried that woman
“And you’ve bit me even, why?
You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to die”
“Oh shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin
“You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in
”Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in oh tender woman,“ sighed the snake
To those of us who have a knowledge of malignant narcissism and have connected that to Donald Trump’s poisonous character, the snake he refers to here isn’t actually the immigrants he so despises — it’s himself. The “tender-hearted woman” who took him in are his gullible supporters, who “took him in” and continue to support him, even though his policies will hurt them too.
Donald Trump is the snake, and he knows it. In almost everything he says and does, he reveals who he is. This is a psychological defense mechanism known as projection, which is really a form of gaslighting. It’s also sometimes known as blame-shifting.
Pay attention not to who he demonizes and blames, for that is not the real message he is sending, but to what he is blaming them for. His negative projections onto others are code (probably unconscious) for what he himself is doing or feeling. In that sense, he is very transparent and doing us a huge service by warning us how dangerous he is. There are so many examples of him doing this I won’t even list them all here.
All malignant narcissists project, and once you’re aware of it, you can’t miss it. A narcissist always reveals himself or herself through the blame they try to shift onto others. Whenever a narcissist starts pointing fingers, listen to the words they use and then put the narcissist in the place of the person or group they are projecting onto, and you will learn the truth about who they are. It’s a very handy skill.
Lucky Otters Haven 
One of the prime examples (among many) is his constant insistence that the Democrats colluded with Russia and cheated in the election.
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Yes! That’s a perfect example. There are so many I didn’t even bother to name them.
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I also see it in many of the conspiracy theories, projecting on other what some do or wish they could do (rounding up opponents, reeducation camps, etc.).
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I see that too. It always make me shake my head when some of these hard right Trump supporters say liberals want a dictatorship and to remove freedom of speech.
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Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
LuckyOtter on how to listen to Trump when he reveals himself.
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That quote from Maya Angelou has come in handy so many times in recent years for me. I’d been the type of person who generally believed in the good of people until they had literally beaten me to a bloody pulp. I have had that quote posted rather subtly in my workspace for about four years now. Never more relevant than now. Sad.
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‘Oh shut up, silly…”
Never saw the poem(?) before, but it’s altogeather odd that it seems to express the reaction of social predators toward their *prey* – as in “shut the up, and give me the worship I’m due, fool.”
The latter part in quotes is a ***common*** sentiment I seem to ‘feel’ being expressed by the people around me – as in this, and related things are what large portions of society think, and I find it sickening.
Trouble is, there’s no such simple rhymes as ‘red on yellow is a deadly fellow’ to sort out the harmless milk-snakes from the varied similar-colored ***venomous*** elapids, if one speaks of the social world.
That goes doubled at the least for autists. One needs to rely upon ‘rules of the fingers’ then – and the result can look a lot like paranoia!
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Dear LuckyOtter and Friends, i remember that song, late ’60s. As for the election? Hhmmm, which snake should i vote for? Trump was divorced, not just once, but three times. At the risk of expressing sexism, if a man (who is the natural leader – even in pagan societies…) cannot effectively lead (not be a petty-tyrant) at home, why should public office pan out any different. As for the other candidate, even pagan civilizations knew that women are naturally not cut out for political leadership. And no, am not saying that women are only good for washing dishes and scrubbing floors. There are so many opportunities out there for women; women can go to college and study computer programming, geology, sub-particle physics – and hopefully, there will be jobs for her and her class-mates.
As for the other candidate, i remember some years ago, her talking down her nose about “diversity.” Uhmm, she has enough dough to hire security services, and so doesn’t have to worry about the stuff, she worked for, getting stolen or trashed.
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I don’t agree that women aren’t naturally cut out for the presidency, but Hillary Clinton wouldn’t have been my choice (even though I did vote for her, but mostly as a vote against Trump because he is so much worse!)
At least you recognize what a dangerous monster we have in Trump!
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