“And, while it was regarded as pretty good evidence of criminality to be living in a slum, for some reason owning a whole street of them merely got you invited to the very best social occasions.” – Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay
By 
Inspired by Campos’ Lifetime of Grifting post to share a thought I’ve had for a while.
DJT AKA TFG does what this society allows rich, apparently rich and influential people of all sorts do on a regular basis.
They shoplift and destroy property, but employees of the establishments the rich infest don’t dare accost them because they know they’ll get in trouble (and might get assaulted or fired on top of it).
They rip off and exploit weaker people who can’t fight back. And not just because their victims can’t afford the time/money involved in going to court. They’ve made sure that many of their deeds are perfectly legal.
Drug or alcohol abuse? That’s a light scolding from a judge and a trip to a posh rehab.
Get caught on camera being completely vile? That may be a brief hiatus in Coventry while the admirers and lackeys wail about the unfairness of facing consequences for being a disgusting bigot.
And we all know what happens to anyone who accuses them of sexual harassment or assault.
Even if they aren’t famous they’re constantly cushioned, coddled and enabled by others of their rank and hangers-ons and people who are paid to be nice to them.
And of course, if they are ever confronted by a cart of their just desserts, they freak the fuck out in ways that are often destructive of everyone except themselves. Cornered rats are far more dignified, honorable and brave than a rich piece of shit who thinks they’re in trouble that can’t be bribed or intimidated out of existence.
I won’t say the U.S.A. deserved to have him as president, because too many people who just said no to the sentient orange trashbag live here.
But it was inevitable that a country that claims to be the land of liberty and equality but still worships wealth and fame, despises the poor, and is loath to admit, much less to confront, how much it still relies on the cruelty of racism would wind up with something like him in charge. Which means that until this society puts the boot on the necks of its Lord Ferrers, it will happen again. And again.
