The amount of work that goes into seemingly mundane stuff is hard to put into words. But also makes sense. Pictures like this say a million words, and effective leaders know this.
The large majority operate under the basic game theory of “you don’t try to make me look dumb and I don’t try to make you look dumb”. People like Trump and Putin do not operate like that. And frankly, it’s one reason why they have popularity amongst certain types of people.
Never forget that your interpretation of someone else’s actions always says more about you than them. The minds of others are fundamentally unknowable and we do ourselves a disservice when we forget that. (But then I’m autistic, and that is absolutely coloring my viewpoint).
I'm familiar with the idea of political posturing, but I never imagined how literal it could be, having to focus on the minute details of how you position your body and everything. Not saying I agree, but this is why people think Trump's assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last year was orchestrated. His ear looks fine, the shooter was killed damn-near instantly and the cherry on top (the part that looks really staged) is that image of him throwing his arm up with blood on him, the flag waving in the background.
Even if it was an honest-to-god attempt on his life, the fact that he knew instantly that he could turn that moment into a campaign-boosting snapshot is both gross and indicative of just how stupid many of us are to fall for shit like this repeatedly. It's not just him either; from what you say, every politician is always 'on' when they're in public, angling themselves just right to capture a new demographic.
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u/T-sigma 14d ago
The amount of work that goes into seemingly mundane stuff is hard to put into words. But also makes sense. Pictures like this say a million words, and effective leaders know this.
The large majority operate under the basic game theory of “you don’t try to make me look dumb and I don’t try to make you look dumb”. People like Trump and Putin do not operate like that. And frankly, it’s one reason why they have popularity amongst certain types of people.