Read on Twitter
@wjsullivan's article about the "Tiger King" not only rekindles the premise of a theoretical/metaphorical Toxoplasmosis thread I wrote about Trump's cult following, but it seems especially relevant now given their apparent coronavirus denial/death wish. 1/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/experts/bill-sullivan-phd
When observing Trump's “Cluster B”, Typhoid Mary-like effect on society, I had an interesting observation about Trump’s cult following: those who were most at risk of being exploited by Trump (a predator), for whatever reason, find him irresistible, and are drawn to him...2/
The observation/epiphany about Trump's cult following involved the research of the brilliant endocrinologist/Stanford professor, Robert Sapolsky, on the neurobiological effect of Toxoplasmosis in rats. 3/
For context, here are the relevant tweets from that thread: 4/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1188463842164183041
With all of that as a backdrop, now consider the denial, the recklessness, the conspiratorial paranoia around the hoax narrative, and the hyper-masculinization that many on the Right have engaged in with regards to the coronavirus. 28/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1244273709105524738
For example, when pastor Rodney Howard-Browne recklessly mocked precaution taking “pansies”…. 29/ https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1244273714302275587
……or Evangelical pastor Jonathon Shuttlesworth promising to hold a national, outdoor, Woodstock-like “Easter blowout service”…..30/ https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1245019150545760256
….and countless people recklessly licking toilet seats, licking or coughing on food at grocery stores, and going on spring break, etc……..31/ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/28/americans-who-dont-take-coronavirus-seriously
…and perhaps the most pathetic of all examples……the fact that Dr. Fauci needs extra security detail to protect him from death threats by Trump's base because Fauci's scientific/medical expertise violates the Trump cult doctrine…..32/ https://twitter.com/WSJPolitics/status/1245568056790781953
