Re: ""Guarantees" are meaningless"
I can't- and wouldn't- begin to guess at the physical state of Trump's brain development, but if one's upbringing can affect that in any way, I can't believe it wouldn't have in his case.
Everything I've heard paints Trump's father (Fred Trump Sr) as an utterly contemptible individual who basically rewarded Donald for being a sociopathic piece of shit and relentlessly mocked, bullied and degraded his older son (Fred Jr)- by all acccounts a decent person- because he *wasn't* and because he later wanted to become an airline pilot instead of following in the family business, before he died an early death through alcoholism. (*)
It's likely that Trump is someone who- unlike most normal people- never grew up beyond that self-centred, bullying child phase not merely because- like many who came from a highly-privileged background- he never needed to, but because in his case he was actively encouraged in the other direction.
Having heard Trump's genuinely shocking- and I don't use that phrase lightly- attempt to bully, degrade and shout down Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House on Friday, one thought among many I had was this was someone who really, *really* needed to have been beaten to within an inch of his life the first time he showed another human being that level of intentional disrespect.
One can debate how much of Trump was down to him being born that way, and how much was down to his upbringing. But we have the end result, regardless.
I don't look at Trump and see even the slightest possibility of a "good" person inside, waiting to be brought out. If that potential ever existed, it was driven out decades ago. At this point all we have left is that sociopathic monster- someone who strikes me not just as broken, but fundamentally incomplete as a human being.
The makers of a documentary once summed Trump up far better (and more damningly) than I ever could:-
> A sad, delusional, dangerous man.
>
> No books,
> No friends,
> No music,
> No curiosity,
> No patience,
> No integrity,
> No compassion,
> No empathy,
> No loyalty,
> No conscience,
> No courage,
> No manners,
> No respect,
> No character,
> No morality,
> No honor.
> Not even a dog.
(*) I'm very wary about speculating on the causes of that, but I can't believe that the relentless bullying and contempt from his father wouldn't have (at the very least) made it worse.