This, I imagine, is in a small measure what Russia feels like: Constantly maligned, distorted, and lied about. (Syria, too.) I don’t know about Australians, but it sometimes seems Americans will buy anything, if you sell it to them enough (look at McDonalds). What might have you peeved is this guy, these guys, are selling hard the idea that Caitlan is _____________ (something bad). It’s the salesmanship that rankles, I imagine, more than the lie. Or the combination of lie + salesmanship. I would like to promote the idea that nobody’s buying — but these days they can astroturf customers.

As Who D. Who pointed out, the minute you strike a nerve, you’ll know. I think the only danger for you now is that you become someone who purveys negativity and a sense of hopelessness. Aside from ebullient aphorisms, real good things must be going on. Partly, they are patterns now hard to discern but that will be clearer with time and distance. But reflecting from a distance can also be positive. And I think not a negative is positive. The rump of Mrs. Clinton’s coterie have only haggard negativity to spew — Trump’s so bad!!!!! Not accepting their negativity should be a positive. And if you refuse to grant them that negativity, they’ve got no toe-hold for asserting that “you” or anything you say, can be a part of that negativity (that doesn’t exist).

As you’ve pointed out, Trump is not the devil. I think we should love him as a person and support him as an office holder whom we hope does the best job he can do until someone better comes along. For all his real and imagined sins he should one day be forgiven. All of his bad karma needs to be overcome with wisdom and revelation. And through good deeds he can set his soul aright. This is the same equation for us all. Be stern, of course, with his policies, work hard to support real opposition (like, say, Medicare for All), and realize that if he is a true politician, he will compromise when faced with a large and determined enough constituency. (Or the next officehoder will).

This pretending Trump is not the President is a gateway into pure hatred, fantasy. Once you’ve entered that realm, then you become susceptible to these kinds of unjust attacks. Those who spew unjust hatred cannot but spew more unjust hatred. As a little bit of this should be unacceptable, so now a lot more appears as such.