trump Lands In Alaska, Dressed To Negotiate With Putin

[groundloop]

[MrWowWow]

1. Will He Wear a Dental Dam This Time?

Or Just Let poootonne deep throat him as usual?

[CTyankee]

2. Nice shot, sir or madame!

I love how the knee pads match his tie!

[stopdiggin]

3. isn't funny - - (and wasn't terribly funny back in 7th grade .. ) - - -(nt)-

[MineralMan]

12. Yes. We have to move away from middle school insults and

start working on helping people understand how this can be fixed.

[BannonsLiver]

4. Waiting for some responses for the "this is why we lose" file.

Won’t be long.

[Celerity]

10. You were correct. nt

[Ms. Toad]

14. My response had zero to do with winning or losing.

It had to do with using being gay as an insult, which EarlG has forbidden on DU - not because it has anything to do with winning or losing, but because it is hurtful for those of us who are gay to have our lives used as an insult.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215969127

[Celerity]

20. You misread what the poster I replied to was saying.

[Martin Eden]

5. He named those pads Neil and Bob

Kraznov diplomatic gesture.

[rurallib]

6. he brought out the big ones

must be planning on a long session

[RainCaster]

7. He will need to wipe off his chin before the presser

No sense showing the press what we all know. Of course the press will swallow it all...

[Hornedfrog2000]

9. The art of the deal

Sell out your country, and then sell out other peoples countries you have no say in.

I expect some horrifying, market shifting declaration tonight to get people off of epstein.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Please delete.

According to EarlG, implying someone we hate is gay is not permitted on DU

While I'm on the subject, please knock off the "Lindsey Graham is gay/a woman" jokes. Most of you have figured this out by now, and DU Juries actually have a pretty solid track record of removing these posts, but you know what would be even better? If we didn't have to send such bigoted "jokes" to Juries in the first place.

Thanks for reading.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215969127

[Celerity]

11. Where was 'gay' mentioned? I see a commentary on power/domination, in a similar vein to

prison rape, which is not about sexual orientation, but about power, control, and subjugation.

[Ms. Toad]

13. Don't play games.

You know exactly what was intended, as did those who made the half-dozen other disgusting posts in the thread.

[Celerity]

17. I'm not playing any games. I made my stance clear. As a queer female I refuse to buy into the over-expansive use of

framing that see 'homophobia' in most anything those employing said overly expansive (IMHO) framings choose to see it in.

[Ms. Toad]

19. But you don't get to decide that for all gays, or for DU.

EarlG already has.

[Celerity]

23. Nor do you. And as stated, I do not see this OP (not made by me) as falling under the EarlG directive.

I see it as a power/domination (Putin over Trump) commentary, not calling out Trump and Putin as gay.

[Ms. Toad]

24. I didn't say I got to decide - I said EarlG already has, as to what is permitted on this site. n/t

[Ms. Toad]

31. Look at the first post of mine you responded to. I quoted EarlG,

and linked to one of his posts on the matter.

[Celerity]

34. My first reply was adressing the framing attempt and stood on it's own, as general observation. I did not use EarlG

in it. Sorry for any confusion that came from my last reply, which was not correctly stated by myself.

I have removed it.

[stopdiggin]

42. it is without question a slur against (male) gay sex

to claim otherwise is both disingenuous, bordering on dishonest - and rather inartfully in the attempt at that.

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[Celerity]

47. I disagree. As stated before, it is a commentary on power and the domination of Putin over Trump.

There is nothing disingenuous in my stance on that.

[stopdiggin]

50. sure it is! and that's why all the 7th graders find it so hysterical

Of course! All about power dynamics - n' other stuff like that!
First thing comes to mind ...

[Celerity]

51. It's about............

Submission

[stopdiggin]

52. it's about 7th grade locker room humor - degradation - and cruelty

and plain as the nose on your face.

[58Sunliner]

62. I can see all sides of this argument but no one mentions that it was used against women for centuries.

Being a queer female myself and coming from a city that has a strong BDSM culture and LGBTQ population, I see this as a power dynamic as well.

[Orrex]

35. I speak for no one but myself, but...

When I see this kind of commentary, it strikes me as an act of submission by the person who would usually find the commission of the act abhorrent . They are, in essence, subordinating themselves to their superior by performing a service that they would perform for no one else.

I’m not naive; I can see why people object to the imagery, and I have no doubt that it’s readily used as a homophobic slur, but I think it’s possible to see it as it as a peon trying by any means necessary to ingratiate himself to his owner.

[BComplex]

37. I'm with you Celerity. Someone sucking up to a person for a power play doesn't have anything to do with being gay or

straight...it has to do with another type of "bending the knee"...it's just whether you have knee pads on your old joints or no knee pads.

I'm shocked to see anyone trying to make this about being gay. It's neither a mutual appreciation, positive and pleasurable, relationship nor a violent (rape) sexual encounter between people of the same sex...it's about power and domination on the world stage....something trump has flaunted since he came down the escalator.

[BannonsLiver]

41. Don't play games!111

[MineralMan]

16. Exactly. This kind of juvenile nonsense gets us exactly nowhere.

It wasn't funny in middle school, and it's not funny now. Nor is it in any way useful.

[Ms. Toad]

18. And beyond that -

It makes DU a hostile place for LGGTQ individuals.

[MineralMan]

21. Yes, of course.

And it's not OK just because it's Trump. That changes nothing about the crudeness and juvenility.

[Solomon]

25. So are you saying, aside from the juvenile aspect

of the image, that if it was a female president, putting the kneepads there wouldn't be making the same point? There's nothing "gay" about making that point. I agree that it's juvenile, but political cartoons are juvenile in the same sense.

I guess if it was a female in the image we'd be decrying the image for being misogynistic. I guess no one can ever talk about a person sucking up to someone period. We need to find a better term.

[Ms. Toad]

30. Trump isn't a female.

And had the president been female, the joke likely wouldn't have been made at all, and certainly would not have been posted on DU.

Misogyny and homophobia are closely related, and implying men on the right we hate are gay or women plays into both of these. And, unfortunately, far too many DU members rationalize what is going on as something else (hypocrisy, power dynamics, etc.)

[stopdiggin]

43. or - perhaps just packing away the crude (and quite obviously homophobic) humor as a starting point? -(nt)-

[hamsterjill]

48. We are going to "offend" ourselves out of being able to talk to one another.

There are some on this board who find offense with everything.

When we can't freely express ourselves because we have to be too cautious of who we will offend, we are walking a tightrope.

When I saw the image in the OP, I laughed. That does not make me homophobic.

[stopdiggin]

53. I can laugh at crude humor (most of us can, and do)

At the same time - I am not the person that is bringing the degrading (and deliberately offensive) stuff to the table. Not repeating it, Not promoting. Not perpetuating ...

Because I am not a 7th grader.

[hamsterjill]

54. Then ignore it and move on, or alert if you feel you must.

Let everyone deal with their own moralities and consciences. As mentioned further down in the thread, DU has a jury system. Let that work.

But posters telling other posters that they have to behave a certain way to accommodate another poster's idea of what is offensive gets absurd. THAT is like 7th grade to me.

We are all different.

An example of that difference is my own opinion that this was NOT deliberately offensive.

[stopdiggin]

55. or call it out. for the public reprobation and clap back that it deserves.

Annnnd - why then, would you think it appropriate/okay to criticize (and silence .. ?) my approach - my voice?

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[hamsterjill]

57. Where did I say you could not respond? And I have a right to criticize what I want to criticize just like you do.

A response is one thing; expecting everyone else to feel the same sensitivities to the same degree as you is not the same thing.

I have been a Democrat since I was old enough to vote, but do I agree with EVERY SINGLE line item on the party platform? No. But I don't lay awake at night expecting the whole world to conform to what I think it should be. As an adult, I expect that there are going to be things that offend me, and that I need to learn to deal with those things rather than trying to change everyone else. Democrats are widely diverse and have widely different views about many things. To expect to put everyone into one, neat, perfect little box that keeps any one person happy and offends no one is expecting too much.

Perhaps the real question here is why are some so sensitive about any given topic?

[stopdiggin]

58. I believe it was fairly direct ..

Last edited Sat Aug 16, 2025, 01:21 AM - Edit history (1)

"Then ignore it and move on"
" - posters telling other posters that they have to behave a certain way to accommodate another poster's idea of what is offensive gets absurd."

That is exactly what you are advocating/directing ...
Sorry if you can not see the irony - the incongruity. It is reasonably plain.

[hamsterjill]

59. I think you're reaching.

I am advocating accepting differences and not expecting the world to accommodate everyone's sensitivities.

I am sorry if you feel the need to control what other people post.

It's fruitless to continue this exchange. Have a nice evening. I am done.

[stopdiggin]

60. under no illusions about my ability to 'control'

Either other posters - or community standards. But I damned sure do have the option (at least I thought I did) of letting them know when I disagree, or disapprove. There are times of course when I just pass things over ... But I refuse to feel shamed, or chastised, when I choose otherwise.

Meanwhile, you are 100% correct on one thing - and that is that the exchange has been essentially without resolution and fruitless. Have a nice one.

[BannonsLiver]

56. 100 percent

A lot of folks live in their little homogenized bubble safe spaces. This is the kind of thing people use in the real world to mock people.

[ShazzieB]

38. If you think this post breaks the rules, alert on it and let a jury decide.

That's what we're supposed to do when we think a post breaks the DU TOS.

FTR, I agree with you on the Lindsey Graham stuff, but i also believe this meme is about power/domination, not anyone's sexuality.

[Ms. Toad]

39. It is in EarlG's hands now. n/t

[Figarosmom]

15. Yeah....nt

[aeromanKC]

22. She has always been right!!

Trump is and always has been Putin's puppet.

[gab13by13]

26. Good 1

Made me laugh out loud.

[BidenRocks]

27. Chump's magats understand kneepads.

They have no idea what subservience is and could never spell it!

Gotta KISS!

[Orrex]

29. This is offensive

To people who legitimately install carpet and flooring for a living.

[skamaria]

40. Ha!

[LudwigPastorius]

32. Doesn't want his old knees to give out during the extended ass kissing session?

[vapor2]

33. I do not see any comment on why he's wearing knee pads?

[stopdiggin]

44. and you saw that as necessary .. ?

[ultralite001]

36. Will "Seward's Folly" beome known as

Krasnov's Folly???

[msongs]

45. not a gay thing a subservience thing. nt

[Paladin]

46. Gracious, wherever did those kneepads come from?

My best guess: Bill Maher left them at the White House, after his last visit.

[republianmushroom]

49. Yup

[58Sunliner]

61. It is interesting to me as a woman who has had to live with this type of imaging/insult/degradation,

that has been used historically against women for centuries. It has also been used against gay males. It has been used to denote the feminization/degradation of men in a power dynamic, a loss of masculine status and a wink at the lack of real power feminization is ascribed.
The reality is that these are 2 people, a psychopath and a sociopath who fetishize power, violence, sexual abuse and degradation. Both utterly toxic and craven.

[progree]

63. It never crossed my mind that it might be a gay sex reference. I took it as that Trump would kneel down to Putin and

beg for some concessions on Ukraine.