[Xmca-l] Re: Imagination;semiotic mediation

[Annalisa Aguilar]

Hi Micheal and others,

I think I'd suggested eugenics, but Huw certainly pointed the way by naming phrenology, which is also a pseudoscience intended to define intelligence based upon measurements and proportion of the skull and facial features. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology

I'd say Andy is correct to identify palmistry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmistry

So I'm unsure that this has to do with cultural activity systems. 

In previous emails I had brought up eugenics because of the content of the words written on the palm and how preposterous these sentences are when considering the person we are discussing. The idea that biology of the hand can indicate worthiness of a presidential candidate is hand-in-hand with eugenics (pun intended!)

I did some closer research on the lines and their significance in the lexicon of palmistry. Below is a longish exploration, and this is what I found:

-"All the best people have this." 
That particular line is the girdle of Venus and indicates the ability to manipulate.

-"Very big heart (but not like an enlarged heart or anything. Perfect size)." 
That line is the heart line, which has to do with emotional life. But here seems to have to do with his claim for robust health to preside.

- "Line of intellect. Fantastic. Continues onto back of hand. [arrows pointing to back of hand]." 
The head line is the intellect, I suppose a long line would mean a smarter person, but who knows. 

- for all the fingers:
    -index: "Not short. Normal."
    -middle: "Doesn't mean a thing."
    -ring: "Nothing to see here, move along."
    -pinky: "You don't know what you're talking about."

In my initial email, I pointed these out as denials compared to the other horizontally written texts, which make these affirmations of "greatness." That double speak seems Orwellian, (horizontal vs vertical are at the least orthogonal, and Trump does seem to speak orthogonally, and what I mean when I say that, is divisive. 

I mean these located on the mount of Luna:
    -"Respected by the Hispanics"
    -"Respected by the blacks."

These just sound absurd to me. But then... the mount of Luna pertains to imagination, so there you go! On one page of palmistry it says: "If it appears overly developed, this individual may be letting his imagination run wild, thus clouding reality. This individual draws himself into his own fantasies."

 - "Gonna live a long time. LONG. Very, very healthy"
The life line is the line circling the thumb, and the emphasis on LONG is likely not emphasized as an indication of length of life, but to call attention away from "not short." on the index finger. The only disqualifier for being president would be a person with very, very unhealthy heart. Like Cheney. (See the heart line above).

-"Leadership skills up the wazoo."
The thumb apparently indicates one's character, traits, temperament. 

"Lincoln" ; "FDR'; "Me" are written for presidents that in my estimation always get invoked during a presidential election cycle. By adding "Me" we certainly know whose hand this is. There is no Lincoln line or FDR line in palmistry! Nor a "Me" line, but with Trump "Me" is everything.

And as David says, the linguistic patterns also give it away. Especially:
-"Beautiful singing voice (You'd be surprised)."
Appearing on the mount of Venus, which is about the arts and the finer things in life, hence "Beautiful singing".

Also, upon further looking around, the custom in reading the left hand (for a right-handed person) indicates the character traits, personality and destiny one is born with. Which seems to coincide with the eugenics connection. That is, the right hand tells the future, and the left tells the past (for the right handed person).

Michael, I am not convinced that Twitter is so important anymore, not as it was. They are loosing users each year and unless they alter the design, to be more than entertainment, we may be witnessing its diminishing returns. But it would make sense that Trump has a flock of lackeys doing his bidding to keep the echo chamber echoing.

Certainly there is something studied in the way Trump uses language. He is inciting the people who believe in his mythos, but I hope he is also repelling enough of us who do not and will go out and vote. This reminds me of George Lakoff's "Moral politics: How liberals and conservatives think"  and how words activate the mythologies in our American culture. 

I actually suggested eugenics because of the horrifying experience it is watching him and the way he is inciting hatred and violence at his rallies.
https://theintercept.com/2016/03/21/video-shows-donald-trump-incites-violence/
{aside: the weird thing about this story is that the fellow throwing the punch is African American and a Trump supporter. He is an airman from Davis-Mothan AFB. The white fellow wearing the american-flag shirt who the airman is attacking is an Anti-Trump protester. Like I said, it's all just weird.} 

Trump even makes people at his rallies take oaths (by raising their hands) to be sure to vote. 

And then there's the slow refutation of the KKK associations. 

On twitter a few weeks ago, he quoted Mussolini without attribution (“It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” see: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/28/donald-trump-retweets-post-likening-him-to-mussolini/) When questioned by a journalist who tells him it is indeed a Mussolini quote, Trump just says something along the lines of, "I don't know if it is a Mussolini or not, but I think the quote is interesting." 

I also heard David Brooks speaking on NPR, clearly wanting to distance himself (as a Republican) from Trump. The radio segment was an attempt to explain why people are voting for him in the primaries. As an answer Brooks affirms that Trump is authoritarian and that that is what is appealing to Trump supporters. 

Now, with all the references to fascism, I applaud the New Yorker for their mastery of polysemic meaning without leaving the door open for Trump to sue them, as he likely would do. Whether there is authenticity or not to palmistry (certainly it isn't scientific), it is a masterful commentary on the hand-wavey politics of this candidate and his legitimacy (pun intended)

Anyway, this is my armchair analysis on a Sunday. 

I am just really really happy that people are protesting at Trump rallies. It gives me hope. 

Kind regards,

Annalisa