Baals Lied, Bertolt Brecht

Early Brecht poem, my translation:

Baals Lied

Hat ein Weib fette Hüften, tu ich sie ins grüne Gras....
Rock und Hose tu ich lüften, sonnig – denn ich liebe das.

Beißt das Weib vor Ekstase, wisch ich ab mit grünem Gras
Mund und Biß und Schoß und Nase: sauber – denn ich liebe das.
Treibt das Weib die schöne Sache feurig, doch im Übermaß
Geb ich ihr die Hand und lache: freundlich, denn ich liebe das.

……….

Baal’s Song

If I had a woman with big fat hips I’d take her on the green grass.
I’d lift her skirt and her shirt in the sun – I’d love that.
I’d bite that woman to ecstasy, wash her clean in the green grass,
her mouth and her teeth, her nose, her lap – I would love that.
I’d set that beautiful woman on fire. I’d lose control, giving her the hand,
then the smile – amiable again. And I’d love that.

Trump and White Nationalism

A few notes to a friend who thinks Donald Trump's support comes from economic issues:

No. It isn't. Trump's supporters are the spear's edge of the White Nationalist movement in America. They're the hardcore right wing of the right wing party. I don't believe the anger is about economics, but race-based. Every other Trump supporter on Twitter who trolls me has the #WhiteGenocide hashtag in his bio. (Yes, overwhelmingly "his.") The anti-immigrant rhetoric is racism wrapped up in legalities. The anti-"welfare" rhetoric comes from the belief that dark-skinned people are mooching off the system. The gun rights rhetoric comes from the fear that the dark-skinned people will come and hurt them if they aren't armed to the teeth. They've coalesced around hatred of a dark-skinned man in the White House. The economic or alleged constitutional issues that they pretend animate them were not discussed at all when a white Republican was in the White House. Fortunately, I don't think their schtick will play outside the neo-John Birch movement that is the Tea Party and Trump's support won't expand beyond the hardcore White Nationalists who currently propel him.