Weird reply. I can't tell, are you agreeing or disagreeing or something else?
It triggers me whenever I see people ceding words like this - and this particularly annoyed me because it wasn't only ceding the phrase "makes America great again" but any phrase of the same grammatical construct!
Growing up trans I was called every name and slur in the book because people learned from others that those slurs might have power over me. The bullies had learned from other trans people that those words had power. That they could make me cry or feel weak or powerless if they held those words over my head. I never gave them that satisfaction though. My response was aways "Yeah, and?" which I had learned from the gay community. And I hate, rather strongly at that, anyone who helps those words retain power so that they can continue to be used to bully other trans children.
Never give words power over you. By doing so you give them power over others. If a word or phrase bothers you so strongly - reclaim it. Turn it into something you control - don't let it be wielded like a stick to hit you with. Why willingly turn it into a weapon that people can use against you?
That goes as much for slurs as it does for "make X Y again". It pisses me off is all.
It doesn't feel analogous to what you're saying about slurs, to me.
I'm saying don't let him own it at all. It isn't his to own - it's a cliché English snowclone that he gave popularity to. It doesn't deserve to be a powerful slogan that makes people think of Trump. It deserves to be a generic, overused snowclone devoid of any significant meaning where the average person no longer remembers the original phrase or meaning.
By ceding it to Trump and wishing to discontinue usage of it you're choosing to give it power and continue a legacy that it doesn't deserve.
You've probably pattern-matched me to a different kind of Trump-hater than I actually am. In fact my complaining about this was more of the form: I and many others would rather not think about Trump while reading unrelated tech news and using that phrase in your title is a tiresome association that is less pleasant than leaving it out.
You are correct that I misidentified you - and I understand your point in the latter paragraph about it being more of an annoyance of politics overstepping into your unrelated Tech news rather than "Ugh, Trump". I'm glad I was able to get my point across clearly and as long as you understand where I am coming from we can absolutely disagree over my opinion on the matter. After all - it is just an opinion.
Thanks for keeping the discussion civil and take care o7