Gaming & Donald Trump

Gaming & Donald Trump

How did Donald Trump become president? What happened?  What were the forces, the components, the issues, the elements, the divisions, games played, or was this an issueless and clueless election?

What was Donald Trump’s strategy? He was the fox, the underdog, and at times like the rabbit in African American folklore.  He must have advisers who are adept at game theory, bluffing, challenging, playing to win, and control.

He became entertainment for the media, and a joke for the public at large. He was blatant, rude, and totally unpredictable most of the time. At times he behaved like a toddler or an arrogant adolescent. He bluffed and acted his way to the White House. His advisors, his strategists knew the playing field well - like a card game we could say. They played them all; all the divisions within American society to the hilt. He was underestimated like the fox in African American Folklore.

Two tenets to game theory that work sometimes.

It is rational to be ambiguous in some situations. Tenet two - in some situations it pays to be confrontational. The high risks that get the high rewards approach. Which Trump is known for in the world of business.  He went all the way to the White House like a tank on the battle field. He became so extreme and outrageous; with limited responses from others – in not wanting to appear stupid to his brash, rude, vulgar, whining, irrational behavior, insulting statements and comments. Even a ten year old could see through it. Yet, Trump was vying for the highest office in the Nation, and won. The average citizen laughed along; thinking they were smarter than Trump (the dumb rabbit), no match for the fox.

The general public seemed to be still in reality television mode. Trump was a household word through his realty show the Apprentice. Which was about getting a dream job and career from a rich White male.  The masses tuned in by the millions to see others trying to get a dream job or be fired by Trump.

While reading about game theory I discovered that it can be found in African American folklore in a book recently written by Michael Suk-Young Chwe.  The book illustrates that African Americans have a folk history of strategic thinking (game theory), manifested in folktales.

By reading what I could find about game theory I realized how rich our tradition of folklore is. It allowed us to think strategically. I ran across the term indefinite game theory.  Which made me think even further along the lines of game theory and thinking strategically as an African American.  Especially, in regards to how strategies are in place to keep us (African Americans) going around and around in someone’s game strategies, and vying for inclusion. Strategies that govern what we discuss, and don’t discuss. What we deal with, and what we don’t. What is real, and what is not real. What our fantasies are. What we fight about among us. And many of our collective themes of thought most of the time coming from elsewhere. Who we buy from, and who we don’t buy from. Programming which seems to put us inside a black box with a wheel that turns over and over again perpetually - which does not benefit us.