His power to threaten people with his physical presence, by looming over them, and I'm certain in many cases by physically assaulting them, is greatly diminished.
You've got to wonder if his youngest kid has rolled his eyes at him yet. I'd bet his older kids only did that once or twice and stopped for fear of his reaction.
When I was sixteen I quit high school primarily for all the bullying I was suffering, I was by weight one of the smaller boys in school, alarmingly skinny. I also tended to speak my mind, seemingly without concern for my physical safety. This left me bloodied and bruised sometimes and it wasn't only by my classmates. A few times I got bruised by school staff too, including teachers.
Three years later the testosterone was really starting to kick in and I was getting well paying gigs in warehouses, moving furniture, etc. The first time I earned more than $100 in a day was for moving furniture.
By the time I graduated from college, nine years after quitting high school, I was a foot taller and eighty pounds heavier. I'd also learned to hold my tongue. I didn't feel physically threatened by anyone. The few times I was threatened it was by people holding weapons. Bullies didn't see me as an easy target.
I'm not seventy quite yet but I've lost some of that confidence. I've got bad arthritis, I can't see or hear as well, and I'm not so quick and strong. As someone who doesn't rely on my brawn to intimidate people, as someone who strives to live in peace and kindness, I'm not especially concerned about this aspect of aging. People will begin to look out for me as I have looked out for others.
I don't need to surround myself with an Army of ICE agents and younger women to prop up my diminishing confidence in my own physical prowess.
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