What if I don’t believe America is in two exclusive camps, but a varied spectrum of different interests and opinions, of people who may be willing to compromise on one thing or another and often vote the options they can find accordingly – but also think that throwing your enthusiastic support behind someone who’s whole campaign has been built on promises of stamping down on minorities means you have deplorable views?
Is that allowed? Or do I have to pretend supporting the R and D party are always morally equivalent, no matter how much the Overton window shifts, no matter if one is taken over by an openly xenophobic and misogynist group? Do I have to put their equality first, or can I start with equality of people and see how the parties treat them?
Because that’s the thing with this two camp rhetoric, is it erases so many of the people in question. Nobody wants Ds to hate Rs and Rs to hate Ds, so we should try to respect each other’s views! And if that means normalizing hatred of Mexicans, of Muslims, of blacks, of women, of gays and trans*, well, now you’re a bigot for calling that out. I’m not having it.
