Contrary to what many liberals and progressives would like to assert, Trump’s white “working class” voters are not irrational. Instead, Trump’s “white working class” voters have made a different calculation about what is most important to them. Here, Whiteness and the psychological wages which come from it (especially the entitlement and privilege to cause nonwhite people pain and suffering without consequences) are more important for Trump’s white voters than their health, income or even lives.
If he hides in his bunker on January 20, we need to just put a guard on it 24/7 and get back to business. Build a second, better bunker for future presidents if we have to.
I still find that value equation highly irrational. It is an interesting deconstruction, but it is a de facto rationalization. It is not, in itself, rational. Thanks for posting that article - I agree - White Supremacy has won.
It IS looking like Biden will eke out a win. Probably. But a TON OF TRUST WAS BURNED LAST NIGHT. The trust bank in White America is empty, overdrawn in fact. Ignorance, tribalism, racism, xenophobia, irrationality, superstition have won. It will take us about another 40 years to dig out of this hole we are in.
It’s not just White people, it’s Evangelical White people. They were about a quarter of the voters and they went all in for Trump. So it’s not just racism, it’s racism and religion.
Yes. I painted with a broad brush. But, let’s say here, among friends, when I am mad at “white people” I don’t obviously mean friendlies. We have allies in most groups, to varying degrees.
Of course not. Black Evangelicals didn’t, for example. And I’m willing to bet that plenty of other devout folks who aren’t White Evangelicals didn’t either (although I have no data). But clearly White Evangelicals DID.
It’s only one kind of religion, but it’s one that is incredibly popular in the US and appears to equate with support for Trump.
These are two different problems.
Jump on the other side of the pond and look the situation of Brexit. UK got in a messy situation and BoJo has a lot of problem to manage it especially because EU states are seeking their own interests, and UK voted for Tories who voted BoJo. Same situation with Italy, with Berlusconi, but the majority of votes were for right and far right parties.
Another problem s when the end result is different compared to the popular vote. That could exacerbate the first problem in some cases.
They are not a majority of this country. They are a vocal minority. Let’s stop letting them dominate a clearly important category for many Americans, left and right. It’s not working as a strategy.
I wonder about this. It seems to me possible that the willingness to accept, let alone embrace white nationalist politics has something to do with the changing demographics and that there is great anxiety amongst whites about no longer being in the majority. If the switchover to where the US is no longer majority white happens in 2045ish, will this anxiety suddenly disappear? Will there be a reduction of white nationalist politics, at least at the national level? Will white people be doing things like try to actually secede? Or will they just realize that being a minority isn’t bad as long as there is respect for all minorities? Do these people who are still voting for Trump really want to live in a fucking apartheid nation?
I guess my point is it doesn’t really seem to me like it will take 40 years for this to come to a head. 25 seems closer to it. White men don’t really have any longer than that to get used to the idea of equality and start acting like grown-ups.
Which still shows them to be a minority of religious voters, though, which is my point.
I agree. I’m with you on how dangerous this demographic are, I just think that we’re letting them dominate the discussion on American religiousity. I don’t think that’s helpful, as it alienates the majority of religious Americans, which we have to come to grips with the fact that makes up the majority of the electorate, left and right.
I don’t think that has to be alienating for those of us who are atheist or agnostic, though, unless we let those white evangelicals do what they’ve been doing since the Moral Majority, and that is dominate that space in the electorate.
I think what matters in this right now is that SC case from (I think) PA, which is reconfigure religious liberties to allow discrimination against non-religious folks.
Welp. We knew this would happen. He telegraphed it. Keep counting the votes and let’s see how this pans out. With a bit of hope and luck he will be crying in his Wheaties soon.
