I'm not sure why it is so damn hard for the press to call out the lies and get off Trumps d*ck? If this were anyone else, let's say uh....oh yeah Hillary they would be so quick to call her out along with her supporters. This is just disgusting how they are so weak and are failing at their job daily. Thank you Eric for calling it as it is. Shame on the press that continue down this path of weakness.
I think they are overcompensating because they know that they look down on people from flyover land. They are desperate to prove they are fair so they do it by being unfair to all the regular people who voted for Hillary and Biden.
I am sick of the narrative that voters have no responsibility for how they vote or for not even bothering to vote. Being an informed citizen and voting for what is in the best interest of your country, not just your own self interest, is the main responsibility of citizens in a democracy. It is the very least we can do.
There is absolutely no excuse for people who support a man like Trump because he feels their egos, telling them they are superior to all those undeserving losers and justifies their desire to express their hatred. The ones I know personally — and there are quite a few — are privileged people who have never struggled financially. Even worse they all seriously believe they are devout Christians despite acting in ways that are exactly opposite to what Jesus stood for. It is particularly painful that some of them are relatives.
This Frustrated Political Scientist agrees with you. This country also seems to praise those who have been dumbed down or misinformed. They make all kinds of excuses for them: "they're not racist, just uninformed." I'm sick of the excuses, really. During the Opioid epidemic, it was all about understanding and empathizing with "Middle America" (code word: white) who are simply down on their luck, struggling to get by. They turn to drugs, so we must not demonize but help them with services and support. What? We spent decades locking up black and brown folk for simple possession, non-violent crimes--their lives ruined forever. But when it comes to the so-called "hard-working white class", everyone must bite their collective tongue and have empathy for these people. It doesn't matter how racist, how destructive, how violent. We must understand them and coddle them at all costs. It is disgusting.
Perfect response. Those well off people are more in tune with their tax situation when they vote, not the reality of what their vote means to a great many people. With that being said, we have rarely ever seen a divisive, hateful political landscape that we have now. There is just no, working together. Granted, Bitch McConnell is the biggest reason for that situation. Money and power...
I think the addiction with the press is money the people who own media just like the money. I know journalist need their jobs to live and take care of their families, but how do they look at themselves in the mirror for the things they write.
The Trump era has been such an eyeopener for me, honestly.
Oftentimes I wondered how some of the worst humanity atrocities in the past could’ve happened, and seeing how his supporters behave, think, and talk says it all.
They don’t deserve any sympathy. We should tell the truth about how their mentality puts our democracy in danger.
Jennifer Rubin has a column in today’s WaPo titled “ It’s time to understand the Biden voter”. She begins by saying “ Coverage that seeks to coddle, soothe and ultimately infantilize President Trump’s voters has pervaded post-election media. ......... instead, perhaps it is time to understand the 80 million voters who chose President-elect Joe Biden. In understanding who they are and what their motivations might be, we might wind up casting some of the most disappointed Trump voters — his “Make America Great Again” hard-liners — in a more realistic light.”
It’s about time someone wrote about the people who voted for Biden. Too bad no one bothered to make that point about the majority of Americans who voted for Hillary. We should not lose sight of the fact that these sane, decent people represent the majority of American voters and they should be getting the majority of the media attention.
Trump supporters remind me of the Tea Party movement. There is an orthodoxy that they espouse like a childish yet sadistic religion. Like the aforementioned Tea Partiers, they have forced their way into the Republican Party and taken it over. The only "truth" they adhere to boils down to their own winning and losing. If they win, it's fair, if not, it's fraudulent. That's it. Right now, a lot of Republicans go along to get along. Eventually, the delusional and loyal Trumpists will be the only people who can get elected as Republicans.
Of course you speak of those who used to yell "don't touch my Medicare" at the same time they are carrying the "death to Obamacare signs", because they said it was "socialism". I am not sure we will ever be able to rid the country of the "low information voters". They will forever more, be our burden.
Factual reporting is the citizen's tool, without which the assertion of rights can flourish without acknowledgement of responsibility. Laziness isn't exclusive to Trumpists, but they sure wear it well. The press needs to step up like a teacher justifying a failing grade to a coddling parent's tantrum.
When I heard that Tapper interview, I was startled by the way he could abstract the Trump Voters into being innocent naifs while at the same time recognizing that the positions that they hold are reprehensible.
That they are being lied to is immaterial to the racist, misogeny, homo- and transphobia they spout, often with violent rhetoric. And no, I do not want to try to find common ground with them, and I sure as hell don’t want to try to “win” them back into my party.
Thank you, Eric, for so stating the situation clearly and concisely. Even a cursory review of US politics shows that"moving on for the good of the country" will only result in Republicans and fascists concluding that there will be no penalty for their actions. Of course big "C" Conservatism cannot fail, it can only be failed. So every four to eight years we are subjected to new and improved, bigger and better, crueler and more belligerently ignorant Republicans. The LAST thing that should be done, if it should be done at all, is let any and all who supported, enabled, assisted,and yes voted for, the Dollar Tree Caligula off the hook.
I think it might be fare to say that Jake and the media feel sorry for Trump voters because they lack the capacity of critical thinking. It might be fare to say that they feel sorry for the Trump voters that grew up never learning empathy toward their neighbor. I think it might be fare to say they feel sorry for the Trump voter that only knows hate in the their heart of have never evolved emotionally past a nine year old. There are a lot of things they can feel sorry about but they should never excuse the words and actions of the Trump voter. Is the press going to feel sorry for a Trump voter that takes it a step too far and hurts or even kills someone they simply don't agree with or that voted for Biden? Does the press really want to be on that side of the argument? As a liberal I'm tired of being made to feel like I must be concerned for the feelings of illiterate racist people who shit all over our democracy, who have no clue as to how our three branches of government work, who would prefer to be under the rule of a dictator and have no concept of its consequences. It's infuriating how the press constantly dotes on these peoples' opinions and their feelings about how sad they are that their guy lost. Many of these folks say they don't care if Obamacare is overturned because after all, they are covered under the ACA. I rest my case. The press needs to stop protecting stupid and raise the bar by interviewing people that are ecstatic about Biden's win.
As I posted above that is nothing like the Trump supporters I know. Several of them used to be some of the nicest people I have ever known. It is deeply disturbing to see how they have changed after years of watching Fox.
Not sure they have changed or this simply was the way they always felt and Trump gave them a license to shout their racism and ignorance. And of course there are very bright people that voted for Trump some of them very friends. To your point, they are well off but for some reason see themselves as the victim. I can only conclude that they fear not being on top of the mountain anymore as our country becomes more diverse and less white. My wife's a psychologist and often talks of humans having tribal instincts. It's never been more obvious than what we have witnessed the last four years.
Don't forget Limbaugh & O'Reilly. They're on the radio for a combined six hours every weekday, starting at 9am Eastern. (Thank you, iHeart...not!)
I used to listen to Rush, then took a two-year enforced break by being stationed in Germany. When he showed up on AFN Radio, I was excited, and listened for exactly two days. Either I had changed or he had, because it wasn't remotely the same. So I changed the shop radio to AFN-FM and ordered that it not be changed to AM again.
I remember when Rush first started and he was very interesting - covered things you didn’t hear about in the rest of the media and he wasn’t lying as far as I could tell. He went off the rails after Clinton got elected and I never listened again.
That's about the right timing. I was assigned to Germany in '91, in time to participate in Operation Provide Comfort. He showed up on AFN sometime in 1993, as I remember.
When is anyone going to hold Trump supporters responsible for what they believe? Is it enough in a democracy to just take everything a politician says at face value? Or does each citizen/voter have a societal duty to determine the truth before determining what they believe? And that doesn't even address the most outrageous lies, the ones that are so outlandish that a listen should immediately suspect it is not true. Let's add the fact that Trump was documented to have told 30,000 lies over his years. Should that not make everything he says suspect? Just because many Trump supporters are gullible doesn't mean we should cut them any slack as fellow citizens in a democracy. They can use the Internet to research facts, too. Now, many of them need instruction in information literacy. But there are even free course available online that teach how to evaluate news sources for credibility. Many of those folks don't even realize they have a problem with their sources, though. With all of the frequent invocations of "fake news", I've seen very little information or attention paid to increasing information literacy among the public. I think the "sympathy" problem has deeper roots.
When is anyone going to hold Trump supporters responsible for what they believe? Is it enough in a democracy to just take everything a politician says at face value? Or does each citizen/voter have a societal duty to determine the truth before determining what they believe? And that doesn't even address the most outrageous lies, the ones that are so outlandish that a listen should immediately suspect it is not true. Let's add the fact that Trump was documented to have told 30,000 lies over his years. Should that not make everything he says suspect? Just because many Trump supporters are gullible doesn't mean we should cut them any slack as fellow citizens in a democracy. They can use the Internet to research facts, too. Now, many of them need instruction in information literacy. But there are even free course available online that teach how to evaluate news sources for credibility. Many of those folks don't even realize they have a problem with their sources, though. With all of the frequent invocations of "fake news", I've seen very little information or attention paid to increasing information literacy among the public. I think the "sympathy" problem has deeper roots.
I do want to say that Jake Tapper has been one of the half a dozen or so people at CNN who have distinguished themselves in their coverage in the past four years, so he may have been less clear than he wanted to be. But he did indeed hit on a favorite media trope about the need to "understand" them. They're very understandable. Either they are bigoted misogynists or they don't care about bigotry or misogyny, which makes them only infinitesimally better than bigoted misogynists.
Once again, with most media personalities, they have marching orders. Do not outwardly dismiss the Trumpeteers. In other words, don't cause a decline in the bottom line for newspapers/media. If you stop showing them a warm heart and welcoming arms, they will go somewhere else. Trump fans don' normally read. They "hear" and that is what they believe. Even though Trump has pretty much made CNN, a bad guy and "fake news", his people still hear what is said. They hear Tapper giving a shoulder to lean on, they come back. More $$ to the company.
Do you think it is because we as a country are loathed to get honest about race in America? I've had countless white liberal women "friends" send me think pieces on the additional 2%-4% of black voters who went to Trump. Their goal was to convince me that race no longer matters because Trump got a few more black votes this time. HUH?
Overtures to Dems to "understand Trump voters" are coming mostly from white liberals. I will never forget this as long as I live: After the 2016 election, Jon Stewart angrily lectured us about how we need to stop calling people racist. It's "economic anxiety" that fuels their choices. Race brings conflict, as if there was no conflict before. At the very least, Trump/GOP voters are ignoring how racist Trump/GOP are, which in my view is even worse than being racist. Many Germans dismissed Nazi propaganda as overreactions--"that would never happen here," they thought. But it did. That Trump openly called for a race war during a national debate and all his other racist narratives--at the very least, his supporters ignored it; again, even worse.
Bernie Sanders's entire message is driven by economic considerations. He has repeated stated that we must eschew "identify politics," except for when it comes to white males, of course. Racism doesn't exist. It's class!
I have two Masters and a Ph.D. When the Proud Boys come for me, they're not first asking me how much money I make or if I'm educated. We point to the GOP, but there is a strain of racism that permeates the political left, and we need to get honest about this.
Indeed we do. I contend that media constantly criticize and marginalize Democrats is because African American voters and officeholders wield power and influence. Exhibit A: pundits who crowned Bernie Sanders as the nominee in 2020 even though he did not have support from majority of Black (media subtext "not real") voters.
Jennifer Rubin has done something similar to what Robinson did on her blog at WaPo.
As for Hugh Hewitt, it's really simple. Anyone who voted republican either is a bigot and sexist or has no problem with bigotry or sexism. That's it. It's that easy.
Nothing will turn them back into humans these people are full of hate and nothing we do or say will change that. I always tell people that poc have lived with this hate all of their lives, now other people are beginning to see how we have lived. These cult followers deserve jail on an Island where there is no way off, so maybe then they will be satisfied with people who look like them and believe the same things. I'm sorry for the way you were treated no one should be treated like that for their beliefs. Stay safe
Honestly that isn’t true for the people I know who have become Trump supporters. They used to be really nice people. I remember years ago being outraged that the Memphis country club where she wanted to have her wedding reception wouldn’t let them book a black band. She is now consumed with fear and hate. She used to be one of my favorite people but I can’t even stand to be around her now. Unfortunately she is a member of my family.....
You say not true but you are telling me this family member consumed by fear and hate. It's true she is now a cult follower who believes everything she hears on fox, Qnon or any other media outlet that supports 45. I know it's hard to let a family member go because we love them. I have family members who believe in 45 and tell me he's not such a bad man.
I actually knew a highly educated German man who had been an avid member of the Hitler Youth and then a passionate member of the Nazi Party and a soldier in the German army. He told me that what woke him up was when he time in an American prisoner of war camp where he was forced to watch films of the liberation of the concentration camps and other German atrocities. He became a passionate defender of democracy and was very active in the civil rights movement. He was terrified by the Bush administration lies that got us into the war with Iraq and other kinds of right wing propaganda. I know Trump winning would have broken his heart.
I'm sorry you didn't like my comment, my question would be this what will scare these people who are so full of fear and hatred to change. Only God is the answer and many of these people only pay at being christian. I'm sorry not trying to past judgment just calling like I see it. My grand used to say when a person tells you who they are believe them.
When Dylan Roof (or whatever his name is) killed 9 people in cold blood in a black Baptist church in South Carolina, he wasn't immediately taken down as a domestic terrorist. No! He was treated to a nice meal. I'm not sure that he was even handcuffed. Soon after when the families of the fallen appeared in court for the initial hearing, the presiding judge made THEM apologize; asserting that Dylan Roof's family "are victims, too". Many of the families of the 9 dead parishioners felt defeated, finally giving in and expressing sorry and remorse to Dylan Roof's family. THEY HAD TO APOLOGIZE TO DYLAN ROOF'S FAMILY! Now we're being told that no matter how disgusting, violent, mean-spirited or destructive Trump/GOP voters are, we must, one again, understand their plight and have pity on them due to their "economic anxiety". In Dylan Roof's "manifesto," he wrote absolutely nothing about economics or feelings or despair over the economy. It was all about how black men are coming to rape white women and how white people will be the minority in a few years if "nothing is done to stop if".
If that doesn't reflect a serious, ugly problem in this country, I don't know what does. We need to get honest about race in this country no matter how revealing, no matter how painful.
What a horrible experience for you. Your post makes me thing of the documentary “The Brainwashing of my Dad”. A lot of us have seen that kind of radicalization happen to people we have known for ages. The only thing that gives me hope is that the dad in the documentary changed back after his wife blocked his access to Fox News.
Like you I was raised Catholic. It was during the post Vatican II days and things were very different from today. My friends who are still Catholic have told me just how powerful the far right became in the US church under the last two popes. They strongly oppose not only this pope — too Jesus-like — but also Vatican II.
I'm not sure why it is so damn hard for the press to call out the lies and get off Trumps d*ck? If this were anyone else, let's say uh....oh yeah Hillary they would be so quick to call her out along with her supporters. This is just disgusting how they are so weak and are failing at their job daily. Thank you Eric for calling it as it is. Shame on the press that continue down this path of weakness.
there does seem to be a weird media addiction w/ Trump voters
I think they are overcompensating because they know that they look down on people from flyover land. They are desperate to prove they are fair so they do it by being unfair to all the regular people who voted for Hillary and Biden.
I am sick of the narrative that voters have no responsibility for how they vote or for not even bothering to vote. Being an informed citizen and voting for what is in the best interest of your country, not just your own self interest, is the main responsibility of citizens in a democracy. It is the very least we can do.
There is absolutely no excuse for people who support a man like Trump because he feels their egos, telling them they are superior to all those undeserving losers and justifies their desire to express their hatred. The ones I know personally — and there are quite a few — are privileged people who have never struggled financially. Even worse they all seriously believe they are devout Christians despite acting in ways that are exactly opposite to what Jesus stood for. It is particularly painful that some of them are relatives.
This Frustrated Political Scientist agrees with you. This country also seems to praise those who have been dumbed down or misinformed. They make all kinds of excuses for them: "they're not racist, just uninformed." I'm sick of the excuses, really. During the Opioid epidemic, it was all about understanding and empathizing with "Middle America" (code word: white) who are simply down on their luck, struggling to get by. They turn to drugs, so we must not demonize but help them with services and support. What? We spent decades locking up black and brown folk for simple possession, non-violent crimes--their lives ruined forever. But when it comes to the so-called "hard-working white class", everyone must bite their collective tongue and have empathy for these people. It doesn't matter how racist, how destructive, how violent. We must understand them and coddle them at all costs. It is disgusting.
Perfect response. Those well off people are more in tune with their tax situation when they vote, not the reality of what their vote means to a great many people. With that being said, we have rarely ever seen a divisive, hateful political landscape that we have now. There is just no, working together. Granted, Bitch McConnell is the biggest reason for that situation. Money and power...
I think the addiction with the press is money the people who own media just like the money. I know journalist need their jobs to live and take care of their families, but how do they look at themselves in the mirror for the things they write.
Weak is the perfect description for the majority of our media.
The Trump era has been such an eyeopener for me, honestly.
Oftentimes I wondered how some of the worst humanity atrocities in the past could’ve happened, and seeing how his supporters behave, think, and talk says it all.
They don’t deserve any sympathy. We should tell the truth about how their mentality puts our democracy in danger.
exactly — sympathy is the exact opposition response that should be in play
Jennifer Rubin has a column in today’s WaPo titled “ It’s time to understand the Biden voter”. She begins by saying “ Coverage that seeks to coddle, soothe and ultimately infantilize President Trump’s voters has pervaded post-election media. ......... instead, perhaps it is time to understand the 80 million voters who chose President-elect Joe Biden. In understanding who they are and what their motivations might be, we might wind up casting some of the most disappointed Trump voters — his “Make America Great Again” hard-liners — in a more realistic light.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/30/time-understand-biden-voter/
It’s about time someone wrote about the people who voted for Biden. Too bad no one bothered to make that point about the majority of Americans who voted for Hillary. We should not lose sight of the fact that these sane, decent people represent the majority of American voters and they should be getting the majority of the media attention.
Yes, just saw that—excellent piece
Trump supporters remind me of the Tea Party movement. There is an orthodoxy that they espouse like a childish yet sadistic religion. Like the aforementioned Tea Partiers, they have forced their way into the Republican Party and taken it over. The only "truth" they adhere to boils down to their own winning and losing. If they win, it's fair, if not, it's fraudulent. That's it. Right now, a lot of Republicans go along to get along. Eventually, the delusional and loyal Trumpists will be the only people who can get elected as Republicans.
agreed. what we're seeing today is Tea Party on steroids, thanks to Trump lies and online disinformation
Of course you speak of those who used to yell "don't touch my Medicare" at the same time they are carrying the "death to Obamacare signs", because they said it was "socialism". I am not sure we will ever be able to rid the country of the "low information voters". They will forever more, be our burden.
This column made me eager to subscribe and I did! I am retired Texas journalist.
Factual reporting is the citizen's tool, without which the assertion of rights can flourish without acknowledgement of responsibility. Laziness isn't exclusive to Trumpists, but they sure wear it well. The press needs to step up like a teacher justifying a failing grade to a coddling parent's tantrum.
When I heard that Tapper interview, I was startled by the way he could abstract the Trump Voters into being innocent naifs while at the same time recognizing that the positions that they hold are reprehensible.
That they are being lied to is immaterial to the racist, misogeny, homo- and transphobia they spout, often with violent rhetoric. And no, I do not want to try to find common ground with them, and I sure as hell don’t want to try to “win” them back into my party.
Thank you, Eric, for so stating the situation clearly and concisely. Even a cursory review of US politics shows that"moving on for the good of the country" will only result in Republicans and fascists concluding that there will be no penalty for their actions. Of course big "C" Conservatism cannot fail, it can only be failed. So every four to eight years we are subjected to new and improved, bigger and better, crueler and more belligerently ignorant Republicans. The LAST thing that should be done, if it should be done at all, is let any and all who supported, enabled, assisted,and yes voted for, the Dollar Tree Caligula off the hook.
I think it might be fare to say that Jake and the media feel sorry for Trump voters because they lack the capacity of critical thinking. It might be fare to say that they feel sorry for the Trump voters that grew up never learning empathy toward their neighbor. I think it might be fare to say they feel sorry for the Trump voter that only knows hate in the their heart of have never evolved emotionally past a nine year old. There are a lot of things they can feel sorry about but they should never excuse the words and actions of the Trump voter. Is the press going to feel sorry for a Trump voter that takes it a step too far and hurts or even kills someone they simply don't agree with or that voted for Biden? Does the press really want to be on that side of the argument? As a liberal I'm tired of being made to feel like I must be concerned for the feelings of illiterate racist people who shit all over our democracy, who have no clue as to how our three branches of government work, who would prefer to be under the rule of a dictator and have no concept of its consequences. It's infuriating how the press constantly dotes on these peoples' opinions and their feelings about how sad they are that their guy lost. Many of these folks say they don't care if Obamacare is overturned because after all, they are covered under the ACA. I rest my case. The press needs to stop protecting stupid and raise the bar by interviewing people that are ecstatic about Biden's win.
As I posted above that is nothing like the Trump supporters I know. Several of them used to be some of the nicest people I have ever known. It is deeply disturbing to see how they have changed after years of watching Fox.
Not sure they have changed or this simply was the way they always felt and Trump gave them a license to shout their racism and ignorance. And of course there are very bright people that voted for Trump some of them very friends. To your point, they are well off but for some reason see themselves as the victim. I can only conclude that they fear not being on top of the mountain anymore as our country becomes more diverse and less white. My wife's a psychologist and often talks of humans having tribal instincts. It's never been more obvious than what we have witnessed the last four years.
Don't forget Limbaugh & O'Reilly. They're on the radio for a combined six hours every weekday, starting at 9am Eastern. (Thank you, iHeart...not!)
I used to listen to Rush, then took a two-year enforced break by being stationed in Germany. When he showed up on AFN Radio, I was excited, and listened for exactly two days. Either I had changed or he had, because it wasn't remotely the same. So I changed the shop radio to AFN-FM and ordered that it not be changed to AM again.
I remember when Rush first started and he was very interesting - covered things you didn’t hear about in the rest of the media and he wasn’t lying as far as I could tell. He went off the rails after Clinton got elected and I never listened again.
That's about the right timing. I was assigned to Germany in '91, in time to participate in Operation Provide Comfort. He showed up on AFN sometime in 1993, as I remember.
When is anyone going to hold Trump supporters responsible for what they believe? Is it enough in a democracy to just take everything a politician says at face value? Or does each citizen/voter have a societal duty to determine the truth before determining what they believe? And that doesn't even address the most outrageous lies, the ones that are so outlandish that a listen should immediately suspect it is not true. Let's add the fact that Trump was documented to have told 30,000 lies over his years. Should that not make everything he says suspect? Just because many Trump supporters are gullible doesn't mean we should cut them any slack as fellow citizens in a democracy. They can use the Internet to research facts, too. Now, many of them need instruction in information literacy. But there are even free course available online that teach how to evaluate news sources for credibility. Many of those folks don't even realize they have a problem with their sources, though. With all of the frequent invocations of "fake news", I've seen very little information or attention paid to increasing information literacy among the public. I think the "sympathy" problem has deeper roots.
When is anyone going to hold Trump supporters responsible for what they believe? Is it enough in a democracy to just take everything a politician says at face value? Or does each citizen/voter have a societal duty to determine the truth before determining what they believe? And that doesn't even address the most outrageous lies, the ones that are so outlandish that a listen should immediately suspect it is not true. Let's add the fact that Trump was documented to have told 30,000 lies over his years. Should that not make everything he says suspect? Just because many Trump supporters are gullible doesn't mean we should cut them any slack as fellow citizens in a democracy. They can use the Internet to research facts, too. Now, many of them need instruction in information literacy. But there are even free course available online that teach how to evaluate news sources for credibility. Many of those folks don't even realize they have a problem with their sources, though. With all of the frequent invocations of "fake news", I've seen very little information or attention paid to increasing information literacy among the public. I think the "sympathy" problem has deeper roots.
I do want to say that Jake Tapper has been one of the half a dozen or so people at CNN who have distinguished themselves in their coverage in the past four years, so he may have been less clear than he wanted to be. But he did indeed hit on a favorite media trope about the need to "understand" them. They're very understandable. Either they are bigoted misogynists or they don't care about bigotry or misogyny, which makes them only infinitesimally better than bigoted misogynists.
Yes, Tapper has been generally strong this year. Disappointing to see him fall back on this media crutch of sympathy for Trump voters
Once again, with most media personalities, they have marching orders. Do not outwardly dismiss the Trumpeteers. In other words, don't cause a decline in the bottom line for newspapers/media. If you stop showing them a warm heart and welcoming arms, they will go somewhere else. Trump fans don' normally read. They "hear" and that is what they believe. Even though Trump has pretty much made CNN, a bad guy and "fake news", his people still hear what is said. They hear Tapper giving a shoulder to lean on, they come back. More $$ to the company.
Oh good pt!...are Trump supporters super savvy or are they being duped?
Do you think it is because we as a country are loathed to get honest about race in America? I've had countless white liberal women "friends" send me think pieces on the additional 2%-4% of black voters who went to Trump. Their goal was to convince me that race no longer matters because Trump got a few more black votes this time. HUH?
Overtures to Dems to "understand Trump voters" are coming mostly from white liberals. I will never forget this as long as I live: After the 2016 election, Jon Stewart angrily lectured us about how we need to stop calling people racist. It's "economic anxiety" that fuels their choices. Race brings conflict, as if there was no conflict before. At the very least, Trump/GOP voters are ignoring how racist Trump/GOP are, which in my view is even worse than being racist. Many Germans dismissed Nazi propaganda as overreactions--"that would never happen here," they thought. But it did. That Trump openly called for a race war during a national debate and all his other racist narratives--at the very least, his supporters ignored it; again, even worse.
Bernie Sanders's entire message is driven by economic considerations. He has repeated stated that we must eschew "identify politics," except for when it comes to white males, of course. Racism doesn't exist. It's class!
I have two Masters and a Ph.D. When the Proud Boys come for me, they're not first asking me how much money I make or if I'm educated. We point to the GOP, but there is a strain of racism that permeates the political left, and we need to get honest about this.
Indeed we do. I contend that media constantly criticize and marginalize Democrats is because African American voters and officeholders wield power and influence. Exhibit A: pundits who crowned Bernie Sanders as the nominee in 2020 even though he did not have support from majority of Black (media subtext "not real") voters.
Jennifer Rubin has done something similar to what Robinson did on her blog at WaPo.
As for Hugh Hewitt, it's really simple. Anyone who voted republican either is a bigot and sexist or has no problem with bigotry or sexism. That's it. It's that easy.
Nothing will turn them back into humans these people are full of hate and nothing we do or say will change that. I always tell people that poc have lived with this hate all of their lives, now other people are beginning to see how we have lived. These cult followers deserve jail on an Island where there is no way off, so maybe then they will be satisfied with people who look like them and believe the same things. I'm sorry for the way you were treated no one should be treated like that for their beliefs. Stay safe
Honestly that isn’t true for the people I know who have become Trump supporters. They used to be really nice people. I remember years ago being outraged that the Memphis country club where she wanted to have her wedding reception wouldn’t let them book a black band. She is now consumed with fear and hate. She used to be one of my favorite people but I can’t even stand to be around her now. Unfortunately she is a member of my family.....
You say not true but you are telling me this family member consumed by fear and hate. It's true she is now a cult follower who believes everything she hears on fox, Qnon or any other media outlet that supports 45. I know it's hard to let a family member go because we love them. I have family members who believe in 45 and tell me he's not such a bad man.
I actually knew a highly educated German man who had been an avid member of the Hitler Youth and then a passionate member of the Nazi Party and a soldier in the German army. He told me that what woke him up was when he time in an American prisoner of war camp where he was forced to watch films of the liberation of the concentration camps and other German atrocities. He became a passionate defender of democracy and was very active in the civil rights movement. He was terrified by the Bush administration lies that got us into the war with Iraq and other kinds of right wing propaganda. I know Trump winning would have broken his heart.
I'm sorry you didn't like my comment, my question would be this what will scare these people who are so full of fear and hatred to change. Only God is the answer and many of these people only pay at being christian. I'm sorry not trying to past judgment just calling like I see it. My grand used to say when a person tells you who they are believe them.
It is a cult. Not much else to say except I'm glad you escaped
indeed, something rotten is def happening
When Dylan Roof (or whatever his name is) killed 9 people in cold blood in a black Baptist church in South Carolina, he wasn't immediately taken down as a domestic terrorist. No! He was treated to a nice meal. I'm not sure that he was even handcuffed. Soon after when the families of the fallen appeared in court for the initial hearing, the presiding judge made THEM apologize; asserting that Dylan Roof's family "are victims, too". Many of the families of the 9 dead parishioners felt defeated, finally giving in and expressing sorry and remorse to Dylan Roof's family. THEY HAD TO APOLOGIZE TO DYLAN ROOF'S FAMILY! Now we're being told that no matter how disgusting, violent, mean-spirited or destructive Trump/GOP voters are, we must, one again, understand their plight and have pity on them due to their "economic anxiety". In Dylan Roof's "manifesto," he wrote absolutely nothing about economics or feelings or despair over the economy. It was all about how black men are coming to rape white women and how white people will be the minority in a few years if "nothing is done to stop if".
If that doesn't reflect a serious, ugly problem in this country, I don't know what does. We need to get honest about race in this country no matter how revealing, no matter how painful.
Racism will be the death of this country unless we come out of our national denial.
What a horrible experience for you. Your post makes me thing of the documentary “The Brainwashing of my Dad”. A lot of us have seen that kind of radicalization happen to people we have known for ages. The only thing that gives me hope is that the dad in the documentary changed back after his wife blocked his access to Fox News.
Like you I was raised Catholic. It was during the post Vatican II days and things were very different from today. My friends who are still Catholic have told me just how powerful the far right became in the US church under the last two popes. They strongly oppose not only this pope — too Jesus-like — but also Vatican II.