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To beat Trump, we need to know why Americans keep voting for him. Psychologists may have the answer
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Everyone has this hot take about why people support Trump. It's not rocket science and it definitely doesn't require a PHD to understand (lord know he doesn't have one and none of his supporters do either). It's very simple: America is a country where half of the population hates everybody who isn't a conservative heterosexual cisgendered white man. Sounds crazy. But it's the truth. Trump makes these people feel okay for carrying such hatred. That's it.
Except that's not the case at all. Reality isn't that simple and if you believe it is then you need to get out of your bubble and start listening to your left-wing allies in Trump country when they tell you what is going on.
Wow since when did Cracked start writing the truth.
This article is absolute gold. It's the same I try to tell people here in Germany with the AFD voters. The article nails it....
It will never stop when we keep going at it by trying to change people by telling them constantly how bad and stupid they supposedly are.
He paints a caricature of the left (apologies, I think his euphemism is city folk) from the very start that's equally as unhelpful, so you'll pardon me if I doubt the author's objectivity despite his attempt to tell us he's been in "both" environments.
The whole article is "folks in the country have or think they have good reason to hate you." It lambasts the "city" side for its stereotypes of trump voters and misconceptions about rural lifestyle, while entirely forgiving trump voters for theirs.
Then he stereotypes and maligns the reader who doesn't feel inclined to go along:
Can't it just be that I'd prefer an article that explains one "side" without excusing one side and leveling fresh accusations at the other? Did the author write a companion piece someplace to explain to Trump voters why "city folks" find Trump (and Trumpism) repugnant? Is racism and bigotry something we just get to cutely handwave away as the author does? (He's not the only one with experience in both sorts of environments.) Should we be expected to?
May as well tag @[email protected] since they linked the article.
Edit: Euphamism/Euphemism - I blame that it was about 3AM. 😁
You feel people should not be forgiven to vote for right wing / conservative / etc. parties. What exactly does that mean to not "forgive" them? What is the consequence you wish to see from that?
Can you quote the part where I've said such a thing?
Edit: You not only mischaracterized my comment, you ignored every single point I made about the article in order to do so.
While correct, the why is also very important. It's not always pure hatred of the other out of nowhere, it's propaganda outlets causing you to believe the things/people you aren't entirely comfortable with are the exact reason things are so bad in the country.
We have a gigantic propaganda problem that has no real solution as our 1st amendment (rightfully) protects our media even if they're completely antithetical to our continued survival as a nation... It's fucked up.
Then we need a new constitution built on today's technology and values.
Which won't happen unless our government is dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up.
We'd better get cracking then
… but doesn’t that beg the question, why half of America is like that? I wouldn’t find the answer “they just are” sufficient.
The article explains that. You will find that it is caused by something called "education" (or, in that case, the lack thereof). Look into it, it's literally empowering.
Also: "extrinsic" which comes in opposition to "intrinsic", means, quite obviously, "coming from outside". Now, if you add the term "values" to it, "intrinsic values" means "contributing", while "extrinsic values" means "profiting". It is literally a fancy term to designate selfish, kleptomaniac, toxic behavior. And this type of behavior is caused by the intimate conviction that one is unable to provide for oneself, and so, must take from others or suffer. This is, in turn, due to a lack of skills and knowledge, stemming from poor education.
Sounds like it goes back to the idea that modern day Republicans love Ayn Rand's philosophy.