So. That's still happening.
One year into the Trumpocalypse, and I have a number of different thoughts trying to crowd their way through my fingers and onto the screen. Let's see which ones make it out here.
For the past year, I've thought, read, written, talked and listened, trying to make sense of what happened and what we can do about it. Some of the things I've thought about haven't been pleasant. It's "my people" who did this to us. "My" Midwestern, Christian white folks. People I've known my whole life were a part of it. That's been very hard to understand - and the things I have understood are hard to accept.
At the end of the day, it all keeps coming back to race.
Bigotry in general, really. Women and LGBT people are in the crosshairs too. But more than anything else, it keeps coming back to race.
It's easy to see when Trump does something like defend the white supremacy marchers in Charlottesville. But it keeps showing up elsewhere, too. Even people who try to explain Trump voters in terms other than race keep stumbling onto the issue of race.
You can see it in the people who talk about how much they suffered having Barack Obama as president for eight years. What exactly did they "suffer?" As near as I can figure, it was the shame of having a black man be in charge.
You can see it in a recent article at Slate.com, which tries to explain the psychology of why conservatives seem so much more likely to believe demonstrably false information. In the middle of all the psychology, there's this quote from a Tea Party member: "People think we are not good people if we don’t feel sorry for blacks and immigrants and Syrian refugees. But I am a good person and I don't feel sorry for them."
And you can see it in a recent article at Politico.com, which profiled Trump voters in one community who still support him even with the full knowledge that he hasn't helped them over the past year, and he probably never will. The article covers a number of different reasons why - but ends with two of the subjects talking over a joke about what the letters in "NFL" should really stand for. The fact that I'm not going to repeat the joke should tell you what they chose for "N".
Some of it is ignorance. I get that. I didn't start to realize how extensive white privilege was until a few years ago, and I didn't really get clued in to the full picture until sometime last year. My awareness of LGBT issues goes back much farther, but it still had a starting point. It wasn't something I always understood. I was ignorant, but then I learned. Then I changed. But the people who support Trump don't want to change. Talking to them about changing just makes them dig in more.
Another recent article at The Atlantic admits that conservative policies have bigoted repercussions many conservative voters may not recognize or intend. It suggests that the way liberals can get conservatives to work with them is by being nicer and not pointing out the prejudices that conservatives are defending. I understand the emotional message, but I can't agree with the conclusion. Most conservative voters aren't going to believe that conservative policies have bigoted consequences until conservative leaders start standing up and admitting it. Otherwise, it's just more "fake news."
A year into the Trumpocalypse, what we have in America is a struggle between those who want everything to be run largely by white men (who at least claim to be straight and Christian), and those who want everyone to have a share in running things. It's only a matter of time before those who want everything to be run by white men will lose, and they know it. They are therefore throwing the world's biggest temper tantrum. Trump gives voice to their rage. He gives voice to their hatred of change. He gives them targets on which to project their fears and hatreds. His narcissism validates their own. His attacks on "liberal elites" give them vicarious thrills.
There is no tiptoeing around it. There is no way we can talk nicely to conservatives and get them to change without bringing up this issue. And it's an issue for every conservative in the entire country, because even if they themselves aren't bigots, they have no problem with letting bigots run things and set the agenda. Trump has a reverse-Midas touch. Supporting him means there's no escaping the stain he leaves.
I usually try to end these blog posts on a hopeful note, but I'm not sure what we can hope for. Yes, the most recent election was a good sign for Democrats, but Democrats have had trouble keeping voters engaged from one election to the next. I'm also not sure how much Democratic victories are going to help. When a child throws a temper tantrum, you can put the child in "time out," but that doesn't stop the tantrum. It merely contains it. Maybe that's the best we can hope for here - containing the damage conservatives can inflict, until the tantrum finally subsides. That could take a while.
One year into the Trumpocalypse, it's more apparent than ever that Trump is a symptom, not the disease. He didn't create the problem we have. He just figured out how to exploit it for his own personal gain. And that problem will still be with us long after he's gone.
Many people have come together and started to do great things. We have managed at least to slow the tide down a little, if not stop it or turn it back. But the work isn't finished yet. In a lot of ways, it's still just getting started.
For the past year, I've thought, read, written, talked and listened, trying to make sense of what happened and what we can do about it. Some of the things I've thought about haven't been pleasant. It's "my people" who did this to us. "My" Midwestern, Christian white folks. People I've known my whole life were a part of it. That's been very hard to understand - and the things I have understood are hard to accept.
At the end of the day, it all keeps coming back to race.
Bigotry in general, really. Women and LGBT people are in the crosshairs too. But more than anything else, it keeps coming back to race.
It's easy to see when Trump does something like defend the white supremacy marchers in Charlottesville. But it keeps showing up elsewhere, too. Even people who try to explain Trump voters in terms other than race keep stumbling onto the issue of race.
You can see it in the people who talk about how much they suffered having Barack Obama as president for eight years. What exactly did they "suffer?" As near as I can figure, it was the shame of having a black man be in charge.
You can see it in a recent article at Slate.com, which tries to explain the psychology of why conservatives seem so much more likely to believe demonstrably false information. In the middle of all the psychology, there's this quote from a Tea Party member: "People think we are not good people if we don’t feel sorry for blacks and immigrants and Syrian refugees. But I am a good person and I don't feel sorry for them."
And you can see it in a recent article at Politico.com, which profiled Trump voters in one community who still support him even with the full knowledge that he hasn't helped them over the past year, and he probably never will. The article covers a number of different reasons why - but ends with two of the subjects talking over a joke about what the letters in "NFL" should really stand for. The fact that I'm not going to repeat the joke should tell you what they chose for "N".
Some of it is ignorance. I get that. I didn't start to realize how extensive white privilege was until a few years ago, and I didn't really get clued in to the full picture until sometime last year. My awareness of LGBT issues goes back much farther, but it still had a starting point. It wasn't something I always understood. I was ignorant, but then I learned. Then I changed. But the people who support Trump don't want to change. Talking to them about changing just makes them dig in more.
Another recent article at The Atlantic admits that conservative policies have bigoted repercussions many conservative voters may not recognize or intend. It suggests that the way liberals can get conservatives to work with them is by being nicer and not pointing out the prejudices that conservatives are defending. I understand the emotional message, but I can't agree with the conclusion. Most conservative voters aren't going to believe that conservative policies have bigoted consequences until conservative leaders start standing up and admitting it. Otherwise, it's just more "fake news."
A year into the Trumpocalypse, what we have in America is a struggle between those who want everything to be run largely by white men (who at least claim to be straight and Christian), and those who want everyone to have a share in running things. It's only a matter of time before those who want everything to be run by white men will lose, and they know it. They are therefore throwing the world's biggest temper tantrum. Trump gives voice to their rage. He gives voice to their hatred of change. He gives them targets on which to project their fears and hatreds. His narcissism validates their own. His attacks on "liberal elites" give them vicarious thrills.
There is no tiptoeing around it. There is no way we can talk nicely to conservatives and get them to change without bringing up this issue. And it's an issue for every conservative in the entire country, because even if they themselves aren't bigots, they have no problem with letting bigots run things and set the agenda. Trump has a reverse-Midas touch. Supporting him means there's no escaping the stain he leaves.
I usually try to end these blog posts on a hopeful note, but I'm not sure what we can hope for. Yes, the most recent election was a good sign for Democrats, but Democrats have had trouble keeping voters engaged from one election to the next. I'm also not sure how much Democratic victories are going to help. When a child throws a temper tantrum, you can put the child in "time out," but that doesn't stop the tantrum. It merely contains it. Maybe that's the best we can hope for here - containing the damage conservatives can inflict, until the tantrum finally subsides. That could take a while.
One year into the Trumpocalypse, it's more apparent than ever that Trump is a symptom, not the disease. He didn't create the problem we have. He just figured out how to exploit it for his own personal gain. And that problem will still be with us long after he's gone.
Many people have come together and started to do great things. We have managed at least to slow the tide down a little, if not stop it or turn it back. But the work isn't finished yet. In a lot of ways, it's still just getting started.
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