Posted on 07/20/2017 6:49:41 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot
I have written before about the fear of falling down the socioeconomic ladder, the fear of an irremediable loss of status, authority and prestige — and the desperate need to be rescued from this fate. But the topic bears further exploration because it has been such a prime motivation for one slice of the electorate, the swing voters who made President Trump’s unexpected triumph possible.
The question that persists six months after Mr. Trump’s inauguration is why six key states — Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, along with 220 counties nationwide — flipped from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. Why did these voters change their minds? ......
(snip)
One suggestive line of thinking comes from Arlie Hochschild, the author of “Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right” and professor emerita of sociology at Berkeley. Hochschild has studied Americans whom she calls “the elite of the left-behind.” Her findings shed light, I think, on the concerns of some of the voters who tipped the balance for Trump last year. Hochschild wrote to me that common refrains among these voters were “America’s heading downhill” and “I think our kids are headed for hard times.” In these conversations, she said,
it wouldn’t take long before another topic spontaneously came up, blacks, their problems, their call on government help. At the bottom of the imagined slide was the situation of blacks — teen single moms, kids out in the street at night, slacking off in school, drugs, drink. So, yes, the feeling was, “if we don’t turn this thing around, that could be us.”
(snip)
There is no question that the communities where Trump received crucial backing — rural to small-city America — are, in many ways, on a downward trajectory.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Trump's 'unexpected' victory is a rebellion of the people, who want to take back control of their own lives. There is no 'actual envy', in my own opinion, of the so-called un-educated (i.e., non-college degree) working class.
As opposed to the liberals/progressives' ever expanding Power of the State.
“Make America Great Again”Translation: Reverse the deleterious effects of the “Great Society.”When a “liberal” says “society” he means nothing other than government.
We don’t need the racism that was far more prevalent in the ‘fifties, but we desperately do need the respect for honest work which prevailed then. LBJ’s
Great Societyterrible government program corrupted society more than it improved it. And did so precisely by denigrating the true source of self-respect: Joe Biden’s three-letter word, JOBS.
I don’t love Trump. I don’t trust him. I hope some strange sense of noblesse oblige drives him to serve Americans, rather than big corporations and the state.
But then, I didn’t like Obama, or trust him, but initially I had some hope that he might mend race relations and provide a positive example to young black men.
I do fear falling, and I do fear what my country is becoming - a police state, split by factions, populated by foreigners, many of whom have no true allegiance to this nation. Many of the newcomers come from countries where the only chance of safety and a decent life comes from being rich - that is not what I want for MY country.
Prthaps you should go find your perfect Utopia.....
....OR
....accept President Trump who is working 24/7 to make America Great Again
It’s up to you!
( hint......you live in the greatest nation already, if in fact you live here)
I think the point of this article is that only rural uneducated whites are in a downward spiral and are irrationally angry and trying to do something to stop the inevitable slide.
There are no unwashed uneducated losers in the more densely populated and genetically diverse cities.
This is my native land and I’m not going anywhere. My people came to Jamestown 400 years ago and to Boston and Salem not long after. It is the country my ancestors built and where, God willing, my children’s children’s children will live and thrive.
This country has survived worse than Trump.
There was that.
The author didn’t/couldn’t find any statistics of non-whites in inner cities suffering the same downward spiral.
Because none would have supported Trump.
Very well said.
The media still do not ‘get’ what happened.
There are many people who are not ardent, rally-going fans of Trump but who nevertheless voted for him as the better of the options available and hoping for the best.
The reasons for voting for Trump were many but a huge number simply could not justify a vote for Clinton and the status quo establishment on any grounds. Nothing more than that. The media does not ‘get’ that. They refuse to acknowledge it (this includes much of the Republican never-Trump establishment).
With Trump at least there was a chance of some changing course and possibly some good things (like Supreme Court appointments which has already happened). At the very least Trump could be a place holder until Clinton and her minions would be safely out of the way.
The media thinks everyone who voted for Trump are die-hard rally-going, MAGA-hat-wearing, cult of personality fans. They could not be more wrong.
They also (as this article conveys more discreetly than most) think they are all racists, bigots etc. just as they did with the tea party movement.
For many people it was not about Trump per se. The sentiment goes far deeper (and longer ago in time) than Trump. I hope Trump ‘gets’ that too.
Quite simply, the media and the estblishment in DC does not get it.
They never will never ever in a million years get it.
I continue to be very surprised and disappointed in antiTrump posts on Free Republic!
I am thankful every day for him
If you stay on a road long enough, eventually you'll get to where it goes. Unfortunately, we're way off course after taking some dangerous detours.
A malignant malware has infected our nation's GPS and is letting us rewrite all of our OEM references, maps and definitions in our own image.
If we were to consult the old maps our ancestors used back in the day, we'd see our errors and we'd try to reboot our navigation system and get back on track before it's too late.
Unfortunately, far too many of US are having too much fun on this road and just can't be bothered with any of that.
This is all obvious to the average Trump supporter, as most are fairly adept at map reading and recognizing the signs as they go by.
Rebooting our nation's navigation and getting US back on track is what Trump is here to do.
If you've seen the old maps, then you have a good idea about what's waiting for US when we get to where this road we're being made to follow is going.
I had some hope that he might mend race relations and provide a positive example to young black men. And therein is your problem. I knew who Obama was in 2004. drives him to serve Americans, rather than big corporations and the state..And therein is your second problem. heh heh
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