Agnostic.com

2 3

LINK Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild on the Trump demographic: "Elite of the left behind" | Salon.com

A sociologist tries to examine the motivations of the Trump movement and the Jan. 6 rioters.

From the link:


Among the 47 percent of people who voted for Trump, some of them are just really rich and wanted to cut their taxes more. They want to get richer. But the people that I talked to, who I consider "the elite of the left behind," are not rich. They're not even upper middle class. These people are middle and lower middle class.
...
These people are not doing as well as their fathers, which is the classic male comparison to make in terms of the American Dream. They are supposed to be doing better than their parents did, but they are not.
...
In 1970, if you had a B.A. or you did not, it didn't make too much difference in terms of the likelihood that you're married, that you're staying married,
...
But now a B.A. degree has an entire biography attached to it in terms of what it means and represents. Now a person without a B.A. may have a narrative where they are living with their third partner. They lost custody of the kids. Their grandparents or parents are taking care of them
Many of these people I spoke to are feeling a sense of loss. They're feeling shame because they are not doing as good as their father and grandfather and the era they harken back to. Donald Trump has brilliantly exploited such feelings and presented himself as an answer to that shame.

RichCC 8 June 7
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

2 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

3

I interpret many Trump supporters as intellectually and morally lazy. Their fear of people of color and immigrants is irrational, but many Trumpists don't see that blind spot. Also, a lot of fascist, racist populism is historical, and they tend to accept the status quo which has never been democratic since America began. I hope they wise up, but am not holding my breath.

I agree.

The only comment I'd make is that no one ever sees themselves as evil -- especially church goers. As Carlin commented once they have a special building 'where they go once a week to compare clothing'. They constantly get their bubbles reinforced -- biases and all.

I'm not sure I'd use the term 'lazy' but people are definitely dormant in the sense that they fail to reexamine views enough.
Everyone (self included of course) constantly works to maintain their own worldviews and very few folks get enough exposure outside their spheres to seriously evaluate new ideas.

@RichCC
If they're not lazy, then surely they're closed minded.

1

Ironically, he represents everything that amplifies that shame. Too bad they can't understand that.

True. But I don't see that as his fault.
Society changes over time with technology and population pressure. I figure he's likely lived his life as it's been presented to him.

My brothers (4 including me) have been split right down the middle. We grew up in a very small AZ town, 2 of us left and graduated college, the other 2 stayed and are much more conservative. You do the best you can.

You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:601914
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.