i’m aware that it’s not all straight white men voting this way.
lots of people with less relative privilege are willing to side with white male supremacy against other groups.
4 Likes
It sounds like you think there’s a large group of people who voted for Trump for social reasons - against LGBTQIA+, women, minorities, etc.- who didn’t care much about economic issues? Am I hearing your thoughts correctly? If there are articles you can share about that, I’d appreciate a couple of links.
I am aware of the Christian groups who think Trump is going to bring about the second coming of Christ and have heard some podcasts / npr broadcasts about them. Are there other groups you’re thinking of?
1 Like
i think it goes way deeper than what most of them would consciously say or admit to. i think that, when things are complex and people are scared, they turn to simple answers like “it’s the immigrants” or “it’s the economy.”
i think those people are lying to themselves and to the rest of us. in an ever-complexifying environment, they are looking for simple solutions that do not exist. they want to go back to a past that seems simpler to them, even though that is not possible. unfortunately they are taking the rest of us down with them.
8 Likes
That is my deepest fear - that people are looking for someone to blame for the economic woes, kind of like what happened in Germany. And if they deport all of the illegal immigrants and the economy doesn’t improve, do they identify another target?
My hope is that people will see Trump is not as all knowing as he claims about the economy, and if the economy doesn’t improve, people will become disillusioned about him and move onto someone more rational, which is a seemingly low bar but I’ve been wrong before.
6 Likes
the idea of this happening seems laughable to me at this point. we know that lots of poor white people would rather not have healthcare if that means non-white people will also have it. this seems like a pretty strong metaphor to me.
what im getting from this is that as the world turns more perilous and unpredictable, folks are cozying up to power as closely as they can, thinking that will save their skins. this also seems laughable to me, a person with a functioning brain.
5 Likes
Source?
I’m not trying to be difficult. I want to understand what people are thinking, and to me journalism from people who are talking directly to people about these issues is what I turn to.
I personally don’t know any poor white people who would rather not have healthcare if that means non-white people would also have it. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I do know white people who are working for a living in part to receive healthcare who resent also having to pay, through social programs, for people who are not working to have health care.
I think there’s a lot of “Everybody knows that” on both sides, and curious questioning with interest in the answers is the only way I can see to invite people to question their own beliefs. I think people want a voice, and I want to hear what you’re saying, and I also want to dig deeper and learn more about it.
9 Likes
I do think this is as simple as identity and tribal politics. There are huge pressures that shape culture outside of the coasts - economic differences, religious fundamentalism, differing traditions, greater homogeneity. Racism and sexism play a part, I’m certain.
I also think that the marketing and misinformation around politics, echo chambers and ads and trite talking points, are huuuuugely impactful.
Republicans stand for smart fiscal policy by reputation. Not reality. But the average person barely has any financial literacy and is struggling paycheck to paycheck. They don’t even have the language to parse it.
Maybe it’s a coping mechanism, but I don’t think it feels good to assume that a Trump voter is immediately full of malice. I prefer the mundanity of ignorance.
13 Likes
my lived experience growing up in a family of people who rely 100% on disability and other govt benefits and yet vote republican every time because they are scared of sharia law. in ohio. 
if you want a study or something, well, you can google that as easily as i can. but i think you are looking for a reasonable rationale that isn’t there. people just want to cuddle up to white supremacy because they are cowards 
5 Likes
sadly, the effect is the same regardless of the intent.
4 Likes
Yes. I absolutely don’t dismiss at all your compassionate mourning of the fact that this administration is going to end lives and decimate communities. 
It is heartbreaking no matter the rhyme or reason.
In terms of moving thru the world in the next 4years, I think the distinction is important to me as I live alongside people I don’t understand. I understand if it’s not helpful to others.
14 Likes
My kid was trying to make sense of this and was full of fear. I wanted to present some big picture perspective and told him that in my lifetime we’ve had a previous rightward era in global politics- Reagan and Thatcher dismantled the postwar welfare state. Then things were more moderate/ left for many years, and now we see another rightward shift. It’s a cycle. This doesn’t help the people who will suffer because of the current political climate, but this isn’t forever.
This isn’t forever is the most hopeful I’m capable of being right now, with this election and the almost guaranteed ascendency of a far right, white supremacist in the next Canadian federal election.
Things are dark. They won’t be forever.
23 Likes
I too am surprised by the surprise. I went into election night with a 50/50 shot, and truly had no prediction on a winner. But I’m not surprised that Trump has swept the government.
My analysis is that a fair number of R voters abstained during the 2020 election due to complacency. Trump was sitting president, and had been a big upset in 2016. Both those things make voters feel secure for a second term president. It shocked them when GA went blue, and they flocked to the polls in 2024 to correct their previous disengagement.
I also think some D voters abstained from this election due to Harris being a woman.
15 Likes
I agree with all of this. At the same time, stock market might be booming, but the richest 10% owns 93% of the stock market.
For the other 90%, rent + groceries cost too much and they can’t afford to buy a home. “The economy” still sucks for this group and, fairly or not, they blame whoever’s been running this country for the last 4 years.
Locally, I’m convinced racism and sexism is in action. In the past, union guys were handing out flyers with straight Dem tickets. No sign of them this time and our city’s old school-est, backroom-iest Democratic party chair was nowhere to be seen.
7 Likes
Yes, a lot of usual Democrats I talked to that seemed hesitant about Harris seemed to have a “I just don’t like her and I’m not sure why” that I see a lot with ingrained misogyny and reactions to women in power.
16 Likes
BBC overnight presenter was like “Americans just might not vote for a woman”. And “sexism is maybe even more engrained than racism”
18 Likes
Yeah it sucks that it seems like to avoid the worst of tyranny we have to cater to like a lil bit of tyranny (in the form of only having men as presidential candidates).
6 Likes
it says something about me that I am a little sleep princess because honestly nothing about the election has sunk in because I was at work til 12:30 and only got 5.5 hours of sleep and just want a damn nap
7 Likes
I have a very “it is what it is” attitude at this point. Trump won both the EC and the popular vote. If this is what the country wants, then good luck, they’re going to fucking get it.
The only thing I can do at this point is work grassroots efforts, and make my own communities as safe as possible.
21 Likes
Well, that and Gaza.
I personally know people who did not vote for that reason, and the progressive voting guides both here and in Chicago strongly advocated for voting for neither and just skipping over the presidential line on the ballot entirely.
11 Likes
Yes, that’s fair. Thanks for adding.
3 Likes