General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI grew up with and around these vile bigoted people.
I read so many posts here and elsewhere on social media by well meaning progressives that say we should just reach out and try to understand Trump supporters.
That is a lofty goal.
And that might sometimes work with logical, rational people.
But these people are not that.
Heres who they are.
Heres who I grew up with and around in the South. (Im sure its true elsewhere also).
They have been taught that being different is bad.
Being black, brown, gay, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, etc. is bad.
No, not just bad, evil.
They are raised in churches just as much as they are by parents.
And, in these churches, is always a strong, loud, man of authority that they will not question.
They live in fear of what is taught to be a fearful and vengeful God.
They fear this God more than anything else.
They fear Hell and missing out on Heaven more than anything else.
And, in these churches, they are taught not to question but only obey their religious teachings.
That teaching means a bleached son of a God that looks white like them.
But, the teachings of Jesus to care for the meek (who shall inherit the earth and walked with the poor and diseased) are suppressed and they cherry pick biblical passages (generally Old Testament) to promote the views that an all Powerful white male Christian Authoritarian society is the only one worth having, living, and promoting.
So, how does that extend to politics?
Because they have successfully defined the Democrats as the other.
The bad, no, the evil people that must be avoided at all costs.
Thats why so many stay in rural areas and/or avoid colleges where they will meet diversity.
Why? Because they might actually like some of these new people or, worse yet, their evil communistic views might rub off on them.
Of course, these people have been USED by corporate America.
The greedy have no use for these people that they consider to be uneducated rubes.
Except they do have ONE use for them.
Their votes.
Feed their love for authoritarianism by saying how greed is good. (The prosperity gospel philosophy).
Dont you want to be rich too?
Just follow the rules and, if you continue to vote Republican, you might get there someday.
Of course, theyd have a much better chance to get rich by playing the lottery every day.
So, can we beat them?
Yes. There are still more of us than them.
But, we dont need to waste our time trying to move their minds full of mush that keeps getting fueled in their churches and by right wing hate radio and Fox News.
Instead, We must find and register and motivate more of our people to vote and get politically involved.
We have no more mulligans.
We cant lose another election.
This ONE is the whole ball game for Our democracy to survive.
Anon-C
(3,430 posts)MustLoveBeagles
(11,563 posts)There's a lot of these people in the Midwest too.
Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... teeming with Тяцмрers. Theyre just outnumbered by the large metropolitan populations. Тяцмрism is more much pervasive than you think.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)I can tell you without a doubt the most racist place I have ever been is Boston. I am a Jewish guy from NYC but I have red hair so everyone thinks I am Irish. People in Boston felt after bowl being racist around me and I couldn't respond the way I wanted to because if I did I would've been fired on the spot.
I also was a life insurance agent for a short period of time, which would quired some trips to Staten Island. It wasn't as bad as Boston but it was a similar experience. Not everyone who lives in a large metropolitan population is enlightened.
Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... everywhere. Im in and from Alabama. It really is bad here. A lot of Тяцмрers, especially in the sticks. But most of my republican friends really are good people. Many of them voted for Тяцмр in 2016, but despise him now, and deeply regret that vote. That encourages me. Im not under any illusion that they will change their policy views, but at least they recognize that hes a dick, and hes hi jacked their party (with the help of the deplorables).
Someone here posted an opinion piece a couple of moths ago that said its more of a rural v metro divide rather than North v South or coasts v flyover. I thought that was spot on.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)... I would say it transcends international borders. I will give you an example. If you take me a person from Toronto, a dairy farmer from the North country of New York, and a farmer from rural Ontario, I guarantee you I will have more in common with the person from Toronto even though the farmer from upstate New York is my fellow countrymen and we live in the same state. The big city experience versus rule experience is a huge chasm.
Bill Maher did a segment about this very subject when it appeared that Trump was getting along better with Pelosi and Schumer. He made the point that Schumer and Pelosi are big city people and that's why Trump relates to them more.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... pretty discouraging. Even most of the anti-Тяцмрers will still vote republican down ballot. And with it being a presidential cycle, the pro-Тяцмрers will come out to vote. Black women pulled it off last time, but its still a tough road in Alabama when your opponent is not a known pedophile.
But at least one of them told me at lunch last week that he (and his wife) would vote for Jones. He said I never liked that Tubberville guy as a coach, I sure as hell dont want him as my senator. So Im pulling for him.
Its a shame. Jones really is a pretty good guy. I may work a polling site for his campaign if Im not asked to go to FL or GA.
mdbl
(4,972 posts)They should not be dictating so much for their state.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,563 posts)Stupidity is everywhere.
plimsoll
(1,664 posts)It may not be a rural vs. urban thing, but rural seems to be the sweet spot.
Signs on cars, signs in yards. Not so much Trump, but the local versions of Trump.
Remember we have (had) Matt Shea, and the guy running for governor isn't much different as far as I can tell.
One thing that was brought up was the demand for absolute conformity. It's harder to hide in small communities, there are probably lots of people who don't %100 align. I think they leave so the diversity of thought/opinion/behavior gets smaller and smaller. Simultaneously they like to call liberals "sheeple." That contradiction makes my head hurt.
But the original post left out violent. The eliminationist rhetoric keeps escalating, and these folks will act on it.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,563 posts)She told us that the interior of the state was very different than Seattle and Spokane. I've never been that good at conformity.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)gibraltar72
(7,486 posts)BamaRefugee
(3,476 posts)changed. No more reaching across the aisle, they see that as a totally feminine trait, and therefore a sign of the greatest weakness.
If we gain power we have to be LOUD and FEARLESS and lead what I can only describe as a scorched earth policy of benevolence.
The only power they respect is power that refuses to budge one inch for them.
Look at my DU screen name to understand where Im coming from.
Funtatlaguy
(10,856 posts)Dukkha
(7,341 posts)Will decide the election, I couldn't care less about reaching out to Deplorables. Their minds are changed less than their underpants. Seriously fuck them all they will never matter.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)They go to churches that dominate their life even though the are rife with sexual abuse.
They are taught they are among the select few god has favored and that Satan is always after them and they should have nothing to do with anyone not like them.
Comprising is impossible for them because their entire world view is about good(them) vs Evil(everyone else). So they see political compromises as selling out god.
The good news is that many of the young are rejecting this view as they are exposed to other viewpoints. I did it years ago but it was not common as it is now.
Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... and Тяцмр supporters. Many republicans are decent people who can be reasoned with. I can disagree with their political positions but still like them and enjoy their company. The LP and RVATs are this sort.
Current Тяцмр supporters, however, are a lost cause at this point. Anyone who still supports him now is either very, very stupid or an asshole.
LastDemocratInSC
(3,625 posts)Trumpism is their comfort zone.
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)Decades of RW radio and Faux news have poisoned the discourse beyond repair. They are too brainwashed and ignorant to see that they are being exploited by a handful of rich and powerful people who want infinite wealth and power for themselves.
Funtatlaguy
(10,856 posts)mdbl
(4,972 posts)misanthrope
(7,405 posts)the Catholics have just as many holy-rollin' bigoted right wingers as anyone else does. I know, because I'm related to a bunch.
Mr.Bill
(24,103 posts)god, religion, heaven, hell, authoritarianism, etc. was exactly what they threw at me in my first six years in Catholic school. Now I became an Atheist before my age hit double digits, but I continued through the sixth grade in Catholic school to keep my parents happy. I was even an altar boy. I will also say aside from the religious dogma, it was a quality primary education and serves me well to this day.
But while reading the OP, I wondered what was different about me that made me rebel from all their bullshit? What made me question what they were saying when others didn't? And at such a young age while I still attended their indoctrinations? It's a question I often ponder and will probably take to my grave with me. One hint is I always asked more questions than the other kids. I could not understand that not just some, but most of the kids never asked any questions.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,746 posts)But I can remember being very puzzled by what I was being taught, and it didn't really make sense to me. I stopped going to mass by the time I graduated from high school, after lots of fights with my mother.
To this day I am constantly bothered by the implicit duty to simply obey, never to question or think independently. It's also what's wrong with the military and police.
Initech
(99,912 posts)But I just can't. I just do not get what people see in this man. He is the most grotesque, slovenly, mean, rude, and crude excuse of a man who has ever become president. The people who support him? They're cult members and he is their leader. You just can't reason with cult members, short of deprogramming them.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)However, what I think we can do is place a slight puncture in the bubble that they live in if we reached out to them. If you take a rural county that goes 70-30 Republican and loses 60-40 instead that's a huge swing in our direction and in certain districts that can make the difference of flipping a seat.
UCmeNdc
(9,589 posts)NameAlreadyTaken
(958 posts)there is no full understanding of them. They have already been completely brainwashed by religion, FOX news, Rush Limbaugh and corporate America. They are beyond hope of any change.
Karadeniz
(22,269 posts)After reading some of these posts about how you were raised and the racist places you've lived in, I think you all are such strong, good people to have cast off the pettiness and developed into bigger people. I'm so glad we have a forum where we can hear from others who aren't disabled by hate. ❤❤❤
mdbl
(4,972 posts)I gave up trying to reason with them 20 years ago.
Richard58
(239 posts)I grew up in a rural part of Pa. Everyone around me was conservative, white and Christian. I was raised an Evangelical. I was told to fear the "other" because "they" were evil. And who was "the other"? Secularists, Muslims, gays, foreigners, communists, liberals and anyone whose skin was darker than a paper bag. They were all out to get us you see. We being the patriotic, God-fearing real Americans. They want to destroy America. I was raised to distrust anyone not exactly like me. It was a messed up way to be raised.
But fortunately after college I lived in a big city and got to meet people from all over with diverse lifestyles. It changed me for the better! I am now a progressive atheist! But my friends and family back in my hometown are still stuck in that mindset and it is very hard to try to get them out of it. They have been brainwashed by Fox News, talk radio and their preachers. So I have given up trying to change their minds. To them Trump is GOD and no amount of facts and logic can dissuade them. It really is sad.