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appalachiablue

(41,047 posts)
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 02:55 PM Jan 2021

'One Man Went From Attending Obama Inauguration To Dying At The Capitol Over Trump's Election Loss'



- 'How one man went from attending Obama’s inauguration to dying in the mob protesting Trump’s election loss.' By Connor Sheets, ProPublica, Alternet, Jan. 17, 2021.

In 2009, Kevin Greeson traveled from Alabama to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama, at the time one of his political heroes. Twelve years later, a stone's throw from where Obama had been sworn in, Greeson died of a heart attack while demonstrating in support of President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol. Greeson had undergone a stark political transformation in those intervening years.

A longtime Democrat who once championed unions and supported progressive politicians, Greeson had become a staunch Trump supporter by the time he died outside the Capitol at the age of 55. In the weeks leading up to his death, he gave up Fox News for less mainstream right-wing news sources and wrote a series of posts on the conservative-leaning social media site Parler advocating political violence in response to what he saw as Democrats' efforts to “steal" the 2020 election from the president.

“Let's take this fucking Country BACK!! Load your guns and take to the streets!" he wrote on Dec. 17.

While Greeson's inflammatory Parler posts and false online rumors that he tased himself to death have drawn considerable attention, his political transformation has not. “He was a vice president at the union, and he was an Obama supporter," said Mark McDaniel, the Huntsville attorney representing the Greeson family. “He got interested in Trump because he felt he was more business-minded, and as the economy kept getting better, he kept getting more interested in Trump." For much of the late 20th century, north Alabama was home to a number of large factories and industrial facilities that provided blue-collar jobs with decent wages to people like Greeson.

But many of those positions were eliminated over the past two decades as manufacturers and plants closed or sold to foreign companies — and as the jobs disappeared, the Democratic Party's support dwindled. “I think things are getting more polarized," said Doug Norman, a 73-year-old retired Decatur man who ran a waste oil recycling company for many years. “Over the last 10 years, there was a shift." At a lunch spot in Decatur near the former Goodyear plant where Greeson worked for over two decades, Norman said that, like many other longtime residents, he has become more committed to Republican politics over the past 10 years. He, too, said he believes the 2020 election was “stolen" from the president.

“I think a lot of people saw where the stock market, unemployment and economy were going, and they started moving toward Trump," he said. “A lot of my friends weren't even into politics, but Trump kind of activated something."...

More, https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/trump-mob-2649984903/
17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'One Man Went From Attending Obama Inauguration To Dying At The Capitol Over Trump's Election Loss' (Original Post) appalachiablue Jan 2021 OP
What a strange tale Blue Owl Jan 2021 #1
I can't see it either, the ability to shift political parties appalachiablue Jan 2021 #4
Racism. It activated their dormant racism. LizBeth Jan 2021 #2
And RW media harping on immigration, soshialism, etc. appalachiablue Jan 2021 #7
The picked on woe is me that was also promoted 2010'ish even in the progressive left of social LizBeth Jan 2021 #8
Misogyny also JI7 Jan 2021 #10
Totally agree more so than racism. The could handle a black man, he was a man after all. We were LizBeth Jan 2021 #14
Yup ismnotwasm Jan 2021 #12
Yes it is interesting. While being asked in 2016 to vote woman, and that was just asking too LizBeth Jan 2021 #13
I don't think we can deny tRump was one hell of a Demagogue. njhoneybadger Jan 2021 #3
Good points HB. appalachiablue Jan 2021 #5
wow Skittles Jan 2021 #6
But, they really really did not want to get behind a woman nada having to w2ork so hard creating a LizBeth Jan 2021 #9
Not to mention trump kacekwl Jan 2021 #16
Racism trumps all. Alacritous Crier Jan 2021 #11
My general impression about the right-wing nutcases at... Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2021 #15
I don't get it Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jan 2021 #17

Blue Owl

(49,902 posts)
1. What a strange tale
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 03:04 PM
Jan 2021

It is hard for me to grasp how "seeing the light" would ever translate into becoming a supporter of tRump and his criminal enterprise. I guess we all have our blind spots...

appalachiablue

(41,047 posts)
4. I can't see it either, the ability to shift political parties
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 03:27 PM
Jan 2021

that quickly is beyond me. But we are in a different age so to speak, one with more 'Independents' than I could ever imagine. #3 points are interesting.

LizBeth

(9,946 posts)
8. The picked on woe is me that was also promoted 2010'ish even in the progressive left of social
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 03:49 PM
Jan 2021

justice battle. The profound of Obama supporter to racist sexist white Trump against HRC. Wrapping the mind around our buddies pointing the figure at HRC and voting Trump.

LizBeth

(9,946 posts)
14. Totally agree more so than racism. The could handle a black man, he was a man after all. We were
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 04:45 PM
Jan 2021

asking them to vote for a woman. A whole different ask.

ismnotwasm

(41,917 posts)
12. Yup
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 04:23 PM
Jan 2021

Many people pass “I’m not a racist but” criteria around ie “Two of my grandbabies are half black, how can I be racist?” Or “I voted for OBAMA, so how can I be racist” as valid, when the only really anti-racist pathway for American Whites is to be, well, constantly anti-racist.

It’s everywhere, and while racism exists everywhere, American racism is unique in its inception, and in that that many still turn a blind eye to its more blatant, modern effects.

Voting for Obama, and having ill informed understanding of trade agreements or not understanding the rapid changes all of us alive are experiencing is part and parcel of our human experience, drives a fear response. We cling to old, known behaviors. Going back to old scapegoats, or embracing a going extinct dinosaur of a human like Trump, is part of the fear response that is so easily manipulated.

LizBeth

(9,946 posts)
13. Yes it is interesting. While being asked in 2016 to vote woman, and that was just asking too
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 04:35 PM
Jan 2021

much. I was watching Daily Show, I believe, an interview with an X white nationalist. I am not good linking video on here. I will try, but it was very interesting and he is saying basically what you are I believe.

[link:https://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow/videos/3748432281931286|

njhoneybadger

(3,910 posts)
3. I don't think we can deny tRump was one hell of a Demagogue.
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 03:15 PM
Jan 2021

Reinforced by Republican Politicians, White Evangelicals, faux news, Hate radio, Internet crackpots ect.

LizBeth

(9,946 posts)
9. But, they really really did not want to get behind a woman nada having to w2ork so hard creating a
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 03:51 PM
Jan 2021

justification. We are forgetting the whole misogynist 2016 battle. This is interesting seeing some of the Obama/Trump supporters today.

kacekwl

(6,993 posts)
16. Not to mention trump
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 05:52 PM
Jan 2021

lied all throughout his campaign making promises that mimicked Democratic candidates. He had no intention of keeping. Healthcare, jobs, releasing his taxes, improving SS and Medicare etc. A blind and deaf person could figure him out for the liar and looser he was.

Buckeye_Democrat

(14,846 posts)
15. My general impression about the right-wing nutcases at...
Mon Jan 18, 2021, 05:04 PM
Jan 2021

... my workplace in 2008 was that they didn't know how to react to it. It's like Obama "came out of nowhere" (compared to Clinton) and they hadn't fully received their marching orders yet. They even seemed somewhat optimistic about future healthcare coverage.

Then in the weeks and months that followed, I heard them repeating nonsense from right-wing media, getting worked-up and angry by all of those deceptions as usual.

Edit: I was still there in 2012, and that was a different story. They were actually SHOCKED that Obama won and said, "It's impossible! I don't know ANYONE who voted for Obama this time!" (They were suggesting it was stolen, much like the Trump cultists this time.) I said, "I did!", and they hated me despite my previous hard work, acts of kindness, etc. I was simply a "DemoNcrat" at that point, as all other evidence about my character was ignored by them. I also asked if they'd followed the polls at all?! How could they possibly be so surprised?! I think they suggested those were all lies too.

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