MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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The Nationalist's Delusion
By Michael Wolraich on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 1:06pm |This eloquent essay offers the most compelling presentation of the Trumpism = racism hypothesis that I have read. The argument is similar to Ta-Nisi Coates' in The First White President, but I find it much more thoughtful and well-researched. It's long but well worth the read.
URL:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/the-nationalists-delusion/546356/
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Comments
The ever enduring "delusion":
The Atlantic link, Adam Serwer, 2017:
Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, 1884:
by NCD on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 2:31pm
I love Michelle Obama to death but when they went low and we went high, we got clobbered. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke truth to power. He said that anyone who voted for Barry Goldwater was not a good person because Goldwater sided with the racists.
Van Jones says that we should be kind. In Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans got 51% of white women and 63% of white men in Virginia. Republicans got 55% of white women and 50% of white men in New Jersey. The Democratic victories were bolstered by > 90% of black women voting for the Democratic Party candidate.
Tom Perez realized that there was an enthusiasm gap in the black community for the Democratic Party. He got out and knocked on doors in Hampton Roads, a black neighborhood. BlackPAC.targeted black voters who were expected to stay at home rather than vote.
The racist deplorables are not coming back to the Democratic Party.
by rmrd0000 on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 3:22pm
Trump says that Roy Moore should be elected because Moore denies the charges. Moore is better than a Liberal Democratic candidate.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-roy-moore_us_5a148af4e4b03dec8248bf02?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
That is the opposition. That is the point of view of the nationalists.
by rmrd0000 on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 4:10pm
Twain in quote above succinctly describes the Trump base:
1. barely literate
2. anti-intellectual
3. belligerant racists
4. substance abuse
5. willing to let the nation "rot" if bigotry isn't enforced by the government
They ain't changing.
by NCD on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 4:48pm
The only hope for the country is if we realize this simple truth. The media reported on the dismay that many Trump voters had with his WH performance. In the video of an interview with 7 of these supporters, there were complaints about his behavior and his destruction of healthcare. What the media underplayed was the fact that most of the group is leaning towards voting for Trump again. Russian collusion did not reach their radar.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/north-carolina-voters-deliver-harsh-assessments-trump-s-chaotic-first-n821306
It is unlikely that these folks are going to vote for the Democratic Party.
by rmrd0000 on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 4:51pm
The essay does a good job of comparing economic factors and racial animus against each other. But isn't the whole idea of "institutional racism" about not having to choose between the two?
If a privilege gives a person a leg up, how much or little they vilify other people to justify their claim is not material to the claim itself. When you are entitled, you don't have to spend a lot of time thinking about why you are special.
by moat on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 8:26pm
I'm not sure I follow you. I think the point of the piece is that Trumpism or, more generally, populist nationalism isn't really driven by economic anxiety--as many assume. It's driven by more fundamental racism, tribalism.
The question I have is what drives the ebb and flow of racism in America? Why did we elect a Trump in 2016 but not a Buchanan in 1992? The piece argues, plausibly, that Trump is Obama backlash. But that fire was already burning before Obama's election fanned the flames. What's making it burn so hot?
by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 10:27am
I agree with the argument that economic anxiety does not explain the upsurge of white "nationalists" by itself. On the other hand, accepting that is the case doesn't mean tribalism explains everything the economic analysis failed to do. I suspect the two elements are mixed up with each other.
Buchanan is a good point of comparison of political momentum between his candidacy and Trump's victory. Buchanan argued against a melting pot society of diversity because he claimed the foundations of the country would dissolve if they failed to preserve the dominance of white Christian males. All those cool items in the Bill of Rights and Constitution came from that group and require their continued well being to survive.
Trump never talked that way. His political power developed through not saying what it was based upon. He never has explained himself the way Buchanan did. He flirts with people. Some of those people are self-identified white nationalists. Others think he will protect whatever advantage they may have in the place they are. That is where economic anxiety and tribes get blended together. My comment about institutional racism was to point to people who want the advantages but don't require condemnation of others to receive them. If they get what they want without joining a gang, fine. Clearly, there is an uptick in the number of people feeling they need to join a gang. I dunno. Is that a fire burning hotter?
by moat on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 8:29pm
I suspect that you're thinking of Buchanan's books. His campaign themes were more Trumpish (or rather Trump's themes were Buchananish), even using the same mottos--"America first", "drain the swamp," give voice to the "forgotten Americans", build a Mexican wall, dump Nafta, etc.
They're different candidates, of course, and I'm not saying that Pat Buchanan circa 1992 could have won in 2016, but I'm confident that Donald Trump circa 2016 would not have won in 1992, would not even have been in the running. The country wasn't there yet.
We're there now, obviously. We've been moving toward this moment for decades. So my question is, why are we moving in this direction? Why is the tribalism getting worse?
by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 11:13pm
I think the answer to your question is in the development and popularization of his persona on The Apprentice" as a successful billionaire who is a "no nonsense" firing type. TV show fans are tribal. Keeping in mind that he did not win the popular vote, but won by targeting a few very specific crucial swings. In the end, the "divisiveness" of tribe we are experiencing is not due to a lot of changes, now that some of those swings are sorry they voted for him after seeing he is not living up to the tv hype. It is just that each side has dug in heels more. And that he himself stokes the anger all the time, with hot button culture wars issues (i.e., the NFL; I;m not talking the more recent sexual-related stuff.) The 2/3 of the voters that aren't right wing conservatives are madder than ever, the 1/3 digging in like they always do, come hell or high water, for any president who isn't a Dem.
by artappraiser on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 8:21am
AA, I strongly disagree. The Apprentice certainly contributed to Trump's personal popularity, but there have been far more fundamental changes that made a man like Trump electable in the first place. Those changes weren't fully baked in 1992. Even if Trump had been as popular back then as he was in 2015, he wouldn't have come anywhere near winning the Republican primary, let alone the White House. The xenophobia and anti-intellectualism existed then--as evidenced by Buchanan's campaign--but populist nationalism lacked the political power and resonance that it has today.
I have an idea for an answer myself, but I have to work it out more. Hopefully in a blog post next week.
by Michael Wolraich on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 11:47am
I can give you a summary - "Republicans hijack country and run it into a wall, then use confusion to steal the tires and pilfer the trunk". Or my earlier fire ants analogy - when you finally notice what looks to be a problem, they're actually eating away your beams and carrying away the house in swarms of little morsels. You don't reason with fire ants - they have one simple goal.
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 12:28pm
This is the core problem. Republicans and Conservatives thrive on whataboutism. Roy Moore is a pedophile banned from a mall, but what about Bill Clinton? The better comparison is that Roy Moore harassed women, why do we overlook Donald Trump? Republicans let funding for healthcare of children elapse. Why do we take them seriously when they say that tax cuts will benefit the middle class. They are liars. Instead of concentrating and attacking Trump and the GOP, we respond to whataboutism. Franken and Conyers will face examination by Ethics committees. White Alabamans will elect Roy Moore. There is no comparison. Bill Clinton got impeached. Trump grappled vaginas and walked in on naked teenagers. We allow whataboutism divert attention from the issue that needs to be addressed.
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 1:16pm
Making millions of women hunt down contraception and abortion clinics over decades is bigger harassment than all this other stuff. Just one way of looking at things.
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 2:19pm
All part of the war on women.
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 3:14pm
Yes, but.
The insistence that women should not have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion is not just "all part of the war on women" it's also in many cases(not all of course ) the consequence of a sincerely held belief that the embryo is another human being and aborting it is murder.
At one point we lived in a third floor walk up,behind the Divinity School ( Harvard's) and our neighbors included brilliant, very liberal on every other issue ,graduate students whom today I see quoted on this issue. When W was trying to frame a position on stem cell research he consulted one of them.
I certainly don't know the right way to deal with them. I'm sure however that among the various wrong ways is to think they are unfeeling, insincere or just not as smart as us. None of which is true. Sadly the truth is that they deeply believe the harmful positions they hold.
by Flavius on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 10:50pm
You deal with them by stating that you disagree with their position. Harvard does not impress me. Trump nominate a 36-year old with no trial experience who graduated from Harvard Law. When 20% of black voters in Ohio voted for GW Bush because of homophobia. there was no hesitation in calling out the homophobia. Whites, especially those with supposed elite degrees are given benefits of doubt that are not applied to others. Even when whites vote for racists and bigots we try to find excuses for their behavior. We set a double standard.
White Southerners left the Democratic Party after the Civil Rights Act. 20% of black voters supported GW because of homophobia. They were condemned. It looks like 17% of black males in Virginia cast votes for Ed Gillespie. Ridicule is appropriate.
Edit to add:
We are at a crossroads in the country. Rights are at risk. The folks who want to control women’s bodies and oppress minorities have to be confronted. Martin Luther King Jr. confronted people. Gloria Steinem confronted people.
The NYT tried to normalize a friggin’ Nazi sympathizer. We have to vocalize our disagreements with opposing positions. We have to be better than the NYT
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-times-nazi-next-door-profile_us_5a19f05ce4b0d4906caf1e8b?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 11:27pm
No one is denying.them their beliefs, they are opposing them using the government to impose their fundamentalist beliefs on others.
ISIS terrorists, witch burners and even Nazis had sincere, deeply held beliefs, many were very intelligent. Sincerity and intelligence are not necessarily virtuous qualities.
The fact is blastocysts, fetuses or embryos are not people.
Since earliest recorded history women have sought abortions.
Seeking to legally deny women the control of their reproductive system is not just unfeeling, it's immoral.
by NCD on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 11:51pm
I'm less bothered by people with sincere beliefs than pseudo-religious opportunists who went from pro-contraception & family planning to anti- overnight or managed to spin pussy-grabbing and statutory rape into their bag of politicized acceptables. There is no reasoning with or satiating these people. Health care? Now it's for pussies. Real men just suck it up, like in the Greatest Generation (and leave women out of it - just a mask for immoral behavior by minorities on welfare). Education? Only for the elite. Like with zombies, you give them a kidney, they just want the other one.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 11/26/2017 - 3:02am
The only way to deal with hardcore Trump supporters is to energize the Democratic base to counter the votes cast by the Right. Psychologists are telling us that facts won’t work. People double down in their belief. They suggest that we try to identify with them and that somehow, empathy will get them to change their minds. There is no data that says this is a fact. Some looked for empathy from Ivanka. It was believed that Ivanka would help control daddy. We now know that Ivanka only avoided an indictment for lying about the occupancy rates at Trump Soho hotel because of. a lenient DA in NY. There are no Trumpsters that can be converted by reason.
by rmrd0000 on Sun, 11/26/2017 - 8:46am
Flav, evil has to be confronted. Race and misogyny plays a major role in the era of Trump. We ignore that at our peril. The New York Times attempted to normalize a Nazi.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/us/ohio-hovater-white-nationalist.html?_r=0
Tge Atlantic had the perfect response to the article. The Atlantic pointed out that the NYT article was rubbish.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/11/a-nazi-cooks-pasta/546737/
The Little Rock Nine recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the integration of Central High school. Brave people directed confronted evil. Bullies don’t back down without confrontation. Standing on the sidelines is not an option.
by rmrd0000 on Sun, 11/26/2017 - 11:35am
Evil is unspectacular and always human,
And shares our bed and eats at our own table,
And we are introduced to Goodness every day,
Even in drawing rooms among a crowd of faults
He has a name like Billy and is almost perfect
But wears a stammer like a decoration:
And every time they meet the same thing has to happen;
It is Evil that is helpless like a lover
And has to pick a quarrel and succeeds,
And both are openly destroyed before our eyes
W.H.Auden from Herman Melville
doesn't respond to your comment but I was helpless like a lover and had to quote Auden.
by Flavius on Sun, 11/26/2017 - 9:36pm
Melville notes that evil confronted in one place, even when defeated, rears its head in another place. This does not mean that you do nothing. Progressives converse with Conservatives on a daily basis. Trump’s racism, insanity, and misogyny are addressed. There is no yelling, there is just a statement of facts. Many Conservatives will admit that they recognize the racism, misogyny, and insanity. These Conservatives still cannot break away from the tribe. When election time rolls around, you gleefully tell the Conservative that you are going to vote to cancel out his/her vote. You work and donate money to causes that interest you. There is no need to remain silent. If a person offers an opinion, you counter with yours.
by rmrd0000 on Sun, 11/26/2017 - 10:31pm
Hmmm, when I stumbled on this at first, wasn't paying too close of attention, I thought Moat was talking about James Buchanan.
by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 9:05am
Great comment, moat. I especially like the meme of "gang", is helpful to think about a lot of things going on along those lines.
by artappraiser on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 8:23am
When we look back on Jim Crow, we condemn whites who stood by when blacks were abused. Trump is a racist. The 62 million who cast votes for him were willing to support a racist. LBJ lost the South because of race. Whites are angry because a black President meant that they were losing ground to blacks. The backlash is to put blacks back into their place. There is no great condemnation when Trump attacks a black gold star family or black athletes. If a senior Obama official attacked a white Florida Congresswoman the way Frederica S. Wilson was attacked, you cannot tell me that the press would not be bringing up black racism everyday. The press rolled over for Trump. Race is at the core of current events. Trump supporters are willing to look away when Trump expresses his racism. When you heard the supposedly disgruntled Trump supporters few of them volunteer that they are concerned about his racism. We are told to twist ourselves into pretzels to avoid the obvious.
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 10:07am
Comparing Obama in 2008 and 12 tells us something. Even after the four worst economic years since FDR he still won. A reasonable political strategy is for us to try and regain that portion of the white working class who were embittered by 4 years of unemployment.
If that resulted in their relapsing into their temporarily abandoned racism ,sympathy is a more useful response than rejection. Just at the level of political tactics it makes sense to try and regain the vote of the guy in Akron who voted for Obama in 08 , lost his job, and hated him in 2012.
Politics aside it just seems wrong to me to dismiss Akron Joe. Long term unemployment is soul destroying. Thousands of evenings coming home to the family you can't feed , house properly or educate; your undeserved punishment for happening to live in a country whose economy was mismanaged.
I worked in an enormous factory- 10,000 people, mostly men. On strike for 2 years. Violence. Lots of it. Strike breakers cars turned over. Fights of course. Even killings. . I asked shop steward Mike about that who said " These are physical men, when they are unhappy they respond physically, that's what they know".
The strike was broken in December. Management unwisely decided to give small watches as a welcome back/Christmas present. There was a draw bridge over the small stream by the gate. By 5 pm it was clogged with watches.
I want their votes
by Flavius on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 12:10pm
Flavius, it was easy to see that Trump was full of crap. Blacks faced more economic devastation than whites. They still knew the Democratic Party was the best choice. Trump carried every gender and economic class of whites. Alabama is at the bottom of virtually every category, yet they continue to vote for Republicans. It is a toss up if they will vote for a pedophile.
Democrats have white voters, just not the majority of white voters. There is more return on investment by going after minority voters. The majority of disgruntled Trump voters will still vote for Trump. When Democrats spend time chasing Trump voters and ignoring minority communities, they lose.
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 6:37pm
In Virginia, the win came from going after black voters who threatened to stay home. The white majority did not elect Northam. A surge in black voters created the victory.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/virginia-politics/governor-exit-polls/?utm_term=.8c674c20e527
Democrats had the better economic plan, yet white voters do not accept that fact. Black worker who lost jobs still voted for the Democratic Party.
Edit to add:
Economies will ebb and flow. Electing a racist and a bigot is not the answer. Relying on racists and bigots for votes cannot result in anything good.
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 6:48pm
I have presented data like this before. Obama voters who switched to Trump were Republican voters. It is better to think of them as Bush-Obama voters than Obama-Trump voters
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-trump-democrat/2017/08/04/0d5d06bc-7920-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.b645d0b20668
Kevin Drum argues that Obama-Trump voters don’t matter
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/08/sure-there-were-some-obama-trump-voters-who-cares/
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 11/23/2017 - 8:28pm
Flav, I want their votes too, but if they keep buying into porridge and sop, it's hard to help them. If the masses want to go in the wrong direction, follow the wrong people, take on the wrong ideals, it's hard to babysit them and turn them around. I'm sure if we had a tulip bulb crisis, people would blame Hillary for not being inspiring enough to stop it, but people do what they do, the Madness of Crowds et al. People are complaining about the EU standing still, but thethe rest of the world is going backwards, and taking in 1.5m refugees made things work, so treading water is fine by me - but not Akron Joe - he always needs an unrealistic promise, a shiny thing, to guide his next steps. Not core policy, better more affordable healthcare, job stimulus and better education, the rich and corporations paying their taxes... nope, Joe wants a revolution. He voted the wrong guy in in 2001, but he feels no remorse about that - just give him hus due right now, or else...
And play to their ssecurity fears, build up boogiemen - that always helps too.
Maybe turn those watches into a reminder - we're all on borrowed time, next time we'll ask for something real rarher than just another cheap shiny watch. Eh?
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 11/24/2017 - 1:38am
There are white voters in the Democratic Party. We need to keep them energized. Trump supporters want harsh immigration penalties. Brexit is hurting the British healthcare system. We don’t need to repeat that nonsense in the United States. Fight for a tax break for the middle class and Democratic leaning white voters will come to the polls.
by rmrd0000 on Fri, 11/24/2017 - 1:15pm
Fuck, are we going to spend eternity trying to convince everyone that everything can be got for half price? My wife taught me a local expression "I'm not rich enough to be able to afford such cheap shit". After you've spent enough tine repairing a cheapass Chinese bike or trying to get service on lowest bracket insurance, you'll understand.
by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 11/24/2017 - 1:32pm
Wolraich... what am I describing here?
What's driven it for all these years?.My best guess? Perceived lack of belonging and the perception of no respect from others causing low or no self-esteem and abject disrespect for others not of their ilk.
Why has it gotten worse over the past few years? Wide spread ability to communicate online.
BTW... Those are the 5 basic behavioral traits of gang mentality.
Basic tribalism at it's most base.
~OGD~
by oldenGoldenDecoy on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 1:05am
Why Trump in 2016 and not Buchanan in 1992?
Unemployment
1987, 6.2. 1988, 5.5. 1989, 5.3. 1990, 5.6. 1991, 6.8. 1992, 7.5. 1993, 6.9. 1994, 6.1. 1995, 5.6. 1996, 5.4. 1997, 4.9. 1998, 4.5. 1999, 4.2. 2000, 4.0. 2001, 4.7. 2002, 5.8. 2003, 6.0. 2004, 5.5. 2005, 5.1. 2006, 4.6. 2007, 4.6. 2008, 5.8. 2009, 9.3. 2010, 9.6. 2011, 8.9. 2012, 8.1. 2013, 7.4. 2014, 6.2. 2015, 5.3. 2016, 4.9 .
1992
Some number of voters turned against the Republicans because the lost their jobs in 1991 and were still out .
2016
Some number of voters turned against the Democrats because they lost their job in 2009 and were still out years later.
Sure some of them were racists etc.But if 2011's unemployment was 5.8% the democrats would have won in 2016.
by Flavius on Wed, 11/22/2017 - 11:25pm