Guest post: Berating us, the “identities”
Originally a comment by iknklast on The way forward.
Funny how much of this we hear, but few people point out that the women, people of color, and foreign-born citizens that Trump and his supporters hate (with a passion that exceeds anything I’ve ever seen from the other side) might be lost and afraid. That we might need some support. That we might need some sympathy. And that all of these pundits (I read tons of this) saying WE are the problem because of our “identity politics” and determination that we want to be part of the voice in this large, diverse, noisy country is the reason Trump won. I see tons of this on the so-called left, beating their chest and berating themselves (and mostly, us, the “identities”) for allowing Trump to win by not “reaching out” to the white male (and too many female) voters who hate the rest of the country. None of them ever point out that our worldview includes a place for all of those people, and their worldview includes no place for us. The problem is that, in our worldview, that particular group of people does not automatically get to be at the top, make all the decisions, and keep the rest of us as servants and lowly sandwich makers. This is the world Trump supporters want – they tell everyone else what to do, and everyone else does it. If they say “leave the country, faggot”*, all the LGBTQ pack up and leave. If they say, “leave the country, Commie”, all the liberals pack up and leave. If they say “leave the country, bitch”, all the feminists pack up and leave. If they say “leave the country, n***”, all the people of color pack up and leave. If they say “make me a sandwich”, all the remaining women bow down, kiss their feet, and hop out to the kitchen to return with a beautiful three course meal. At which time, they scream because what they really wanted was a sandwich, and is that really too much to ask, and said woman returns to the kitchen, pitches the three course meal down the garbage disposal, and returns with a PBJ sandwich and never, ever asks them to take out the garbage, wash the dishes, or even put their plate in the sink. Meanwhile, the few people of color they have allowed to remain are mowing their lawn (free of charge), and playing football on the TV to entertain them. This is the world view of the Trump supporters I know (and believe me, I know a lot!). They believe they are superior to the rest of us. They believe the rest of us are usurping resources, such as air and water, that are intended for them.
I have to live and work with Trump supporters every day. My whole family is full of Trump supporters. I have lived my whole life with these people, and they are not nice to me. They have no sympathy for me. They think I should sit down, shut up, and quit voting. Why the hell should I waste one minute of my time crying over their “woes”?
*not my phrase, but the phrase of the haters that have seized our country
There’s hardly anything a Trump supporter is worried about that would concern me. The lies they are willing to manufacture to justify their hatred and prejudice…ineffable.
The thing is, I can kind of see what they mean.
Firstly, though, I pretty much agree with you. These people don’t deserve the kind of attention they want. Their philosophy (if such it can be called) is ignorant, selfish, bigoted and repulsive to anyone with half a brain. In a just and fair world they should be allowed to go their own way to hell while the rest of us wave bye-bye.
Unfortunately, they’ve shown us we can’t do that. These people have a political weight – they elevated Trump to the position of most powerful man in the world – so we can’t ignore them if we want Trump out and a better human being in that office. Which means to get what we want then we have to look at what they want – or at least make them feel their concerns matter. This is one of the downsides of democracy: the tyranny of the majority (or the tyranny of the majority as defined by the US’s not-particularly-democratic Electoral College System, in this case).
I’ve used the example of the British and the IRA before. No one involved in trying to broker a peace deal actually liked the idea of terrorists being brought to the bargaining table and ending up as part of the governing institution, but because the IRA had bought Sinn Fein political weight – with the blood of many, many innocent people – people like Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness had to be part of the process. Politics is not about getting a perfect image of what we want; it’s about getting an acceptable version of what we want, adulterated by what we have had to give up to people and movements we do not like, in order not to give up more stuff that would be of greater damage. It’s not quite the end justifies the means, it’s best end we can get with the means we are prepared to use.
Those awful people you describe, with their horrible thoughts and damaging attitudes – they’re there. They’re part of the political process, how they feel has to be considered if we want to avoid another Trump (or even another term for Trump, followed by a Trumpoid dynasty). I’m not saying everything they want has to be handed to thme on a golden platter – that’s not politics either – but some way has to be found to bring their representatives in to mainstream political discourse. Part of that means at least looking like we’re listening to them. Making relationships, brokering deals, they don’t get everything they want but, at this stage, neither do we. Again, that’s the downside of democracy.
(Of course, I’m saying, “we.” I’m not a US American, just a recipient of Coco Colanisation who really, really hopes Trump does visit us. At the risk of an international incident being provoked, I can’t imagine anything more entertaining. Bring the popcorn!)
Steamshovelmama, that all sounds well and good, but…
the Trump voters have been present as stakeholders at the table from the very beginning. They dominate the conversation, eat up all the refreshments, tip over the table, break off the legs, and then complain because one of the other members of the group tries to speak during a five second pause in the proceedings. At this point, the voice of the one trying to speak gets drowned out with cries of horror that the Trump voter in question is not being listened to, is not being heard, and has no voice.
The left has been sympathetic, empathetic, compassionate, and inclusive to them. The left has compromised to try and meet them halfway, and they move the halfway point all the way down to their end of the field. We move down there patiently, and they throw the goal post over the bleachers and say “how come you guys won’t compromise?”
The result of playing nice is a tepid health care bill that is now being repealed, an entrenched anti-climate science policy, and Donald Trump.
I don’t disagree at all. A great deal of the “acting out” we see is sheer entitlement. In a just and fair world we’d be able to thwap them on the backside and send them to bed without supper, as the demanding, spoilt little brats they are.
But… but… but, oh god, they are powerful enough within the US political system to have rendered a good man’s presidency all but impotent and to have put Donald Fucking Trump in the White House. I’m as horrified by this as anyone else with sense or compassion but that power means we cannot ignore them. Just like a terrorist group (which they resemble in many ways) they have won their political power.
Of course, the thing about politics, when done properly, is that it’s not about presenting a reality, it’s about convincing people you’re on their side while doing your damnedest to limit the extent of the damage done. It’s about convincing people they’re being taken seriously – whatever that actually means to them – whilst figuring out what can be conceded without destroying everything.
The entitlement of the Tea Party and the Trumpoids makes them feel everyone except them is getting a better deal. It doesn’t matter what the reality of it is. The rest of us can stand around with our jaws on the floor at the level of disconnect with reality being displayed. The reality doesn’t matter.
What matters is political sway. And in the US, these bozos have it in spades.