“Unless people are willing to admit that, yes, to some degree, they did vote for this, and that was an error, then they’re not rejecting fascism. They’re just saying they want a less messy, more efficient fascism that doesn’t harm them personally.” This!!!
Another brilliant article, Noah. The situation referenced involves a Chinese immigrant woman described as a "soccer mom" who was removed from her rural Missouri town. I happen to live in Missouri. I have a mother, of Chinese descent, who also lives in this state. She is a naturalized US citizen. I am also ashamed to say, my mother voted for Trump twice. When I saw the article about the "soccer mom" picked up by ICE when she presented for a routine immigration check, I immediately forwarded the story to my mother. Her comment was: "What an alarming and sad article!!" followed by a sad face emoji. No I don't forgive my mom or all of those other moms who voted for this monster, no matter how many sad faced emojis they send.
I think voting choice is (or should be) even more basic than white identity or voting as your parents did. It’s between right or wrong, good vs evil. Don’t citizens want their president to be first and foremost a good man? Someone with his/her heart in the right place? A person with decency, integrity, and character? That should be primary. After that you can argue about competence and views on policy. When you vote for a bad person you will get a bad outcome. I have zero sympathy for those who say “I didn’t vote for this”.
Your thesis is sort of borne out by the current spate of GOP Senators saying they had no idea <odious or fiscally irresponsible policy > was in the BBB. They and large staffs are literally paid to know. How can we think the generic voter knows much of policy details when the Senators are just as much voting on party or vibes.
My problem with the Masket/Morris argument that we need to give these people a road away from Trump is their own point about them being ignorant. Maybe right at this moment when they're thinking about this particular part of a policy they don't like Democrats can reach out to them. But who's to say in 6 months, 2 years, or 4 years they have any clue what is happening with that very policy?
There's so many variables that can go into what is salient at the point when these people actually make a decision on who to vote for that it's practically impossible to devise some sort of specific strategy to reach these types of people. (Not to mention your point about partisanship, which is very strong and difficult to change.)
Well, it's impossible given the current way Democrats do politics, which is absurdly short-sighted and extremely not up the challenge of the modern information environment. The ignorance of both entities is a giant barrier even if we all agreed to swallow the moral argument for telling these people to fuck themselves (maybe not literally but I tend to think it's best to just roll our eyes and hope they're primed for something besides their racism the next time they're voting).
I hope so. And partisanship changes typically need some sort of dramatic event (been a while since I was a graduate assistant but the professor I worked for studied this specifically but that's the summary irrc). Maybe this is the type of thing that does that.
I do want to welcome those who do start to pay attention and understand what is going on.
I am also a bit jaded because I grew up in NY and by the time I was 12 I knew DJT was a snake oil salesman.
This is one bit I take issue with "it’s something that people engage in without the kind of intentionality, reflection, or knowledge that we tend to think of as necessary for ethical choices." I've always seen voting not just as a right, but a responsibility.
Seeing it as a responsibility means I should be informed on what I am voting for. So I read, and I ask questions, even when I'm voting in nonpartisan races (think dog catcher etc).
Do others see voting as not just a right but a responsibility?
Thanks for the shout-out in here. This is a really thoughtful and nuanced piece.
Yep. Trump voters did vote for this.
“Unless people are willing to admit that, yes, to some degree, they did vote for this, and that was an error, then they’re not rejecting fascism. They’re just saying they want a less messy, more efficient fascism that doesn’t harm them personally.” This!!!
So smart.
Another brilliant article, Noah. The situation referenced involves a Chinese immigrant woman described as a "soccer mom" who was removed from her rural Missouri town. I happen to live in Missouri. I have a mother, of Chinese descent, who also lives in this state. She is a naturalized US citizen. I am also ashamed to say, my mother voted for Trump twice. When I saw the article about the "soccer mom" picked up by ICE when she presented for a routine immigration check, I immediately forwarded the story to my mother. Her comment was: "What an alarming and sad article!!" followed by a sad face emoji. No I don't forgive my mom or all of those other moms who voted for this monster, no matter how many sad faced emojis they send.
I think voting choice is (or should be) even more basic than white identity or voting as your parents did. It’s between right or wrong, good vs evil. Don’t citizens want their president to be first and foremost a good man? Someone with his/her heart in the right place? A person with decency, integrity, and character? That should be primary. After that you can argue about competence and views on policy. When you vote for a bad person you will get a bad outcome. I have zero sympathy for those who say “I didn’t vote for this”.
Strongly agree with dead naming Twitter. I do it all the time and will not stop. Especially now. Fuck X-boy.
Your thesis is sort of borne out by the current spate of GOP Senators saying they had no idea <odious or fiscally irresponsible policy > was in the BBB. They and large staffs are literally paid to know. How can we think the generic voter knows much of policy details when the Senators are just as much voting on party or vibes.
My problem with the Masket/Morris argument that we need to give these people a road away from Trump is their own point about them being ignorant. Maybe right at this moment when they're thinking about this particular part of a policy they don't like Democrats can reach out to them. But who's to say in 6 months, 2 years, or 4 years they have any clue what is happening with that very policy?
There's so many variables that can go into what is salient at the point when these people actually make a decision on who to vote for that it's practically impossible to devise some sort of specific strategy to reach these types of people. (Not to mention your point about partisanship, which is very strong and difficult to change.)
Well, it's impossible given the current way Democrats do politics, which is absurdly short-sighted and extremely not up the challenge of the modern information environment. The ignorance of both entities is a giant barrier even if we all agreed to swallow the moral argument for telling these people to fuck themselves (maybe not literally but I tend to think it's best to just roll our eyes and hope they're primed for something besides their racism the next time they're voting).
It is possible that when people are faced with a policy harming them personally, they may start to pay more attention going forward…
I hope so. And partisanship changes typically need some sort of dramatic event (been a while since I was a graduate assistant but the professor I worked for studied this specifically but that's the summary irrc). Maybe this is the type of thing that does that.
I like your take on this.
I do want to welcome those who do start to pay attention and understand what is going on.
I am also a bit jaded because I grew up in NY and by the time I was 12 I knew DJT was a snake oil salesman.
This is one bit I take issue with "it’s something that people engage in without the kind of intentionality, reflection, or knowledge that we tend to think of as necessary for ethical choices." I've always seen voting not just as a right, but a responsibility.
Seeing it as a responsibility means I should be informed on what I am voting for. So I read, and I ask questions, even when I'm voting in nonpartisan races (think dog catcher etc).
Do others see voting as not just a right but a responsibility?