This actually explains so much. Thank you for making it all make sense. The willful ignorance is the price of admission to MAGA land and white supremacy in all its variants.
Here’s also why I think Trump will win most white women for the third cycle, in general, I’m not as ecstatic about more women voting than men so far on its face because while you’d think with the gender gap in polling that’s good for Harris it’s not necessarily given how the former demo chose Trump >50% in the last 2 GEs.
Even with Roe overturned, in the 22 midterms, it was still 53 GOP-45 Dem, so can’t count on that group imho necessarily.
Independent voters, who had consistently supported Trump in the leadup to this election, now break for Harris. That’s driven by the strength of independent women, who back Harris by a 28-point margin. Similarly, senior voters who are 65 and older favor Harris. But senior women support her by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 63% to 28%.
Sure, but I'm very skeptical of Ann's polling there for the first time in my life given the national mood/climate, to clarify: we'll see if she ends up being right yet again, but I'm betting not this time.
Yes, and Roe had just been overturned. The horrors that decision unleashed weren’t yet obvious. I think (hope) we’re in a different place now. (I’m one of those that has to hold on to hope, or I can’t really function. It’s my own way of warping reality. I’ll face whatever happens when it gets here.)
I don’t think that people know the horrors…they mostly impact marginalized people. And news about people who are marginalized, well, it isn’t news unless someone filmed the horror.
Hope strings eternal, I suppose, I'm very pessimistic given the last 10 or so years in politics since Citizens United was overturned but we'll see indeed.
There's so much to chew on here. Your explanation applies to so many of the utterly silly things we've seen at those rallies (the real men wear diapers trend just blew me away).
I read this, in part, as a human capable of believing absurdities, as all us humans are. It strikes me that only some folk will recognize and reject the delusion/dissonance they've bought into upon reaching some threshold, while others more fervently cling to or even advance the absurdities. What's the difference? Is white supremacy (or any supremacy over other) the only frame that makes us believe absurdities? What other frames make us swim in this fishbowl?
conspiracy theories are popular across the political spectrum. the difference is that MAGA really encourages them as a core message, while D leaders generally refute them or refuse to pass them on.
so...I think it tends to be a community effort to spiral into nonsense like this.
Am I the only Black subcriber? Or, the only Black subscriber who comments.
The Black community has been talking about the ideology of colonialism or white supremacy forever.
Johnson said it 60 yrs ago. When I was born a crime in 15 states and with NO federal civil rights. I was lucky to be born in Watts, LA. A state so redlined, that California has a lower percentage of Black residents than Minnesota.
People are predictably irrational. People living on social security vote for people who want to get rid of social security. Why? Cause they have to protect their ego at all costs. Including their own death, or the deaths of their children.
The town, Lake Elmo, is a gop stronghold. 95% white. The children die from leukemia. Cause 3m dumped pfas in their lake. The residents vote for fewer environmental regulations and fewer dollars to clean up their polluted water, that literally kills their children.The residents don’t even move. Talk about irrational.
Don’t read the stories about what the americans and the dutch and the Germans and the british and the french and the spanish did to the indigenous people.
I very much agree - but does it go broader than white supremacy? Otherism in my experience is finding a difference - skin color is obvious, but religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender etc are all used to demonize and blame a group. I worked at the US Embassy in The Bahamas for several years - many Haitians illegally migrate to The Bahamas. The level of "racism" Bahamians (a largely black population) had towards Haitians was notable. Stoked by the same old playbook - the perception that jobs were being taken, resources used by "the others" kept it going.
race isn't real, so racism is not just hating people of another race; it's creating racialized differences based on virtually any difference—which can definitely include nationality.
Excellent work and spot on interpretation of MAGA folks, in my view. This was the article that made me a paid subscriber.
Thanks!
So good I printed this out.
I never print out substacks.
Thank you.
thank you!
This actually explains so much. Thank you for making it all make sense. The willful ignorance is the price of admission to MAGA land and white supremacy in all its variants.
Here’s also why I think Trump will win most white women for the third cycle, in general, I’m not as ecstatic about more women voting than men so far on its face because while you’d think with the gender gap in polling that’s good for Harris it’s not necessarily given how the former demo chose Trump >50% in the last 2 GEs.
Even with Roe overturned, in the 22 midterms, it was still 53 GOP-45 Dem, so can’t count on that group imho necessarily.
Hard to say. The Selzer poll had Harris leading Iowa women (mostly white) by like 29 points…
20, not 29. But still!
Here are the numbers:
Independent voters, who had consistently supported Trump in the leadup to this election, now break for Harris. That’s driven by the strength of independent women, who back Harris by a 28-point margin. Similarly, senior voters who are 65 and older favor Harris. But senior women support her by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 63% to 28%.
Sure, but I'm very skeptical of Ann's polling there for the first time in my life given the national mood/climate, to clarify: we'll see if she ends up being right yet again, but I'm betting not this time.
she could be pretty far off and it still would be good news for Harris...
Sure, if it applies to the other Midwestern Blue Wall Rust Belt states-- I don't dispute that.
Yes, and Roe had just been overturned. The horrors that decision unleashed weren’t yet obvious. I think (hope) we’re in a different place now. (I’m one of those that has to hold on to hope, or I can’t really function. It’s my own way of warping reality. I’ll face whatever happens when it gets here.)
I don’t think that people know the horrors…they mostly impact marginalized people. And news about people who are marginalized, well, it isn’t news unless someone filmed the horror.
Hope strings eternal, I suppose, I'm very pessimistic given the last 10 or so years in politics since Citizens United was overturned but we'll see indeed.
There's so much to chew on here. Your explanation applies to so many of the utterly silly things we've seen at those rallies (the real men wear diapers trend just blew me away).
I read this, in part, as a human capable of believing absurdities, as all us humans are. It strikes me that only some folk will recognize and reject the delusion/dissonance they've bought into upon reaching some threshold, while others more fervently cling to or even advance the absurdities. What's the difference? Is white supremacy (or any supremacy over other) the only frame that makes us believe absurdities? What other frames make us swim in this fishbowl?
Aah, humans!
conspiracy theories are popular across the political spectrum. the difference is that MAGA really encourages them as a core message, while D leaders generally refute them or refuse to pass them on.
so...I think it tends to be a community effort to spiral into nonsense like this.
Am I the only Black subcriber? Or, the only Black subscriber who comments.
The Black community has been talking about the ideology of colonialism or white supremacy forever.
Johnson said it 60 yrs ago. When I was born a crime in 15 states and with NO federal civil rights. I was lucky to be born in Watts, LA. A state so redlined, that California has a lower percentage of Black residents than Minnesota.
People are predictably irrational. People living on social security vote for people who want to get rid of social security. Why? Cause they have to protect their ego at all costs. Including their own death, or the deaths of their children.
The town, Lake Elmo, is a gop stronghold. 95% white. The children die from leukemia. Cause 3m dumped pfas in their lake. The residents vote for fewer environmental regulations and fewer dollars to clean up their polluted water, that literally kills their children.The residents don’t even move. Talk about irrational.
Don’t read the stories about what the americans and the dutch and the Germans and the british and the french and the spanish did to the indigenous people.
Columbus aka - Rapist. Child molester. murderer. Barbarian. Torturer.
Every statue of him should be destroyed.
definitely not the only Black subscriber! nor the only Black commenter, I'm pretty sure...
and yes, this is very much building on Black scholars' work! Most directly on that of Charles Mills, who I quote in the piece.
Thank you. Another brilliant essay!
So true!
I very much agree - but does it go broader than white supremacy? Otherism in my experience is finding a difference - skin color is obvious, but religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender etc are all used to demonize and blame a group. I worked at the US Embassy in The Bahamas for several years - many Haitians illegally migrate to The Bahamas. The level of "racism" Bahamians (a largely black population) had towards Haitians was notable. Stoked by the same old playbook - the perception that jobs were being taken, resources used by "the others" kept it going.
race isn't real, so racism is not just hating people of another race; it's creating racialized differences based on virtually any difference—which can definitely include nationality.