Trumpism is, as the article states, more about white Christian grievances than anything else. Fear of a changing world and a misplaced hope that Trump could somhow turn back the clock where everybody around them was white, cis and straight.
kabphillie on
I don’t know if I live in Trump country, but there are plenty of MAGA people around. The common denominators are anger and a lack of empathy. Many truly think that anyone who isn’t MAGA is the enemy.
RuncibleSpork on
>Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational. It’s the mean-spirited aspect of America, one that looks upon people like my refugee family as a lesser-than group, even if we might be tolerated individually. It’s heartbreaking to be around, knowing that there’s little logic or data that can dislodge a thorn that’s been absorbed so thoroughly.
Data and logic are useless with MAGAs, and like the author of this article, I have mostly given up even trying. I think this explains it best: *You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.*
rockum on
> Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational.
TBF a county fair in 2024 isn’t a typical day; like the author alluded to, it’s an opportunity for some huckster to sell marked up Chinese t-shirts. I’ve lived in Trump country after the election 2020 election. The Trump signs, flags, and hats mostly disappeared.
lovegotthetongue on
Prolly the most articulate political analysis in a long time.
“One of my cousins saw clusters of young men walking the grounds in floral Hawaiian shirts, which have recently become an unfortunate sartorial symbol of the far-right “boogaloo” movement, a militant group that aims to incite a second Civil War.”
trolleyblue on
I had to travel all through out the south in 2021 working for VCs.
Very bleak indeed.
supercali45 on
they getting played so badly by the GOP… kind of sad
ExplosiveDiarrhetic on
And they stupidly vote republican. So so stupid
DomoOreoGato on
I just want them to lose so bad that they get a small reality check and pick someone more right center next time. Not that im voting right, just seriously get the crazy out of here
salty_gemini74 on
I was visiting friends in Montana a couple summers ago and went to a rodeo. It started off with a prayer for Trump followed by “lets go brandon” chants. It was so bizarre.
forceblast on
Try living in “Trump country”. It sucks. Also I’m white and don’t look like a complete “liberal cuck” (as they’d probably put it) so they often assume I’m just as Trumpy and racist as they are. It leads to some VERY awkward conversations. I often worry about word getting out and my house getting vandalized, dogs poisoned, etc.
AncientScratch1670 on
Im in one of the reddest counties in Wisconsin. People outside these rural areas think Trumpism is on its deathbed. I hope they’re right because I still see LOTS of signs, flags, hats. The cult is still very much alive here.
Silly-Scene6524 on
Faux News and newsmax idiots.
Rich1926 on
I do not support Trump but being around Trump supporters I have a good idea of how they think, somewhat.
The people here in Alabama who support Trump think that MAGA means brining back democracy, protecting “our rights” and upholding the constitution…and that Democrats want “division” “war” and that Democrats “hate America”.. They believe that Democrats want to force their children to be LGBTQ ..not just be accepting of others, but to turn them LGBTQ. They believe that the war on guns is a way to “disarm us so they can attack us”. They believe that Democrat policies will lead to more inflation, more debt, and more crime/drugs coming across the border. They have no problem with people coming to America, but don’t want them to be given free resources when many of our own citizens do not have those resources. They want people to “go to work” instead of expecting handouts from the government. Also, they believe abortion is murder.
There is probably more but that’s the short summary.
I have met Trump supporters who simply believe in his actual policies, and don’t care about the words he says. One person told me “he’s an asshole from New York, they are all that way”…
JubalHarshaw23 on
Their only motivation is hatred. Hatred of the educated, hatred of education, hatred of Others, and most importantly but always denied, Hatred of themselves.
Motor_Panda2371 on
The national political discourse has ruined everything. It’s just gotten a million times worse under Trump. The local lake where I’d go as a kid is now just flooded with boats waving Trump flags. American ISIS
hobbsAnShaw on
No need to ever visit there…never.
Don’t spend any money in those places, let their bootstraps and their orange savior do the saving
SEAtoPAR on
I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Was back there last September to visit family. While driving around, I saw five houses with Confederate flags and Trump flags in their yards. Always makes me wonder…. how can you claim to be the party that ended slavery, and then also fly the Confederate flag in your yard???
No_Pudding7102 on
I hope Latinos for trump visit the same place to see how much the locals love them 🙂
QuiGonColdGin on
Lack of intelligence and inbreeding.
Renorico on
I grew up in a small town i ln the NW back in the 70s and 80s. Just about every car and truck in the high school parking lot had a rifle or fishing pole in it so kids could go hunting after school. Everyone knew each other. People took pride in being blue collar.
Not fir a second could a coastal elite grifter like Trump lure those people into his gobblygook of whine, self loathing, and entitlement.
40 years later and so many if them are rubbing around in red MAGA hats, bitching about brown people they never see, whining about the economy while living off the 700K dollar homes their parents bought for 60K and gifted them.
Literally everything they hated, they have now become.
skitarii_riot on
Happy people don’t vote for fascists.
SmoltzforAlexander on
I live and work in a MAGA area (semi-rural), and the people here just repeat whatever they hear on Fox News, almost word for word.
You cannot underestimate the impact 24/7 propaganda has on people.
racer_24_4evr on
I live in Ontario an have taken a few trips through Eastern Michigan over the years. I am noticing far fewer Trump signs this year than in the past, even in non election years.
Dapper-Membership on
Even here in Oregon you’ll see plenty of MAGA outside Portland. Take a trip to the beautiful Oregon coast and you see dump flags, bumper stickers etc. Just up the coast from the Bay Area where the author is from in northern CA is MAGA country, too. It completely baffles me the belief these people possess that he ACTUALLY cares about them.
Moebius808 on
From rural Illinois. Haven’t been back there since well before even the pandemic hit, but for the same reasons in the article.
As someone who has lived in NY, Boston, Seattle, the Bay Area, and more since moving away from there, going back to where I grew up just feels fuckin’ bizarre. It barely even feels like the America that I discovered for myself by living in all of those various places – it’s like some kind of giant, brainwashed cult compound. It’s weird and unsettling and uninviting. I’m constantly on edge there, and I don’t feel safe, so we don’t go back anymore.
vs-1680 on
Residents in red states are unhappy with their lives. They blame it on Democrats, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, blame Democrats, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better….
8Deer-JaguarClaw on
I have no idea how strong Trumpism still is, but I know one thing for sure: the merch makers/sellers are in it for the money, not ideology.
Case in point: I was in Key West last week for a family vacation. Just about every souvenir shop had Trump crap. But they all also had very openly pro-LGBTQ stuff. I saw a shirt that said “I’m voting for the felon” with a pic of TFG, and right next to it was a shirt with huge rainbow letters that said “I’M NOT GAY, I’M SUPER GAY”
As long as their are people buying, there will be cult signs and shirts and stickers.
MonkeyBred on
I’m in Texas, which might sound red by default, but among my peers and within the urban areas, we’re strongly blue. The problem I see happens at the voting center. There are 5 senior citizens for every 1 younger person.
The hate from the 1950s and 1960s isn’t dead yet, and I feel like my vote is a drop in the bucket. If you want to see change, we need more voters.
LogicIsDead22 on
I went home to the Midwest for the fair a couple years ago and they made everyone stand and do the pledge of allegiance before the demolition derby started. Had a German buddy with me who was like oof be careful with that guys.
fruttypebbles on
I’m glad to say that the very red county we live in has had a huge decrease in Trump flags and signs.
dirthawg on
It’s the stupidest fucking cult.
rtbradford on
Trumpers are always angry because they see the country changing steadily – becoming more racially diverse, more accepting of gays, less religious – and despite their best efforts, they can’t stop it. We’ll be dealing with their anger for a few more elections before they lose their political potency. We’ve seen the same thing happen before at various times in our country.
Necessary_Chip9934 on
I agree with all the comments that the common trait is anger. They seem to get such glee out of being mean.
Merky600 on
Dropping this in. From an other Redditor with some insight.
“You all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last
places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a shit what
he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period. He absolutely
realizes that and plays it up, they love it, he knows they love it, and the fact that people act like it’s
anything other than that just proves that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all
around.
If you keep getting caught up in why do they not realize blah blah blah and how can they still
back him after blah blah blah, you are not understanding what is the underlying motivating
factor of his support.
It’s fuck liberals, that’s pretty much it.
Have you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable and they’ll explain some way that
rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense? Because they’re not even keeping track of any logical
narrative, it’s irrelevant, fuck liberals is the only relevant thing, trust me, I know first hand what
I’m talking about. That’s why they just laugh at it all, because you all don’t even realize they really
truly don’t give a fuck about whatever the conversation is about, it’s just a side mission story that
doesn’t really matter anyways. That’s all just trivial details – the economy, health care, whatever.
Fuck liberals.
Look at the thing with not wearing the masks. I can tell you what that’s about. It’s about exposing
fear. They’re playing chicken with nature and whoever flinches just moved down their internal
pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.
You gotta understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for what they
consider weakness, because that’s what they believe strength is, hatred for weakness. And I
mean passionate, sadistic hatred. And I’m not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic, passionate
hatred, and that’s what proves they’re strong, their passionate hatred for weakness. Sometimes
they lump in vulnerability, a compromised circumstance, or an overwhelming circumstance in
their with weakness, too, because people tend to start humbling themselves when they’re in
those circumstances and that’s an obvious sign of weakness.
They consider their very
existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn’t hate weakness as much as they do.
They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact
that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting,
but it’s that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.
Go ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them though. Just keep in mind
what I said here and think about it.”
36 Comments
[**Non-paywall mirror link**](https://archive.is/sRv1C)
Trumpism is, as the article states, more about white Christian grievances than anything else. Fear of a changing world and a misplaced hope that Trump could somhow turn back the clock where everybody around them was white, cis and straight.
I don’t know if I live in Trump country, but there are plenty of MAGA people around. The common denominators are anger and a lack of empathy. Many truly think that anyone who isn’t MAGA is the enemy.
>Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational. It’s the mean-spirited aspect of America, one that looks upon people like my refugee family as a lesser-than group, even if we might be tolerated individually. It’s heartbreaking to be around, knowing that there’s little logic or data that can dislodge a thorn that’s been absorbed so thoroughly.
Data and logic are useless with MAGAs, and like the author of this article, I have mostly given up even trying. I think this explains it best: *You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.*
> Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational.
TBF a county fair in 2024 isn’t a typical day; like the author alluded to, it’s an opportunity for some huckster to sell marked up Chinese t-shirts. I’ve lived in Trump country after the election 2020 election. The Trump signs, flags, and hats mostly disappeared.
Prolly the most articulate political analysis in a long time.
“One of my cousins saw clusters of young men walking the grounds in floral Hawaiian shirts, which have recently become an unfortunate sartorial symbol of the far-right “boogaloo” movement, a militant group that aims to incite a second Civil War.”
I had to travel all through out the south in 2021 working for VCs.
Very bleak indeed.
they getting played so badly by the GOP… kind of sad
And they stupidly vote republican. So so stupid
I just want them to lose so bad that they get a small reality check and pick someone more right center next time. Not that im voting right, just seriously get the crazy out of here
I was visiting friends in Montana a couple summers ago and went to a rodeo. It started off with a prayer for Trump followed by “lets go brandon” chants. It was so bizarre.
Try living in “Trump country”. It sucks. Also I’m white and don’t look like a complete “liberal cuck” (as they’d probably put it) so they often assume I’m just as Trumpy and racist as they are. It leads to some VERY awkward conversations. I often worry about word getting out and my house getting vandalized, dogs poisoned, etc.
Im in one of the reddest counties in Wisconsin. People outside these rural areas think Trumpism is on its deathbed. I hope they’re right because I still see LOTS of signs, flags, hats. The cult is still very much alive here.
Faux News and newsmax idiots.
I do not support Trump but being around Trump supporters I have a good idea of how they think, somewhat.
The people here in Alabama who support Trump think that MAGA means brining back democracy, protecting “our rights” and upholding the constitution…and that Democrats want “division” “war” and that Democrats “hate America”.. They believe that Democrats want to force their children to be LGBTQ ..not just be accepting of others, but to turn them LGBTQ. They believe that the war on guns is a way to “disarm us so they can attack us”. They believe that Democrat policies will lead to more inflation, more debt, and more crime/drugs coming across the border. They have no problem with people coming to America, but don’t want them to be given free resources when many of our own citizens do not have those resources. They want people to “go to work” instead of expecting handouts from the government. Also, they believe abortion is murder.
There is probably more but that’s the short summary.
I have met Trump supporters who simply believe in his actual policies, and don’t care about the words he says. One person told me “he’s an asshole from New York, they are all that way”…
Their only motivation is hatred. Hatred of the educated, hatred of education, hatred of Others, and most importantly but always denied, Hatred of themselves.
The national political discourse has ruined everything. It’s just gotten a million times worse under Trump. The local lake where I’d go as a kid is now just flooded with boats waving Trump flags. American ISIS
No need to ever visit there…never.
Don’t spend any money in those places, let their bootstraps and their orange savior do the saving
I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Was back there last September to visit family. While driving around, I saw five houses with Confederate flags and Trump flags in their yards. Always makes me wonder…. how can you claim to be the party that ended slavery, and then also fly the Confederate flag in your yard???
I hope Latinos for trump visit the same place to see how much the locals love them 🙂
Lack of intelligence and inbreeding.
I grew up in a small town i ln the NW back in the 70s and 80s. Just about every car and truck in the high school parking lot had a rifle or fishing pole in it so kids could go hunting after school. Everyone knew each other. People took pride in being blue collar.
Not fir a second could a coastal elite grifter like Trump lure those people into his gobblygook of whine, self loathing, and entitlement.
40 years later and so many if them are rubbing around in red MAGA hats, bitching about brown people they never see, whining about the economy while living off the 700K dollar homes their parents bought for 60K and gifted them.
Literally everything they hated, they have now become.
Happy people don’t vote for fascists.
I live and work in a MAGA area (semi-rural), and the people here just repeat whatever they hear on Fox News, almost word for word.
You cannot underestimate the impact 24/7 propaganda has on people.
I live in Ontario an have taken a few trips through Eastern Michigan over the years. I am noticing far fewer Trump signs this year than in the past, even in non election years.
Even here in Oregon you’ll see plenty of MAGA outside Portland. Take a trip to the beautiful Oregon coast and you see dump flags, bumper stickers etc. Just up the coast from the Bay Area where the author is from in northern CA is MAGA country, too. It completely baffles me the belief these people possess that he ACTUALLY cares about them.
From rural Illinois. Haven’t been back there since well before even the pandemic hit, but for the same reasons in the article.
As someone who has lived in NY, Boston, Seattle, the Bay Area, and more since moving away from there, going back to where I grew up just feels fuckin’ bizarre. It barely even feels like the America that I discovered for myself by living in all of those various places – it’s like some kind of giant, brainwashed cult compound. It’s weird and unsettling and uninviting. I’m constantly on edge there, and I don’t feel safe, so we don’t go back anymore.
Residents in red states are unhappy with their lives. They blame it on Democrats, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, blame Democrats, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better….
I have no idea how strong Trumpism still is, but I know one thing for sure: the merch makers/sellers are in it for the money, not ideology.
Case in point: I was in Key West last week for a family vacation. Just about every souvenir shop had Trump crap. But they all also had very openly pro-LGBTQ stuff. I saw a shirt that said “I’m voting for the felon” with a pic of TFG, and right next to it was a shirt with huge rainbow letters that said “I’M NOT GAY, I’M SUPER GAY”
As long as their are people buying, there will be cult signs and shirts and stickers.
I’m in Texas, which might sound red by default, but among my peers and within the urban areas, we’re strongly blue. The problem I see happens at the voting center. There are 5 senior citizens for every 1 younger person.
The hate from the 1950s and 1960s isn’t dead yet, and I feel like my vote is a drop in the bucket. If you want to see change, we need more voters.
I went home to the Midwest for the fair a couple years ago and they made everyone stand and do the pledge of allegiance before the demolition derby started. Had a German buddy with me who was like oof be careful with that guys.
I’m glad to say that the very red county we live in has had a huge decrease in Trump flags and signs.
It’s the stupidest fucking cult.
Trumpers are always angry because they see the country changing steadily – becoming more racially diverse, more accepting of gays, less religious – and despite their best efforts, they can’t stop it. We’ll be dealing with their anger for a few more elections before they lose their political potency. We’ve seen the same thing happen before at various times in our country.
I agree with all the comments that the common trait is anger. They seem to get such glee out of being mean.
Dropping this in. From an other Redditor with some insight.
“xenophonsXiphos 2.4k points – 21 hours ago @2 3 ©6 & & 14 More
“You all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last
places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a shit what
he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period. He absolutely
realizes that and plays it up, they love it, he knows they love it, and the fact that people act like it’s
anything other than that just proves that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all
around.
If you keep getting caught up in why do they not realize blah blah blah and how can they still
back him after blah blah blah, you are not understanding what is the underlying motivating
factor of his support.
It’s fuck liberals, that’s pretty much it.
Have you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable and they’ll explain some way that
rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense? Because they’re not even keeping track of any logical
narrative, it’s irrelevant, fuck liberals is the only relevant thing, trust me, I know first hand what
I’m talking about. That’s why they just laugh at it all, because you all don’t even realize they really
truly don’t give a fuck about whatever the conversation is about, it’s just a side mission story that
doesn’t really matter anyways. That’s all just trivial details – the economy, health care, whatever.
Fuck liberals.
Look at the thing with not wearing the masks. I can tell you what that’s about. It’s about exposing
fear. They’re playing chicken with nature and whoever flinches just moved down their internal
pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.
You gotta understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for what they
consider weakness, because that’s what they believe strength is, hatred for weakness. And I
mean passionate, sadistic hatred. And I’m not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic, passionate
hatred, and that’s what proves they’re strong, their passionate hatred for weakness. Sometimes
they lump in vulnerability, a compromised circumstance, or an overwhelming circumstance in
their with weakness, too, because people tend to start humbling themselves when they’re in
those circumstances and that’s an obvious sign of weakness.
Kindness=weakness. Honesty=weakness. Compromise=weakness.
They consider their very
existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn’t hate weakness as much as they do.
They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact
that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting,
but it’s that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.
Go ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them though. Just keep in mind
what I said here and think about it.”