I was just writing the most pointless carepost and when I hit the preview button I got a notification the thread was locked.
Then my chinese food arrived.
Then I got side-tracked with actual work for a few.
So I guess I'll just paste it here without further editing.
Because the right was able to win everything without following those instructions, and they are currently the side that everyone is saying needs to be respected and listened to even though they have never ever once done that to the other side
So clearly there something else about the right’s method that works. I wonder what it could possibly be??
But when the right loses, and they do lose, every couple of elections like both parties do, aren't they losing for the same reason? Not listening to the ones they keep decrying?
So then why did they win again without ever changing their tactics
TL;DR Version 1: I'm a white cis-male. There's no point in reading my #mansplaining #whiteprivilege post.
TL:DR Version 2: The average voter is barely informed and prone to voting from feels or a sense of kinship. That's why parties are more effective than just a list of platforms. I can imagine a first-time voter reading an Assimilate or a Cream post and thinking "I could never vote the same way as this guy"
The pendulum swings frequently in politics. The Democrats getting hit particularly hard in recent (pre-Trump) elections can be chalked up in some part to just that. Other reasons that aren't entirely new but have featured more prominently since we all had a glimmer of HOPE™ leading up to Obama:
- Because of money in politics.
That's not new, but citizens united has exacerbated it.
- Because of voter id laws in key states.
Vote suppression isn't new, but it's been ramped up in recent years and was key in the presidential election.
- Because people love a good lie.
Obama - Hope™. Lobbyists are outta here! People can keep their same insurance.
Trump - Make America Great Again and we'll have the best jobs and lots of jobs
- Because #THE_MEDIA need clicks and a good hashtag more than ever in a social media age.
For-profit news has always had this issue, but Clinton and the Democrats in general were uninspiring.
Trump was good television. Trump was good internet. Just look at the front page of GAF in 2016/2017. Reset in 2018.
- Because blue-collar workers are worse off even though the "economy" was getting better.
In part due to the further stripping of union rights even under Obama and a blue congress.
It doesn't matter that those things were more in the control of Red legislatures/governors within a state, the immediate impulse is to blame Washington. Wisconsin and Michigan are the big ones I can think of locally, but it may have been the case in other states as well.
- Because the left loves eating their own.
That old saying about Republicans fall in line, Democrats fall in love - which you appear to disregard or think it's imaginary (whether for irony, indifference, or ignorance). This isn't a new thing, but it's been amplified. You see it a lot against progressive whites and white men.
Minorities have dealt and deal with a lot of shit. Same for the LGBTQ crowd. These are things the average white liberal can never fully empathise with but can and should acknowledge. Regardless, the bottom line is that people generally put their immediate wants/needs first. Some level of catering to the individual has to come in play to have a conversation that can benefit the whole. Progressives must find a way to steer the conversation to the left without pushing the people who need to hear the message away.
Vilifying or otherwise disregarding the issues white people as human beings face because of their privilege may win you woke points but it won't win you votes. It's about as effective as a campaign against American/European #FirstWorldPrivilege would be at getting us to forsake our possessions, food, and clean water or getting us to stop demanding oil, clothing, gadgets, or other luxuries produced in Third-World countries.
A lot of the discussion on the left has been toxic and counter-productive. Personally, it doesn't affect what I support - I voted for and donated to Hilary (Bernie in the Michigan primary). I'm donating to Democrats who are coming up in the House race against Fred Upton (R-Michigan). I'm not someone who needs to be convinced by others' outrage or support before casting my vote.
But there are plenty out there who do. Some of the stuff I see posted in progressive groups I'm a part of on Facebook make me roll my eyes. Anyone on the margins or just getting their feet wet in politics could easily be driven away by some of the borderline anti-white / anti-male rhetoric.
It's easy to mock but liberals of all colors embraced the optimism of the #Change and #Hope campaign even with a black candidate running against a Clinton and later a war veteran. It felt, however naive, that for all our differences we were on the same team. That kind of rah'rahing may not mean much to the more politically coherent voter, but if it matters to the unengaged fence-sitters at all then it matters a lot.
Or we can cut the BS and lay the blame where it belongs....
