Conservatives, and those who voted for trump, in particular, specifically did so because they did not think that america was working out for them. They wanted to make america great again, not take pride in the great country in which they lived. They are the ones who refuse to change as technology, culture and demographics change, and demand that the way it was when they were children is the way it should always be. They are not willing to change their own circumstance, of moving or retraining for a new career, but they want the world to continue to hand them whatever they ask for, because anything less would be a change for the worse.
Conservatives resent that their lifestyle changes as the world changes, and they refuse to change with it.
I disagree entirely that liberals are the ones that life isn’t working out for. Liberals are the ones who can see outside their immediate tribe, and see that things aren’t working out for others. It is not trying to improve our own lot in life, often, our lot in life is relatively comfortable and secure. It is extending that comfort and security to those who have been denied it by our society for generations.
We don’t ask much from those who have the security and comfort in their life. We don’t ask them to give up their necessities of survival to hand to others, we ask that they share some of their luxuries in order for others to survive.
Conservatives are not the only ones who go to work every day to support their families. Progressives do as well. We also use our resources to help other families. Maybe that does mean that we lose out going to disney rather than just to the beach, but it means that other people don’t die from exposure, privation, or lack of medical care.
If all progressive movements are seen as a bunch of dirty entitled hipsters by conservatives, then that explains part of why they have such contempt for those who attempt to address their grievances with the govt and the policies it enforces, I can understand that. But, when conservatives see a group of clean cut white kids carrying Tiki torches and nazi flags, they see a bunch of fine people.
Conservatives constantly complain about taxes, and their tax burden, even though taxes are the lowest they have been in over half a century. They constantly lobby for further cuts, and complain about any possibility of an increase, even as they complain about the deficits that are being run up.
When a conservative does something insensitive that hurts someone, they blame the aggrieved party for being too sensitive, rather than taking any responsibility for the offense on their own.
When someone does something for a purpose of bringing attention to an issue that is important to them, if it is done in a way that conservatives dislike, they complain that they are being offended by those actions, and condemn that expression of speech.
When called on racially insensitive behavior, they double down, insisting that actions and phrases and symbols that have been used historically by open racists for the specific purpose of oppressing others are simply part of their heritage, and should not be associated in the minds of those who were oppressed under those symbols as symbols of oppression.
When they see a mass shooting on TV, rather than consider whether their support for unfettered access to weapons of all kinds may be responsible for what they are witnessing, and could be responsible for the next incident, they instead run out to purchase more, and do anything they can to stop any efforts that could reduce the chances and severity of another incident.
All that said, I see most people as decent people, whether they be conservative, liberal, green, purple, or whatever. Just that someone disagrees with me politically does not mean that I see them as inferior, or stupid, or in any way lessor for their beliefs. I may know that you are a trump supporter, and that won’t keep me from having you as a client, an acquaintance, or a family member. I run games with lots of people that I know voted for trump. I live in the middle of trump territory. It would be difficult, and a bit foolish, to write all these people off.
I do however, think less of some people when they express their political views. When they bring up how evil democrats are, or how great trump is, then I start thinking poorly of them quite quickly. It’s not that they have these views, it’s that these views are counterfactual and illogical. I lost a number of social contacts in the last year, as there were those who could not go an hour without bringing up their thoughts on the matter.
Amongst most of my acquaintances, we have a pretty well enforced rule of no politics. We get together to play games and have fun, and everyone knows that as soon as anything political is brought up, fun ends for everyone. My clients occasionally bring up politics, but I just refuse to engage, and use the excuse that I’m so busy with running this place that I really have no time to pay any attention to such things. Some of my friends and I talk politics, but we are usually on the same basic page. We may have an impassioned discussion on healthcare, and the different priorities of cost, availability, and quality, but we are all in agreement that more people covered is better.
My family, I avoid most of them anymore. It sucks, cuase I used to enjoy being around them, but they will use any topic as a pivot point to get a dig in against me and what they think of my politics. My father somewhat recently said, “And your buddy dennis rodman is hanging out with jung-il (he had a different name for him, and it wasn’t rocket man, but I don’t remember it at the moment.).” Which made no sense whatsoever. Rodman endorsed trump, so he’s not really my buddy there. My father is a basketball fan, and I’ve only tolerated it in order to spend time with him, so it’s not that either. The only thing I can think of is that he is black, and my father isn’t a big fan of black people, so that makes rodman “my buddy”. He felt he won the discussion by the look of bafflement and confusion on my face. And well, I didn’t have a comeback for the line, so I guess he did. And in that winning, I didn’t bother to talk to him for about 3 months.
That is the nature of nearly all political discussions I have with trump supporters IRL, they just make shit up. It doesn’t have to be based on reality. It doesn’t have to be logical, or make a lick of sense. It just has to be hurtful to a liberal, that seems to be enough. After enough of these discussions, even though I try to keep an open mind about them, it does start to become difficult to see these trump supporters as decent people.
This is exactly the kind of thing that will get picked up and passed around by the likes of Sean Hannity. :rolleyes: