# "Is it that the Dems don't understand white, working-class America?" No, that's not it **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 28, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291 "2016-11-28T16:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![UberArchetype](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/2bfe46/32.png) [@UberArchetype](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UberArchetype)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/261 "2016-12-05T20:06:13Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > We could have nominated other exceedingly well qualified candidates. Nobody is owed the nomination. Unless you’re part of the HRC sycophant club, totally blind to what a deceitful, lying, horrible scumbag she really is. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/262 "2016-12-05T20:20:20Z")
> [@UberArchetype](#): > > Unless you’re part of the HRC sycophant club, totally blind to what a deceitful, lying, horrible scumbag she really is. Oh for the love of Jesus Fucking Christ! **CITE??** Something that isn’t written by Sean Hannity or Alex Jones. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/263 "2016-12-05T20:29:56Z")
> [@UberArchetype](#): > > Unless you’re part of the HRC sycophant club, totally blind to what a deceitful, lying, horrible scumbag she really is. Right. It’s impossible to be somewhere in between being a sycophant and thinking that she’s a “deceitful, lying, horrible scumbag”. Everyone on Earth either worships her or thinks she’s one of the worst human beings in human history. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/264 "2016-12-05T21:23:14Z")
> [@UberArchetype](#): > > Gawd, you are a fucking idiot. Could be, but you’re not exactly making much of a case for it. And what **QuickSilver** and **iiandyiiii** said. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/265 "2016-12-05T22:47:00Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If “any of that shit” includes the incredibly vast universe of racism in the US _other than_ slavery and Jim Crow, then I think it’s distinctly possible. I think sundown towns still exist (Vidor, TX is one such place that I drove through regularly in the early 2000s), and more, and many more could pop up pretty easily if the inhabitants of many all-white small towns decide that it’s okay again to do so. Red-lining is pretty easy to see coming back – favorable loans and other business/financial incentives provided to white areas of town, but not black areas, though crafted legislatively with creative language to seem non-racist. And much, much more. Even relative low-grade racism like sundown towns and red-lining are abominable and monstrous, and far, far worse than anything corruption has caused in the US. > > I think you’re unaware of the extent of racism beyond the “big hitters” like slavery and Jim Crow. > > I don’t think slavery and Jim Crow will come back. But we’ve already seen efforts at voter restrictions, sundown towns still exist and could spread (in relative secrecy, through informal efforts) once again, and hate crimes have been spiking. And this is just the beginning. > > There’s an incredibly vast gulf between slavery and no racism – we’ve made a great deal of progress, and we’re very far from slavery, but we’re not that far from some really bad shit in American society that happened well into the late 20th century and beyond. Corruption undermines everything though. I think you overly fixate on racism when the big picture is that you need a government that people trust first and foremost. Clinton’s corruption and stupid paranoia are why she’s not president. That’s what corruption costs a nation. You get Trump! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/266 "2016-12-05T23:18:42Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Corruption undermines everything though. I think you overly fixate on racism when the big picture is that you need a government that people trust first and foremost. Clinton’s corruption and stupid paranoia are why she’s not president. That’s what corruption costs a nation. You get Trump! That’s kind of nonsensical, but perhaps you’re being sarcastic. Bigotry does all of this too, with a far greater influence in our history than corruption. It’s impossible for a substantially bigotry-based government to have the trust of a diverse population. After that I’ll worry about corruption. I get that we can try to oppose both, and we should… Trump brings both to the table. My point is about the population as a whole, and I’m monumentally disappointed that such a big portion of my fellow Americans either don’t recognize bigotry or put such a low priority on opposing it. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/267 "2016-12-05T23:57:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s kind of nonsensical, but perhaps you’re being sarcastic. Bigotry does all of this too, with a far greater influence in our history than corruption. It’s impossible for a substantially bigotry-based government to have the trust of a diverse population. After that I’ll worry about corruption. > > I get that we can try to oppose both, and we should… Trump brings both to the table. My point is about the population as a whole, and I’m monumentally disappointed that such a big portion of my fellow Americans either don’t recognize bigotry or put such a low priority on opposing it. Yeah, real institutional racism is as bad as corruption. But bigoted thoughts I’m not so sure are as destructive to a nation as corrupt acts. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/268 "2016-12-06T00:09:22Z")
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but one of these ignorant pig-fucker Trump voters attacked a local pizza place here in DC because fake news had reported it’s the hq for a Clinton/Podesta child slavery ring. Remind me again how we’re supposed to come together as a nation with these ignorant pieces of shit. Build that wall keep 'me south of the Potomac. > **[Man Fires Rifle Inside D.C. Pizzeria, Cites Fictitious Conspiracy Theories](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/05/504404675/man-fires-rifle-inside-d-c-pizzeria-cites-fictitious-conspiracy-theories)** > > An entirely baseless rumor about Comet Ping Pong has spread online. On Sunday, police say a man claiming he was there to "investigate" pointed a gun at an employee, who fled before the man fired. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/269 "2016-12-06T00:24:05Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yeah, real institutional racism is as bad as corruption. But bigoted thoughts I’m not so sure are as destructive to a nation as corrupt acts. Thoughts? No. Actions? They can be much, much, worse, and hate crimes are on the rise. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/270 "2016-12-06T00:31:40Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but one of these ignorant pig-fucker Trump voters attacked a local pizza place here in DC because fake news had reported it’s the hq for a Clinton/Podesta child slavery ring. Remind me again how we’re supposed to come together as a nation with these ignorant pieces of shit. Build that wall keep 'me south of the Potomac. > > [Comet Ping Pong: Police Say Man With Rifle Claimed He Was 'Self-Investigating' Conspiracy Theory : The Two-Way : NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/05/504404675/man-fires-rifle-inside-d-c-pizzeria-cites-fictitious-conspiracy-theories) The left is far more prone to political violence lately. Why aren’t you concerned about those pig fuckers as well? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/271 "2016-12-06T00:36:14Z")
Got some examples there, or is that just what you tell yourselves at the pig circle jerks? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/272 "2016-12-06T00:51:06Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Yeah, real institutional racism is as bad as corruption. But bigoted thoughts I’m not so sure are as destructive to a nation as corrupt acts. If you wouldn’t say something as a black or hispanic person, don’t you question whether you ought to say it at all? I think “entitled” is the word for your post. You might just as soon say “Me? I’m white” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/273 "2016-12-06T02:19:17Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > The left is far more prone to political violence lately. Why aren’t you concerned about those pig fuckers as well? Got any cites? I mean other than Breitbart, Weekly World News, or Alex Jones? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/274 "2016-12-06T02:21:17Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > If you wouldn’t say something as a black or hispanic person, don’t you question whether you ought to say it at all? No. > [@](#): > > I think “entitled” is the word for your post. You might just as soon say “Me? I’m white” I think you should reread what I wrote. I am more concerned with law and official acts than uncharitable thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/275 "2016-12-06T02:22:33Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Got any cites? I mean other than Breitbart, Weekly World News, or Alex Jones? Point me to the progressive approved official media. I’m sure I can find some left wing riot and assault footage. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/276 "2016-12-06T03:15:53Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Point me to the progressive approved official media. I’m sure I can find some left wing riot and assault footage. So go find some that aren’t pure bullshit. Do your own homework. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/277 "2016-12-06T06:22:16Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Well, now that Trump _voters_ got him elected, that’s the last thing they got to decide. So it doesn’t matter how varied they might be. Trump pretty much goes along with GOP orthodoxy every time it pushes back. Remember how he was opposed to monkeying with Social Security and Medicare? If he’s ready to defend Medicare now, he’s sure got a funny way of showing it. You think he’s going to make an issue of shrinking or repealing H-1B if the business class wants to keep it as it is? Excuse me while I go off and laugh bitterly. > > Meet the new GOP boss, worse than the old GOP boss. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I do know that Trump, Pence, and Ryan are three different kinds of Republicans so it should get interesting. There will probably be some misunderstandings among them on who is working for whom. Not sure what the Dems are going to do either, all I know is that for a short time this year I became one in order to vote for Clinton in the primary. I was just happy that there was a sane and competent person in the running. Obviously a lot of people disagreed, but Clinton did end up winning the state. It’s a rural, Christian, white state. Not a real one like in the article in the OP, a real one has more cows or high school dropouts or some shit that makes it more authentic, and therefore more representative of people who aren’t Democrats…this is the vibe I got from this thread, and didn’t like it much. But this is a left-leaning board and the right just got done covering themselves in something that is far from glory, ::shrug:: I’m not here to rehabilitate them. It just so happens that a certain problematic group of voters did have some good points. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/278 "2016-12-06T07:14:13Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > So go find some that aren’t pure bullshit. Do your own homework. If you’ve been living under a rock with no CNN or MSNBC that’s not my problem. Pay your cable bill. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/279 "2016-12-06T08:39:52Z")
In other words, you have no cites. Figures. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291/280 "2016-12-06T09:54:07Z")
Not that I really give a fuck, but saying it’s not the Democrats fault because rural whites are dumb and clannish is precisely the type of thinking the article is trying to explain away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-that-the-dems-dont-understand-white-working-class-america-no-thats-not-it/773291.md?page=15)