Is there any correlation between white liberals and feeling rejected from society

[Wesley_Clark]

I know not all liberals are white, but around 3/4 of them are. Plus non-whites are already rejected from society if we are being honest so I can understand why non-whites lean leftist in politics.

The % of LGBTwho identify as liberal is higher than among the general population. Again, expected.

What about white heterosexual men who are liberals? The % of the base of the conservative party, like the tea party, have a huge % who are heterosexual white men. And that is expected, there are certain privileges of being a hetero white men that conservatives want to guard and keep only to themselves.

According to thisstudy, the tea party is 89% white and 59% male. That works out to 52% of the tea party as white men, when in the US in general I think only 30% of the public are white men. Among solid liberals, the gender roles are reversed. 59% female to 41% male. But at 73% white, that still means 30% of solid liberals are white men, which is about equal to the ratio among the general public (America as a whole is about 60% white, and about 50% male).

I expected white men to be under-represented among solid liberals, but they aren’t. Their % pretty much matches the public. However both the tea party and solid liberals are more white than the US public in general, despite the gender ratios being 3:2 but reversed for both sides.

So from a psychological perspective, what motivates hetero white men who are liberals? Are they people who feel rejected from society for some other reason and identify with out-groups? Are they people who value fairness and justice more than the privileges of identity politics?

For the purposes of this argument, I’m assuming many, if not most, people’s politics are motivated by self interest at root. People who feel rejected from society want change and equality. People who benefit from inequality want to keep the unequal system. A hetero white male from an above average socioeconomic level benefits from the system as is.

But among people who benefit from the inequality (hetero white men, especially those from higher socioeconomic statuses, aka a lot of the liberals on this board), what motivates their liberalism? Has it been studied?

I guess, again, to me I assume it is one of two things.

1. Feeling rejected from mainstream society in some other way than gender, race or sexuality.

2. A moral or value system that rejects social hierarchies and believes in equality (the same way FDR rejected the greed and social darwinism of his economic class and believed in leftist economics).

If the first, what factors could those be? Poverty? Mental illness? Belief in a counterculture?

If point two, what distinguishes someone from a background of privilege who becomes a believer in social hierarchies vs someone who believes in egalitarianism?

[begbert2]

I’m a white heterosexual man and I’m liberal because while I’m selfish, I’m not stupid, and a rising tide raises all boats - including mine.

Plus I’m not a racist bigoted asshole. That too.

[Acsenray]

I question the OP’s premise that “rejection from society” is a motive for liberalism. How about a desire for justice, fairness, and equality, even when that might be individually disadvantageous?

[Chimera]

I hardly feel like I’m rejected from society. What an odd idea to have about liberals.

[Wesley_Clark]

@Chimera

I hardly feel like I’m rejected from society. What an odd idea to have about liberals.

Is it?

Women are more liberal than men, LGBT are more liberal than heterosexuals. Both groups are marginalized and see their civil and human rights threatened by conservatives in mainstream society.

non-whites are more leftist than whites, but I don’t know if they are more liberal. blacks aren’t necessarily more liberal than society at large, while LGBT are 2x as liberal as the public at large.

[Red_Wiggler]

A just and fair society is the best kind to live in.

[begbert2]

@Wesley_Clark

Is it?

Women are more liberal than men, LGBT are more liberal than heterosexuals. Both groups are marginalized and see their civil and human rights threatened by conservatives in mainstream society.

non-whites are more leftist than whites, but I don’t know if they are more liberal. blacks aren’t necessarily more liberal than society at large, while LGBT are 2x as liberal as the public at large.

What’s the fallacy for assuming that everybody who acts the same has the same motivations?

[Ulfreida]

Liberals are distinguished by empathy for people who are victimized by the powerful group/s in our culture, even if those victims are not like them. At least, that is what I think of as the distinguishing trait. Some people who are oppressed are able to see that they have common cause with others who are oppressed, who are different from them. They would be liberals too.

[senoy]

I’m a white male liberal- educated and employed in a good job. Largely I identify as liberal because I believe that’s what Christ wants us to be. To sacrifice our own self-interest for the sake of others.

[Ulfreida]

@senoy

I’m a white male liberal- educated and employed in a good job. Largely I identify as liberal because I believe that’s what Christ wants us to be. To sacrifice our own self-interest for the sake of others.

Yeah, that.

[HMS_Irruncible]

I became more liberal over time when I had some life experience that challenged my sense of omnipotence and immortality. I realized even if we do our best, the majority of us will at some point be humbled by circumstances and need help. The best mechanism for that is history’s best invention (insurance), which works best with large risk pools. So we need programs like social security, medicare, medicaid, unemployment. We could do even better by adding medical insurance and free college. Basically I’m all about not having a command economy, but having Nordic-style socialism.

I’m also anti-racism and anti-sexism. For the latter, equal rights amendment would be a good start. As for racism, I’m probably not the first person to say I don’t have a solution. I don’t think you can really compel people’s hearts or minds, but hate crimes protection and police brutality protection would be a good start. And I think if we implemented the measures I mentioned above, it would make people feel less like they’re fighting each other to hang onto the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

[Wesley_Clark]

@Wesley_Clark

Is it?

Women are more liberal than men, LGBT are more liberal than heterosexuals. Both groups are marginalized and see their civil and human rights threatened by conservatives in mainstream society.

non-whites are more leftist than whites, but I don’t know if they are more liberal. blacks aren’t necessarily more liberal than society at large, while LGBT are 2x as liberal as the public at large.

On the subject, LGBTs are more democratic than average (about 75%) but 2x as liberal as the general public.

Blacks on the other hand are much more democratic than average (about 90%) but roughly just as liberal (25% or so) as the public at large.

So I don’t know how the divisions work between in-groups and out-groups and how that affects political partisanship or ideological partisanship.

Blacks are more likely to be democrats, but less likely to be liberals than LGBT.

[Littleman]

@Ulfreida

Liberals are distinguished by empathy for people who are victimized by the powerful group/s in our culture, even if those victims are not like them. At least, that is what I think of as the distinguishing trait. Some people who are oppressed are able to see that they have common cause with others who are oppressed, who are different from them. They would be liberals too.

What he said.

Also sometimes it’s just cool to be a hippie.
I’m betting the largest portion of those white male liberals are also college aged or at least under 30.

[JB99]

Straight white cis male here:

I don’t feel “rejected” or excluded at all. I’m well aware that I’m in the most favored, protected, and privileged group on Earth. Being a military retiree is just the cherry on top of my big white male cake.

I’m a liberal because the Republicans are fucking stupid. Their policies are idiotic, their premises are lies, their outcomes are immoral, and their motivations are a combination of spite, hatred, and religious fanaticism. And the last two years have proven that in top of their stupidity, dishonesty, anti-intellectualism, and incoherent rage, they are just plain incompetent.

The only way in which I feel marginalized or frustrated is the frequent reminders that I am surrounded by fuckwits who insist on stupid policies for stupid reasons.

[Littleman]

@HMS_Irruncible

I became more liberal over time when I had some life experience that challenged my sense of omnipotence and immortality. I realized even if we do our best, the majority of us will at some point be humbled by circumstances and need help. The best mechanism for that is history’s best invention (insurance), which works best with large risk pools. So we need programs like social security, medicare, medicaid, unemployment. We could do even better by adding medical insurance and free college. Basically I’m all about not having a command economy, but having Nordic-style socialism.

I’m also anti-racism and anti-sexism. For the latter, equal rights amendment would be a good start. As for racism, I’m probably not the first person to say I don’t have a solution. I don’t think you can really compel people’s hearts or minds, but hate crimes protection and police brutality protection would be a good start. And I think if we implemented the measures I mentioned above, it would make people feel less like they’re fighting each other to hang onto the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

I am against racism and sexism and equal being the key word , there are a lot of things that ought to be worked on toward being equal.

For some reason a lot of legislation though seems only able to accomplish reversing privledge or just handing over certain benefits without also passing over the downsides that were traditionally associated with those benefits. To me legislation should be aimed at making such things more of a non-issue. Something that doesn’t dis advantage anyone.

Idk it’s nothing I feel real strongly about… I guess it just is what it is.
Btw I don’t identify with or really fit into any party that I know of.

[Acsenray]

@JB99

I’m a liberal because the Republicans are fucking stupid. Their policies are idiotic, their premises are lies, their outcomes are immoral, and their motivations are a combination of spite, hatred, and religious fanaticism. And the last two years have proven that in top of their stupidity, dishonesty, anti-intellectualism, and incoherent rage, they are just plain incompetent.

Wow, I’m stealing this. Maybe I’ll put it in my sig. Or on a giant flag. Or write it in giant letters with cow poop on the local high school football field so it can be read from the sky when the grass grows in.

[Riemann]

@JB99

…the Republicans are fucking stupid. Their policies are idiotic, their premises are lies, their outcomes are immoral, and their motivations are a combination of spite, hatred, and religious fanaticism. And the last two years have proven that in top of their stupidity, dishonesty, anti-intellectualism, and incoherent rage, they are just plain incompetent…

Ok, but maybe the fact that you’re non-stupid, honest, moral, unspiteful, unfanatical, coherent, calm and pro-competence is just leading to feelings of rejection?

Really, the OP is laughable. OP, you can’t spot any objective reasons to be opposed to the clusterfuck that is Trumpism and the Tea Party right, liberalism must derive from some kind of psychological issue?

[Bryan_Ekers]

I’ll hazard a guess that many more LGBT people would be conservative if other conservatives weren’t so determined to reject them for being LGBT.

[Kimstu]

@Wesley_Clark

I expected white men to be under-represented among solid liberals, but they aren’t. Their % pretty much matches the public. However both the tea party and solid liberals are more white than the US public in general, despite the gender ratios being 3:2 but reversed for both sides.

So from a psychological perspective, what motivates hetero white men who are liberals? Are they people who feel rejected from society for some other reason and identify with out-groups? Are they people who value fairness and justice more than the privileges of identity politics?

For the purposes of this argument, I’m assuming many, if not most, people’s politics are motivated by self interest at root. People who feel rejected from society want change and equality. People who benefit from inequality want to keep the unequal system. A hetero white male from an above average socioeconomic level benefits from the system as is.

This seems weirdly at odds with the actual data on liberal and conservative attitudes. AFAICT, feeling “rejected from society” is more likely to push hetero white men towards conservatism than liberalism, as this article describes:

According to several recent analyses, about half of men feel American culture has become too soft and feminine, and they feel men are suffering as a result. Many seem to find comfort in Trump’s talk of male dominance and success.

Trump supporters are more likely than Clinton supporters to feel that society punishes men just for acting like men, while Clinton supporters are far more likely to “completely disagree” with that statement […]

[…] education level and gender played a role in whether respondents felt men are punished unfairly by society. Men—and less-educated men in particular— were more likely than women to agree. […]

The education gap seems even more striking when pollsters asked people if they think “society as a whole has become too soft and feminine.” White, working-class Americans—a crucial part of Trump’s base—were more likely to agree with that statement than white, college-educated respondents were. […]

Meanwhile, an analysis published in the Harvard Business Review by Dan Cassino, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, showed that Republican men increasingly feel discriminated against. […]

If we add in those men who say that men face “a moderate amount” of discrimination, 41 percent of Republican men now say that men are being discriminated against.

According to Cassino, the more independent and Republican men support Trump, the more likely they are to feel discriminated against. And the more marginalized they feel, the more negatively they view Hillary Clinton […]

The problem, Cassino writes, is that many men see social gains as zero-sum. Women have notched progress toward equality in the workplace, parenting, and other domains in recent decades, and men see these advances as coming at their expense. […]

In a separate study, Cassino found that even asking men whether they made “more, less, or about the same as their spouses” before asking them about the election increased their support for Trump—even among those who earned more than their wives. The question simply primed them to think about how good women supposedly have it.

[pool]

I’m not a fan of his methods but I think the Unabomber was correct about some of the things he said about Leftists and feelings of inferiority and identifying with minority movements because of this, to be fair I also agree with points he made against conservatives as well. He seemed pretty prescient of things that are happening now.