# Sneering progressives are driving young white men into the arms of the GOP **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 4, 2018, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566 "2018-05-04T09:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/582 "2018-05-11T01:50:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > I’m sure there are quite a number of overt or covert white supremacists out there who do exactly that. I’m also sure that there are other people who simply want to maintain the status quo because it’s good for them. And they’re all using quibbling with the terminology to avoid having to deal with the actual issue. What do you expect the average person to do about it anyway? They can say “ok, you convinced me. I totally got white privilege.” and they are then just going to go about their lives. How are you dealing with the issue? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/583 "2018-05-11T01:58:14Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > What do you expect the average person to do about it anyway? They can say “ok, you convinced me. I totally got white privilege.” and they are then just going to go about their lives. How are you dealing with the issue? Do you mean do I believe that it exists? That should be obvious by now, throughout my posting history here. I’m not fine with it. I actually bought into those documents that founded our country. And I try to treat everyone equally, even though I, too, have prejudicial tendencies at times. Thing is, I recognize them and actively deny them traction. I’m also not afraid of competing on a level playing ground. But I’m not the problem, though people want to portray it that way. Oooh, my words are too blunt? So sorry. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/584 "2018-05-11T02:06:31Z")
Lol, yes your bluntness was so scary. So the way you deal with the actual issue is by trying not to be racist. You’ll be shocked to know that even though I think the term is bad marketing, I too try to treat everyone equally. I dare say, pretty successfully. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/585 "2018-05-11T02:14:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > I’m sure there are quite a number of overt or covert white supremacists out there who do exactly that. I’m also sure that there are other people who simply want to maintain the status quo because it’s good for them. And they’re all using quibbling with the terminology to avoid having to deal with the actual issue. Really? Those are the only possibilities? You can’t even conceive that there might be a utilitarian group that actually thinks they can do more good for progressive causes by being more careful about the messaging? A Democrat can easily softpedal some of the messaging to get elected and still appoint good judges and tough attorneys in the Civil Rights enforcement division at Justice. Low information voters won’t pay attention to those details. Think about it for a second: isn’t the mirror image of this exactly what we fear most on the other side? Rovian doublespeak where the “Clear Skies Initiative” is actually a giveaway to big polluters, and tax cuts “to benefit every American” give the lion’s share of benefits to the 1%? Why can’t we be a little bit cunning about targeting swing voters instead of trying to make them eat their steamed vegetables and attend re-education seminars? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/586 "2018-05-11T02:34:38Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > This point will fall on deaf ears. People like Chimera, Evil Economist and Johnny Ace think anyone who quibbles because of the terminology is lying or deluded about their real motives. Either overt or covert white supremacists. After many years of discussions about race I have concluded that racism is a form of ignorance. Personally, in this message board, I have seen people that I have discussed with before that did go from being mild mannered scientific racists, to nativists and then to become full blown holocaust deniers. \* Before that, I do think that many like them do fall for bubbles of information that first start by ignoring the injustice that people outside their group are enduring. Ever since Lincoln talked about “the better angels of our nature” he was referring to the choice that many conservatives are making. For me it is not just about what shoulder angel they should look for advice. A good part of doing good depends on their choice of their sources of information. Instead of looking for positive and constructive ideas that Lincoln advised to look at, they look at sources that feed them fear and hatred. Leading then to more ignorance. Like the one that makes them vote for leaders that enforce those fears and hatreds. - One step was that of also being once a climate change denier, I guess that was because many right wing bubbles of information just can’t eat just one [del]chip[/del] conspiracy theory. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/587 "2018-05-11T02:40:18Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > BTW, personally I’m OK with the term “White Privilege”. I get what it’s trying to communicate, and when it’s used in a relatively neutral manner, it doesn’t bother me. I just don’t think it’s an effective communication tool to use when trying to talk to conservatives about racism. I think it causes them to shut down and tune you out. > > \*The conservative is a shy and sensitive creature, and must be approached with caution. \* 😃 The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging the problem exists. Then you can work on solutions. But if you start by saying there’s no problem then you end the discussion at that same point. Why bother discussing solutions to the problem of racism if there is no problem of racism? Sometimes in order to communicate with people, you have to begin by telling them they’re wrong about the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/588 "2018-05-11T03:00:47Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Of course substance is important. I don’t think choice of words has an effect on the underlying concept per se, but it could lose fellow travelers that may otherwise be on your side. Describing a problem poorly doesn’t make the problem go away, but it makes the speaker less effective. Again, do you think messaging is important? I do. > > For example, I tend to agree with the ideas behind the phrase “white privilege”. But I also think the term is dumb. It’s dumb because it’s not accurate linguistically and it’s dumb because it isn’t good at bringing people along and persuading them of the idea. > With my non-white friends I can have conversations about privilege, societal impacts, social commentary etc. no problem. But when we talk about the word itself"privilege", it’s mostly mockery because the word usage is so silly. These are people who agree with the idea, experience day to day what it’s like being a minority, and the word usage is a joke to them. > > Well, you’re free to express ideas in the manner you see fit of course. In my experience, that message mostly resonates with people that already share the viewpoint and doesn’t do a very good job of persuading people who may not share the viewpoint. YMMV of course and if you think it’s more effective your way, castigation, sneering, hostility, etc. then good luck I guess. I think I agree with you. We should pick a less charged phrase. Something that doesn’t talk about privilege or white people. A simple phrase that just lets everyone know that black people are just people, and their lives matter. If we pick a nice neutral phrase, then conservatives will stop focusing on the language and start focusing on the issues. Let’s see…how about: Black Lives Matter. Let’s see the conservatives make an issue of \*that \*language! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/589 "2018-05-11T03:16:01Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > After many years of discussions about race I have concluded that racism is a form of ignorance. > > Personally, in this message board, I have seen people that I have discussed with before that did go from being mild mannered scientific racists, to nativists and then to become full blown holocaust deniers. \* > > Before that, I do think that many like them do fall for bubbles of information that first start by ignoring the injustice that people outside their group are enduring. Ever since Lincoln talked about “the better angels of our nature” he was referring to the choice that many conservatives are making. > > For me it is not just about what shoulder angel they should look for advice. A good part of doing good depends on their choice of their sources of information. Instead of looking for positive and constructive ideas that Lincoln advised to look at, they look at sources that feed them fear and hatred. > > Leading then to more ignorance. Like the one that makes them vote for leaders that enforce those fears and hatreds. > > - One step was that of also being once a climate change denier, I guess that was because many right wing bubbles of information just can’t eat just one [del]chip[/del] conspiracy theory. I guess I haven’t been on long enough to see those kinds of arcs, although it’s also possible that they held those other beliefs previously but were quiet about it. One thing I have seen, from nearly every right-leaning poster on this board at one time or another, was “I’m fine with it, to hell with those who are disadvantaged by it,” in just about as many words, in response to some issue. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/590 "2018-05-11T03:21:05Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Lol, yes your bluntness was so scary. > > So the way you deal with the actual issue is by trying not to be racist. You’ll be shocked to know that even though I think the term is bad marketing, I too try to treat everyone equally. I dare say, pretty successfully. Uh, no, I said trying not to be prejudicial. I’ve never judged people by the color of their skin, but I have been known to make assumptions based on cultural heritage. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/591 "2018-05-11T03:24:07Z")
The problem with BLM is twofold and easily exploited by the right: (1) The way BLM activists act; (2) The inconvenient truth (which even factually stating is taboo) that unlike in the Jim Crow era, a randomly selected black person is much more likely to kill a white person at some point in their life than a randomly selected white person is to kill a black person at some point in their life. Once you know that, the whole premise begins to look slanderous, and the very real and troubling racial inequities in the criminal justice system get lost in the noise (and are less likely to be believed). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/592 "2018-05-11T03:45:10Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is utter nonsense. Do you rely on Republicans to find out what Democrats talk about? The platform’s one thing, but what the local/state politicians do and say is entirely another thing. There’s a huge push for social justice, lessening inequality, and alleviating poverty. And pretty much if the politician in question is not white, then almost all their rhetoric revolves around those types of topics with respect to THEIR race, not in reference to the nation as a whole. Maybe it’s because I’m from an urban area in Texas, but it seems like the state and local Democrat politicians are VERY concerned about racial issues and a bunch of things that really don’t have much to do with what young white men typically care about. That’s the problem here; the Democratic party at an overall level espouses some pretty great stuff, but the local and state level politicians warp it and twist it somewhat to appeal to their constituents; do you really think the rhetoric coming out of a congressman who represents say… South Dallas or New Orleans is going to have much of any appeal to a white man? It’s not just what the candidates who are running do, but also what the actual elected Democrats do. As for the notion of white privilege… the phenomenon is definitely a real one, although I think the choice of words is unfortunate. A lot of people tend to think of privilege as being something above and beyond the norm, not just a relative advantage versus someone else. So they bristle when they are described as privileged because they’re white. In their eyes the way they’re treated by society is, or at least should be the default, the norm, the yardstick by which such things are measured- by definition neither privileged or underprivileged. And yet here there are people denigrating them and saying snide things to them because they grew up, in their eyes, utterly average or in many cases, below average. That doesn’t mean that white privilege isn’t a thing; but it does explain a lot of why it gets such hostile reactions when it’s brought up. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/593 "2018-05-11T03:50:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > One thing I have seen, from nearly every right-leaning poster on this board at one time or another, was “I’m fine with it, to hell with those who are disadvantaged by it,” in just about as many words, in response to some issue. I dont want to discount your experiences, but outside of the pit I’ve never heard right wingers say that. It usually falls into one of two categories: 1. That there is no problem, or that the problem has been greatly exaggerated b) That it’s not the govt’s job to solve every problem, or it’s best if the govt stays out of this problem > [@SlackerInc](#): > > . . . > > (2) The inconvenient truth (which even factually stating is taboo) that unlike in the Jim Crow era, a randomly selected black person is much more likely to kill a white person at some point in their life than a randomly selected white person is to kill a black person at some point in their life. Once you know that, the whole premise begins to look slanderous, and the very real and troubling racial inequities in the criminal justice system get lost in the noise (and are less likely to be believed). The even more inconvenient truth is that correlation is not causation. People think that a black person being more likely to kill a white person is a racial thing and allow that to effect their prejudices. the real truth is that a poor person is more likely to kill a person of any class, and we have more poor people who are black. So, all black people get lumped in with black criminals, because it’s easier to see a person’s skin than their bank acct. mc ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/594 "2018-05-11T03:58:56Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > The problem with BLM is twofold and easily exploited by the right: > > (1) The way BLM activists act; > > (2) The inconvenient truth (which even factually stating is taboo) that unlike in the Jim Crow era, a randomly selected black person is much more likely to kill a white person at some point in their life than a randomly selected white person is to kill a black person at some point in their life. Once you know that, the whole premise begins to look slanderous, and the very real and troubling racial inequities in the criminal justice system get lost in the noise (and are less likely to be believed). Besides what **mikecurtis** noted the more accurate numbers show that there is not much of a difference ( about 7 points) and the whole truth is that the right (In this case with Trump never taking this exaggeration back) has exaggerated the numbers. > **[Trump's Pants on Fire tweet that blacks killed 81% of white homicide victims](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/nov/23/donald-trump/trump-tweet-blacks-white-homicide-victims/)** > > Update (June 8, 2020): This viral image started recirculating on social media after the death of George Floyd. It remain > [@](#): > > None of the numbers are supported by official sources. The figures on black-on-white homicides and white-on-white homicides are wildly inaccurate. And, as several news organizations quickly noted, the “Crime Statistics Bureau” doesn’t exist. We looked for that agency as well and the closest we found in San Francisco were a number of crime scene clean-up services. > > Interracial homicides > > While the image references 2015, the year is not over, and no official numbers have been released. The latest data comes from the FBI for 2014. This table contrasts Trump’s figures with the official ones. > [@](#): > > Trump’s number is about double the most accurate figures we could find. That makes him about 100 percent off. > > **Parenthetically, the website Little Green Footballs traced the original image back to a Twitter stream that appears to originate in the United Kingdom and features a modified swatiska with the line “Should have listened to the Austrian chap with the little moustache.”** > > Our ruling > > Trump tweeted an image that made various statistical claims, including that blacks kill 81 percent of white homicide victims. Almost every number in the image is wrong. The statistics on white victims are exaggerated five-fold. The police-related deaths are off as well. > > We rate this claim Pants on Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/595 "2018-05-11T04:05:40Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > (2) The inconvenient truth (which even factually stating is taboo) that unlike in the Jim Crow era, a randomly selected black person is much more likely to kill a white person at some point in their life than a randomly selected white person is to kill a black person at some point in their life. Once you know that, the whole premise begins to look slanderous, and the very real and troubling racial inequities in the criminal justice system get lost in the noise (and are less likely to be believed). It took me less than 3 minutes to actually go check the data, do a little math, and conclude that this was utterly wrong. I guess my question for you is why you didn’t take 3 minutes to check if this was true before posting it. For those who care, here’s the data: Whites killed by blacks, 2016: [533](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-3.xls) Blacks killed by whites, 2016: [243](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-3.xls) White population of United States, 2010: [196,817,552](https://www.infoplease.com/us/race-population/population-united-states-race-and-hispaniclatino-origin-census-2000-and-2010) Black population of United States, 2010: [37,685,848](https://www.infoplease.com/us/race-population/population-united-states-race-and-hispaniclatino-origin-census-2000-and-2010) So, percentage of white people who were killed by a black person in 2016: 0.0003% percentage of black people who were killed by a white person in 2016: 0.0006% So, the chance of a black person being killed by a white person is nearly twice as high as the opposite. That’s an enormous error for \*\*SlackerInc \*\*to make. And again, let me remind everyone, this post took longer to write than it took to do the math. Why the fuck didn’t \*\*SlackerInc \*\*do it? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/596 "2018-05-11T04:16:48Z")
[quote=“E-DUB, post:401, topic:813566”] Bill Maher weighs in: [/QUOTE] Excellent! One claim: “64% of Republicans think reverse racism is a greater problem than racism.” Another claim: “Two years after Obama lowered taxes on 95% of Americans, 90% of TEA Partiers (Taxed Enough Already) believed he’d raised them.” … Kudos to any progressives who manage NOT to sneer at such ignoramuses. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/597 "2018-05-11T04:17:56Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > The inconvenient truth (which even factually stating is taboo) that unlike in the Jim Crow era, a randomly selected black person is much more likely to kill a white person at some point in their life than a randomly selected white person is to kill a black person at some point in their life. Once you know that, the whole premise begins to look slanderous, and the very real and troubling racial inequities in the criminal justice system get lost in the noise (and are less likely to be believed). Even if your facts are correct, I don’t see shooting randomly selected black people as a viable solution. Most people, black or white, aren’t ever going to commit a murder. So using potential murders as justification for police shootings (which appears to be your argument) doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/598 "2018-05-11T05:13:48Z")
I’d like to circle back to the OP of this clusterf\*\*\* of a thread, before the lengthy diversion about white privilege. The initial claim was that sneering liberals in pop media were driving millenial men away from liberalism. And this was roundly mocked. And some of that mockery is, I think, deserved. Correlation is not causation, and there’s far from sufficient polling data to determine if the claimed shift is even happening. That said, a lot of the responses struck me as being of the form “Wait, someone is going to vote based on random comments on podcasts? How stupid! What an idiotic response!”. And yes, it clearly would be idiotic. Basing one’s votes in a national election on perceived slights in pop culture media would be pretty ridiculous and stupid. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t doing it. In particular, we all know that there is some percentage of the population who is “undecided”, who is “in the middle”. Sure, _you_ may have enough courage of your convictions and political astuteness that you would never make an important decision like that for a stupid reason like that, because you have much better and more important reasons. But that doesn’t mean it’s true for everyone. As long as there are people out there who are anywhere close to undecided, then there’s always a chance that any random thing, however minor it seems to you, could push them over the edge. And their votes count just as much as ours do. There may or may not be non-trivial sections of the populace making electoral decisions partly based on perceived sneering from the left. I’m far from convinced that there are. But pointing out over and over again what a truly inanely ridiculously stupid way to make a decision that would be doesn’t suddenly mean it’s not happening. (It doesn’t mean it IS happening, of course.) I also have an example to bring up. [Here](https://tv.avclub.com/master-of-none-s-love-letter-to-new-york-flips-the-scri-1798191412) is the AV Club’s review of an episode from the second season of the brilliant comedy **Master of None**. A few choice quotes: “And then the white characters who usually get their stories told on screen—the businessman cheating on his wife, the woman sleeping with the married businessman, the young and wealthy women who hop into cabs without any acknowledgement that the person driving them exists—fall into the background. These people suck, and Master Of None knows it.” “In Eddie’s, we see how the ugliness of the rich, white people living in his building who assume he exists simply to make their lives easier.” I think that’s a good example of the kind of critical writing which is very, very easy to read as anti-white. Is it only white people who get into cabs without acknowledging that people driving them exist? Is it only white rich people who take “the help” for granted? I don’t think so, and I don’t think that’s what either the show or the review are trying to say. But that’s definitely the kind of prose that can jump out at someone who is already primed to be aggrieved. Do we care? Should we coddle thin-skinned white twenty-somethings so they don’t get their widdle feelings hurt? Well, I dunno. But I do know that votes in the 2018 and 2020 elections are absolutely vitally crucial. If I really did think that there was any chance that a few house or senate seats might be swayed by more or less of this sort of language, well, I have no idea what I would do with this information. But votes are votes, and we on the left certainly can’t afford to offend potential voters, even ones who make their voting decisions in kind of ridiculous ways. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/599 "2018-05-11T05:31:55Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > …Anyway, off the top of my head “Justice gap” or “race gap” would be snappier and more palatable terms. Pretty impressive! Shit, I was thinking “It’s toasted!” or “People’s Revolutionary something something”, but nothing so crisply fashioned as those! So, whaddaya say, guys? Put **CarnalK** in charge of snappy lines? ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/600 "2018-05-11T06:00:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > my perception is that Dems continuing to bring up “white privilege” the way they have been is an electoral boon to the GOP. Agreed. All Republicans have to do, generally speaking, is adopt the “live and let live” mantra on race aside from obvious, egregious examples of racism. In an effort to self-importantly differentiate themselves, progressives and Democrats broach the topic in sometimes quixotic ways, alienating moderates on these issues, shooting themselves in the foot. And I’m not one who thinks the radical activists should be marginalized and not listened to; they ought to, within reason, feel heard in their party as should the more middle of the road voices. If numerous “moderates” on racial issues of the left were to start recommending Charles Murray material, okay, then there’s some alienating and purging to do. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2018, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566/601 "2018-05-11T09:18:18Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I just don’t believe “speaking openly and truthfully about difficult topics” is a very accurate summary of your style, although I know why you would prefer to characterize it that way. > > And if we lose young and minority voters by being the Democratic Party of 2008, given the alternative, they really are snowflakes. But I don’t believe that. So how would you characterize it (since you’re the one who implied cowardice)? Do you believe it’s possible to be open and truthful and disagree with you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneering-progressives-are-driving-young-white-men-into-the-arms-of-the-gop/813566.md?page=31)