# Why are all my customers who bring up politics from the same demographic group? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 8, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492 "2022-04-08T00:00:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/81 "2022-04-10T23:48:38Z")
Well, who else would the racists support? I mean, Hitler isn’t running for office right now. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/82 "2022-04-11T02:08:12Z")
You are quite right. I’ll amend that to all the _white_ racists support him. The New Black Panthers Party endorsed Obama in 2008 but. unlike T\*\*\*\* with his bully boys, Obama disavowed them instead of embracing them. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/83 "2022-04-11T11:39:10Z")
To all, this is not a thread about Trump. Do not hijack it into a thread about Trump. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/84 "2022-04-11T14:43:28Z")
I think so. I see that with my dad, who is a Democrat. He just gets pissed off about different things- how much cars suck today, things like that. I have a theory that for a lot of men, the world is perfect at the point where they were in the prime of life. They understood things, and it’s all just downhill from there. Some, like my dad, cling to the cars and music of their youth. Some to the politics and demographics. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/85 "2022-04-11T15:25:31Z")
This collective belief that “there can’t be more of ‘them’ than us” which permeated the aftermath of the 2020 election seems to dovetail with the belief that “everyone agrees with my political opinions”. Sort of like a mirror of the (tongue-in-cheek) comment by Democrats in 1972: “Everyone _I_ know voted for McGovern”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/86 "2022-04-11T17:08:52Z")
I get into political conversations with all sorts, as I talk about in the thread below, so I’m going to go with a combination of: 1. Venue 2. Confirmation bias 3. Your race and age Haven’t read the thread yet, but I’m sure there are experiences of African-American conservatives being assumed supporters of the Democrats, etc etc etc etc. > [@I blew up a Toastmasters group last night](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-blew-up-a-toastmasters-group-last-night/918672): > > Just gonna put this in the Pit, even though it isn’t really aimed at anyone or anything… it’s too political for MPSIMS, not debatey enough for GD, and even though it’s political in nature, not really suitable for P&E… so here we are. Let’s just file this under “Recreational Outrage: Live Edition”. Have a friend (Dave) who is helping another friend (Matthew) start a Toastmasters ™ group here in San Antonio. Having had some experience with TM, I was asked by Dave to help Matthew start his new TM … ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/87 "2022-04-11T17:11:21Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Angry white _uniformed_… Brown shirts and red caps, yes? 😉 ---
**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:** [April 11, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/88 "2022-04-11T17:13:01Z")
Actually, a lot of cop uniforms and US military uniforms. > **[Pentagon report warns of threat from white supremacists inside the military](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/pentagon-report-warns-threat-white-supremacists-inside-military-n1258871)** > > A small number of extremists within the ranks carry the potential to carry out “high-impact” actions, the report says. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/89 "2022-04-11T17:13:43Z")
Gotcha. I thought you had misspelled “uninformed”, appreciate the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/90 "2022-04-11T18:03:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Brown shirts and red caps, yes? 😉 And white owl feather. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/91 "2022-04-11T23:45:06Z")
I think it’s the fault of right wing media outlets, from Fox News on down to the crazy stuff like Bannon’s War Room. Maybe there are other contributing factors, but this is 90% at least. You can talk about demographics, boredom, the rose colored glasses of nostalgia, failed hopes and dreams and the feelings of life having passed you by all you want, but when the people in question literally spend several hours each day connected to a machine specifically designed to induce outrage……you’ve got to give credit where credit is due when trying to pinpoint the cause of that outrage. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/92 "2022-04-12T08:47:14Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > You’d think the right-wing dingbat would be in favor of the spray-paint restrictions. What if antifa got their hands on some? Or even worse, artists. I don’t know the reason for the spray-paint restrictions in Phoenix, but I would guess it’s the same reason spray paint is locked up in Denver Colorado. Many years ago, in the 90s I think, the Democratic mayor became outraged at all the graffiti around town and got this restriction enacted. The whole point was to prevent artists from practicing their art. Denver still has graffiti of course, the mayor is long gone, but this idiot restriction lives on. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/93 "2022-04-12T11:11:46Z")
my aunt never gave a damn about politics until about a decade ago when all of a sudden she didn’t have a whole lot to do and the people that used to complain in the letters section of the newspaper has a wider audience …or more chances to be nosy like with that next door app … ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/94 "2022-04-12T13:00:56Z")
“I used to be ‘with it’. But then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m ‘with’ isn’t ‘it’. And what was ‘it’ was weird and scary to me. It’s happen to you!” - Abe Simpson ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/95 "2022-04-12T13:17:37Z")
> [@Ziberian](#): > > don’t know the reason for the spray-paint restrictions in Phoenix, but I would guess it’s the same reason spray paint is locked up in Denver Colorado. Here in Mass they aren’t locked up, but one has to show ID. I do find it stupid and annoying, especially since there are plenty of valid reasons for a 16 year old to use spray paint. As for restricting access, I’d be willing to bet most 16 year olds could easily procure it from the basement, since I doubt most parents are locking it up after they buy it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/96 "2022-04-12T14:10:54Z")
Yeah, I’m basically extrapolating from what appears to have happened with moderate to conservative white middle class people I know. They’re somewhat politically aware during their 30s and 40s, but it’s not a priority- they have families, jobs, and social lives (sometimes) to maintain. But when they retire, a lot of that has changed- their kids are either in college or already out and their jobs aren’t a concern. They still go do stuff with their friends, especially the retired ones, but they suddenly have a LOT of free time and for some reason, a desire to watch the news/read the newspaper that I don’t really think younger generations do. I’m Gen-X, and I don’t have that quasi-religious “get up in the morning and read the newspaper front to back” mentality that those of my parents’ generation did. Nor do I necessarily watch the 5:30 local news, 6 pm national news and 10 pm local news _every single night_ like everyone in my parents generation did. So when they retired, it was pretty natural for them to start out leaving CNN and other 24-7 news channels on as background noise. At some point, in my family at least, they got annoyed with CNN because sometimes it has an editorial slant that tends toward showing stuff they weren’t too concerned about- stuff like the plight of orphans in Bangladesh or whatever, versus more US-related news. They were already conservative to begin with, so moving to Fox was sort of natural, and from there the constant news-watching ended up being constant _political_ news watching, and they got totally wound into it, and when that’s combined with the latent fear and uncertainty that a lot of older people have, they end up believing a lot of the bullshit and thinking that everything is indeed going to hell in a handbasket, because they hear that it is all day every day. And they get told who’s causing it as well. I think a lot of the blame goes to Fox for portraying themselves as a legitimate news outlet that’s “fair and balanced” (to use their verbage), and thereby co-opting the reputation of other more legitimate and even-handed news outlets. I have a feeling that a lot of my relatives wouldn’t have given them a second look if they thought they were as partisan as they actually are in the early days. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/97 "2022-04-13T00:34:43Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Almost exclusively right wingers bringing up shit out of the blue… I was talking sports with a friend and he suddenly started in with anti-vax talking points. So I cut him off: “Excuse me, we were talking about the Milwaukee Bucks, why did you just bring up vaccines? Anyhow, I was about to say that Giannis is pretty much the perfect ambassador for professional basketball…” He shifted gears smoothly, “Oh, yeah, that Giannis is an ambassador even for people who don’t watch basketball…” Vaccines forgotten, we had a nice conversation. But that out of the blue stuff is not normal behavior. Scares me that so many do that, now. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/98 "2022-04-13T06:04:40Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Here in Mass they aren’t locked up, but one has to show ID. Phoenix started with needing an ID but then the kids started stealing them so the lock 'em up law was passed. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/99 "2022-04-13T12:48:42Z")
It shouldn’t be surprising that spray cans are locked up. Anything that’s prone to being shoplifted is. And I’ve noticed this varies from store to store. And sometimes the products locked up are very different. I often stop at a Walgreen’s in a tough part of town, and just noticed that the deodorant is in a locked case! Huh… ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492/100 "2022-04-14T23:16:18Z")
I’ve brought this up and mused on it before… so you think if not for that media, all of these Trump voters would be at least considered sane and rational by their actions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-my-customers-who-bring-up-politics-from-the-same-demographic-group/962492.md?page=6)