The Secret to Trump's Appeal...

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06 Jan 2016, 8:39 pm

So, the other day I heard this "Hidden Brain" segment on NPR...
http://www.npr.org/2016/01/05/461997711 ... inequality

It concerns some research that links preference for hierarchy/authoritarian systems with being impaired (drunk) or being under some sort of stress.

The story concludes-

Quote:

GREENE: OK, so you're drunk. You're not making as much effort because you can't, and you're also sort of resorting to kind of natural, child-like feelings.

VEDANTAM: That's exactly right. Now, it's also possible that for some reason, people who endorse hierarchical thinking are also more likely to get drunk. So this is a correlation that the researchers are finding. To further test that conclusion, they conducted several other experiments. When people are distracted or under time pressure, they also tend to fall back on primary ways of thinking. Again, in these experiments volunteers tend to support hierarchical systems. So when volunteers are asked to divide resources in a game, for example, people given less time to think about it are more likely to divide the money unfairly and to endorse existing hierarchies. So the bottom line, David - if you want people to endorse hierarchical thinking, put them under time pressure or just get them drunk.

That got me to thinking about this story I read a month or two ago...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/healt ... .html?_r=0

Quote:

Something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans. Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling.

That finding was reported Monday by two Princeton economists, Angus Deaton, who last month won the 2015 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, and Anne Case. Analyzing health and mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from other sources, they concluded that rising annual death rates among this group are being driven not by the big killers like heart disease and diabetes but by an epidemic of suicides and afflictions stemming from substance abuse: alcoholic liver disease and overdoses of heroin and prescription opioids.

...

They concluded that taken together, suicides, drugs and alcohol explained the overall increase in deaths. The effect was largely confined to people with a high school education or less. In that group, death rates rose by 22 percent while they actually fell for those with a college education.

...

The least educated also had the most financial distress, Dr. Meara and Dr. Skinner noted in their commentary. In the period examined by Dr. Deaton and Dr. Case, the inflation-adjusted income for households headed by a high school graduate fell by 19 percent. Dr. Case found that the number of whites with mental illnesses and the number reporting they had difficulty socializing increased in tandem. Along with that, increasing numbers of middle-aged whites said they were unable to work. She also saw matching increases in the numbers reporting pain and the numbers reporting difficulty socializing, difficulty shopping, difficulty walking for two blocks. With the pain and mental distress data, Dr. Deaton said, “we had the two halves of the story.” Increases in mortality rates in middle-aged whites rose in parallel with their increasing reports of pain, poor health and distress, he explained. They provided a rationale for the increase in deaths from substance abuse and suicides.

So, middle-aged whites, Trump's main demographic, are killing themselves via drug abuse and suicide in record numbers.

I'd say this shows that this group is under significant stress.

Trump provides this group with a strong authority figure, an Alpha for the pack. And, Trump also provides a scapegoat/whipping boy with his demonization of immigrants-an omega group for frustrated whites to vent their spleen upon.

...and Bob's your [pissed off, suicidal, drug abusing] uncle.

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nurseangela
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06 Jan 2016, 8:45 pm

Quit trolling and get a life.

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Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
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GoonSquad
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06 Jan 2016, 8:50 pm

no trolling here.

Just doing a bit of social science and thinking out loud.

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nurseangela
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06 Jan 2016, 8:56 pm

BS. You're insinuating that Trump supporters are on alcohol, heroin and opiates. I've already reported this thread so it is up to the moderators if they want to let you keep going.

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Me grumpy?
I'm happiness challenged.

Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 83 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 153 of 200 You are very likely neurotypical
Darn, I flunked.

wittgenstein
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06 Jan 2016, 8:57 pm

I agree. Trump's appeal is emotional not rational. His "solutions" have high emotional appeal but have no connection to reality.
Trump's points?
1. I am winning. They are losers. I am the alpha male!
2. I will make our military so powerful that the whole world will fear us! However, I will not raise taxes or increase the deficit! How will I do it? Because I am the alpha male!
3. Your real enemy is those in poverty! You are not one of those weak people. You are strong like me! Show your power by attacking those with no power (not the powerful that are actually the ones ripping you off)
4. The world is simple. There is no ambiguity. Kill um all and let God sort um out. ISIS and Muslims are the same! Trust your anger! Dont trust your rationality!

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wittgenstein
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06 Jan 2016, 9:00 pm

The OP was not trolling. Trolling is not defined as looking for a fight. Trolling is defined as stating a position that has no evidence behind it (the OP provided evidence ) or stating a position one does not care about just to get people angry. It is wienie to cry "troll" tho just because one fears the sting of battle.

wittgenstein
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06 Jan 2016, 9:03 pm

It is not trolling to post intensely controversial statements.

GoonSquad
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06 Jan 2016, 9:07 pm

No, I'm not trolling.

I'm suggesting that working class whites, as a group, are under a lot of stress and that stress is driving their preference for Mr. Trump.

Yay sociology!

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Inventor
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07 Jan 2016, 2:47 am

Not trolling, just a bit of spin on facts.

85-87% of people are very unsatisfied with government.

What is wrong with the 13-15%?

adifferentname
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07 Jan 2016, 5:38 am

nurseangela wrote:

BS. You're insinuating that Trump supporters are on alcohol, heroin and opiates. I've already reported this thread so it is up to the moderators if they want to let you keep going.

Well no, he's attributing the traits of a minority of an arbitrarily formed group to the entire group and drawing conclusions based on this flimsiest of foundations. If the moderators were to punish such behaviour the ban hammer would have long since left us with a tiny number of regular PPR posters.

Trump's appeal consists of numerous factors. For example, his blunt disregard of PC and Social Justice attitudes is endearing him to moderates - both in America and abroad.

wittgenstein
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07 Jan 2016, 8:02 am

Inventor wrote:

Not trolling, just a bit of spin on facts.

85-87% of people are very unsatisfied with government.

What is wrong with the 13-15%?

There is a difference between being pro trump and being unsatisfied with government. Sanders supporters are unsatisfied with government. Government is just a puppet of international corporations.

wittgenstein
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07 Jan 2016, 8:08 am

adifferentname wrote:

nurseangela wrote:

BS. You're insinuating that Trump supporters are on alcohol, heroin and opiates. I've already reported this thread so it is up to the moderators if they want to let you keep going.

Gays have a higher incidence of alcoholism and suicide. Facts are facts, regardless if someone likes them or not. Are all gays alcoholics that want to commit suicide? No. However, it is a problem that should be addressed. Trump supporters need a critical thinking class and gays need a self esteem class.

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07 Jan 2016, 8:35 am

wittgenstein wrote:

adifferentname wrote:

nurseangela wrote:

BS. You're insinuating that Trump supporters are on alcohol, heroin and opiates. I've already reported this thread so it is up to the moderators if they want to let you keep going.

Gays have a higher incidence of alcoholism and suicide. Facts are facts, regardless if someone likes them or not. Are all gays alcoholics that want to commit suicide?

You seem to have missed the point of my post. I didn't attempt to refute or challenge the statistical claims made. Rather, I questioned the common practice of low-incidence traits being applied universally to a group. You seem to be in agreement:

wittgenstein wrote:

No.

All good so far. But you continue:

Quote:

However, it is a problem that should be addressed.

In order to be in disagreement with myself, and to qualify the following sentence, your method of addressing must therefore be self-esteem classes for all "gays". I therefore find your argument to be at odds with itself.

Quote:

Trump supporters need a critical thinking class and gays need a self esteem class.

Far be it from me to accuse you of 'wrongthink', but do you also agree with the following?

-Black people need an honesty class.
-Jewish people need a generosity class.
-French people need a personal hygiene class.
Etc.

How about Trump detractors need anti-bigotry classes, based purely on that last sentence of yours?

GGPViper
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07 Jan 2016, 9:08 am

Donald Trump is resorting to the typical tactics of demagogues:

- Promising "simple and quick" fixes to complex social issues
- Avoiding criticism by being deliberately vague in his statements
- Using scapegoats to avoid dealing with the real problems of society

Many demagogues (from both Left and Right) before Trump have successfully appealed to especially less-educated voters with the above strategies.

As such, there is no need to invoke time pressure or substance abuse to explain Trump's voter appeal.

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07 Jan 2016, 9:45 am

GGPViper wrote:

And yet there are those who claim he lacks political experience or nous. :roll:

Jacoby
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07 Jan 2016, 10:03 am

There is no secret to Trump's appeal, it's simply that the GOP elite and it's donors have had a simmering disconnect with it's base for decades to the point that they diametrically oppose each other on certain issues. Trump is a fantastic self promoter and simply filled the void. The most glaring being immigration which the majority the Americans not just Republicans have long opposed amnesty and wanted a secured border with better enforcement. This issue cost Majority Leader Eric Cantor his seat in congress, he probably is speaker right now instead of Paul Ryan if David Bratt didn't beat him and the way he mobilized voters against Cantor was by highlighting his support for amnesty. Neoconservatives have lost credibility, we watch in horror as Islamic State grows in all those places we "planted the seeds of democracy in" and now all these psychos want to go to war with Russia and Iran? Trump being reasonable about Putin actually shows he's the only guy in this race even semiserious about diplomacy which the Obama administration is pathetic at, who else are people suppose to support if they oppose WWIII? Hillary has thoroughly shown herself incompetent in the issue of foreign policy. NAFTA has been a disaster and it's Bill Clinton's signature achievement as president(other than surviving impeachment) so it is hard to find his wife credible on the issue of jobs and the economy.

Working class and impoverished whites have been abandoned by both parties and are held in open disdain, people always said these people voted against their interests so it shouldn't be a surprise now that candidate is now finally speaking to them? We've had decades of identity politics in this country, what do you expect? You can't be a multicultural tolerant culture when the dominant one is considered offensive and racist and all others no matter how primitive and backwards are celebrated and protected. Political correctness has gone into overdrive, this is an issue a lot of Americans feel strongly on and all the other pantywaist candidates play by it's rules. It's totalitarian language control, more authoritarian and fascist than anything Trump is accused of. He smashed the PC/media/money racket, he sank the Bush dynasty, hopefully he'll expose the Clinton criminal gang as well. Democrats are killing themselves nominating this awful person, she will not win.

What are all these well thought out intellectual platforms that all these other candidates are running on? Trump has offered more solutions than anyone else running, the solution offered by the GOP establishment was more amnesty and more neoconservatism. Hillary has been way more vague than Trump, she prefers to hide herself away from the public given her whole likability problem. Jeb, poor Jeb, don't get me started on him. Trump has some good ideas and some stupid ones as well but he comes out ahead compared to the other candidates, I will vote for him over Hillary most definitely.

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