The Secret to Trump's Appeal...

Post Reply New Topic

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.

I don't disagree, but as someone who studies social science/psychology, I'm interested in the WHY under all that.

"PC and Social Justice attitudes" are all about making society more egalitarian and less authoritarian and stratfied.

So, you're kinda making my point for me.

Do you believe SJWs and the PC bros are really about egalitarianism? How are they less authoritarian? They want to control language, they destroy your life if you cross them, people have been forced to walk on eggshells after being relentlessly being called racists, homophobes, islamophobes, xenophobes, whatever for the last 8+ years at even a hint of dissent.

Untrue. You are pointing out HOW. I'm not interested in how. How is obvious and well established, as you say.

This thread is about WHY.

Why are the methods of the demagogue so effective?

Dude, read your own post. Despite your perceptions or how these things manifest, the purpose is to fight the oppressing of marginalized groups like Gays, Muslims, and migrants.

Do the math, less opression = more equality.

I suppose you could see political correctness and social justice as oppressing the oppressors, but that doesn't count.

I suppose that's why Trump will remain a mystery to you then, SJWs are a menace whose idiotic and offensive activism only turns more people against their causes. I think it's easy to see what precipitated Trumps rise, it's not because they're a bunch of stupid yeehaws hypnotized by the reality TV star. He's gone to war with the establishment which the country despises, he didn't back done and by weathering the full frontal assault by both the left and right wing media against his campaign. Americans don't like to be told who to vote for, the media has lost all credibility in this country and there narratives no long work with the rise of alternate new media, there is a reason why congress has an approval rating of like 12%. There is a revolt against political correctness in this country, a revolt against the GOP's political establishment, a revolt against the GOP's donor class. Political correctness are chains of oppression, people are tired of ivory towered college professors and brainwashed clueless millennials trying to govern our speech.

How has your speech been governed?

^^^ Again, I totally agree that this is how many Trump supporters FEEL and that this is what they percieve as the problem.
However, that doesn't negate my hypothesis at all.

You should read that NY Times article I linked to. There's no doubt that working class (formerly middle class) whites are experiencing acute distress and loss of status, but mexicans and "SJWs" ain't the cause.

Why the appeal, or why the dislike of Social Justice?



Ah, I see the problem. You wish to fully understand the reasons people dislike Social Justice and PC attitudes, but you're quite satisfied with what Social Justice and PC proponents purport to be all about.



You seem to have skipped a few steps between your hypothesis and your conclusion. Take a moment or three to show your working out.



I've underlined a rather important word in Jacoby's post.

There are countless examples of such people trying to govern speech, often by labelling certain words or ideas using the nebulous term "problematic".

I was going to say his appeal is based on evil ginger magic, but then the thread turned all facty and stuff.

Nobody is doing that.

Look at Trump. His speech certainly isn't being governed. He's inspiring a lot of criticism and counter speech, but he isn't being muzzled.

The idea that SJWs and PC bros (somebody's taking South Park too seriously) are regulating speech is just unfounded hysterics.

I linked to the NPR and Times stories for a reason. I'm not going to spoon feed you.

AND I'm not actually endorsing PC/SJW positions either.

As I already stated, I'm just trying to figure out why trump is sccessful at a sociological/psychological level.

That's how this forum (PPR) is and has been, especially when a presidential election is coming. For all practical purposes it is impossible to have a forum for the express purpose of discussing delicate topics like politics, philosophy, and religion without having strawman attacks, ad hominem attacks, trolling, red herrings, threats dog whistles, etc.

Learn to take and give the back or just abstain from the forum. Reporting people over silliness doesn't do any good and threatening to do so is amusement at best.

As for Trump; the more threads the left posts about him and his supporters the more I hope by some miracle he does get elected just for what it will do to thier collective psyche.
Their butthurt will be legendary even in hell.

Call it hysterics all you want, I can see what is in front of my face. I see the full force of the corporate media mobilize against one person, the lies, the misinformation, they have repeatedly tried to influence this race. If you actually buy the entire "SJW" argument then maybe you think they are completely reasonable in the way they conduct themselves but most people outside that bubble don't feel that way. Nobody wants to govern my speech like no one wants to take away guns, it's all a lie because they can't openly say what they really want to do.

Thanks, I will call it hysterics, glad you don't mind.

The problem on both sides is that people tend to get captured by the conflict and it's really not helpful.

SJWs and gun control people aren't evil and they don't want to oppress and deprive you of your rights.

JUST LIKE YOU, they mean well and are passionate about certain issues. It's easy to forget that in the heat of battle.

Right now I'm watching Obama cry as he talks about those little kids who got killed at Sandy Hook. I think those tears are real and I think he MEANS WELL. I think his gun control proposals are about saving little kids, not ruining your fun or taking away your rights...

Is that unreasonable? Is it all just an act? Doesn't he deserve the benefit of a doubt even if you disagree with him?

No one has restricted jack s**t, the group you're talking about is used to people just accepting their poor behavior and not fighting back. Now that people are fighting back against prejudice they don't know how to respond so they play the victim card instead. Fact is there's no restriction on speech, you're welcome to say any racist, bigoted, sexist thing you want, but this isn't the '50's, people will argue back now and the people that argue back are currently the broad majority and have the power.