Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
But it's not just that. The more affluent a white person is, the more likely they are to vote for Trump. It's really not in question.
What confuses things somewhat is that more affluent parts of the country (coastal and urban areas) and of states (cities) are more likely not to.
Hank can post results from Macomb County, and they tell you something, but they don't tell you who in Macomb County voted for Trump and who didn't. Neither do the jackasses who drive around with flags on their trucks. I saw one of those yesterday in Santa Cruz County, but so what.
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Trump voters tend to have higher levels of “economic anxiety” than others. You can look it up. There are numerous studies on it.
As Hank put it, they have “something to lose.”
You rephrase “something to lose” as “entitlement.” I think it’s a mixed bag. I think some Trump voters think they are entitled to something. I think an equal, or perhaps greater, number of them are anxious.
Both groups are highly susceptible to racist and xenophobic messaging, as they are searching for someone to blame for circumstances beyond their control. This need to blame others also manifests itself in distrust of institutions, which they also blame.
How much of the racism within Trumpism is attributable to native long-standing racism versus racism created by recent economic anxiety? Unknown. But when people say things like, “Trumpism is primarily based on underlying racist attitudes,” they are making a gross and unsupportable generalization. They are missing a huge component of Trumpism, which is racism caused by economic anxiety. And that is a very distinct form of racism.
