"Mike Pence, who's a phenomenal guy, he's making a commencement address right now at the Air Force Academy where they're being very politically correct."
Donald Trump, Press Briefing, April 18
Democrats have become the party of best-behavior Sunday manners. Democrats are "woke."
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| Michigan protest sign |
Yesterday this blog observed the apparent hypocrisy of Trump taking credit for the success of his policies for slowing the virus by social distancing, while simultaneously praising people in MAGA hats protesting those very rules.
Trump is in tune with a great many Americans. “Enough,” I am seeing people say by their behavior.
In Medford, Oregon face masks are worn by about a third of grocery store shoppers. People who wear a mask skew older. I am age 70; I wear one. It feels like the safe and polite thing to do.
I perceive here, and by the actions of people who have fled back to beaches and the talk of opening up segments of the economy as soon as possible, an attitude of "why bother" with social distancing. Democrats are in the position of resisting the pressure. Not yet, they say. Please, wait.
New behaviors are hard. Americans have a template for how to think of this: the TSA. Airport screening is something necessary, but endured grudgingly. We watch security theater, as the personnel meticulously pat down and examine frail old women for knives and guns. We understand them to be going through time wasting, perfunctory motions. They don't think she has a machine gun hidden in her purse. They have to do it for her so they have political and legal license to examine other people, the young men they actually suspect as potential threats, people they intuit to be zealots, religious and political extremists, suicidal killer types.
New behaviors are hard. Americans have a template for how to think of this: the TSA. Airport screening is something necessary, but endured grudgingly. We watch security theater, as the personnel meticulously pat down and examine frail old women for knives and guns. We understand them to be going through time wasting, perfunctory motions. They don't think she has a machine gun hidden in her purse. They have to do it for her so they have political and legal license to examine other people, the young men they actually suspect as potential threats, people they intuit to be zealots, religious and political extremists, suicidal killer types.
We understand such profiling to be prejudice, subject to bias, and therefore legally and morally wrong--but useful. It's street smarts. It keeps us alive.
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| TSA checks 94 year old woman |
Street smarts also betrays us. Science and government authorities tell us that the harmless looking old woman is as likely to carry and spread the virus as is a grim faced young man with tattoos and a sidearm. We are told to suspect everyone and everything. We are around supposed danger everywhere, yet get no pain, no sudden moves, no noise, none of the signals of danger.
The government cries wolf, wolf, wolf. The wolf is invisible.
Conscientious, earnest government officials--the Dr. Anthony Fauci's of the world--are saying we should keep distancing, keep wearing a mask, wash our hands as if every doorknob and shopping cart handle is dangerous. Regular life doesn't seem dangerous. Only now instead of it being just extra time in the airport, the economy is cratered, sporting events cancelled, people are laid off jobs, bills accumulate, and Americans are waiting, waiting for the government to give us back our freedom. Our lives.
Trump has made this partisan. Let Democrats be burdened with Dr. Fauci and face masks and the bad economy. They want political correctness, they can have it.
Trump represents the people who scoff when they see the TSA delaying the line by patting down the old lady searching for a switchblade.
Michael Trigoboff has a comment. He is about my age. He teaches computer science at Portland Community college. Academia is ground zero of best practices, political correctness, and ivory tower consciousness.
Guest Post by Michael Trigoboff
Your post from Saturday fits very nicely with Jonathan Haidt's theory that we are all what he calls "elephants" (our powerful emotional self), that have what he calls "riders" (our conscious rational mind). The rider sees what the elephant has done, and makes up after-the-fact stories that what the elephant did was exactly the right thing, just what the rider thought should happen. By doing this, the rider creates the illusion for itself that it is in control. But it's not. The elephant is in control.
The Democrats tend to rely on reasoned arguments, which target the rider. Republicans tend to speak to the elephant directly (interesting that their party symbol is an elephant). Democrats emphasize "science" and "best practices." They get frustrated when that sort of argument has no noticeable political effect. They seem to be trapped in the idea that since rationality should be in control, it must be the case that rationality is in control. But it's not. The emotional level is in control.
Trump doesn't bother with anything rational or logical, which would be beside the point to him. He goes directly for the emotional level. Because he operates at that level, it's irrelevant that his logic doesn't fit together or that his positions change rapidly and (seemingly) randomly. What's constant is his projection of strong negative emotions directed at the Democrats, and his projection of strong positive emotions directed at the "deplorables."
Meanwhile, the Democrats and their media allies chase his logic and inconsistencies the way a cat will chase the red dot of a laser pointer. I imagine that this is as amusing for Trump as it might be for the (mildly sadistic?) cat owner with a laser pointer.
As somewhat of a "deplorable" myself, I resonate with this. My rational mind tells me that Trump is not a competent leader. My "elephant" loves watching him rip political correctness to shreds.
Fortunately for me, I live in Oregon. Oregon's electoral votes will go to the Democrat regardless of what I do. This leaves me free to vote my conscience. In 2016 I gave both parts of myself due consideration and voted third-party.
The Democrats tend to rely on reasoned arguments, which target the rider. Republicans tend to speak to the elephant directly (interesting that their party symbol is an elephant). Democrats emphasize "science" and "best practices." They get frustrated when that sort of argument has no noticeable political effect. They seem to be trapped in the idea that since rationality should be in control, it must be the case that rationality is in control. But it's not. The emotional level is in control.
Trump doesn't bother with anything rational or logical, which would be beside the point to him. He goes directly for the emotional level. Because he operates at that level, it's irrelevant that his logic doesn't fit together or that his positions change rapidly and (seemingly) randomly. What's constant is his projection of strong negative emotions directed at the Democrats, and his projection of strong positive emotions directed at the "deplorables."
Meanwhile, the Democrats and their media allies chase his logic and inconsistencies the way a cat will chase the red dot of a laser pointer. I imagine that this is as amusing for Trump as it might be for the (mildly sadistic?) cat owner with a laser pointer.
As somewhat of a "deplorable" myself, I resonate with this. My rational mind tells me that Trump is not a competent leader. My "elephant" loves watching him rip political correctness to shreds.
Fortunately for me, I live in Oregon. Oregon's electoral votes will go to the Democrat regardless of what I do. This leaves me free to vote my conscience. In 2016 I gave both parts of myself due consideration and voted third-party.
5 comments:
Emotions are the expression of the limbic part of our brains, a more primitive part. In the sense of the flight or fight response the anger one feels at the insult of "political correctness" is succumbing to the fear a perceived threat, and although it's not a physical threat the reaction is as though it is.
Regressives generally operate from the more primitive impulses, certainly many of their prejudices and fears have instinctive roots. Demagogues can exploit this, especially in times of crises. Clearly the irony of the current protests is lost on those complaining, but they are not thinking clearly. Most of the rest of us are agitating for more government action, from our living rooms, knowing that not enough is being done.
Flight or fight?
Hiding (flight) is the only way to avoid this predator, confronting it is suicidal.
Other countries are adopting aggressive testing, contact tracing and isolation to control the plague. Our government has failed its most basic function, something becoming more evident every day and with every death. This administration knew of the looming danger and did little until it was too late. They are advocating workers return knowing the the landscape is potentially lethal and willing to let others be the lab rats in an experiment that would delight Mengele.
Academia is ground zero of best practices, political correctness, and ivory tower consciousness.
Funny you should mention it.
About five years ago, the college where I teach installed obnoxiously noisy and (in my opinion) unsanitary air hand dryers. Yesterday I ran into an article about how air hand dryers are likely to be spreading viruses in public restrooms. This is pretty serious during a pandemic. So I posted the following message to the faculty of the college:
> Something to think about when the campuses reopen.
>
> https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/04/17/Paper-towels-beat-air-dryers-against-viruses-small-study-finds/8821587154862/
This is one of the responses I got, which was also sent out to the entire faculty (emphasis added):
> Aaron ______
> Apr 18, 2020, 8:03 PM (16 hours ago)
> to ptfaculty, ftfaculty,
> Michael - Your unsolicited emails are the definition of the white patriarchy.
>
> Listen to yourself and please stop. We have other things to worry about than
> what you deem important.
>
> ~ A
> --
> Aaron ______
> Reading/Writing Instructor
> Pronouns: he/him/his
Mike Trigoboff had me going with a lot of interesting observations and conclusions, until at the end he said he voted third party.
If enough of you do that, we will have trump again. A disaster.
Biden can also appeal to the emotions, to our sense of empathy and decency.
Loved Michael's comments; but then I'm a big fan of Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind. Something like nine million Obama voters in the "flyover" states voted for Trump in 2016 but the Berners get blamed for HRC's loss. (And they will again, if Biden loses...you can count on it.) Democratic elites can't or don't want to break out of their bubble so well explained in Thomas Frank's Listen Liberal. Peter Kruger has an excellent overview of Trump voters over at quora.com: "What Most Liberals Don't Realize." I grew up in rural America so I get it; Democrats' "hope and change" have not delivered to rural America. Where they live, even a small tax cut means more practically and emotionally than policies that don't directly help them get by. Most of them are at the bottom of Maslow's pyramid. They don't want hand-outs; they want the dignity that comes from their own efforts and they see "stay at home" and "social distancing" as an impediment to their freedom. True to their values, they are willing to risk their lives for that freedom, however, they do not, in general, take into account the welfare of others...or if they do, consider it God's will or Darwinian justice.
Michael, re. your OCD obsession with paper towels (LOL):
Totally with you on the PC craze, often supported by precious administrators; it's what passes for "activism" today on our sanitized, nanny campuses. Perhaps if you suggested diversely colorful paper towels with vetted campus PC messages, for example: "If you don't celebrate Easter but like Easter eggs, call them 'Spring Spheres!'" "Your uncle just got out of prison; he is not a felon; he is 'a former justice-involved person!'" "Campus 'crime alerts' should not be allowed because they make some students feel unsafe!'" Lastly, "A 'bachelor's degree'should be called 'an undergraduate degree' for obvious reasons."
Although Facebook has apx 71 gender IDs from which to choose, I'll simply use my favorite preferred pronouns: "we, our, us."
Okay, boomer?
Andy Seles
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