"It used to be a pretty good deal to be a white, Christian male in America, but things have changed and I think they do feel threatened.”
Diana C. Mutz, professor at University of Pennsylvania.
Backlash.
Republicans are losing the culture war. That is why they just won another battle in the political war.
 |
| Click: fivethirtyeight |
“I’m a single white male from South Carolina, and I’m told I should just shut up, but I will not shut up.”
Republicans succeeded because they made the Kavanaugh nomination about #MeToo. Republicans circled the wagons and energized their base. Republican voters don't trust #MeToo.
A close look at a Huffington Post/YouGov poll in August of this year shows an odd split in how voters think about sexual harassment. Click Here.
In general, voters agree that women have a grievance. Majorities of both parties agree that women who bring sexual harassments complaints public are doing a positive thing.
In general, voters agree that women have a grievance. Majorities of both parties agree that women who bring sexual harassments complaints public are doing a positive thing.
But when the issue gets specific to #MeToo as a movement, one which directly challenges white male privilege, everything changes. Only 26% of Republicans think favorably of #MeToo and 54% think it has gone "too far." This compares with 71% of Democrats who think favorably of it and 9% who think it has gone "too far."
 |
| Click: Fear of cultural displacement |
Notice that opinion divides by party, not gender. Some 32% of men think #MeToo has gone too far vs. 25% of women. Some 37% of men have an unfavorable view of #MeToo vs. 26% of women.
#MeToo is a movement of liberal women, not of women.
The #MeToo movement loses popularity with Republicans because it goes beyond passive and patient grievance. #MeToo contains a weapon to make change by bringing to light misbehavior by entitled and powerful people, usually male.
Lindsey Graham protested being treated like a woman or a person of color, i.e silenced and disempowered. That reverses the social order, and it has embedded in it an implied accusation: men aren't woke and cannot be.
Lindsey Graham protested being treated like a woman or a person of color, i.e silenced and disempowered. That reverses the social order, and it has embedded in it an implied accusation: men aren't woke and cannot be.
Many in my acquaintance think the idea of a white men feeling themselves to be the aggrieved and put-upon group is absurd and laughable on its face. Democratic messaging assumes that of course white men should understand they have a tailwind of privilege.
Republican messaging understands something very different. It understands that a great many men feel that they are the ones under attack.
Can white men really, actually think themselves to be the primary victim of profiling and status discrimination? Yes, apparently they do. Lots of them. Click. NPR poll: Majority of white men think they are the primary victim of discrimination.
Trump channeled their fear and resentment.“It’s a very scary time for young men in America,” arguing that men who face accusations of sexual misconduct are “truly guilty until proven innocent.”
Republican messaging understands something very different. It understands that a great many men feel that they are the ones under attack. Can white men really, actually think themselves to be the primary victim of profiling and status discrimination? Yes, apparently they do. Lots of them. Click. NPR poll: Majority of white men think they are the primary victim of discrimination.
Trump channeled their fear and resentment.“It’s a very scary time for young men in America,” arguing that men who face accusations of sexual misconduct are “truly guilty until proven innocent.”
Many Democratic women scoff in disbelief. How ludicrous. And yet Americans wake up this morning to watch videos of the crowd cheering Trump when he said this, and to recognize that Kavanaugh just received a majority vote in the United States Senate.
Trump divides and inflames the culture war because he has figured out a way to profit from it.
Trump divides and inflames the culture war because he has figured out a way to profit from it.
3 comments:
Both on social media and now in person I’ve witnessed multiple conversations where it was suggested that the “Pence Rule” of men not meeting with women alone should be implemented as a standard of operation because it’s the “only way to protect against life-ruining false-accusations”. The number of women defending this practice, because, in their opinion, “women lie” was mind boggling. This would effectively make women completely ineffective in the business world - it would shut them out of career opportunities and likely bring the economy to a halt (women currently are the prime income earners in 40% of all households).
This mindset does not represent the majority. We have to remember that, despite their victory. We can’t can’t get demoralized, instead we have got to inspire the masses and get them to vote for people who *do* represent our values or we will continue to go down this destructive path of lifetime judicial appointees and lawmakers making harmful decisions.
Lindsey Graham standing up for his gender!
No one had a shred of doubt about the truth of of the Ford allegation. It does however raise the issue of honor. I had hope that His Honor Judge Kavanaugh would come to a realization that while the allegation couldn't be proved in a courtroom, the truth, and his immortal soul, was more important than a job upgrade.
Oh, well...
Rick, ‘Immortal Soul’ - seriously? We live in a society with a practical secular world view, regardless what people ‘say’ they believe in the polls. IMHO the lack of a common moral framework is perhaps why we see such divisiveness over acceptable or even preferred behavior. I find few people these days (in America at least) who base their moral decisions on any fear or hope of their destiny in the afterlife. One fundamental rule in business sales is in order to close a deal, you need to effectively appeal to the customer’s fear or greed....both if you can do it. That’s the underlying narrative of the present political discourse and MAGA in particular. Even people of supposed faith in God are selling out to a political movement because that’s where they place their hope or assuage their fear. We are curious creatures.
Post a Comment