"Foolish mistakes" are the ones that best teach us what is really going on.
I draw the analogy from biology and evolution, especially the peacock's improbably large tail. That tail flummoxed Charles Darwin for a while.
The huge tail is cumbersome. It draws the attention of predators. One would think that in the competition for survival, peacocks with such a disadvantage would be bred out of existence. But the tails persist. There must be some value to the "mistake." That premise led to considering sexual selection as part of reproductive survival. Peahens are attracted to males with a big tail. The "mistake" clarifies what is really going on.
Trump had every opportunity to nurture the constituent realignments of the political parties, with Hispanics voting for the GOP in increasing numbers. Democrats presumed that Hispanic voters would identify with their ethnicity and support mass immigration of Hispanics, whether legal or illegal. That was wrong. A great many Hispanic voters chose to vote like people who wanted laws enforced, including immigration laws.
It would have made sense for Trump, upon learning that Bad Bunny would be the Super Bowl halftime show star, to embrace a show with a heavy Latin American vibe. It would have given nuance to his ICE policy of heavy-handed in-your-face policing. It would have sent a message that ICE enforcement was about illegality, not ethnicity. It would be reaching out to Hispanic citizens saying that they are fellow Americans, that he respected them -- but not the criminals hiding among them.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn't represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World. This "Show" is just a "slap in the face" to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day. . . .
Trump encouraged a competing halftime show conservative media defined as the "All American" alternative. That defines the Bad Bunny show as the un-American show. Trump defined the Bad Bunny show not as additive to American culture; it is an insult to it. Spanish is unintelligible. Its dance arrangements are "disgusting."
Political scientist and psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses the word disgust to describe one of the deep moral instincts of American political conservatives. It is moral and physical revulsion against defilement, a reaction to rotten meat, vermin, putrefaction, infection or invasion by an insidious outsider. Trump is communicating that Hispanic culture does not belong here.
Trump is repeating the message he used to scold Europeans, that immigration by the wrong people is destroying the ethnic unity and identity of their countries. It resembles the message that kicked off Trump's campaign a dozen years ago, that Obama is illegitimate and foreign. He can never really be one of "us." Then in 2015, in Trump's campaign kickoff, immigrants from Mexico were other. Then Muslims. Then people from Central and South America. Then Africans and people from Caribbean islands, especially Haitians. And "low-IQ" Black Democrats. Get out. You are unwelcome.
Trump is saying that Hispanics in the country, including Puerto Ricans who are U.S. citizens by birth, are "other," too, speaking Spanish and having a bad folkways. Maybe they are outsiders forever, as long as they are brown. Maybe they are "other" only until they learn to speak un-accented English and drop markers of Hispanic culture. The USA is a melting pot, so melt already. Become a real American.
Long term, I suspect the unnecessary insult to Latin culture is a mistake, but it may work for him for one or two more elections, especially if the Democratic message comes across as being against effective enforcement of immigration laws. Unregulated immigration from 2021 to 2023 branded Democrats as permissive to immigration scofflaws -- with parallel scenes in conservative media of blue-city homeless encampments and California shoplifters casually walking out while stealing just under $950 in goods. This is a brand problem for Democrats, and it will haunt Gavin Newsom as he attempts to campaign in middle America. Voters may be slow to give Democrats credibility as willing to enforce the law. Democrats can fix this, but they might not want to.
Trump is selling a simple, clear idea, even if it narrows the GOP base: Crime is caused by outsiders, and Trump has no respect for them. Fear them. Ridicule them. Disempower them.
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3 comments:
Trump might well have "encouraged" the conservative halftime show alternative, but to no one's surprise it appears that he watched the supposedly bad and worthless Bad Bunny setpiece with rapt attention. Likewise,Trump is typically chapter and verse on the "no-talent" Jimmy Kimmel's monologues,, or the the latest stories in the "failing" New York Times.
Bunny's bit was like a blockbuster Broadway musical production number. "Nobody" understood a word he was saying?! I think not. I suspect though that by "disgusting" Trump was referring to the star's repeated crotch-grabs, though such behavior is hardly attributable as such to Latin pop stars. At least Bunny didn't combine it with his interaction with the cute little boy.
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 350 languages are spoken in homes across the United States. Other estimates suggest the number may be as high as 430, covering a mix of indigenous, immigrant, and regional languages, making the U.S. one of the most linguistically diverse nations."
Let's face it...the Super Bowl is a casino eclipsed by its halftime entertainment, which is probably why most watch at all. I tuned in then and watched a bit of the third quarter...boring Pop Warner level play.
And another thing...we generally think bilingual people are cool, and Spanish is taught in our schools, so sit down.
The White “Christian” Nationalists are crowing about the 5 or 6 million who watched their alternative show instead of the Bad Bunny Superbowl halftime viewed by about 127 million. It’s good to know the white-wing whackos are outnumbered by over 20 to 1. Trump claims the Bad Bunny halftime show was “an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn't represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.” His supporters will be able to enjoy his high standards when he hosts a UFC cage match on the White House lawn for his birthday.
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