Trump - Y Knot !?

Arlie Russell Hochschild’s excellent book: Strangers in their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right – published in 2016 shared a lot of important truths for today!

( https://www.georgemarx.org/2019/07/arlie-russell-hochschild-anger-and.html )

Hochschild looked both at white people in an area of Louisiana in general and specifically at Tea Party Women – pre-Trump, pre-Covid.   An example follows:

In the deep story, as felt by those I profile in this book, the weary worker waiting in line for the American Dream sees the federal government giving special help to people he perceives as line cutters.  Some who benefit are citizens (blacks, women, public sector workers), and others are not (immigrants, refugees, recipients of American foreign aid.   We can well understand the worn patience of the one waiting in line, because in truth for most middle- and lower income Americans, the line has indeed stalled or moved back. (p.260)

Hochschild dispelled the notion that right-wing people were necessarily “uneducated”.   She spoke with women who were successful real estate agents and public school teachers including some quite well off individuals.

Why do we presume that Trump supporters are stupid?

Supporting Trump may seem stupid to some of us!   Obviously, we are in a Very, Very Difficult and Dangerous Time Period – where Fascism – and the ending of “democracy” can be a  Very Realistic Fear!

Why not look at how Harris and the Democrats contributed to the resounding electoral defeat where Republicans control Congress and the Presidency?

Many people, particularly women, – supported Abortion Rights in 2024 voting, and also voted for Donald Trump?   Suburban white women, Latino Men, quite a few young voters; Are they basically just stupid, naïve…? 

Dissect the voting patterns in Pennsylvania!    Both senators and the governor were Democrats prior to the election.   Look at what percentage of this crucial state went Republican!   It’s a perfect example – for the country as a whole!

2024 Election - Pennsylvania Counties - Red = Majority Trump, Blue = Majority Harris

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg are – Blue.   Yah, but hardly anywhere else is there anything but Red, Red, Red.

I hear that it’s inflation and the borders.   Well, there was a long, long time when Biden told us how great the economy was.   Unfortunately, working class workers, couldn’t live on the dividends and appreciation of their stocks, because they can’t afford any.   The economy has tended to help those of us with more income and assets, and hurt others.  Often, also perceptions may not exactly relate to “the real world” (exactly).

Well – sleepy Joe – was slow to see the migrant issue.  I certainly saw it for myself – lots of Latina/Latino People sleeping at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.  I also heard about people staying even in Police Stations.   That they had been basically dumped in Northern Cities like Chicago by Texas’s Governor Abbot didn’t solve and of the resulting obvious problem(s).

There are obvious, obvious other issues!   Liz Cheney – and bringing in Republican women seemed a particular push – “towards the middle” – but it didn’t work!

We white, upper-middle class folks aren’t the best judges of many things.   There has been a lot of slippage amongst white folks in not dealing with Racism.   After marching regularly in 2020, we’ve slowed down a lot and  (essentially) “moved on”.

Living in Chicago –  I drove regularly to South West Suburban Chicago for Car-avans.   Palestinian-American Women there  were the heart of the work – consistently seeing the importance of supporting Black People.

Yesterday, I talked with a Latina woman.  She was standing near me outside of Senator Padilla’s Office where we were protesting seeking a Ceasefire and Justice for the Palestinian People.  I was amazed when she told me that her parents, now over 80 – set a great example for her beginning their support of the Palestinian Cause in the 1960’s and 1970’s – way ahead of me!  This woman saw the importance of solidarity with the Palestinian People!

(Rhetorically) Why is it that others(, unlike “my people”) with less privilege – usually BIPOC see the connections?  They see my “whiteness” and my “patriarchal behavior”.  They are generally polite enough not to shame me (or clue me in - ).   Understandably they expect that I’m not really “woke” – and likely would get defensive if called in.

In the mid-1960’s – Black Militants – like Malcolm X and then Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and H Rap Brown – clearly spoke to us white people – during my early teen years – saying (my words):

“we appreciated you supporting us during the Civil Rights Movement that lead to the passage of important laws (1964-1965).  Now it’s time for you to work with white people in the white community”.

Generally, we white people, particularly white men – moved on in various ways.   Some of us settled down, raising families.  Others came out and struggled with AIDS.   Plenty moved to the right. 

It’s significant to note that:

1.   During the AIDS epidemic – it was militants-  Act Up – who refused to be shut up.   They were effective!

2.   Straight/straightish white men- me – and my pals – were the one community – the only one – that weren’t there supporting our brothers and sisters as they faced a traumatic destruction of their community.   We blamed them- for their “promiscuity”!

3.   Rape – often including even the rape of men – by other men – remains a “women’s issue” – even though we men – do most of the raping.

4.   White People – we white people – are scared of Black People!    They can: “destroy our (sic) neighborhood” – just by living near us or next door to us.   Similarly – the Black People – get killed by white folks – far, far more frequently – but we’re the one who are still scared.

6.   The parallel – carries forward:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dearborn.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/UNOFFICIAL%20Results_Nov%205%202024%20Presidential%20Election%20-%20ALL%20-%20ELECTION%20DAY_City%20of%20Dearborn.pdf

Unofficial votes for President:

In Dearborn Michigan – almost 42,000 votes – Biden got 2,000 less than Trump – Jill Stein got over 7500 votes.  Statewide – the Election went for Trump by about 80,000 votes – Jill Stein got over 44,000 votes.  

Issues related to Palestinian – Ceasefire Support go much more deeply than simple things such as looking at Dearborn!   Young people look at us old people, and how we act upon our values.   Many BIPOC such as many Black Women see the connections between key issues, and many don’t vote, because of patterns of “action” (or inaction) that they see around them.

Both Michigan and Pennsylvania might have gone for Harris, with a concerted push for a Ceasefire and Justice for the Palestinian People.

Much has been made of the 55% of Latino men who voted for Trump, as well as the less notable increase among Latina Women.    Clearly, many of these people somehow naively thought that it wouldn’t be their own undocumented family members (when they have them) that would be deported.

Clearly, the voices of Black and Latina/Latino People are “important” primarily when elections happen.   The Democratic Party has presumed, for a long time that because the Republicans are so bad, that BIPOC voters will “be Blue”.   One obvious, but often ignored factor, is that these groups are quite varied mixtures of people who don’t have simple “linear” perspectives.   Cuban-Americans in Florida are very different from Puerto Rican residents of various states, not to mention Mexican-American residents.

Similarly ignored is that often – significant numbers of people “vote” by Not Voting either for President or in general.

It’s important that we look at our “history” of recent decades.  Examples of this are:

1.)    The Civil Rights legislation of the 1960’s and then the white reaction after the 1968 killings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy,

2.)    Roe vs. Wade, and what followed it,

3.)    Ronald Reagan, the Bush’s, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and more.  

The Right has money and power.   Many of them have also worked seriously over the past 55 years or more.   The Supreme Court was pushed to the right over decades.   Republicans worked seriously from the bottom up.   The focused upon local school boards.   The also worked on State Legislatures.   They ‘ve developed coalitions of people and politicians who often don’t like each other at all.  

Meanwhile both “liberals” and The Left have not generally done a lot besides complain and point fingers and often disagree with each other.   There are a few noted exceptions.   Women have worked strongly in communities on Reproductive Justice.   Act-Up did a lot that built up the relative power of (generally privileged) white Gay/Queer Men.

Democratic Party leaders, as well as party members and “supporters”, need to look at the weaknesses of the Party and how it is really run!    A simple example is that one large donor purportedly spoke up when there was talk of a more “radical” (from their perspective) proposal related to Gaza and Israel.   His threat to withhold money may have prevented a change in policy, at least in one case (no doubt there are many more such cases).

One really can pick and choose where one looks for issues to focus upon related to Trump and Harris!    MSNBC and CNN and NPR/PBS are not – “truth tellers”.   “Controversial” voices like Rashid Khalidi and Noura Erakat and Rashid Tlaib are rarely heard.  Even when they are heard, it’s brief, superficial, and dwarfed by the dominant narratives.   Most major in depth investigative journalism hasn’t been around for a long time.

The Major News Media are generally profit-making, and when they aren’t, they rely upon large donors.    Their “messaging” is consistent and repetitive.    Their “consultants” and authors interviewed fit consistently with their core messaging.

When was the last time you heard a discussion of the U.S. Healthcare System which went beyond briefly  exposing its weaknesses?   How much time is spent upon talking about the “pushers” of our system such as lobbyists representing major drug makers and the hospital industry?   When do we compare what all our “competitors” do, and how much less money they spend, because their systems are more efficient?

At least until recently Texas basically controlled the textbooks available nationally in our public schools.   Texas does not rank high in the ranking of its public school system.   The threat that textbooks would not be used in Texas, kept a lot of what we might now call “wokeness” out of much of our national public education system.

Discussing the military ties to big industry, is rarely talked about.   Boeing is not recognized as a “war profiteer”.   The training provided by the Israeli Government to local police departments is rarely discussed.   Recruiting for the various military services relies upon advertising in the major media.   When is “peace” ever stressed at major public sporting events?   There are cheers and standing up for the token veteran acknowledged at many major sports games.   There’s not much done showing the weaknesses in medical care for veterans.

Harris and the Democrats barely mention these issues.   They impact those who aren’t super-wealthy significantly.   Defense spending – “emergency” spending for Israel and the Ukraine – is prioritized over funds that might help our public schools and people in general (beyond stockholders).

Look at who “the villains” today are.   They include: undocumented residents, Hamas, Iran, North Korea, Hezbollah, China, Putin-Russia, and others.  

I would argue that the real “terrorists” are much more the United States Government, the Israeli Government, Modi in India, as well as Fox News, Donald Trump and others we – not “conservative” often talk of.    We are having our bombs tested all the time in the Middle East by the Israeli Government!

Afghanistan is a great example of a country to look at!   Did the U.S. Government look at how the Russian Government had failed before deeply committing our country to its support – or supposed support.  While Donald Trump may have been much more at fault than people like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, the Democratic Party leadership, ignored “reality” and got stuck in our talking to ourselves – or better stated:  “hiding our heads in the sand” most of the time, including quite recently.

In closing, I’d like to suggest various resources one, might want to look at, to get a “real” alternate voice to go along with the mainstream.

Aware-LA-  https://www.awarela.org/ (Saturday dialogues – Sunday one my favorite) – and their website

Common Dreams: https://www.commondreams.org/

Cross Cultural Solidarity: https://crossculturalsolidarity.com/

Democracy Now:  https://www.democracynow.org/

The Electronic Intifada: https://electronicintifada.net/

Emotional Justice: A Roadmap for Racial Healing- Esther Armah:

https://www.georgemarx.org/2024/06/emotional-justice-esther-armah-amazing.html

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP): https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

Pacifica Network: https://pacificanetwork.org/