One thing that was astonishing to me once I left the safety of my insular bubble on the left and ventured into Trump world was how wrong they were getting the Trump movement and the majority of his supporters. Sort of like a small village on one side of the mountain with another village 50 miles away and each side imagines the absolute w…
One thing that was astonishing to me once I left the safety of my insular bubble on the left and ventured into Trump world was how wrong they were getting the Trump movement and the majority of his supporters. Sort of like a small village on one side of the mountain with another village 50 miles away and each side imagines the absolute worst based on long ago tales that jus worse and worse each time they were told. Likewise, he vision of the left, especially BLM protesters, was distorted to paint all of them as violent. So in essence the press is delivering only the extremes to the American people. No wonder we are on the brink of war. The one thing we must never lose: objectivity in journalism.
What do you think they got wrong? Most of my family are Trump supporters and I've found them to be ignorant of the vast majority of his failings because they only watch Fox News and listen to Rush Limbaugh. They think most of the damage on January 6 is due to Antifa.
If you definite Trump supporters as "ignorant of most of Trump's failings," then yes you probably do not see the problem here. You see them as ignorant to their core - I guess you would know as they're your family. But the press portrayed them as both how you describe but also as racists and white supremacists, all of them. They ignored how many different types of people were drawn to Trump, what his rallies were ACTUALLY about (they were quite joyful and celebratory) and finally, why there would be a need for Trump at all. People on the left blame Fox News for corrupting them. But the fact is that the left, or the dominant voices on the left, have been increasingly alienating since Obama - utopia building around highly educated, mostly upper class wealthy whites who preach from on high about how everyone in American SHOULD be. That life is just out of reach for a good many Americans. Trump did not make them feel shame about that. He did not scold them and he did not lecture them. There was such a strong desire for that it is no wonder his supporters treated him like a god. We did the same with Obama but it was seen as more respectable because Obama is more respectable. I have spent a good deal of time in Trump world and I have never been more disgusted with my side of the aisle for our sanctimony and our snobbishness towards people who live differently than we do. It is almost as though we are "speciating" and have decided that anyone not totally down with our extreme way of life is to be ignored at best, purged at worst. Trump supporters, from what I saw, were not frothing angry racists. The thing they all had in common was that they'd been rejected by, and rejected, the left's version of American life. I just think some self-awareness is in order.
Well, a lot of my family is racist. My cousin likes to "joke" that the NFL would be better if the owners really owned the players. Ha ha.
Growing up in rural Georgia I heard the n-word a LOT from family and friends. My father was especially bigoted. This is a college-educated man who earned in the top 2% of income while he was working.
My aunt, who lives in a very expensive gated community just down the street from the CEO of Duke Energy, and who reads the Wall Street Journal every day, once told me that she thought Obama was an evil man who wanted to destroy America.
Well that certainly makes sense. I'm certainly not saying he did not fan those flames to get elected or that he didn't wink and nod at those types of people. But 1) that is anecdotal (thought it does explain why you paint them with that bush, understandable) and 2) the job of journalists is to go deeper. And to tell the truth.
Where is she getting her information that Obama is an evil man? CNN?
When I asked her to clarify she said "he has evil in his heart." I told her that while I disagreed with George W Bush I never doubted that he thought he was doing the right thing for his country. Could she at least agree Obama was trying to do the right thing as he defines it? No, he hates America and is evil.
She also said Trump's 13 sexual harassment accusers were all lying and just doing it to get famous. Where did she get that idea?
According to polls, over half of Republicans *still* believe Obama was not born in Hawaii. Over 60% think he is a muslim.
Is that the fault of CNN and the New York Times? Who are the "journalists" filling Republicans' heads with these lies?
Well I would say partly, yes. The reason being, it's a much longer story as to how things became divided and why education sucks so bad in this country. If you ask the average Trump supporter about Obama or Hillary or any Democrat they see them as equally evil. They see them as establishment. They will boo all of them at a Trump rally but they do not only boo them. Their hatred is as across the board as ours is for them. This year, the press simply gave up even trying to communicate anything to the other side. I don't think they could have SOLVED the division and the hysteria each side has for the other side. But I am saying telling only one story has led to deeper divisions an a country that is far from repairing itself. If they see all Trump supporters as your family -- that makes 73 million of them in this country. Surely they aren't all racists.
One thing that was astonishing to me once I left the safety of my insular bubble on the left and ventured into Trump world was how wrong they were getting the Trump movement and the majority of his supporters. Sort of like a small village on one side of the mountain with another village 50 miles away and each side imagines the absolute worst based on long ago tales that jus worse and worse each time they were told. Likewise, he vision of the left, especially BLM protesters, was distorted to paint all of them as violent. So in essence the press is delivering only the extremes to the American people. No wonder we are on the brink of war. The one thing we must never lose: objectivity in journalism.
What do you think they got wrong? Most of my family are Trump supporters and I've found them to be ignorant of the vast majority of his failings because they only watch Fox News and listen to Rush Limbaugh. They think most of the damage on January 6 is due to Antifa.
If you definite Trump supporters as "ignorant of most of Trump's failings," then yes you probably do not see the problem here. You see them as ignorant to their core - I guess you would know as they're your family. But the press portrayed them as both how you describe but also as racists and white supremacists, all of them. They ignored how many different types of people were drawn to Trump, what his rallies were ACTUALLY about (they were quite joyful and celebratory) and finally, why there would be a need for Trump at all. People on the left blame Fox News for corrupting them. But the fact is that the left, or the dominant voices on the left, have been increasingly alienating since Obama - utopia building around highly educated, mostly upper class wealthy whites who preach from on high about how everyone in American SHOULD be. That life is just out of reach for a good many Americans. Trump did not make them feel shame about that. He did not scold them and he did not lecture them. There was such a strong desire for that it is no wonder his supporters treated him like a god. We did the same with Obama but it was seen as more respectable because Obama is more respectable. I have spent a good deal of time in Trump world and I have never been more disgusted with my side of the aisle for our sanctimony and our snobbishness towards people who live differently than we do. It is almost as though we are "speciating" and have decided that anyone not totally down with our extreme way of life is to be ignored at best, purged at worst. Trump supporters, from what I saw, were not frothing angry racists. The thing they all had in common was that they'd been rejected by, and rejected, the left's version of American life. I just think some self-awareness is in order.
Well, a lot of my family is racist. My cousin likes to "joke" that the NFL would be better if the owners really owned the players. Ha ha.
Growing up in rural Georgia I heard the n-word a LOT from family and friends. My father was especially bigoted. This is a college-educated man who earned in the top 2% of income while he was working.
My aunt, who lives in a very expensive gated community just down the street from the CEO of Duke Energy, and who reads the Wall Street Journal every day, once told me that she thought Obama was an evil man who wanted to destroy America.
Well that certainly makes sense. I'm certainly not saying he did not fan those flames to get elected or that he didn't wink and nod at those types of people. But 1) that is anecdotal (thought it does explain why you paint them with that bush, understandable) and 2) the job of journalists is to go deeper. And to tell the truth.
Where is she getting her information that Obama is an evil man? CNN?
When I asked her to clarify she said "he has evil in his heart." I told her that while I disagreed with George W Bush I never doubted that he thought he was doing the right thing for his country. Could she at least agree Obama was trying to do the right thing as he defines it? No, he hates America and is evil.
She also said Trump's 13 sexual harassment accusers were all lying and just doing it to get famous. Where did she get that idea?
According to polls, over half of Republicans *still* believe Obama was not born in Hawaii. Over 60% think he is a muslim.
Is that the fault of CNN and the New York Times? Who are the "journalists" filling Republicans' heads with these lies?
Well I would say partly, yes. The reason being, it's a much longer story as to how things became divided and why education sucks so bad in this country. If you ask the average Trump supporter about Obama or Hillary or any Democrat they see them as equally evil. They see them as establishment. They will boo all of them at a Trump rally but they do not only boo them. Their hatred is as across the board as ours is for them. This year, the press simply gave up even trying to communicate anything to the other side. I don't think they could have SOLVED the division and the hysteria each side has for the other side. But I am saying telling only one story has led to deeper divisions an a country that is far from repairing itself. If they see all Trump supporters as your family -- that makes 73 million of them in this country. Surely they aren't all racists.
Sorry for the typos above. My keyboard is a little wonky on the "t".