My wife (who is way more perceptive and smarter than me) often muses why people who otherwise may seem intelligent, rational, normal (insert your own adjective here) are so loyal to the former president and his MAGA contingent. We wonder this particularly when we hear the former president speak which I characterize as lie-infused gibberish in most instances. Having no answer to my wife’s question, I have pondered this for several years myself. I have frequently said if a friend or relative said the things we hear the former president say, we’d ask them if they were okay, whether they needed to rest for a minute, or at the least get them a glass of water.
After considerable thought I have concluded the former president’s supporters fall into three broad groups:
- The Fearful: People who ignore everything illogical, illegal, unethical, or just plain crazy (poodle satay anyone?) because they yearn for a society when their socio-economic standing wasn’t eroded or threatened by other social. ethnic, or cultural groups. I think most of these supporters are white people unsettled by shifts in the opportunity landscape. They may not be able to articulate their discomfort, but it often has a label: immigrants, affirmative action e.g., minorities, Jews, Muslims, Woke culture, etc. These labels are all dog whistles for “You’re different than me and I don’t like that I have to compete with you”. Haters also fall in this group as hate is the result of fear.
- The Remoras: Those who see his installation to retain or increase their socio-economic status or grip on power over others. This includes political sycophants, politicians afraid of their base, The Fearful who are already in power, and the capital class wanting to protect and accrue more wealth. These folks are the ones I often call craven, cynical, hypocrites, greedy motherfuckers, etc. Think Elon Musk, any Republican in Congress, investment bankers, business owners that took PPP money when they had no need for it to float their company, or the Kochs. Their theme: “What’s in it for me?”
- The Apathetic & Indifferent: For whatever reasons, these people have no interest, enthusiasm, or concern re electoral outcomes. They are either hardened cynics, intellectually incurious, or limited in empathic capacity to care about anything beyond their immediate concerns. Think of an acquaintance who has a complete lack of interest for learning or exploring new ideas. Those who regard themselves as deeply religious and are disinterested in anything “different” or those who are unplugged from cultural literacy comprise this subset. Culturally illiterate folks are usually unable to converse or interact in a diverse culture, having limited or no ability to understand nuance, idiom, or shared references. The apathy angle comes into play when this group says, “my vote won’t make any difference” or “Well, all politics is dirty”. While technically true, they miss the point of the power of numbers and the need to have a stake in society. For me, these folks are the hardest to comprehend; they are like the walking dead.
Brain Particles 