Once I started talking to Trump supporters an reconsidering my beliefs, their motivations became clear and make perfect sense. I understand their grievance and feel it myself.
It’s so simple - convince Trump supporters. But first the PMC would have to stop talking down to people, and I just don’t think we’re capable of changing in that way. Educated people see themselves as a more rational group than others, and this self delusion is thick armor.
I agree. I think that the media/professional class sees themselves as educated (which they are) and as wise and noble policymakers (which they are not). Their education hasn’t proven to be protective against delusion or group hysteria or cowardice. In fact many of their political beliefs originate in these dynamics.
I wrote “ The media think they’re unique. Black folks might be motivated by handouts and women by abortion and the working class (negatively) by immigration but they’re only drawn to truth, goodness, accuracy. Obviously that can’t be true in such a partisan environment, full of motivated reasoners. The truth is they are a class just like every other and their conceptions (of democracy, fairness, extremism, etc.) and values are artifacts of their positions and interests. I didn’t see many writers calling for the student loan forgiveness funds to be directed toward relieving credit card debtors or single mothers. Did you?”
I feel like Cassandra… or a mute trying to shout against the wind. I’m not arguing for anything specifically-I’m saying try to put aside your class bias and LISTEN to the folks who disagree with you.
Ultimately that’s the only route to convincing them, after all 🤷🏻♂️. The homeless folks and convicts and veterans and builders and parents I know are far more grounded and sensible than the academics. Also: they’re humble. That might be the most important quality in forming wise and perceptive views about the world. I perceive a dearth of it among many journalists.
Which motivations did you find, out of curiosity? Are them specific politics such as the economy or immigration, or something more general such as feeling alienated by the progressive elites?
Among low-information, low-propensity voters I found a general sense of alarm around immigration and inflation. They weren't big news-watchers but even THEY knew that their cities (NYC, Philadelphia, Boston) were dealing with new budgetary and social problems tied to migration. Biden (and Harris) were inextricably tied to that situation. Ditto inflation.
There were a number of liberal or independent voters who were more engaged. They also worried about those two issues, but the #1 thing I heard them cite were cultural issues or debates about free speech. I would describe them as 'alienated by the elite' even though many of them ARE the elite. They felt that our political discourse has moved too rapidly leftward and there was a puritanical culture of conformity such that sensible claims couldn't even be stated in many contexts now. Again, many of these folks were traditionally Democrats.
Among conservatives all of those issues were apparent, but they also cared about money spent on foreign wars (and aid). There was a lot of talk of 'ending the Ukraine war' (which I find difficult to make sense of) and the BIGGEST issue for these people was probably media bias and institutional capture-a sense that legacy media and federal agencies had been weaponized against conservatives,
That last point deserves emphasis I think. Many Harris supporters seem confused: how could so many people vote AGAINST DEMOCRACY? The answer is: they didn't. They truly believe that they are upholding democracy and addressing the gravest threats to our system, as they conceptualize them.
I never heard any love of authoritarianism, anything that sounded fascist, any racist rhetoric... not even any xenophobic rhetoric. The people most dissatisfied with the immigration issue tended to be immigrants themselves. Anger exists toward the policies, not the people.
And then there's the Dunning-Kruger element to all of this. The "expert" class have had so many wins in the 20th/21st centuries that now they think they are right about everything.
Hell yes. Thanks for the link! I’m actually in recovery from substance use disorder and everywhere I go it’s like I’m seeing addictive behaviors (porn, SSRI’s, junk food, technology, gambling) leveraging gaps in our neurology to generate piles of money for corporations.
Self-righteousness is tough because so many people tie their identities to their political opinions now (more than ever) and it requires humility and experience to break through those psychological barriers. Those kinds of experiences are rare when you work from home, or in a clinic in Vermont or an office in Manhattan. If folks would just TALK to each other! I’ve been saying that, instead of hearing what journalists think about things, I’d like to hear what police and parents and small businesses owners think. Thanks to new media that’s increasingly easy, and the contrast between what I read on Substack or watch on YouTube and the media narratives is more and more glaring. They’re losing control but millions of prosperous urban professionals will remain ensconced in their fake digital reality for a long time yet.
Most of them will eventually quietly shift their attitudes as status and conformity dictates, and pretend they never supported defunding the police or gender modification surgeries for minors. I already perceive that trend beginning..
Of course there are treasonous Muslims, and Chinese, and America-hating leftists… and racist, despotic Republicans. My point is that classifying large GROUPS of these people puts you on shakier ground. Even then it’s sometimes warranted and accurate-but try talking to some first. Especially if they’re a group which comprises roughly half of our citizens. There’s too much out-group hatred and too many wild claims. This is the kind of rhetoric that leads to assassination attempts. Obviously.
Once I started talking to Trump supporters an reconsidering my beliefs, their motivations became clear and make perfect sense. I understand their grievance and feel it myself.
It’s so simple - convince Trump supporters. But first the PMC would have to stop talking down to people, and I just don’t think we’re capable of changing in that way. Educated people see themselves as a more rational group than others, and this self delusion is thick armor.
I agree. I think that the media/professional class sees themselves as educated (which they are) and as wise and noble policymakers (which they are not). Their education hasn’t proven to be protective against delusion or group hysteria or cowardice. In fact many of their political beliefs originate in these dynamics.
I wrote “ The media think they’re unique. Black folks might be motivated by handouts and women by abortion and the working class (negatively) by immigration but they’re only drawn to truth, goodness, accuracy. Obviously that can’t be true in such a partisan environment, full of motivated reasoners. The truth is they are a class just like every other and their conceptions (of democracy, fairness, extremism, etc.) and values are artifacts of their positions and interests. I didn’t see many writers calling for the student loan forgiveness funds to be directed toward relieving credit card debtors or single mothers. Did you?”
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/our-flailing-elites
I feel like Cassandra… or a mute trying to shout against the wind. I’m not arguing for anything specifically-I’m saying try to put aside your class bias and LISTEN to the folks who disagree with you.
Ultimately that’s the only route to convincing them, after all 🤷🏻♂️. The homeless folks and convicts and veterans and builders and parents I know are far more grounded and sensible than the academics. Also: they’re humble. That might be the most important quality in forming wise and perceptive views about the world. I perceive a dearth of it among many journalists.
Which motivations did you find, out of curiosity? Are them specific politics such as the economy or immigration, or something more general such as feeling alienated by the progressive elites?
Among low-information, low-propensity voters I found a general sense of alarm around immigration and inflation. They weren't big news-watchers but even THEY knew that their cities (NYC, Philadelphia, Boston) were dealing with new budgetary and social problems tied to migration. Biden (and Harris) were inextricably tied to that situation. Ditto inflation.
There were a number of liberal or independent voters who were more engaged. They also worried about those two issues, but the #1 thing I heard them cite were cultural issues or debates about free speech. I would describe them as 'alienated by the elite' even though many of them ARE the elite. They felt that our political discourse has moved too rapidly leftward and there was a puritanical culture of conformity such that sensible claims couldn't even be stated in many contexts now. Again, many of these folks were traditionally Democrats.
Among conservatives all of those issues were apparent, but they also cared about money spent on foreign wars (and aid). There was a lot of talk of 'ending the Ukraine war' (which I find difficult to make sense of) and the BIGGEST issue for these people was probably media bias and institutional capture-a sense that legacy media and federal agencies had been weaponized against conservatives,
That last point deserves emphasis I think. Many Harris supporters seem confused: how could so many people vote AGAINST DEMOCRACY? The answer is: they didn't. They truly believe that they are upholding democracy and addressing the gravest threats to our system, as they conceptualize them.
I never heard any love of authoritarianism, anything that sounded fascist, any racist rhetoric... not even any xenophobic rhetoric. The people most dissatisfied with the immigration issue tended to be immigrants themselves. Anger exists toward the policies, not the people.
Just my perspective!
Correct. Self-righteousness is an addiction: http://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/addiction.html
And then there's the Dunning-Kruger element to all of this. The "expert" class have had so many wins in the 20th/21st centuries that now they think they are right about everything.
Hell yes. Thanks for the link! I’m actually in recovery from substance use disorder and everywhere I go it’s like I’m seeing addictive behaviors (porn, SSRI’s, junk food, technology, gambling) leveraging gaps in our neurology to generate piles of money for corporations.
Self-righteousness is tough because so many people tie their identities to their political opinions now (more than ever) and it requires humility and experience to break through those psychological barriers. Those kinds of experiences are rare when you work from home, or in a clinic in Vermont or an office in Manhattan. If folks would just TALK to each other! I’ve been saying that, instead of hearing what journalists think about things, I’d like to hear what police and parents and small businesses owners think. Thanks to new media that’s increasingly easy, and the contrast between what I read on Substack or watch on YouTube and the media narratives is more and more glaring. They’re losing control but millions of prosperous urban professionals will remain ensconced in their fake digital reality for a long time yet.
Most of them will eventually quietly shift their attitudes as status and conformity dictates, and pretend they never supported defunding the police or gender modification surgeries for minors. I already perceive that trend beginning..
Did you miss the part where the Iranian American serving in the state department just shared classified military information with Iran?
Good post other than that last comment.
Of course there are treasonous Muslims, and Chinese, and America-hating leftists… and racist, despotic Republicans. My point is that classifying large GROUPS of these people puts you on shakier ground. Even then it’s sometimes warranted and accurate-but try talking to some first. Especially if they’re a group which comprises roughly half of our citizens. There’s too much out-group hatred and too many wild claims. This is the kind of rhetoric that leads to assassination attempts. Obviously.