The Emasculated American

[midcan5]

I am watching the screaming crowd at a Trump rally, I am asking why. A purple heart veteran gives a medal to a draft dodger who promises greatness. Google 'the emasculated American male' and you will get 634,000 hits. What is it about a man that I perceive as a insecure narcissist that gives hope to so many?

Harvard professor and Manliness author Harvey C. Mansfield, 'We are attracted to the manly man because he imparts some of his confidence to everyone else.' Maybe so, but I do not see Donald Trump as a manly man, if anything he seems the son of the pampered upper class. Those born to wealth, who cannot imagine poverty's world. He will not even release his tax forms.

A few of the links in my Google search came from conservative sites and were dated after Barack Obama's election. Did the accomplishment of a Black man fuel this sense of powerlessness? Democrats have lost the white vote since Civil Rights legislation. Is this fear and need born of a deep seated racism.

Witness the hatred of Hillary. Today it is email and Benghazi, but do they forget the witch images from her husband's presidency. Is fear and need born too of misogyny. A woman demonized by republicans for so long. Add in immigration, Mexicans, Muslims, where do you place them.

Certain themes dominate, they get it all, freeloaders, the system is rigged, we are a Christian nation, it's the liberal media, words come to form meaning, thinking is absent, thought is absent. When Trump loses in November it will be because it is a rigged system, and the false narrative will continue. Some will believe. Republicans have engaged in these whistle words for sixty years, someone finally took them up. Their appeal has backfired. Republicans were complicit in a creation they now question.

Hitler references are used too often so now one cannot make comparisons. I will make America great again. I will do this. The crowd cheers, and we will be safe again, and strong again. I will have your back, we will keep them out, we will throw them out, they have to go, the crowd chants, signs waves, slogans work on this audience. Nationalism is a double edged sword.

And why does the American, a person who lives in one of the greatest nations feel they need a savior, a powerful man to lead them to some promised land? Trump praises Putin, is a Russia dictator what they want, a strong leader to makes their wrongs right?

The question becomes when did Americans become so weak they needed someone to lead them? What happened to the free individual, the cowboy image, the creators, the proud American, the laborer, and the made in America. What happened to the nation that won all the important battles? What changed?

[Bill]

They need a great man because he told them America isn't great.. Thus creating a need for his product/brand.. Marketing 101.. Sad thing is now more ppl are buying it..

I would like to say they are all idiots, but they are not..

Marketing does not rely on ppl's intelligence/lack there of but uses other methods, & in this case fear & illusions of "the apprentice" making us all great again~eventhough the Markets are already @ all time highs, you see the jobs report??

Everyone sees his many faults, just like they did when he ran for president before, but now there is a large(not all) portion of the gop that was already disgruntled~potential buyers for his "brand"..

Sadly, in their eyes, he can do no wrong (same could be said about some hillary fans).

They will defend him & his repeated blunders, name calling etc as they would their favorite teams & players to the bitter end~they have bought in personally to the brand...

While there are many of these kinda studies, these are a couple of interesting ones~

More recently: AUDIO In politics, why facts don’t always matter

May 24, 2016 Guests: Angie Drobnic Holan, Peter Ditto, Jason Reifler

It would be nice to think that when people are given the facts, they’d believe them. But, we’re not always so rational. It’s really hard to change someone’s mind, particularly when it comes to their political views. This hour, why we cling to the political misinformation, and even lies. We start out looking at the role fact checking has in this election and if it’s made the candidates more honest and the electorate more informed with ANGIE DROBNIC HOLAN, editor of Politifact. Then Marty talks with PETER DITTO, professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine, and JASON REIFLER, associate professor of politics at the University of Exeter about why it’s so hard to correct our ideological beliefs.


Why the Facts Don’t Matter in Politics

SNIP: Political scientists Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler provided two groups of volunteers with the Bush administration’s prewar claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. One group was given a refutation — the comprehensive 2004 Duelfer report that concluded that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction before the United States invaded in 2003. Thirty-four percent of conservatives told only about the Bush administration’s claims thought Iraq had hidden or destroyed its weapons before the U.S. invasion, but 64 percent of conservatives who heard both claim and refutation thought that Iraq really did have the weapons. The refutation, in other words, made the misinformation worse.

A similar “backfire effect” also influenced conservatives told about Bush administration assertions that tax cuts increase federal revenue. One group was offered a refutation by prominent economists that included current and former Bush administration officials. About 35 percent of conservatives told about the Bush claim believed it; 67 percent of those provided with both assertion and refutation believed that tax cuts increase revenue.

In a paper approaching publication, Nyhan, a PhD student at Duke University, and Reifler, at Georgia State University, suggest that Republicans might be especially prone to the backfire effect because conservatives may have more rigid views than liberals: Upon hearing a refutation, conservatives might “argue back” against the refutation in their minds, thereby strengthening their belief in the misinformation. Nyhan and Reifler did not see the same “backfire effect” when liberals were given misinformation and a refutation about the Bush administration’s stance on stem cell research.

[Mott the Hoople]

I think what bothers me most about Trumps candidacy is that he's been making a sales pitch and many don't see it for what it is. Trump is not capable of keeping the promises he is making. No one would be able to keep those promises. This is the danger of populism.

[Bill]

I think what bothers me most about Trumps candidacy is that he's been making a sales pitch and many don't see it for what it is. Trump is not capable of keeping the promises he is making. No one would be able to keep those promises. This is the danger of populism.

True, & most of his supporters readily admit he can't, many even scoff about building a wall or deporting 11+ million but none the less they support him wholeheartedly~NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS OR WHAT HE DOES & for the reasons discussed above...

But some of the sharper tools & political opportunist are leaving the trumpf party & many of those are supporting hillary..

[midcan5]

"I say it to you now, knowing full well that you will agree with me (that is, understand) only if you already agree with me." Stanley Fish

Few replies? Facts matter but only after they matter and only some of the time. It is so interesting a question on how people change, some do but rarely. I think when you live in a bubble you are only going to see the bubble, how do you see outside it. A few people I know think Fox is an honest player in news and even when the errors or oversights are noted it is still OK. Confirms Bill's point.

I want to return to the OP theme here on why Americans see a man of so little knowledge as a savior when his words are mere slogans. Now he is talking about less regulation, did he and his fans miss 2007 and 2008? Also thinking and changing, the white supremacist who changed because his daughter was not perfect is an example. This story is mentioned in 'Stanley Fish Justifying Belief'.

And here is a piece on thinking for the interested reader. https://aeon.co/essays/the-intellect...racy-theorists

White....

http://archive.jsonline.com/news/mil...128850773.html

'Justifying Belief: Stanley Fish and the Work of Rhetoric' Gary A. Olson

"The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for." Ludwig Wittgenstein

[Bill]

There was a great clip posted here a few days ago, I can't locate it but it essentially laid it out w/ many of his supporters-they really don't know, nor care what it is he says..

Some even mentioned the apprentice as being one of the reasons to support him..

I'm sure some hillary fans are just as clueless..

[midcan5]

There was a great clip posted here a few days ago, I can't locate it but it essentially laid it out w/ many of his supporters-they really don't know, nor care what it is he says..

Some even mentioned the apprentice as being one of the reasons to support him..

I'm sure some hillary fans are just as clueless..

I agree but I wouldn't say clueless but I'm clueless for a better word. My mother in law thought Trump strong and capable but then - it could have been her WWII husband, a purple heart soldier - something changed. Finally he went so far that she changed her mind. Amazing how many republicans are abandoning him.

This piece says lots about his fans: http://imgur.com/gallery/xDHOS


This may make you laugh or ?? (language warning)


A favorite writer on T voters. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...-trump-rallies

Conservatives too: http://www.theamericanconservative.c...-conservative/

Republicans: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/op...ald-trump.html

[Bill]

I agree but I wouldn't say clueless but I'm clueless for a better word. My mother in law thought Trump strong and capable but then - it could have been her WWII husband, a purple heart soldier - something changed. Finally he went so far that she changed her mind. Amazing how many republicans are abandoning him.

This piece says lots about his fans: http://imgur.com/gallery/xDHOS


This may make you laugh or ?? (language warning)


A favorite writer on T voters. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...-trump-rallies

Conservatives too: http://www.theamericanconservative.c...-conservative/

Republicans: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/op...ald-trump.html

LOL, good stuff.. Especially that cartoon & clip.LMAO!!

[midcan5]

It would seem judging by the Trump campaign that it is the white male who is the most emasculated American, Trump, Drudge, Hannity, and others don't discuss issues, instead they bring up Hillary's well being. They don't seem to realize that making up health reports for a woman candidate doesn't make them strong masculine men, it makes them petty men. If they need to pretend they are stronger in this manner it just shows how weak they really are. Lies make you strong? Since when.

[midcan5]

I want to return to this theme in another post, but as I have noted often Americans are the fault of America's decline - at least the decline for 'some' and an interesting take on the 'some' is below. Why do so many conservatives feel like they lost the battle?

From 'Hillbilly Elegy' page 191

"President Obama came on the scene right as so many people in my community began to believe that the modern American meritocracy was not built for them. We know we're not doing well. We see it every day: in the obituaries for teenage kids that conspicuously omit the cause of death (reading between the lines: overdose), in the deadbeats we watch our daughters waste their time with. Barack Obama strikes at the heart of our deepest insecurities. He is a good father while many of us aren't. He wears' suits to his job while we wear overalls, if we're lucky enough to have a job at all. His wife tells us that we shouldn't be feeding our children certain foods, and we hate her for it-not because we think she's wrong but because we know she's right.

Many try to blame the anger and cynicism of working-class whites on misinformation. Admittedly, there is an industry of conspiracy-mongers and fringe lunatics writing about all manner of idiocy, from Obamas alleged religious leanings to his ancestry.

But every major news organization, even the oft-maligned Fox News, has always told the truth about Obamas citizenship status and religious views. The people I know are well aware of what the major news organizations have to say about the issue; they simply don't believe them. Only 6 percent of American voters believe that the media is "very trustworthy.'?! To many of us, the free press-that bulwark of American democracy-is simply full of shit.

With little trust in the press, there's no check on the Internet conspiracy theories that rule the digital world. Barack Obama is a foreign alien actively trying to destroy our country. Everything the media tells us is a lie. Many in the white working class believe the worst about their society. Here's a small sample of emails or messages I've seen from friends or family:

- From right-wing radio talker Alex Jones on the ten year anniversary of 9/11, a documentary about the "unanswered question" of the terrorist attacks, suggesting that the U.S. government played a role in the massacre of its own people.

- From an email chain, a story that the Obamacare legislation requires microchip implantation in new health care patients. This story carries extra bite because of the religious implications: Many believe that the End Times "mark of the beast" foretold in biblical prophecy will be an electronic device. Multiple friends warned others about this threat via social media.

- From the popular website WorldNetDaily, an editorial suggesting that the Newtown gun massacre was engineered by the federal government to turn public opinion on gun control measures."

'Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis' by J. D. Vance

https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Ele...=books&ie=UTF8

[midcan5]

Food for thought, why does Trump have a following when he ain't one of them. Of course an assumption precedes this but I'll let you decide.

http://www.stirjournal.com/2016/04/0...p-trump-trump/

[midcan5]

Watching Trump's bizarre and ridiculous claim that millions voted illegally has demonstrated how emasculated the republican party is today. Both Pence and Ryan were unable to dispute Trump's nonsense in even a diplomatic way. White males in America have become so emasculated a woman president scared them so it was interesting to check out this women's tweets. Link below. Now that whites kowtow to the ridiculous preachings of their savior maybe women will now step forward and tell it like it is as the male of the species looks up to their hero.

http://news.groopspeak.com/a-woman-j...eering-her-on/

No nation was ever founded by conservatives, for in order to do so, you'd need to stop whining and do something other than gloat over Donnie.

[Bill]

Hopefully there's a few "good men" left in the GOP and they stop this monster before he gets rolling , starting w his Putin man crush....

[midcan5]

It is a curious irony how the right in America, especially after civil rights and a black president feel so weak and are so in need of comfort they believe every lie the Trump administration gives them. Trump is their savior, an empty, cowardly, insecure man leads them and they follow. There is a history lesson here but they fail to see it.

"In the words of Trump’s chief strategist Stephen Bannon, “They’re either a victim of race. They’re victim of their sexual preference. They’re a victim of gender. All about victimhood and the United States is the great oppressor, not the great liberator.”

While Donald Trump and his ilk claim that victimhood is exclusive to the coastal, “politically correct” elite, I find that feelings of victimhood are central to Trump’s appeal. Trump supporters believe that whites and Christians face discrimination while people of color reap the benefits of government largess. Far from being concerned about “facts, not feelings,” Trump supporters and the conservative movement have created a false narrative of victimhood that motivates their supporters."
http://www.salon.com/2017/02/12/trum...ata-proves-it/

[midcan5]

Seeing the republicans kowtow and grovel at the feet of a narcissistic bully made me think of this thread and how true it is.

For the reader: 'The Making of Donald Trump' by David Cay Johnston

"What Arendt shows in Origins is that movements are so dangerous and can be central elements of totalitarianism because they provide the psychological conditions for “total loyalty,” the kind of unquestioned loyalty Trump rightly understands himself to possess among his most faithful supporters. “Such loyalty,” she writes, “can be expected only from the completely isolated human being who, without any other social ties to family, friends, comrades, or even mere acquaintances, derives his sense of having a place in the world only from his belonging to a movement.”

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/...talitarianism/