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Author Topic:   Why do poor whites vote republican?
coffee_addict
Member (Idle past 477 days)
Posts: 3645
From: Indianapolis, IN
Joined: 03-29-2004


Message 1 of 10 (867529)
11-27-2019 9:07 AM


My husband and I own a business. We invest in housing in poor whites area. Virtually everybody in these areas are very angry, super conservative, always talk very angrily about "moochers on food stamps and medicaid" even though they are all on them, and when it comes to billionaires like Trump they say they are so relatable to them.
Full disclosure. My husband and I were born poor. We grew up poor. My husband talks about when he was a kid there were times he had to go to bed hungry. My family and I back in the 3rd world country where we immigrated from had to eat rats sometimes to survive. We are both liberals. We worked very hard to get to where we are. So, to us someone like Warren is a lot more relatable than people like Trump who were born into very wealthy setting and inherited hundreds of millions, an business empire, and the family culture that foster success.
I just don't get it. Why do poor whites think someone like Trump has their best interest in mind? I stay away from politics and such topics when I meet these people, so I never say anything. They can't wait to tell me how Trump is "one of us" and all that.
Here is the thing about being born into a poor setting. Learned helplessness. The belief is you will never ever become wealthy and that you are destined to work for someone else for nickels and dimes the rest of your life. My husband and I have a business idea, and both our families have been vocally against it since day one. Heck, even now after we have proven that we can work for ourselves and make a profit, they still are telling us to go "get a real job".
On the other hand, growing up in a business oriented family one is expected to build a business with what one inherited. One doesn't just inherit wealth. One also inherit the ambition, the drive to succeed.
I would imagine these poor whites grew up more or less like how we grew up, always being told they have to work for somebody else making pennies for the rest of their lives.
So, why do they find someone like Trump so relatable and why do they hate a "community organizer" like Obama so much? I'm just dumbfounded about this

If you say the word "gullible" slowly, it sounds like oranges. Go ahead and try it.

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by frako, posted 11-27-2019 11:40 AM coffee_addict has not replied
 Message 5 by RAZD, posted 11-27-2019 1:38 PM coffee_addict has not replied
 Message 8 by Percy, posted 11-27-2019 2:23 PM coffee_addict has not replied
 Message 9 by AnswersInGenitals, posted 11-27-2019 5:04 PM coffee_addict has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 2 of 10 (867530)
11-27-2019 9:49 AM


Why did the poor white sharecroppers side with the Plantation Owners.
Why do poor white workers side with the Company rather than the Union?

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill StudiosMy Website: My Website

Replies to this message:
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coffee_addict
Member (Idle past 477 days)
Posts: 3645
From: Indianapolis, IN
Joined: 03-29-2004


Message 3 of 10 (867533)
11-27-2019 11:16 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by jar
11-27-2019 9:49 AM


Are you saying they see someone like Trump, someone who has never known a day of blue collar work, as the person that will bring them out of poverty?

If you say the word "gullible" slowly, it sounds like oranges. Go ahead and try it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by jar, posted 11-27-2019 9:49 AM jar has not replied

  
frako
Member (Idle past 306 days)
Posts: 2932
From: slovenija
Joined: 09-04-2010


(1)
Message 4 of 10 (867535)
11-27-2019 11:40 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by coffee_addict
11-27-2019 9:07 AM


Thats why

Christianity, One woman's lie about an affair that got seriously out of hand
What are the Christians gonna do to me ..... Forgive me, good luck with that.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by coffee_addict, posted 11-27-2019 9:07 AM coffee_addict has not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


(3)
Message 5 of 10 (867537)
11-27-2019 1:38 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by coffee_addict
11-27-2019 9:07 AM


Why do poor whites vote republican?
Because they're racist and see their white privilege being eroded by Democrats. They worry that the "browning of America" will mean they become lost in the mix.
Because they are raised that way.
Because Dumbty Trumpty is racist and encourages racism.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmericanZenDeist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by coffee_addict, posted 11-27-2019 9:07 AM coffee_addict has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by Theodoric, posted 11-27-2019 1:41 PM RAZD has replied

  
Theodoric
Member
Posts: 9076
From: Northwest, WI, USA
Joined: 08-15-2005
Member Rating: 3.7


Message 6 of 10 (867538)
11-27-2019 1:41 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by RAZD
11-27-2019 1:38 PM


I think you are correct in that it is that simple. Their churches tend to reinforce the racism, which feeds into their politics, which back feeds into their religion.

Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
"God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.
If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5 by RAZD, posted 11-27-2019 1:38 PM RAZD has replied

Replies to this message:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 7 of 10 (867539)
11-27-2019 2:07 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by Theodoric
11-27-2019 1:41 PM


... Their churches tend to reinforce the racism, ...
and authoritarianism.
and misogyny.
and xenophobia.
fear of change.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmericanZenDeist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.3


(2)
Message 8 of 10 (867543)
11-27-2019 2:23 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by coffee_addict
11-27-2019 9:07 AM


Lammy writes:
Why do poor whites think someone like Trump has their best interest in mind?
I think some of the answers are in a piece I cited a few weeks ago, Opinion | In the Land of Self-Defeat - The New York Times. Rural America believes Washington is spending money it shouldn't, even while simultaneously feeling overlooked and disrespected. They resent racial minorities on welfare and lazy urban professionals, people they think exist in substantial numbers and who they believe the government is spending substantial money upon.
This causes them to become determined to get rid of the institutions best situated for helping them. They want to keep migrants, government and people with educations out of their communities. In terms of local government they feel like there isn't enough money to go around, and that the only way to get things done is to do it yourself. Most of rural America is shrinking, and the hollowing out puts forces in motion that can't be stopped. It seems to cause people to retreat into themselves and encourages feelings of paranoia.
Trump is playing to these attitudes. His speeches and rallies appeal to the lowest common dominator, and also to xenophobia, racism and fear of government interference. Every state gets two senators no matter the population, and so rural America has an outsize influence on the federal government.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by coffee_addict, posted 11-27-2019 9:07 AM coffee_addict has not replied

  
AnswersInGenitals
Member (Idle past 151 days)
Posts: 673
Joined: 07-20-2006


(6)
Message 9 of 10 (867561)
11-27-2019 5:04 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by coffee_addict
11-27-2019 9:07 AM


The vast majority of people don’t first decide what they believe is right and what is good for them and then decide what political identity best suits those beliefs. The vast majority of people establish their identity, (political, religious, and otherwise) early in life through the influence (often indoctrination) of family, friends, and community, and then select their beliefs to fit that identity.
Also, the hardest thing for a person to do is to admit they are wrong about important things. The innate human response to evidence that one is wrong is to dig in ones heels and disregard, obfuscate that evidence, or even fantasize counter scenarios. Since this is a forum on evolution it is worth noting that there is good ‘survival of the fittest’ rational for such behavior: it assures cohesiveness of the tribal group and discourages defection that could weaken communal strength.
Note of full disclosure: The above description applies as well to me; my beliefs derive strongly from my parents and the community I was raised in and I can’t imagine any scenario that would change those beliefs.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by coffee_addict, posted 11-27-2019 9:07 AM coffee_addict has replied

Replies to this message:
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coffee_addict
Member (Idle past 477 days)
Posts: 3645
From: Indianapolis, IN
Joined: 03-29-2004


Message 10 of 10 (867562)
11-27-2019 7:01 PM
Reply to: Message 9 by AnswersInGenitals
11-27-2019 5:04 PM


My husband and I are black sheeps in our families. We are surrounded by effing religious conservatives and Trump supporters... And as far as we know we are the only gheys in our families.

If you say the word "gullible" slowly, it sounds like oranges. Go ahead and try it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by AnswersInGenitals, posted 11-27-2019 5:04 PM AnswersInGenitals has not replied

  
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