Thread by @frodofied

What I know for sure: Every person who has decided to vote for Trump knows EXACTLY who he is and what they are voting for, period.

At best they're voting for a hypocritical and opportunistic liar and charlatan who has triggered a foul and dangerous kind of partisanship.

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But we know that the best case scenario is not really what's going on here.

Because the only thing truly different with Trump from most of the GOP is his very public embrace of some of the worst elements of the alt-right (white supremacy) and his refusal to disavow it, ever.

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Whether consciously or not the evidence is pretty strong that despite the fact that Trump's actions, words, and policies do great harm to large sections of his base, they continue to be enamored out of what appears a sense of gratitude.

But for what? And why?

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Well,I believe the answer to the is both obvious and deeply embedded into this nation's storied history.

Ultimately, their loyalty stems from a perverse loyalty borne of, again, a perverse sense of gratitude for validating and giving voice to their own latent racism.

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While racism has always been at the very center of a great many of this country's internal and external cultural struggles, it had been tampered down and nearly filtered away from public discourse; certainly outward displays of blatant racism had become socially problematic.

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Despite the obvious racial tensions that grew up around Rodney King's beating and the OJ Simpson trial many whites, particularly suburban whites, educated, had fooled themselves into believing that their own racism had been exorcized and so too, largely, had the nation's.

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And outwardly they could point to all kinds of evidence that seemed to be telling them that they were right. People of color were on their TV, and some even lived in their neighborhoods, and hadn't the Supreme Court virtually said as much when it gutted the Voting Rights Act?

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And then the election of Barack Obama caused a whole lot of white people to lose their fucking minds. Formerly reasonable people started latching onto conspiracy theories some of which Trump himself personally promoted.

They even turned his name against him.

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Trump's personal hatred of Obama is real, demented, and has been responsible for many of the worst things Trump has done since stealing the presidency. That includes this administration's constant attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Obama and Hillary Clinton own his head.

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And, in the end, it's Trump's personal crusade against Obama that's largely responsible for where he is today.

He validated that whole '"I can't put my finger on it" crowd. You know who I mean.

They were everywhere. And Trump and the entire GOP understood these people.

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The white people who would say things like "I don't know what it is about him. I just can't put my finger on it."

"REALLY?" I wanted to scream at them so often. "Because I know exactly what it is about him."

Not an ounce of self awareness.

Not one.

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Trump gave these people permission to feel and say all of it. They had always been there and more numerous than probably most of us thought.

And so they are grateful to beyond telling for his gift.

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He told them they were not racists, they were right. And that the mistrust they had for Obama could and should be extended to all POC, and Muslims.

They were right, and they needn't be ashamed.

The significance of this moment cannot be overstated.

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And so many have come out of the dark and into the light and now we can see them.

The emperor has no clothes.

Their hitches are now attached to Trump's. Their loyalty some weird combination of gratitude and desperation.

They can not unsay or undo the past four years.

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