Thread by @tzimmer_history

I RTed this thread by @mattsheffield yesterday because it contains crucial observations on conservative media.

However, I strongly disagree with the idea that Trump’s supporters are being "misled" and I don’t think "love can defeat hate" is a helpful motto. A few thoughts: 1/

https://twitter.com/mattsheffield/status/1324921774534844416

To begin with, there is very little empirical evidence for the assertion that Trump’s supporters are simply being deceived by conservative elites. 2/

Considering that the question of what’s animated millions of Americans to stick with Trump has received more media and academic attention than any other topic over the past few years, that’s significant. 3/

So why are so many people clinging to this idea? The answer, I believe, has a lot to do with the pervasive myth of white innocence that has been so foundational throughout America’s history. 4/

It’s noteworthy that regardless of how racist/racially discriminatory the concrete outcomes of policies they support, and how overtly racist the programs and candidates they support, it must never be assumed that white people were actually animated by racism/racial resentment. 5/

It must never be assumed that they knew exactly who and what they were supporting, that they rallied behind such policies because they were the beneficiaries of racial stratification and therefore wished to uphold this particular social order. 6/

Instead, we have to go look for innocent explanations, explanations that portray white Americans as fundamentally decent and ultimately blameless for the very outcomes they pushed. 7/

And so we are told they were driven by sheer desperation, economic anxiety, by circumstances outside their own control, or deceived by sinister forces. 8/

This is also where much of the attractiveness of the “Trump the political genius” narrative stems from. Empirically, the idea that millions of people have simply been overwhelmed by the seductive powers of Donald Trump is not persuasive. 9/

But: If Trump is indeed a political genius, then how could we blame the American people for making him president? The Trumpists might be fools; but mostly, they were unlucky to have encountered such a brilliant demagogue. 10/

It is revealing that this type of apologist tale is readily believed by people who did not vote for Trump, as the desire to self-exculpate is felt not only by those who have actively supported the wannabe-autocrat, but also by those who have failed to prevent his rise. 11/

And so (mostly white) Americans from a broad political spectrum - including “Never Trump” conservatives and liberal Democrats – are buying into the narrative of Trump’s political genius, as it helps to justify their impotence. 12/

And then there’s the idea that "love can defeat hate," which, in the concrete context of American politics, as @C_Stroop rightfully points out, sounds like a recipe for taking a pass on holding anyone accountable - in the name of "unity." 13/

https://twitter.com/C_Stroop/status/1325099237634289665?s=20

Moreover, this fails to acknowledge that there is real conflict, with real stakes. The two sides clash over what America is and should be: a white Christian nation, in which white Christian men are at the top, or a multi-racial democracy that abolishes patriarchal rule. 14/

That’s a real conflict, those are real stakes, there is real disagreement – not just a misunderstanding, something that can be solved by hugging it out. 15/

And while it might be true that some or many of Trump’s supporters feel disrespected, it’s weird to me to portray them as emotionally needy, like children who are throwing tantrums and just want to be cuddled. 16/

It is true that in a narrative in which conservative elites are misleading the people and Trump is a genius demagogue, Trump’s supporters are not stamped as "deplorables." But they are imagined as mere children following the Pied Piper. 17/

If we want to take them seriously as political actors, we need to acknowledge that most of them understand precisely who and what they were supporting – that their interests are aligned with the white grievance state Trump promised. 18/

Taking Trump’s supporters and enablers seriously shouldn’t just mean sanitizing their motivations – it means holding them responsible for the politicians and policies they choose to support. /end