On the subject of Trumpy moments, the one that still burns in my chest like an undigested lump of gristle is Christine Blasey Ford testifying at Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing. I can still bring tears of frustration & fury to my eyes thinking about it.

More than any other episode, that one reinforced to me that the right & I are literally experiencing different worlds. The differences are way deeper than ideology or policy -- gut-level, brain-stem deep.

I've never really written about it because even now I feel like I lack the words. It's just, I know that guy, Kavanaugh. I've known guys like that my whole life. Blithe & entitled, winy & aggrieved, outraged at the very thought of accountability. "I like beer & chicks, hur hur."

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David Roberts

@drvolts

19 Jan

Coal miners do not vote based on a rational assessment of their personal material best interests any more than other voters do. They are immersed in a deep culture war just like everyone else. "If you do the math, our bailout plan is better for you" is just so naive.

I always get yelled at when I say this, but I feel masochistic today, so:

I obviously see the *political* point of concentrating resources on coal communities to help them transition. But as a pure political or moral matter, why should those communities matter *more* ...

... than any number of other communities or professions that are disrupted by the evolution of the economy? Capitalism brings "creative destruction." ALL vulnerable people deserve some protection from it. Why coal communities *in particular*?

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David Roberts

@drvolts

19 Jan

You've really got to read the 1776 report, not just summaries. The writing is so much worse than you think. It's like some twisted kind of performance art: how many plodding, pedestrian, ham-handed cliches can you pile atop one another? whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…

The authoritarian mind is so plain, so utterly without aesthetic spark. It's not funny, or curious, or empathetic, or piercing. It is utterly blind to irony & contingency. There's a reason anyone who creates anything-- writers, artists, scholars, entrepreneurs --is a Dem now.

Fascists aren't funny.

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David Roberts

@drvolts

18 Jan

Over the last 5 years, I have walked hundreds of miles with my dogs. In the process, I've become something of an anthropologist, studying the habits of humans out walking. One observation: people really don't know how to be passed gracefully. Human nature? Bad socialization? 🤷‍♂️

My dogs & I walk very fast, so we're constantly passing people. It tends to be a little awkward -- you're going the same direction, maybe you both have curious dogs, you're not sure whether to say some kind of greeting, it seems to take forever. No one really likes it.

Given that no one likes it, you'd think people would take some obvious steps to minimize it. Instead, people quite often behave in such a way as to *maximize* it. They look over their shoulder, get nervous, speed up, & just make the whole thing take longer.

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David Roberts

@drvolts

17 Jan

https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1350890475323060225

Good thread. I don't think we really reckon enough with the fact -- as supported by the vast bulk of the research -- that "deprogramming" cult members is a labor-intensive, individualized affair. There's just no way to do it at scale.

https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1350890475323060225

That means we've basically lost a generation of older white Americans, to say nothing of the younger people (especially suburban women) being pulled into this shit today. Some individuals can be saved, but there's no lever we can pull to bring them all back. They're mostly gone.

Two big implications: one, we'll be dealing with these folks & their distorting effects on politics for the rest of our lives. This is not a "solve" thing, it's a "manage" thing. Second, the top imperative must be cutting off the production of new cultists.

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