There is no doubt that this post could piss some people off, however, I’m not writing it with the sole intent of making some people angry. Based on some personal experiences I’ve had over the last couple of days and based upon things I’ve read, I’m still just trying to understand how there can be so much support for a man who tried to foment a coup in this country.
I have had a couple of interactions on social media the last couple of days with people I know and who continue, in spite of zero credible evidence to the contrary, to believe that the election was ‘rigged’ and fraudulent. One individual cited ‘hundreds of affidavits’ signed by people alleging to have witnessed voter fraud. When I saw this response to something I had written, I was quite taken aback. And based upon the events of January 6th, there are obviously a lot of people who believe this same information. How can this be?
Even if these individuals choose not to believe anything that is broadcast by the ‘liberal media,’ one would assume that the fact that over 60 lawsuits have been withdrawn or thrown out of court for lack of evidence of voter fraud would carry some wait. Apparently not. And if these hundreds of affidavits have not yet been presented in court, then Trump must have the world’s worst legal team. Of course, it’s easy for anyone to sign an affidavit attesting to anything. I could sign an affidavit stating that my neighbor is keeping three Martians locked up in their basement. However, if I had to make that same statement in a court of law, under oath, with the penalties of perjury hanging over my head, I might be a little less willing to make that attestation. So, in my opinion, ‘hundreds of affidavits’ that have not been adjudicated in a court of law, are nothing more than propaganda. But the scary part is that there are millions of people out there who are believing this stuff.
The other thing that is troubling is the fact that, even after the riots in the Capitol took place on January 6th, more than 100 Republican members of the House of Representatives still voted to block the certification of the electoral votes from some states that Trump lost. It just blows my mind. And while I am still trying to understand all of this, I came across an article yesterday that had been written about why people support Donald Trump. It was quite interesting.
The study found, “Men and women who endorse “hegemonic masculinity” — an idealized form of manhood where White, heterosexual men have power, status and dominance over women, gay men, men with disabilities, racial or religious minorities and other groups — are more likely to be supporters for US President Donald Trump than those who don’t embrace dominant masculinity, according to new research.”1
“About half of seven studies, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found acceptance of a dominant male hierarchy predicted a positive evaluation of Trump over and above any sexist, racist or homophobic attitudes a voter might have.”1
After I read this article, I reflected back on the people I know and have interacted with, who are ardent Trump supporters and it seemed to make sense. I’m certainly not saying that this explains everything but it certainly provides some interesting food for thought.
In trying to make sense out of everything that is going on and the seemingly unfathomable divisions that have fractured this country, I’ve heard a number of people say things like, ‘this isn’t who we are as Americans.’ There was a time when I would have said something similar but now, I’m not so sure. I’m thinking that it could very well be that this is really what America has become.
Pressure on this fault line in America has been building for a long time. There is a large segment of the population that is simply uncomfortable with the changing demographics of this country and the fact that the white population will eventually become a minority. That’s just a fact. The non-white segment of the population is growing, winning offices in political races, and becoming senior executives in major corporations. Women are becoming more prominent at all levels of politics and in the board rooms. All of this is anathema to those whose comfort zone is a white-male dominated society.
I think what Trump has done over the last four years has simply ripped the scab off of this festering wound and exposed the raw ugliness underneath. I’m very concerned that the wound has been festering so long, that it will be very difficult to heal. In the past, when the wound ruptured a little, we (American society) would just put a clean bandage on it and move on down the road like everything was fine without addressing the underlying deep wound.
The rupture in American society did not just happen within the last four years. It has been building for a long time – many Americans just chose to ignore it. Trump poured salt in the wound, covered it with dirty bandages and finally just ripped off the dressings and the scab and exposed what was really there.
We as a society need to decide if we want to try to address the underlying issues of social justice, white supremacy, and economic disparity in an attempt to heal our country while recognizing and embracing the fact that American is changing. Or we can let the wound continue to fester and pretend that it doesn’t exist. It’s up to all of us to decide what kind of a country we want to live in. There are obviously those who would prefer to let this wound fester and deepen until gangrene sets in and amputation is the only solution. I would very much like to think that there is a way forward to heal this country, but given the events of the last few days, I’m afraid the wound may be too deep to recover from. I truly hope I’m wrong.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-capitol-hill-riot-kristallnacht-155259895.html