Opinion of the "economic anxiety" meme

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Horrible Meme, and for reasons that have nothing to do with trying to understand Trump voters or sympathy for them.

First of all, "economic anxiety" was what some media outlets used to describe why voters flipped from Obama to Trump. Not to explain every single Trump voter, or openly racist/sexist deplorable scum. I don't entirely agree with it and think it's an overtly broad overgeneralization, but it's important to understand what it meant.

Second, it's long been beaten into the ground, lacks any humor if ever had any in the first place, and is a long dead horse as Tony noted.

Thirdly, I think it kind of cheapens such deplorable behavior. I mean think about the racist hate crimes from that one woman that was just mentioned. To use them to take a cheap shot at some media dopes is kind of low. After that disaster in Charlottesville, all the "LOL JUST A LOT OF ECONOMIC ANXIETY AMIRITE?" takes actually if anything kind of cheapened and toned down the horror of it all.

Yeah it's really lame at this point and does kind of need to die.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

funnier than anything OP has ever posted

[Dr. MB]

Well past its stay. Sorry, IceSpear.

[Sumner 1868]

It'll die naturally when the next recession hits.

[IceSpear]

Actually, a lot of the media and pundits refuse to admit racism, bigotry, etc. is a factor at all in American politics. Or they act like it is confined to some tiny 0.1% subsection. So they invite the criticism with their delusion.

Remember "basket of deplorables"? Why was Hillary pilloried by the media for saying a portion of Trump's supporters were racist, sexist, etc.? This was/is objectively true. Notice all the condemnation for her remark did not spring from quibbling over the percentage she assigned (ex: Of course some Trump supporters are deplorable, but not 50%!) but instead denouncing her for daring to criticize ANY Trump supporters, because they were all patriotic citizens who loved America and didn't have a racist bone in their body!

[Beet]

It's lame because it sets up a false dichotomy that Trump voters either supported him because of economic anxiety, or because of bigotry. Neither one is fully accurate.

We support Trump because in the last 50 years there has been a collapse of confidence in American institutions. Thanks to neoliberalism they have all become captured by moneyed special interests. None of them look out for the average person any more. Trump is a guy who says what he thinks. The proof of that is when the whole mainstream media, (which is opposition media at this point), and establishment are so outraged at what he says yet he doubles down. Even if we don't agree with what he says, just having someone up there who says what he thinks is refreshing. There is no one else who does that. Anything is better than the "swamp", an American government that does not care about Americans, and only cares about their moneyed special interests or fellow establishment elite echo chamber. These people call Trump voters "deplorables" for resenting their corruption and wanting a government that does not hold them in contempt.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Actually, a lot of the media and pundits refuse to admit racism, bigotry, etc. is a factor at all in American politics. Or they act like it is confined to some tiny 0.1% subsection. So they invite the criticism with their delusion.

Remember "basket of deplorables"? Why was Hillary pilloried by the media for saying a portion of Trump's supporters were racist, sexist, etc.? This was/is objectively true. Notice all the condemnation for her remark did not spring from quibbling over the percentage she assigned (ex: Of course some Trump supporters are deplorable, but not 50%!) but instead denouncing her for daring to criticize ANY Trump supporters, because they were all patriotic citizens who loved America and didn't have a racist bone in their body!

Yep. Remember all these NYT fluff pieces at Kentucky diners about Trump voters?
They were the ones using "economic anxiety" ad nauseum to explain away everything racist, sexist, dumb thing these voters would tell. So maybe instead of wagging your finger at us BRTD you should have a talk with Dean Baquet.

[Associate Justice PiT]

It's lame because it sets up a false dichotomy that Trump voters either supported him because of economic anxiety, or because of bigotry. Neither one is fully accurate.

     People like to boil down complex political trends to sound bites and talking points. There are many different reasons why someone would be motivated to vote for Trump, and these reasons interplay in a variety of fashions. Using "economic anxiety" as a strawman to ridicule real explanations for movement in the Rust Belt when other Trump supporters engage in racist behavior is at best a poor attempt at humor and at worst intellectually dishonest.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I don't say this often but... BRTD is absolutely, 100% right.

[RINO Tom]

Unproductive.

[Fight for Trump]

I'm economically anxious.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Actually, a lot of the media and pundits refuse to admit racism, bigotry, etc. is a factor at all in American politics. Or they act like it is confined to some tiny 0.1% subsection. So they invite the criticism with their delusion.

Remember "basket of deplorables"? Why was Hillary pilloried by the media for saying a portion of Trump's supporters were racist, sexist, etc.? This was/is objectively true. Notice all the condemnation for her remark did not spring from quibbling over the percentage she assigned (ex: Of course some Trump supporters are deplorable, but not 50%!) but instead denouncing her for daring to criticize ANY Trump supporters, because they were all patriotic citizens who loved America and didn't have a racist bone in their body!

Yep. Remember all these NYT fluff pieces at Kentucky diners about Trump voters?
They were the ones using "economic anxiety" ad nauseum to explain away everything racist, sexist, dumb thing these voters would tell. So maybe instead of wagging your finger at us BRTD you should have a talk with Dean Baquet.

Example?

Even if that did happen in one of those stupid puff pieces, it doesn't make this false:

The only time I ever see this stupid meme brought up here it's by people like you and px who link it to racism and sexism out of the blue. At worst you've made up an imaginary enemy, at best you're beating a long-dead horse.

I have literally never seen someone here try to argue that Trump supporters are fundamentally good people and only say/do horrible things because of "economic anxiety". If some moron at the New York Times did, well yeah, he's a moron. Do we need to mock that and keep beating a dead horse on such a regular basis?

[YE]

I don't say this often but... BRTD is absolutely, 100% right.

[RINO Tom]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

LOL, this was a very good comeback, gotta say.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That's a great point, and I think a great exampls of why misuse if the term "alt-right" to just apply to any Trump supporter is quite unhealthy.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

That's a great point, and I think a great exampls of why misuse if the term "alt-right" to just apply to any Trump supporter is quite unhealthy.

Indeed. When “fascism” simply becomes the police status quo or immigration restrictions, one might ask “what’s wrong with fascism?” This has literally already occurred with socialism, for better or worse.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

That's a great point, and I think a great exampls of why misuse if the term "alt-right" to just apply to any Trump supporter is quite unhealthy.

Indeed. When “fascism” simply becomes the police status quo or immigration restrictions, one might ask “what’s wrong with fascism?” This has literally already occurred with socialism, for better or worse.

I've literally said, in real conversation with my pussy-hatter aunt, that if Trump is a fascist than I guess I'm a fascist too...when employed in friendly debate with someone I like, it usually causes them to dance around calling me a fascist. It deflates their arguments successfully.

Of course it'd be downright dangerous to say that on campus while debating a stranger.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

That's a great point, and I think a great exampls of why misuse if the term "alt-right" to just apply to any Trump supporter is quite unhealthy.

Indeed. When “fascism” simply becomes the police status quo or immigration restrictions, one might ask “what’s wrong with fascism?” This has literally already occurred with socialism, for better or worse.

I've literally said, in real conversation with my pussy-hatter aunt, that if Trump is a fascist than I guess I'm a fascist too...when employed in friendly debate with someone I like, it usually causes them to dance around calling me a fascist. It deflates their arguments successfully.

Of course it'd be downright dangerous to say that on campus while debating a stranger.

It’s 2018. Ideologies, like other labels, can be adopted and discarded at whim, and it’s really upsetting when people don’t realize this.

I was actually once asked at a friendly game of Magic: The Gathering (I was reading out a quote from a book I’d borrowed from a friend of a friend—the description of a German-born tennis coach in “Infinite Jest”) and said friend of a friend asked if I was a fascist (not with any vitriol) and I said, “no, I just believe in community involvement,” which he took as a joke synonym for fascism, which I think is slightly funny and should become a dog whistle of sorts.

[IceSpear]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Actually, I recall quite a lot of the criticism of his remark being centered around the statistical inaccuracy of his claim. Him drawing a straight correlation between the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax and the 47% of Americans who will vote Democrat no matter what, which was obviously false considering there are millions of poor Republicans and millions of wealthy Democrats. Granted, you are right that a lot of the condemnation was about elitism/general arrogance as well. But I don't see how you can think criticizing people for being poor is on the same level as criticizing racist/sexist/bigoted deplorables.

Regardless, it can also easily be explained by the media being in the tank for Obama but despising Hillary.

[OSR stands with Israel]

In many ways Trump used much of what Obama and the Democrats used against Romney in 2012 against them.


In 2012 Obama and the Democrats accused Romney of being

- a cold technocratic elitist who doesnt care about the working class
- someone who cares more about Free Trade than American Jobs and if elected would outsource all your jobs

[Crumpets]

Good when used properly (to point out the disproportionate wealth of most run-of-the-mill Republicans) but often misused for general smugness by people who are themselves disproportionately wealthy.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

funnier than anything OP has ever posted

[RINO Tom]

There would be no economic anxiety today if Michael Dukakis had won another 159 electoral votes in 1988.

Ugh, so close!!!!

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Actually, a lot of the media and pundits refuse to admit racism, bigotry, etc. is a factor at all in American politics. Or they act like it is confined to some tiny 0.1% subsection. So they invite the criticism with their delusion.

Remember "basket of deplorables"? Why was Hillary pilloried by the media for saying a portion of Trump's supporters were racist, sexist, etc.? This was/is objectively true. Notice all the condemnation for her remark did not spring from quibbling over the percentage she assigned (ex: Of course some Trump supporters are deplorable, but not 50%!) but instead denouncing her for daring to criticize ANY Trump supporters, because they were all patriotic citizens who loved America and didn't have a racist bone in their body!

Yep. Remember all these NYT fluff pieces at Kentucky diners about Trump voters?
They were the ones using "economic anxiety" ad nauseum to explain away everything racist, sexist, dumb thing these voters would tell. So maybe instead of wagging your finger at us BRTD you should have a talk with Dean Baquet.

If Dean Baquet was a poster on Atlas this post might make am ounce of sense.

As he is not its about as much of a non-sequitur as your average px post.