That multi-level marketing pitch, you might say.
Much of the propaganda directed at the "poor ones" by the elite stratum dogwhistles the message that "big government" transfers their money to the undeserving underclasses. Clever pollsters find time and again that if you untangle race from the questions, conservatives are a lot less hostile to social programs if they're assured that the help goes only to the "right" people. The rich reduce their taxes by making the "poor ones" resent government spending on the "wrong sort of people".
Those "poor ones" are the right wing authoritarians, of course, and rather than simply dismiss it as widespread racism, I think what's going on is more its mirror image, intense tribalism, one of the key traits of RWA. It's called nationalism when the tribe is the majority of a nation, and they have this bad habit of identifying themselves with the nation. That repeated plaintive desire to "take back my country" doesn't literally mean it's lost, yet, but to raise the alarm that the loss of privilege and status for white people is on the horizon. Time to panic! Build a wall!
Current Events » in reply to No, I think Robt has it sussed.
That's the Holy Duality of the Conservative Religion
The whole thread (45 posts)
- Terrorist attack in Oregon...
- In taking over a bird sanctuary...
- Colbert's take:
- "Why aren’t we calling the Oregon occupiers ‘terrorists?’"
- Navy SEALS know how to handle pirates
- That's just not smart.
- Bet you can't say "white right wing terrorists" three times real fast.
- Time to call in a drone strike.