GOP slouches into the Crazy -IMMIGRATION | Trump Firehose of anti-immigrant posts and rhetoric

[SnoopRob]

You’re not going to find one factor that led to the rise of MAGA, but I don’t think we get to where we are today without the social isolation we experience as a country that was only exacerbated by Covid.

I think that a sorting of the country by geography, specialized interests, and media consumption has certainly been a key to the rise of MAGA as it has increasingly placed people in echo chambers where they largely only hear from those who are like them.

But I don't think that's the same as social isolation. It seems to me that it's not isolation that's the issue but that many folks no longer interact with a broad cross-section of people and instead only interact with people who are largely like themselves.

That's not to say that we don't have an issue with social isolation for a significant group of Americans. We likely do, but I don't see how it's a driver of MAGA beliefs.

 

[TarSpiel]

I think this issue of social isolation is due to the loss of free, public spaces where people in the community actually go and hang out. In a lot of rural communities, this was the church. It created social bonds and cohesiveness within a community.

The church filled the need of this space then. It doesn’t have to do the same now, but I think it’s clear the loss of these third places have been catastrophic. New spaces need to be developed to promote these same types of bonds, though with a greater focus inclusion than churches may have had. Democracy requires these types of institutions.

There has been one epochal, paradigm-shifting event in our times, and that was the development of the internet.

I think everything else, from the decline of lemonade stands to the commodification of county-fairs, takes a very significant back seat to how the internet has reshaped pretty much everything, including very basic aspects of communal activity and social and economic organization.

 

[SnoopRob]

There has been one epochal, paradigm-shifting event in our times, and that was the development of the internet.

I think everything else, from the decline of lemonade stands to the commodification of county-fairs, takes a very significant back seat to how the internet has reshaped pretty much everything, including very basic aspects of communal activity and social and economic organization.

This I very much agree with.

It is a "revolution" just as much as the Agricultural Revolution or the Industrial Revolution.

 

[finesse]

There has been one epochal, paradigm-shifting event in our times, and that was the development of the internet.

I think everything else, from the decline of lemonade stands to the commodification of county-fairs, takes a very significant back seat to how the internet has reshaped pretty much everything, including very basic aspects of communal activity and social and economic organization.

I'd argue that automation and computerization did a huge amount to create the social and economic unrest that the internet feeds on. You can see a lot of parallels with the social disruptions of the Industrial Revolution and its impact on everything from sewing to sailing. This one is probably larger and more wide ranging, locally, nationally and worldwide.

 

[Zoo_View]

Even more confusing - there's a California University of Pennsylvania.

There’s also an Indiana University of Pennsylvania, located in Indiana, PA.

California University of Pennsylvania is now Pennsylvania Western University.

 

[nycfan]

Charleroi, there's a name I haven't heard in a hot minute. I grew up about 10 miles away in California PA.

EDIT: For anyone wondering, it's pronounced "shall-AH-roy", at least by the locals.

Thanks! I WAS wondering that. I wonder if the Haitian immigrants use a French pronunciation…

 

[TarSpiel]

There's a Nazareth, PA, too.

What the hell is PA doing with all their place names?

 

[SnoopRob]

I think that is social isolation. As TarSpiel said above, the internet changed everything. People can exist within an entirely curated information bubble. If they’re not interacting with people in real life in a meaningful way, then they are socially isolated. I think the social isolation and the ideological sorting you describe go hand in hand.

Like I said, there is no one factor that led to MAGA. Other than capitalism maybe.

I disagree that sorting is the same as isolation. Meeting multiple times per week with a variety of folks isn't isolation, but it's an ideological echo chamber if roughly everyone you meet with is largely like you in demographics, economic status, and belief system.

While there is no one factor that led to MAGA, there are certainly main drivers. I am struggling to see how social isolation led to MAGA (and that lack of social isolation is what led other folks to reject MAGA).

Instead, I would say that a sense of collective narcissism by those who were in traditional American society the "haves" (white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, Christian, etc) has been a main driver of MAGA as those folks, faced with an increasingly multicultural society, have undertaken increasingly extreme actions to avoid relinquishing their prioritized place in American society. To me, it is one of the best answers I've found to the question of, "Why can't MAGA simply live their lives and allow others to live theirs?" Or, more specifically to this thread, why should folks in NC, Arizona, or Wisconsin be so overwhelmingly concerned with the impacts of immigration on a small city in Ohio?

 

[heelinhell]

You’re not going to find one factor that led to the rise of MAGA, but I don’t think we get to where we are today without the social isolation we experience as a country that was only exacerbated by Covid.

I think we can learn a lot about the phoenix- like rise of MAGA if we examine its roots in the late 60s when the country was in turmoil caused by the civil rights victories, the women's movement, and the Viet Nam War.

George Wallace led the reactionaries, that are today's MAGAs, and carried 5 states and garnered 14% of the vote in 1968. He was a 3rd party candidate. He had no backing of a major political party or a propaganda right wing media machine promoting his candidacy.

Imagine Trump today running as a 3rd party candidate without support from a right wing media propaganda machine. Would he do any better than Wallace did in 1968 ?

MAGA has always been with us

Everything old is new again...but on steroids

 

[ZenMode]

Cringe worthy

Trump-endorsed candidate points to groin and says 'women need to get this under control'

Mark Robinson is being slammed for a newly unearthed video of himself.
A 2022 video has resurfaced showing North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) deriding the notion of providing birth control to young women, gesturing towards his groin area and stating they need to "get this under control."

In a speech at Hilltop Baptist Church in Thomasville, North Carolina, in January 2022, Robinson, who is now running for governor as the GOP candidate, also targeted programs that offer sexual education and contraception to young women.

Robinson, a North Carolina Republican known for his controversial sexist, homophobic comments, and conspiracy theories, has fashioned his political persona after Donald Trump, who backed his campaign in March.

Trump-endorsed candidate points to groin and says women need to 'control' it

Mark Robinson is a North Carolina Republican known for his controversial sexist, homophobic comments, and conspiracy theories.

www.the-express.com

 

[SnoopRob]

There's a Nazareth, PA, too.

What the hell is PA doing with all their place names?

The use of European or biblical names for cities/towns in the eastern US doesn't really surprise me as folks tend to name things after places they already know.

But California, PA is a little surprising as it brings a west coast name back to the eastern US. Wikipedia provided this little bit of knowledge: "When founded in 1849, the town was named California, though Columbia and Sagamore were names that were also suggested for the new town. The town's founding coincided with the California Gold Rush and the town was named after the state to symbolize growth and prosperity."

 

[Carolina Fever]

You’re not going to find one factor that led to the rise of MAGA, but I don’t think we get to where we are today without the social isolation we experience as a country that was only exacerbated by Covid.

It's all based in racism, bigotry and Christian nationalism. We already had people like this, but they went crazy after a man of color was elected twice, the gay and trans community starting getting the same rights and treated like everyone else, and the rise of the diversity and inclusion movement. Trump is their savior to being back the country they want only for straight, white Christian nationalists. They can't handle anything different outside their bubble. They are afraid of losing their advantage in society of just being a straight, white Christian. They don't care that Trump is a narcissistic sociopath. That's actually a plus to them because someone like that could give them the fascist nation they want as long as they worship him.

 

[theel4life]

 

[SnoopRob]

Okay, I see what you’re saying. I think it comes down to the fact that there are multiple drivers of this ideology because I agree with what you’re saying.

Any societal movement has a lot of inputs and there's really no way to narrow it down to just one.

But I find that obvious truth to be inconvenient, so I'm ignoring it in favor of thinking that collective narcissism is the main issue. I have no real clue if I'm right, but I like my theory so I'm holding on to it.

 

[quakerdevil]

Any other history buffs recognize this propaganda? Still deny the comparisons exist?

 

[Patb78]

Any other history buffs recognize this propaganda? Still deny the comparisons exist?

Those do look like Nazi posters about the Jews.

 

[Ddseddse]

Just got done reading Rick Perlstein’s book on Barry Goldwater a few months back. 100% these ideas have always been with us. The job of conservatives is to repackage arguments that they’ve been using since the French Revolution. Their job is to make economic privilege popular in an ostensibly democratic system.

I'm halfway through it... and have been for going on two years now... just got so damn depressing seeing the same story repeated again in real time that you're reading about from the past century. I'm convinced one day I'm going to finish it... One day...

 

[farce©]

Who could have predicted this way back on page 22? So he's sending in troopers rather than calling up the Guard, but still.....

I would not be surprised if DeWine brings in the National Guard to protect the schools and municipal buildings in Springfield. These GOP folks talk about Springfield like it is some isolated West Virginia downtrodden community. It is a suburb of Dayton (30 minute drive) and is 45 minutes west of Columbus. The Haitians are in Springfield because jobs were available, jobs the locals weren't interested in. The employers in town are happy to have them. They are in the country legally and are working (and paying taxes) legally.

 

[4thgenheel]

Those do look like Nazi posters about the Jews.

those are nazi posters. vance didn't actually post them, they're just superimposed below his words for comparison's sake.

 

[hedge]

There's a Nazareth, PA, too.

I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead.. (and yes, Nazareth PA is the town referred to in that lyric)...