kenberg, on 2021-May-24, 11:13, said:
Yes, but perhaps also part of the problem, part of the reason that the Ds have lost support among people I grew up with, is the underlying insinuation that my father has no right to be satisfied with his life, after all he is white male, or a White Male, and we all know that makes him the problem, not the solution.
This is not a dichotomy, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate" notwithstanding.
Absolutely he is part of the problem, as are you, me, Karen, John Scalzi, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.
That does not mean we are not, and especially that we can not be, part of the solution. That depends on whether he, or I, or you, or they, are willing to recognize the situation, acknowledge that however hard their life, or impressive their success was, it would have been that much harder, or that much less successful, if they weren't the acceptable colour for the job, or paid "to raise a family" instead of "for pin money", or had the right kind of "+1" for the social networking, or even "felt like they were the way they looked"; and *use* those advantages to change society so that it's a bit more fair for 2021 people. Or alternatively decide "I got mine; everything else (including the damage caused by "getting mine") is Not My Problem" and, in fact, remain solely not Part of The Solution. Absolutely his choice, and mine, and yours, and theirs. It's just now there are enough people willing to call us on it if we decide "wrong", and "how dare you talk to me like that" doesn't work (as well) any more.
Or even note that however hard it was for them, harder still it would be if their university education wasn't on the GI bill/400h at minimum wage instead of 3 000h, and a house was 7y/median starting salary instead of 30, and work to return America to *those* times, instead of just the "hide your gays/pregnant unmarried teens, and make sure the 'unworthy' can't vote or live in our areas."
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There has to be some reason that the Dems have lost so much support from the working class, and if there is any hope of partially recovering that support it could start by re-thinking through whether the loss of support could at least a little bit be due to how they are portrayed.
What "working class" are you talking about here? Surely it's not the massive proportion of "working class" and "small entrepreneurs" that happen to be Black (and vote Dem) or Latino (and vote Dem unless they still have their social conservative upbringing that trumps the damage the "social conservative party" does to them, or unless they're Cuban refugees) or Asian, or Queens natives? Or are you talking about the "working class" that the newspapers always find when they bring up this story - white, rural, farmer or trucker or owner of the diner that the farmers and truckers go to, in non-coastal states, and 75% male?
Do you see the power of the unmarked here? That when you think "working class" you think 1950s suburban white nuclear family, even though that isn't what working class means (any more, but it wasn't true in the 1950s either)? Note, so do I (I promise that even though I lived two blocks from "International Avenue" for five years, and currently winter in blanking México, the image in my head, until my rational brain pulls out the rolled-up newspaper, looks like me). And this happens all the time, and it's "normal" when you happen to fit the view of "unmarked", and "incongruous" when you don't. Hundreds of times a day as a viewer, hundreds of times a day as the object of view. And each time, it's just that tiny bit easier if you're "normal" rather than "oh really?"...
The question to ask is "should the Dems care about the newspaper's idea of 'working class'?" And yes, sure; but they should also work to ensure the newspapers also cover the real working class that does vote Dem so the next generation of voters don't automatically think the way you, and I, and your father do when they hear "working class family".
And that's really hard, because the media, "leftie" (centre-right, anywhere else in the world) or "rightie" (no comment) or anywhere in between, are run and owned by people who, if they have acknowledged that it's easier for them in the current world (and many of them won't, they "did it all by themselves", cheap education, first house cosigned/bought by parents (and not redlined into nonexistence), able to be with their love in public and all), are quite happy with the way the world works right now, and want it to continue.
When I go to sea, don't fear for me, Fear For The Storm -- Birdie and the Swansong (tSCoSI)