I learned a lot from this article Stephen, thank you for writing it. I’m a 74-year-old white woman and of course I’m devastated by the results of this election. I think so much of the demographic of men, 18 to 30 year olds, I should say white men, are going to be out of reach of the Democratic Party because they fear the coming population diversity by 2045. This nation will become “minority white” in 2045. During that year, whites will comprise 49.7 percent of the population in contrast to 24.6 percent for Hispanics, 13.1 percent for blacks, 7.9 percent for Asians, and 3.8 percent for multiracial populations.
White people do not give up their place at the top, they never have in history, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I don’t know what the messaging should be because this country is racist amongst white people, and racism is what this fight is about because white men are losing their domination. And it’s amazing to me how much the population will be Hispanic, which I feel white people have a virulent hatred for Hispanic people, and they lump them together, with a contemptuous voice calling them “Mexican”. And the sound of the word sounds just like white people using the N-word when they talk about Black folks. It’s full of contempt, racism, and hatred. I wish I felt different about this, but the evidence is just to in my face. I don’t know what the future holds for the Democratic Party but if Trump and the Republicans have their way, there’s never gonna be any kind of fair voting again anyway.
I'm a 72 year old white woman and I agree with you about racism. I'd also like to add that these men also live in misogyny and the patriarchy (which exist across racial identities), and electing a woman as President was not an option for them. Young women are more liberal than young men and they've learned to say "no" to misogyny and the patriarchy as much as possible. Many of them no longer see their world as limited to what men want from them, and they certainly don't want male domination and control. More young people are leaving organized religions where most of them are male dominated and preach a world where women are second tier. Women are marrying later in life and postpone having children, or simply don't have children. There are more women who apply to college and graduate from college. More women are getting graduate degrees, including PhDs. Women are the majority in many disciplines (not just education and nursing) including previously male dominated disciplines, and are making inroads into disciplines such as computer sciences and STEM fields. As a whole, women live longer than men. The majority of divorced women don't remarry. Women's professional sports, especially soccer and basketball, are getting a lot of attention now. Women are prominent in all the professions and many women, myself include, request a female physician when possible. Girls mature faster than boys and it shows. Besides being edged out by "minorities", men are also being edged out by women and they like that even less. They attack trans women because they can't comprehend why a "man" would want to be a "woman", and they hate them for it. They don't seem as bothered by trans men although they do attack all trans people. Too many men are messed up when it comes to anything sexual - sexual identity, gender, they rape, they're pedophiles, they commit domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment and discrimination, and they can't discern from fantasy (pornography) and reality. If I see another article about the poor, misunderstood, young men I may have to puke. Is it our job to "understand" them, or is it their job to get their act together and evolve. We can help them get their act together but you can't do this for someone who accepts no responsibility and who refuses to change. You can't do this when the majority of "good men" stay silent, ignore it and refuse to do anything about it. Societal change is difficult and it takes time, but it does come.
It is a truism that most politicians are elastic with the truth. Trump lowers that already-ankle high bar with his incessant misinformation and blatant lies. This man is not just a felon - and an acclaimed sexual predator - but a proven fraudster. That MAGA world can’t see that is a fine example of mass hysteria/cult obeisance. Abandon all hope …
The Democrats need to get out and engage in the community between election cycles. We will never have a machine like the right does and trying to create one on the fly is a fools errand. When Dems don’t do anything but ask people for money every couple of years without actually being IN the community, nobody knows what we stand for. Whether this is setting up afterschool programs, summer day camp programs, community game nights, potlucks, whatever… we need to actually meet people where they are IRL and stop relying on social and traditional media to get our message out. It is obviously not working. There are Democratic committees in every town/county/state in this country. Every person is represented by a state rep or 2, a national representative and 2 senators. Every one of these people/groups has the capability to reach their constituents. Sending an email once a month with a donate button at the bottom is not an effective way to do politics. And if the corporate overlords win control of the party next year when Harrison steps down, I think we seriously need to consider coalescing around a more progressive set of policies and leaving the Democrats behind. I mean, Rahm Emanuel? Are these people fucking serious?
Are we so desperate to be acknowledged that we will listen - and accept - the nonsense of any influencer? MAGA whines but offers no solutions. Sure is pretty, though.
Been discussing this with friends. I feel that one option is to have an alternate Democratic platform like X and like Tiktok, like YouTube, that gets these groups exposed to more factual information but also attracts them. That is one thing the democratic party should be working on, and in tandem with other Democratic parties in the world. It should be a multilingual platform. I hear a lot of people are switching from Twitter to Blue Sky Social.
Portnoy voted Biden in 2020, and made a big video attacking Republicans as abortion extremists who are taking America backwards. I mention this because one way the left loses is by being exclusionary, and if we're regarding a Biden 2020 voter as hardcore MAGA, we're writing off over half the country.
No, I don’t mean to suggest he’s hardcore MAGA. Rogan isn’t either, as he was pro Sanders in the past. I think they are both unapologetically open about their center right, anti-establishment political beliefs.
OK. I understood "rightwing cultural influencer" to be putting them in with guys like Dan Bongino and Mike Cernovich, but I understand now how you meant it differently.
The Media and Democracy Project is having an event on this topic next week.
How media moguls abuse their power, manipulate the truth and distort democracy
Nov. 20 at 8pm ET on Zoom
Eric Beecher. Journalist and editor. We discuss his powerful new book "The Men Who Killed The News". The inside story of how Media Moguls (such as Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, William Randolph Hearst) abused their power, manipulated truth and distorted Democracy.
This is painful to read, and to realize. We were so hopeful. It looks like a formidable road ahead to get messages through massively. But it will really be the consequences of this election, as it gets down to these voters that might open eyes. It's very hard to change such imbedded misinformation and the emotions that attach to it. That these voters take us with them will keep us in pain enough to be vocal and move on it. "We can do this" is what Kamala first said and it has stuck with me. I wonder if she realized what she was up against. She can stay out there, not quiet her voice. .. after a good vacation. It's going to be very painful for Harris in her role as President of the Senate to pass the torch to *this*. Vance will take over her role. Pinch me.
I learned a lot from this article Stephen, thank you for writing it. I’m a 74-year-old white woman and of course I’m devastated by the results of this election. I think so much of the demographic of men, 18 to 30 year olds, I should say white men, are going to be out of reach of the Democratic Party because they fear the coming population diversity by 2045. This nation will become “minority white” in 2045. During that year, whites will comprise 49.7 percent of the population in contrast to 24.6 percent for Hispanics, 13.1 percent for blacks, 7.9 percent for Asians, and 3.8 percent for multiracial populations.
White people do not give up their place at the top, they never have in history, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I don’t know what the messaging should be because this country is racist amongst white people, and racism is what this fight is about because white men are losing their domination. And it’s amazing to me how much the population will be Hispanic, which I feel white people have a virulent hatred for Hispanic people, and they lump them together, with a contemptuous voice calling them “Mexican”. And the sound of the word sounds just like white people using the N-word when they talk about Black folks. It’s full of contempt, racism, and hatred. I wish I felt different about this, but the evidence is just to in my face. I don’t know what the future holds for the Democratic Party but if Trump and the Republicans have their way, there’s never gonna be any kind of fair voting again anyway.
I'm a 72 year old white woman and I agree with you about racism. I'd also like to add that these men also live in misogyny and the patriarchy (which exist across racial identities), and electing a woman as President was not an option for them. Young women are more liberal than young men and they've learned to say "no" to misogyny and the patriarchy as much as possible. Many of them no longer see their world as limited to what men want from them, and they certainly don't want male domination and control. More young people are leaving organized religions where most of them are male dominated and preach a world where women are second tier. Women are marrying later in life and postpone having children, or simply don't have children. There are more women who apply to college and graduate from college. More women are getting graduate degrees, including PhDs. Women are the majority in many disciplines (not just education and nursing) including previously male dominated disciplines, and are making inroads into disciplines such as computer sciences and STEM fields. As a whole, women live longer than men. The majority of divorced women don't remarry. Women's professional sports, especially soccer and basketball, are getting a lot of attention now. Women are prominent in all the professions and many women, myself include, request a female physician when possible. Girls mature faster than boys and it shows. Besides being edged out by "minorities", men are also being edged out by women and they like that even less. They attack trans women because they can't comprehend why a "man" would want to be a "woman", and they hate them for it. They don't seem as bothered by trans men although they do attack all trans people. Too many men are messed up when it comes to anything sexual - sexual identity, gender, they rape, they're pedophiles, they commit domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment and discrimination, and they can't discern from fantasy (pornography) and reality. If I see another article about the poor, misunderstood, young men I may have to puke. Is it our job to "understand" them, or is it their job to get their act together and evolve. We can help them get their act together but you can't do this for someone who accepts no responsibility and who refuses to change. You can't do this when the majority of "good men" stay silent, ignore it and refuse to do anything about it. Societal change is difficult and it takes time, but it does come.
I agree with you, 100%.
It is a truism that most politicians are elastic with the truth. Trump lowers that already-ankle high bar with his incessant misinformation and blatant lies. This man is not just a felon - and an acclaimed sexual predator - but a proven fraudster. That MAGA world can’t see that is a fine example of mass hysteria/cult obeisance. Abandon all hope …
The Democrats need to get out and engage in the community between election cycles. We will never have a machine like the right does and trying to create one on the fly is a fools errand. When Dems don’t do anything but ask people for money every couple of years without actually being IN the community, nobody knows what we stand for. Whether this is setting up afterschool programs, summer day camp programs, community game nights, potlucks, whatever… we need to actually meet people where they are IRL and stop relying on social and traditional media to get our message out. It is obviously not working. There are Democratic committees in every town/county/state in this country. Every person is represented by a state rep or 2, a national representative and 2 senators. Every one of these people/groups has the capability to reach their constituents. Sending an email once a month with a donate button at the bottom is not an effective way to do politics. And if the corporate overlords win control of the party next year when Harrison steps down, I think we seriously need to consider coalescing around a more progressive set of policies and leaving the Democrats behind. I mean, Rahm Emanuel? Are these people fucking serious?
Are we so desperate to be acknowledged that we will listen - and accept - the nonsense of any influencer? MAGA whines but offers no solutions. Sure is pretty, though.
And the terrible thing is, it worked.
It seems "Brawndo is what plants crave" phase of governance has entered the world's chat room.
Been discussing this with friends. I feel that one option is to have an alternate Democratic platform like X and like Tiktok, like YouTube, that gets these groups exposed to more factual information but also attracts them. That is one thing the democratic party should be working on, and in tandem with other Democratic parties in the world. It should be a multilingual platform. I hear a lot of people are switching from Twitter to Blue Sky Social.
Portnoy voted Biden in 2020, and made a big video attacking Republicans as abortion extremists who are taking America backwards. I mention this because one way the left loses is by being exclusionary, and if we're regarding a Biden 2020 voter as hardcore MAGA, we're writing off over half the country.
No, I don’t mean to suggest he’s hardcore MAGA. Rogan isn’t either, as he was pro Sanders in the past. I think they are both unapologetically open about their center right, anti-establishment political beliefs.
OK. I understood "rightwing cultural influencer" to be putting them in with guys like Dan Bongino and Mike Cernovich, but I understand now how you meant it differently.
The Media and Democracy Project is having an event on this topic next week.
How media moguls abuse their power, manipulate the truth and distort democracy
Nov. 20 at 8pm ET on Zoom
Eric Beecher. Journalist and editor. We discuss his powerful new book "The Men Who Killed The News". The inside story of how Media Moguls (such as Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, William Randolph Hearst) abused their power, manipulated truth and distorted Democracy.
register here: https://tiny.cc/ebeecher
This is painful to read, and to realize. We were so hopeful. It looks like a formidable road ahead to get messages through massively. But it will really be the consequences of this election, as it gets down to these voters that might open eyes. It's very hard to change such imbedded misinformation and the emotions that attach to it. That these voters take us with them will keep us in pain enough to be vocal and move on it. "We can do this" is what Kamala first said and it has stuck with me. I wonder if she realized what she was up against. She can stay out there, not quiet her voice. .. after a good vacation. It's going to be very painful for Harris in her role as President of the Senate to pass the torch to *this*. Vance will take over her role. Pinch me.
Nods in Rachel Bitecofer.
here's a cartoon version - https://jackcompere.medium.com/pundits-pounce-40953b94f477