General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I know this is going to be unpopular but I am friends with and I understand many Trump supporters [View all]GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Many of them fit your description perfectly. Unfortunately, that includes much of my extend family.
But if you in your 40s and all you have watched is Fox news, are not widely read nor travelled and do not use racial epithets which is what too much of America uses as the standard for racism, then they do not see them selves as racist. And many of them could not explain what misogyny even means since unless you take specific courses in college or read sites like DU you will never even encounter the word or its meaning and the way it affects society.
I have friends that voted for Trump are pro-choice and actually support LGBT rights. College educated but in technical fields which included almost no humanities. They are not conscious bigots and have no understanding of how racism affects us in all it's insidious ways because no one has ever taught them that. Sure as hell not in schools here in the south.
They grew up under Reagan and it is all about the belief that small government and low taxes make a good economy. They have heard that non-stop since high school. That is the reason my friends voted for Trump.
Are they lazy and uninformed and vote their own perceived self interest? Yes, but I hardly think define them as good or bad. Just lazy and uninformed and voting for their own self interest which I am sure describes many members of the Democratic party.
I think our job is to convince them that their self interest actually lies in the Democratic Party. Because it does.
Have a nice evening.