Donald Trump and the White Working Class

1. Pain

Graph from Deaton and Case — USW — US Whites

2. Economics

Once Trump started happening, articles examining the underpinnings of the above became easier to find. (A big shout out to Dave Pell who, along with Google News and Hacker News, was a essential filter on the fire house of writing available.)

Image from Cody Weber http://forgotteniowa.com/
Image from Cody Weber http://forgotteniowa.com/

3. Let’s Get Personal

Ever since reading Hunter Thompson, I’ve assumed you need to wear your heart on your sleeve. In that spirit, I offer the following.

Image from Cody Weber http://forgotteniowa.com/
Image from Cody Weber http://forgotteniowa.com/

4. Left Behind, Disrespected

We start here with the assumption that the White Working Class (WWC), and males in particular, are the key to Trump’s win and hence it is important to try and understand what they wanted from the election.

Desired: Work…

…Agency…

…Respect…

…and a Fair Shake.

The Sandbar

Hochschild’s “deep story” reminded me of another metaphor that has stuck in my mind since I read it some 30 years ago. From John MacDonald’s Travis McGee in Pale Grey for Guilt (1968) describing life and death:

Rage and Resentment

5. Aside: Trump’s Convenient Pathologies

How did Trump end up as the candidate of the WWC? My theory: his internal emotional landscape resonated with this base. It’s all about respect and resentment and a willingness to keep slugging.

6. Analysis

Why did Trump win? Hopefully the above demonstrates his appeal. One statement stuck in my mind: Trump’s detractors took him literally but not seriously; Trump’s supporters took him seriously but not literally. Maybe. There’s tons of analysis available. Here’s one from another interstitial personality. I think it’s essential and outside most folk’s radar.

Racism -

Why would women vote for Trump -

Democrats, WTF -

7. Conclusion

What do I conclude.

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Berkeley Backpacking Biz Lifer, System Builder, Coder, Community Organizer, Music and Evolutionary Biology Geek. Sign up and my projects at http://altabor.org/

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Alan Tabor

Berkeley Backpacking Biz Lifer, System Builder, Coder, Community Organizer, Music and Evolutionary Biology Geek. Sign up and my projects at http://altabor.org/