> I find it somewhat implausible that half the population is dumb, racist and all those other labels.
The reality is that most Trump supporters are focused on economics and governmental overreach, not race. They are angry that businesses are shut down, and people are unemployed. They are angry that, over the past several decades, production in this country has dropped to near-nonexistence. They are angry that the lockdowns have made it impossible, even in small towns and other places without significant Covid problems, to simply work and live their lives semi-normally.
Then, the straw that I believe broke the camel's back, is the way most conservatives view taxes and the "stimulus"
In short, the conservative view is that the US government took $2700 from every citizen (much more if you look at the long-tail economic effects) and 'gave back' $600. At the same time, even a cursory read of the omnibus spending would be enough to make anyone's blood boil, let alone someone who feels like they, or people they care about, have lost (or are losing) everything. It's easy to see how the phrase 'Taxation is theft' is picking up so much steam right now.
The entire time they are dealing with this, people call them a Nazi or White Supremacist. They get banned on Social Media for sharing (now verified by left-of-center Media) stories about Hunter Biden, or concerns about the election. To them, it feels like they are being silenced and oppressed. When the media/social media censors stories and information (and even raw footage) it increases tensions. 'Over the target' has become a phrase in common use for when someone is banned or a story gets censored that seems to go against the mainstream narrative.
The Hunter Biden story is one such example. When that story launched it was discredited and called fake news, today the same institutions who called it a lie are publishing that there is an FBI investigation into Hunter Biden. Many saw that story, saw the leaked photos (many of which are extremely unsettling), and then saw the story getting silenced and discredited.
Looking at comments on HN, a site where the average commenter has far above average education and income, it is easy to find people openly commenting that they do not care about the opinions of these people. They openly comment that 'anyone who would storm the capital is an idiot' or that these people are racist.
Finally, after all is said and done, the reaction from the left in Washington isn't to reduce tensions and try to reach peace. Nor is it to address the concerns of the people publicly. Instead, they are ramping up the tensions and saying that people are guilty of treason - a crime punishable by death. You have elected officials calling everyone who was there, whether they were violent offenders (criminals) or not, terrorists. Now, they're calling this riot 'as bad as 9/11' where thousands of Americans were killed.
Fair. It worth pointing out the 'stimulus' bill included next years government budget as well. So its not as simple as taking 2700 and giving 600 back. Most years they'd be taking 2100 and give nothing back. This year they decided to take 2100, borrow 600 from the central bank, and giving that 600 back
I excluded the omnibus spending from that number. Most folks, including myself, are appalled at how irresponsible the spending is. However, it would be intellectually dishonest to combine them to make that argument.
The stimulus component was roughly 900B, of which each American (there's roughly 330M of us) will only receive $600. Of course, this is all accomplished by [0]printing obscene amounts of USD and saddling Americans with a debt that will likely never be repayable. [1]At present, the debt to GDP ratio exceeds 130%.
It’s possible to both think that the Capitol Riots were absolutely treasonous and an attempt to subvert the constitution, and agree that reflexively calling people Nazis, White Supremacists, or Racists, for expressing totally legitimate views had a lot to do with why they were angry enough to do it.
Just to be clear - I don’t think the capitol rioters views were legitimate, but I do think the views of a lot of people on the right are, and the rioters thought they were acting with their support.
The reality is that most Trump supporters are focused on economics and governmental overreach, not race. They are angry that businesses are shut down, and people are unemployed. They are angry that, over the past several decades, production in this country has dropped to near-nonexistence. They are angry that the lockdowns have made it impossible, even in small towns and other places without significant Covid problems, to simply work and live their lives semi-normally.
Then, the straw that I believe broke the camel's back, is the way most conservatives view taxes and the "stimulus"
In short, the conservative view is that the US government took $2700 from every citizen (much more if you look at the long-tail economic effects) and 'gave back' $600. At the same time, even a cursory read of the omnibus spending would be enough to make anyone's blood boil, let alone someone who feels like they, or people they care about, have lost (or are losing) everything. It's easy to see how the phrase 'Taxation is theft' is picking up so much steam right now.
The entire time they are dealing with this, people call them a Nazi or White Supremacist. They get banned on Social Media for sharing (now verified by left-of-center Media) stories about Hunter Biden, or concerns about the election. To them, it feels like they are being silenced and oppressed. When the media/social media censors stories and information (and even raw footage) it increases tensions. 'Over the target' has become a phrase in common use for when someone is banned or a story gets censored that seems to go against the mainstream narrative.
The Hunter Biden story is one such example. When that story launched it was discredited and called fake news, today the same institutions who called it a lie are publishing that there is an FBI investigation into Hunter Biden. Many saw that story, saw the leaked photos (many of which are extremely unsettling), and then saw the story getting silenced and discredited.
Looking at comments on HN, a site where the average commenter has far above average education and income, it is easy to find people openly commenting that they do not care about the opinions of these people. They openly comment that 'anyone who would storm the capital is an idiot' or that these people are racist.
Finally, after all is said and done, the reaction from the left in Washington isn't to reduce tensions and try to reach peace. Nor is it to address the concerns of the people publicly. Instead, they are ramping up the tensions and saying that people are guilty of treason - a crime punishable by death. You have elected officials calling everyone who was there, whether they were violent offenders (criminals) or not, terrorists. Now, they're calling this riot 'as bad as 9/11' where thousands of Americans were killed.