How Science Explains Trump's Grip on White Males

[suegeo]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-science-explains-trumps-grip-on-white-males/

This 2021 article* discusses the White Male Effect and research led by Dr. Paul Slovic.

I stumbled on this research after wondering why are white men still voting for Trump? And in many ways, in such a January 6 violent and angry manner that seems impossible to break through.

In short, it's white males' risk assessment skills and the risk the men perceive to their status.

The whole article explains this better than just the excerpts.

This helps explain why a wide and well-defined swath of the U.S. public—from the Proud Boys and other extremist groups who have terrorized Washington D.C. in recent weeks, to the senators ripping up the roots of democracy in Congress—are willing to accept the risks of Trump’s rejection of a legitimate election. They perceive an even greater threat around the horizon: a threat to an elevated social status that they imagine only Trump can preserve and restore, a social status that is inevitably linked to race, gender, and religion.

“Individuals selectively credit and dismiss asserted dangers in a manner supportive of their preferred form of social organization,” wrote Slovic and collaborators in a 2007 research paper that rings no less true today. In other words, for certain individuals, supporting Trump is a psychologically palliative response to perceived risks.

When this perceived need to protect one’s identity is stoked by people in positions of power, it can turn dangerous and ugly. Identity protective cognition can lead to what Slovic and other researchers call “virtuous violence”— violence that people support or commit because they believe it is morally right.

The article ends with: the people who hold power over decisions about what's risky and what's not should not be left in the sole hands of white males. Because white males, who hold most of the power in our nation, don't assess risk like other groups do.

*(from 2021, after the group of mostly white guys stormed the capitol)

[SharonAnn]

1. Interesting, Thank You.

[odins folly]

2. There is a whole book that explains these things

I think it's still on line and free to download, The Authoritarians. It was written during or just before George Jr came to power and the author felt it too important to not share freely.

In a nutshell, most people are scared little children who pine for a "strong leader" to tell them what to do and think to get on with their daily life. They feel the world has become too complex and they don't have the intelligence to navigate, so they rely on the figurehead to guide.

And they feel if they are loyal followers, only the perceived enemy will be punished.

The dumbing down of Americans vie education destruction has paved the way for this since the early days of Govener Reagan....

[LunaSea]

3. Link

https://theauthoritarians.org/options-for-downloading-authoritarian-nightmare/

[Aristus]

4. Please add 'White males of substandard intellect and no self-respect.'

I’m a white male. Nothing whatsoever could induce me to vote for Trump. No amount of money, no emolument, no ego-booster, nothing.

I have a functioning brain and human empathy. That’s the crucial difference.

[orthoclad]

5. I perceive the class manipulation. That's my difference.

The ruling class is busy setting us all against each other by categories while they keep us shackled and get obscenely rich off our labors. Divide and conquer. They've been doing this since plantation days.

[orthoclad]

6. The Guardian had a good article on this

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2024/oct/25/i-visited-jd-vances-hometown-heres-what-i-learned-about-young-male-voters

“The Republican party right now is doing a really wonderful job of faking relationships,” he says. The emails he receives from the Trump campaign – which he signed up to for research purposes – often start with exuberant personal messages such as “I need you” or “I can’t do it without you”. “It’s ingenuine,” Wilder says, recognising that some in his congregation – which splits about 50/50 on party lines – have “fallen into the trap … Men’s health is something we overlook in America. Men want to be part of something – to feel like they belong.”

Understanding the psyop-type manipulation that the Right is pursuing is essential to overcoming it. The rich have been fostering racism and misogyny for hundreds of years as a power strategy. I know good decent men who have fallen victim to the Foxaganda that's difficult for them to escape, especially since the fairness doctrine got killed.

[valleyrogue]

7. White male entitlement.

These dudes think they are owed the "best" jobs, the highest pay, the most opportunities. You know, affirmative action for white males. Women and minorities get a little bit of a foothold, and these white dudes go crazy.

If you really want to piss off one of these white males, start talking about the idea doing away with veterans preference in hiring (it is a form of affirmative action). The entitlement mentality comes out in full force when anybody thinks of taking away anything that benefits THEM.

They actually think they got to where they are on "merit," of which there is no such thing. They got there because they are white males. It is all unearned privilege, and most of these guys don't even realize how easy they have it especially compared to women.

Historically, men and the fields of which they dominate have been overpaid because of the concept of the "family wage" and the notion they are "providers for families." Women have always been underpaid because they aren't considered primary wage earners. Underpaying them serves men's interest in terms of sexual access and reproductive access. An independent woman is less likely to even want to partner with men, and this angers these men to no end. It's too bad, too sad the economic gravy train has stopped for many of them.