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Yeah, we'll see, I guess. A whole lot of people bought into that "red pill" bullshit, especially younger men.
I mean, when you really think about it there were a significant amount of voters in 2024 that were only 10 years old when Trump got elected the first time and were still in highschool when he left office. Not only that, we were in the middle of quarantine for half their time in highschool and they probably spent a lot of that time online out of pure boredom. Add into that the fact that a lot of these kids were getting bombarded by anti vaccine sentiments from family members, the internet, and the former president. And seeing as they couldn't go outside they couldn't get a perspective from people irl.
I'm not saying they aren't without fault. I'm just saying that they were set up to believe in these things before they even starting having opinions for themselves. I remember when I was in highschool I was on the whole "I don't want a black Muslim as president" train because that's what my dad and half my classmates believed. I'm lucky enough that I made it out the other side a decent person compared to my friends and family growing up, but I was not a good person in my youth. We are all susceptible to propaganda and if you think you are immune to it than you are probably just falling for a different flavor of propaganda without realizing it.
Not all of these kids were racists, misogynists, or bigots at heart or to begin with. They were just taught from a young age that they were doing the right thing. In my opinion, there's nothing more evil than manipulating good people to do evil things in the name of being righteous. These red pill and MAGA influencers knew exactly what they were doing and made bank doing it.
Everybody did shit they're not proud of as a kid. I'm glad you grew as a person, many did not .
The Dems also choked harder than the Viper did when fighting the Mountain. I remember when asked to address the concerns of young men who felt like they were being ignored and left behind, the Democratic response was something along the lines "vote on behalf of the women in your life".
Turns out, treating empathy as a zero-sum game and telling struggling people they're the problem isn't a great way to win their votes, especially when the other side is actively pointing at the people being catered to as the reason you're struggling.
I don't know if that sort of thing was the Democratic official response, but I've seen my share of completely unhelpful bullshit from online people that at least identify as leftist.
Telling men, especially white men that they should take a back seat and let others talk and doing anything else is "mansplaining", that they need to "do the work", and "check their privilege" and so on. Creating a hierarchy in the Oppression Olympics game, etc. And telling people that their pain is invalid. Taking joy in young men who are miserable in the dating game.
If someone is hurting, responding with a lecture about how awful they are because of their race and gender is supposed to do what? Is all that lecturing and scolding supposed to be winning hearts and minds and building a broader coalition? FFS.
We need a lot more happy warriors like Mamdani, AOC and Bernie. Okay, Bernie can be a bit gruff at times, but he's not lecturing people on intersectionality and other extremely academic/online things. Those guys talk about how we are in this shit together as humans and you come away galvanized and motivated. They don't give people homework assignments and dress them down in a finger-wagging struggle session.
I remember watching a Democratic rally online during the last election when that quote came up, and feeling just utterly sunk.
Very well said, especially about the struggle-session vibes given to people who are already struggling. Firmly agree happy warriors like Bernie and AOC are fantastic speakers for the working class; my best friend who works as a server was brought to literal hopeful tears hearing her speak. Hope for a better future is for everyone, not just X/Y/Z category :)
I'd be curious which politician was saying this as it seems out of touch.
When I see that kind of thing online, though, it's not like I shrivel up and get in the fetal position under my desk; I'm almost stereotypically Gen X in that I came up analog, spent lots of time alone and without adult supervision - both outdoors and indoors, dealt with plenty of (physical) bullying and fights, cut my teeth on BBSes and Usenet, learned and helped build out many things related to the Internet, and spent plenty of time seeing and taking part in political arguments online, and so when I get some nonsense from someone playing the Oppression Olympics game I just shake my head and usually laugh - it's not my first rodeo. Then I block/ignore them for the most part. Or if it's a place like what Boing Boing's BBS chat forum eventually became, I just move on, since it was being moderated by that type and having any sane discussion there is a non-starter.
But the important part is - I'm not having my political stance get pushed away from progressive politics because of fools like that, mostly because I'm older and didn't come to where I am without a lot of reading and life experiences and listening to older generations, etc.
But I do worry about people that are younger, and never knew a pre-digital time and are just trying to find their way politically, in a time where most of the "third spaces" are increasingly disappearing and most things are done online ( and kept in archives forever). If some of their first experiences involve running into a little cadre of these types? I fear they may turn to alt-right/red pill spaces, which are going to do the typical cult thing, which is to love-bomb them and validate all of their grievances, even the unfounded and unhealthy ones.