(Full disclosure: this post has a rage rating of 7)
Getting angry never solved anything… or it solves everything, according to the voting history of the Tea Party. There is a special type of anger that comes to the fore when it involves white male mediocrity. It’s a mediocrity that you can’t really do research on, nor does it have much ability to show up in polling data. It’s hard to quantify, and yet, it is there. Kind of like the last 100+ years of the Chicago Cubs… futile, but present.
This mediocrity is what Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Marc Levin etc… tap into on a daily basis. The entire right wing news cycle is devoted to misguided and detrimental vitriol. It is impressive to see how some of the richest in the country have been able to persuade not only the poor, but also those who are struggling to hold onto some form of middle class dream to join their cause. They weave narratives of assault on the white male, attacks on Christianity and abuse of the welfare system in such a manner that it gives their troops ammunition in the fight. They’ve been tricked into painting the fence…
And what are these white men so angry about? Generally the fact that the American dream isn’t so rosy and also the realization they are living mediocre lives. They hate that they are struggling and things aren’t as easy as they should be. And it’s also based on them being able to place a group underneath them. Gays, minorities, those on welfare. Women. Double down on the rage if it is a successful woman. This oppression has happened throughout history and will continue to happen, but it should not have such a loud, unchecked, voice in so civilized a nation.
The amount of misogyny, racism and prejudice that comes from white male mediocrity is not only destructive, but pervasive. It has given rise to a far right wing faction of this country that has a lot of money behind it and with rulings like Citizens United, a lot of power from the ability to throw ungodly sums of money at elections and win them. Shaming of women for exercising their reproductive rights, the constant fight against homosexual equality and the cries of “reverse” racism to cloak their own bigotry, have become a sacrosanct mantra for those in the Tea Party. Environmental destruction and scientific consensus on climate change are tossed aside as inconveniences and should not be tended to because the government would have to intervene and, of course, all government is bad. Public transit, attempts to clean waterways, public education, public health initiatives, clean air acts and any form of taxes that doesn’t go directly to the Military Industrial Complex… all bad.
The interesting angle to all of this is how these middling men do not ask questions. It’s startling when you speak to a Tea Party member how easy it is to hear the same punch line of the week coming out of their mouths. These punch lines are unable to be expanded upon, only regurgitated. They do not question nor expound upon the thoughts; they allow themselves to be mere marionettes. The, perhaps, once rational psyche devolves from hearing things they agree with slightly in the beginning into an endless rabbit hole where the more radical the thought, the more comforting it becomes once fully indoctrinated. They do not feel shame, or remorse, for these misguided beliefs. The pursuit of finding commonality between classes, races, etc… fully subsides allowing it to no longer hinder their self-righteous march through the town hall. In a life with little meaning or happiness, it gives them direction without effort. They are happily made into the paper bags caught in the updraft.
When conversing with a good number of these men, the answers to any inquiry are rarely geared towards the question. You can make a point about needing to scale back on the production of unnecessary military spending and posit the question of its necessity and then somehow the discussion becomes about how we would be perceived as weak by not having twelve aircraft carriers. You will then be informed how those on the left do not support the troops and then ultimately about how illegal immigrants are destroying the country by taking good jobs from Americans and not paying taxes because the Muslim Obama is in the white house. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME! I shit you not, I had this conversation and I nearly fainted from exhaustion of trying to follow the logic. But this is how they are trained. This is how their radio personalities present things. If they are unable to justify something, they then do their best to follow the corkscrew to other hot button issues and before you know it, illegal immigrants from Guatemala have given rise to ISIS and somehow funded them directly through strawberry picking in California.
What all of this ties into is how, with the correct narrative, this large swath of humanity will follow exactly what you tell them to do. So what we find in districts that have been gerrymandered, the far right can throw massive dollars at attack ads and allow whoever they stick in front of those people to win because there is little chance for them to lose. These victors then go off to congress and embarrass the nation internationally, stall domestic policies and ultimately show a complete lack of ability to help lead the country. What they are able to do is introduce legislation written by corporations and wealthy individuals who contributed massive amounts to their campaigns.. This is not far from fascism and defined as a corporatocracy. These are champions of the ultra-wealthy and somehow, it’s the misguided poor and lower class white male that loves them for it all because of a well written narrative and a general lack of curiosity.
Isn’t it impressive how powerful mediocre white males can actually be in a large enough group? They are everyone’s favorite co-worker… the guy who failed upwards.
*disclaimer: I, in no way, know any reason why there are female tea party members. I think that just comes down to confusion or general self-loathing.
Lines of Koch 