307
submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Is it racist to identify the elevated white male privilege, compounded by spoiled child syndrome? I don't think so. I'm a white male and don't find this in any way racist against me. Hits the mark in my opinion on why many of my fellow white male men are duped into maga bullshit.

Communication scholar Paul Elliott Johnson argues that Trump’s brand of demagoguery is “defined by a reliance on victimized, White, toxic masculinity.” Some scholars have focused on how this rhetorical strategy appeals to men who are “secretly insecure about their manhood,” as The Washington Post reported in 2018.

Trump’s own white masculine insecurity was on clear display throughout his debate against Harris. It was a different type of pathological masculinity than the aggressive and aggrieved toxic masculinity Trump perfected as MAGA stagecraft.

Trump’s performance in the debate illustrates why insecure white masculinity should be disqualifying for a presidential candidate. When triggered, it short circuits the candidate’s strategic thinking and elicits demagogic and dehumanizing arguments.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago

Do you think this kind of rhetoric

  1. promotes unity or
  2. stokes divisiveness?
[-] [email protected] -2 points 5 days ago

Read further down in other comments, but:

  • It's important to identify the problem.
  • It's important to identify the target audience of this piece.
  • The crowd that this article is referring to isn't reading an editorial editorial piece from The Conversation.
  • This is thus mainly internal dialogue pointing to an example of the problem.
  • How we convey the problem to those ensared by it is a totally separate thing.
  • divisive for them; unifying for us, and helps the occasional apathetic bystander identify the bullshit before they themselves are ensared by it.
[-] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

Also a white man. While I don’t find this wording racist, I do think it makes an implicit association between white masculinity and negative character traits. This is effective when used as a critical lens by which to examine people like trump and the maga movement, because in those instances, the association is accurate. That being said, I do find that this kind of discourse on a broader scope is unproductive and I can certainly understand why one would perceive it as inflammatory. If we as white men are serious about defeating toxic masculinity, increased toxicity is unlikely to be an effective strategy. I believe it would be far more effective for us to focus our energy on reclaiming the concept of masculinity by endorsing and promoting white men who use their power in society to stand up for those less privileged than themselves. We also can’t rely on media outlets to do it for us, it’s a thing we need to own.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Well said and fair points. Ultimately I can agree that this entire article could be written as-is but for the exclusion of white. No doubt toxic masculinity is a problem. And no doubt there a considerable amount of white privilege; though the two probably should be separated as opposed to conjoined in discussion. Trump is a spoiled, silver-spooned manchild whose position has come about through a considerable degree of white privilege. Though as you said, one must be careful to narrow the scope of the conversation. That strictly applies to him, and probably should not be generalized more broadly.

Whereas toxic masculinity is more widespread and certainly not unique to white men (although in the moment under the MAGA banner and the audience of Jordan Peterson or Joe Rogan, it just so happens to predominantly be this group). I've read several articles about how inroads are being made with hispanic and black young male groups just the same — again, due to right-wing propaganda making inroads.

This where Walz could come in and why the VP Debate may be a bigger deal than many people realize. Walz has the capacity to do just as you said and project a certain male confidence. In his speech just yesterday he explicitly said, "Don't mistake kindness for weakness." If he carries through with this message as a military veteran and as a coach who can speak the frat bro language... Well, it may resonate with some and bring some back.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Well said to you as well. I agree that Tim Walz is a stellar example of the kind of masculinity I think we should be promoting. His VP candidacy has me so hopeful for a future where men like him are really able to reshape the narrative to one where being a strong man means being a respected and dependable ally.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Thank you, you said it well. I agree wholeheartedly.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Academics are different than reality, and the reality is that using this kind rhetoric is going to incite people to come out and fight for people like trump -- this is fuel on the fire. Do you want the world to burn down so you can be right or do you want to accept that things aren't perfect but the world still functions?

[-] [email protected] -1 points 5 days ago

Let's not kid ourselves...This article isn't being read by Trump supporters or even fence sitters. It merely identifies the problem; it doesn't prescribe a method of outreach.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

It's not the article I'm talking about, it's just the general conversation. Trump should be in jail but trying to get everyone to talk about things like white privilege has pulled off enough of the population to somehow keep as an actual presidential candidate.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

I don't think it's racist against me but it's still fucking stupid and not at all the correct thing to take away.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Why is it stupid and what is the correct takeaway?

this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2024
307 points (92.1% liked)

politics

18881 readers
3984 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
  2. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  3. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  4. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive.
  5. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  6. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS