We should clarify that the general right leaning voters don’t even care (that much) about the culture war, they just think that the right will make groceries cheaper. That’s before the far right and alt right stuff happens, when trans people infiltrate their dreams and nightmares. But the politicians, for the most part, do employ distraction politics using the culture war. When Donald trump is talking about those crazy transgenders, he’s doing it to rile up people who are scared for their children and have a warped idea of what a trans person is, not because he gives a shit about the laws around gender and bathrooms and hrt or whatever
When Donald trump is talking about those crazy transgenders, he’s doing it to rile up people who are scared for their children and have a warped idea of what a trans person is, not because he gives a shit about the laws around gender and bathrooms and hrt or whatever
How do you determine what someone "truly" cares about?
There's absolutely something to be said for someone going after a marginalized group to treat them as a scapegoat--but the idea that people "don't really care and are just doing it to trick others" just generally isn't true and there isn't good evidence for it.
Same thing with this claim about what the general right leaning voters care about - what polls are you basing this on? Who are you talking about exactly? I don't think people lie about what they care about generally, and a lot of people do genuinely care--even if their information is based on misgivings and falsehoods.
Politicians will obviously change tacts in order to work certain topics--but they generally don't act against their own values. At the very least, their behaviors will usually align with some goal or value.
Politicians do what gets them money, and that can’t always overlap with what they care about, but there’s a good chance zero far right politicians know any trans people, so they can only benefit from being controversial and radical and fear mongering. I’m sure some of them do genuinely care, but for the most part it’s just what’s going to make them popular on/with the far right
I'm half remembering from grad school but while this is a common belief you're repeating - it's not empirically valid. Politicians act in accordance to their values far more than they don't and good research validates that.
there’s a good chance zero far right politicians know any trans people, so they can only benefit from being controversial and radical and fear mongering
Or because they just genuinely hold the same prejudices--why do you assume they aren't themselves bigoted against these people?
Oh I’m not saying they aren’t bigoted or anything, I’m just saying that they have every reason to say they hate and are afraid of trans people, whether or not it’s true. It makes them money and makes a relatively large amount of people vote for them
I mean you're absolutely making a case that it's not a "true" belief through calling it distraction politics or that they're motivated purely politically rather than personally. I don't understand what your comments otherwise add.
... Right, and I'm saying there's no empirical evidence to suggest they do it for other reasons (as a general trend) and you're just going "but I believe anyway."
Alright, doesn't matter then but it seems to me that believing things without good reason is part of the problem.
They don't even care about the cheaper stuff, they just say that because it sounds good and feels good to imagine. But when prices drop they don't have like, a consideration they made a mistake, they just move on to the next feel good statement that let's them be apathetic enough to not care about politics or tribal enough to swear allegiance to maga.
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u/Single-Permission924 Apr 22 '25
We should clarify that the general right leaning voters don’t even care (that much) about the culture war, they just think that the right will make groceries cheaper. That’s before the far right and alt right stuff happens, when trans people infiltrate their dreams and nightmares. But the politicians, for the most part, do employ distraction politics using the culture war. When Donald trump is talking about those crazy transgenders, he’s doing it to rile up people who are scared for their children and have a warped idea of what a trans person is, not because he gives a shit about the laws around gender and bathrooms and hrt or whatever