Charles Blow: Thinking And Reporting Are Too Much Work
Charles Blow in The New York Times does his usual lite job of assessing an issue (which is to say he makes up his mind, leaps to conclusions on the keyboard, and it goes to press).
I'm not a Trumper but I read and listen to why people are voting for him and they haven't been mesmerized by some wizard, KKK or the more sorceristic kind! People are disgusted with "woke"-think, the burning and looting of cities, and they believe that Trump is better for the economy. These are just a few of the reasons I've read and heard.
Blow won't even put his ear to the ground to try to understand any of this; he simply, easy-out assumes that any black people or LGBT people who voted for Trump are in thrall to, yes, the "white patriarchy."
All of this to me points to the power of the white patriarchy and the coattail it has of those who depend on it or aspire to it. It reaches across gender and sexual orientation and even race. Trump's brash, privileged chest trumping and alpha-male dismissiveness and in-your-face rudeness are aspirational to some men and appealing to some women. Some people who have historically been oppressed will stand with the oppressors, and will aspire to power by proximity.
Two commenters at the NYT are much more insightful -- say what Blow never so much as tries to understand. Here's one:
Stephan, N.M.
Several loose thoughts most of which won't win me any friends.First off. When you start going on about White Patriarchy and White privilege at people who have slipped from their blue collar middle class position to saying "Welcome to Walmart." You've already lost the argument. Sorry they look at the NYT reporter in his $300 suit and figure what does he know about me or mine or my position in life. And their right the people who go on & on about these things all do it from a position of privilege the people they're lecturing will never see. IS it just me or is there more then a minor disconnect there? They tune this out because they view it has irrelevant to their lives and as useful as a screen door on submarine in relevance to their lives. And their right.
Second. I've always wanted to ask. How exactly did people think they could have Black Identity politics, Latino Identity Politics, LGBT identity Politics. Without getting White Politics in the mix? And don't people find it the slightest bit hypocritical to go on about how wonderful Identity politics is. Except of course when it's white identity politics. You can't have the rest without the one. Sorry true statement though.
One last thought. Make it obvious you look down on people, make obvious you view yourself has superior to them. Make it obvious you do not view them as worthy of consideration at all? And history is replete with cases where people will cut their own throats to take you with them. Beware Hubris.
Here's the other:
Chris Manthy, Montclair CO
Have voted D for President-and spent time and money on progressive causes, including environmental justice-since 1988. Took a knee at a Mets game immediately after Kaepernick did. I know cops treat Blacks poorly, and it needs to change. But the execution of the woke agenda turns me off, so you can imagine how it turns off someone less progressive. Its problem is that it assumes that the existence of disparity is prima facie evidence of discrimination, and that that discrimination accounts for 100% of the disparity.Sure cops single out Blacks, but Blacks also commit more crime, especially gun crime, even accounting for unequal enforcement. White people do and deal drugs, they just don't shoot each other over it at nearly the same rate. I really wish I didn't believe that; it would resolve my political cognitive dissonance. But just saying that now qualifies me as a racist by the woke crowd. If they have 10 woke pills, and I swallow 9 of them willingly (and I do), but point out an inconsistency, or even ask a question before I take the 10th, I'm a racist.
Similarly, because a few more blacks or others counted as oppressed might be voting for Trump, they're what you call (in everything but name only), Uncle Toms. Trump didn't create the woke backlash, he's just exploiting it, and you're making it really easy for him and his ilk. Pick a topic (police racism), and push for specific changes (special prosecutors for police misconduct). Stop the ideological witch hunt.
Oh, and one more:
Scott, Ohio
I'm a Democrat and proudly voted for Biden, but my gosh the Democrats need to move away from identity politics. This column is a prime example: total confusion about how people that fit into a particular "group" like "Black" or "LGBTQ" could vote for Trump.Here's a secret: Most voters vote for what they perceive to be their own self-interest, and for most voters these are the top two things they want:
1. Economic security
2. Physical safetyThe fact that someone is more worried about feeding his family than combating structural racism does not make him a bad person, or a racist. If you want to know why Trump did so well, think about his messaging over the past few months about economic security and physical safety.








BLM will never openly admit this, but they unwittingly concede the point in subtle ways.
For instance, when BLM was busily sabotaging the presidential candidates that undoubtedly had their best interests, one protester, Ashley Williams, showed up at a Hillary campaign.
"We want you to apologize for mass incarceration. I'm not a 'super predator,' Hillary Clinton."
This was, of course, a reference to Hillary's statements as First Lady, regarding gang violence:
See what's missing in that statement? That's right. A reference to black people or people of any race, for that matter.
She was talking about gang members. For Black Lives Matter to conflate gang members with black people is to hold two premises: 1) that all or virtually all gang members are black (not true), and 2) that all black people and only black people support gang culture (again, not true).
I think most black people, like everyone else, would prefer that gangs not exist.
Another example. There was video that went viral of a black woman, Peggy Hubbard, retired Navy Officer and former motorcycle cop, who denounced Black Lives Matter for protesting over a black man who was killed when he drew a stolen gun on police officers but not at all concerned about the death of Jamyla Bolden, a nine-year-old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting, while in her room doing her homework.
Peggy's assumption (which proved correct) that Jamyla was killed by a black man went unchallenged by Black Lives Matter. Not a single one of them asked, "How do you know a black person did it?"
Isn't that a tacit admission that drive-by shootings are a black thing?
Peggy Hubbard, incidentally, has run for Senate as a Republican for the state of Illinois. BLM generally dismisses her as a coon.
Patrick at November 5, 2020 4:05 AM
Message to Chris Manthy:
It doesn't matter how many woke pills you take without question. You're a (guessing) white male. There is no forgiveness or absolution in the Church of the Sufficiently Woke to wipe away your sins.
Simply existing shows us how racist you are.
Ultimately, it comes back to if you don't vote for me, you ain't black.
I R A Darth Aggie at November 5, 2020 8:26 AM
I propose that Blow's columns be called "Blow jobs."
jdgalt at November 5, 2020 10:29 AM
Over the past few decades, most people have been trying very hard to not be racist or at least not show it. But night after night on the news seeing mostly black looters (not talking about Antifa--different issue) destroying entire streets worth of retail has done more to undo this change than any number of Richard Spencers could do.
Trump is an odd character. I find him hard to watch. However, there is no doubt at all that he loves America and his supporters appreciate this. As for black and latino supporters, there are perceptive people of all races who see democrat policies as not being helpful to them and who see through the "all republicans are racist fascists" bs. That simply can't be, according to a prog, so they call them uncle toms. sick
cc at November 5, 2020 2:07 PM
> there is no doubt at all
> that he loves America
It's weird to me that people get all cranked about the interior lives of such figures. Especially that they speak of them with "no doubt."
I just never cared that much whether there was lust in Carter's heart or loving Christian compassion in John McCain's
Crid at November 5, 2020 8:01 PM
This patriarchy thing doesn't work for all of us. I can't find the servants anywhere. And the matriarch seems to deliberately misunderstand her instructions; even after I've quoted Scripture to her AND done 10 push-ups in the middle of the living room floor.
So I checked with Chuck Blow (is that a redundancy?) to see what I'm doing wrong. He's no Leonard Pitts, but he does offer some guidance. Be angry. Disavow the college degrees. And get a job.
Spiderfall at November 5, 2020 9:21 PM
> (is that a redundancy?)
✔
Crid at November 5, 2020 11:20 PM
Scott, Ohio: "The fact that someone is more worried about feeding his family than combating structural racism does not make him a bad person, or a racist."
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True, in most cases. However, when rich people (some of whom are black celebrities) vote for him for tax reasons, one could argue they're putting greed over everything else.
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"If you want to know why Trump did so well, think about his messaging over the past few months about economic security and physical safety."
______________________________________
If you want to know why Trump is losing, so far, think about his LACK of messaging over the past few months about physical safety - hint, hint.
Had he simply done everything, IMMEDIATELY, that the doctors recommended, even when they changed their minds a few times (and if he'd ordered his base to do the same), he just might have survived the economic downturn - because it might not have lasted so long!
Lenona at November 6, 2020 11:14 AM
"However, there is no doubt at all that he loves America and his supporters appreciate this."
___________________________________
Or, more likely, he loves what he's allowed to DO. Even if some supporters don't quite realize that.
From TV's "Taxi":
ALEX REIGER:
"Louie, when you walk into that hearing room, you're going to be under oath.
"You know what that means?"
LOUIE DE PALMA:
"Yeah.
"It means they gotta believe you.
"I love this country."
Lenona at November 6, 2020 12:50 PM
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