“Pity, O God, the Republicans,” by Susan Faludi.
No, seriously. Pour a second cup of coffee and read.
And thanks, Thomas, for the link.
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A blog companion to the book by Susan Campbell
“Pity, O God, the Republicans,” by Susan Faludi.
No, seriously. Pour a second cup of coffee and read.
And thanks, Thomas, for the link.
Dating Jesus 
Unlike Faludi, I do not see “the virus of self-pity…running in the country’s veins.” I do not see a “national mope-fest” or any “kinship of national mindsets” between Hungary and the United States. But Faludi and I have different perspectives. She’s far removed from the “grievance and [the] sense of violation”…the actual victimization…that goes hat in hand with the unconstrained predatory Capitalism that’s been ruling this country for last 40 years or so. I’m up to my armpits in it.
It’s easy to draw parallels between Hungary’s right-wing nationalism and Trump Brand® Populism. Especially when purposely avoiding the other side of that coin, and the loose change piling up under the sofa cushions, and the history of right-wing nationalism in the United States, particularly, how right-wing nationalism…Blood and Politics…moved from the margins to the mainstream in this country long before Trump took the stage.
Faludi could have saved herself a good deal of effort by just posting a I’m With Her gif. Not much help if you’re getting paid by the word, but much easier on the reader.
I love you, man. You and I read very different essays, I think. I drew from this an exam of the ignorant kind of pretend victimization trumpeted by the Trumpers.
I don’t see a faux victimization fueling social unrest in this country. It has some influence on Trump’s success, especially among the White Nationalists and religious radicals, but that support is not as existential as the media, Trump’s opposition…including Faludi…would like everyone to believe. The potent disaffection for Business As Usual in this country goes way beyond any faux victimization. (Ask Bernie.) It’s a symptom of a much more serious problem.
Faludi’s message implies that any feeling of victimization at the hands of a sociopolitical system that rations benefit, status and privilege based on class is somehow invalid and eventually leads to a jack-booted right-wing extremism. In my opinion, that conclusion cannot be supported either by the evidence she selects to exploit, or the evidence she chooses to ignore. At best, it’s neoliberal politique. At worst, it’s obscurantism.
Faludi is telling the right-wing they’re all thugs. She’s telling the left-wing resistance is futile. I see little value in that.