Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Saturday, February 11, 2017

I Know Him


I've known this man for 54 years. He's a gentle giant of a man, tender hearted, always willing to help others, honest, a real sweetheart.

He's an electrician that's worked for the same company all his adult life. Retirement is now on the horizon, but not yet. His company has now hired two men that will eventually have his job. His ideas are no longer welcome, but they do need his knowledge. It's a miserable and frustrating work situation.

He's a bad diabetic. He suffers high blood pressure, and he badly needs a knee replacement.

He has a 23 year old mentally challenged daughter. She's had two kidney transplants in her life, the first at eight years of age. She will never be independent. His wife finds it hard to work because the daughter has so many medical appointments. What happens if Medicaid changes, or the disability she draws? What about health insurance? Does he know Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same? Probably not. His wife does whatever the medical people advise her to do but that's it, says she doesn't want to get into all that.

He works six days a week, rides with his motorcycle buddies on Sunday, and drinks beer. Does he know the Bowling Green Massacre did not happen? "The what?" he would probably say if you asked.

He likes guns and goes to the shooting range with his buddies. He actually couldn't kill a bird, he's to tenderhearted, but he talks tough and looks tough like the others.

Did he vote for Trump? I doubt it. Working six days a week I doubt he voted at all. That aside, he's angry. He wants to go back to a time when life was simple, when families and communities were good. He's a God & Country man, and believes illegals from Mexico are the cause of a lot of the problems in America today.

He thinks the government is unfair to people like him. He believes Trump will fix that. If I could talk to him I believe I would find he's afraid of the future. He believes Trump is the answer to his fears and frustrations.

Are these the people who put Trump in the White House? Are these the people Democrats are  supposed to appeal to if we want to win back the White House?

This man is our nephew and I feel bad for him, and others like him, but I have no clue how to reach them.

21 comments:

  1. Too true. It's too easy to tar and feather Trump supporters, but I suspect many are like your nephew.

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    1. I think it helps to put a face on "angry white workers."

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  2. I know people like your nephew. Think Obama Care is awful but suck up benefits it brings into their life. A few of them voted for the first time in their life because they truly believe #45 has all the answers to take us back to the 1950s and Mayberry, a place that was great for white men and woman who knew their place in the kitchen but not so great for others sub-groups of people.

    What gets me about blaming the Mexicans for the country's woes is the fact that it's really the employers who knowingly hire illegals who are the greater cause. Yet Republicans strongly oppose e-verify nation-wide laws to help stop it. The rust belt jobs took a huge hit from automation, too, and those jobs are never coming back.

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    1. An illegal from Mexico is no threat to our nephew's job. He's management level in a large company. Many of those in the Rust Belt who've seen their jobs go away are unwilling to move to another part of the country and train in another field of work. You're right, those jobs are never coming back. If they choose not to relocate they will often have to settle for lower paying jobs.

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    2. Jean, you are right. People have a romantic notion of the 1950s and want to return there. It was the time when white men were king. That's all they care about now. Getting back to that place, and whoever promises it will be elected.

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  3. He also seems to be the author of his own problems as far as health is concerned. They've been completely brainwashed. Why he needs a gun , God only knows.

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    1. He's absolutely the author of his health problems. I have no idea why he decided to start buying guns. He doesn't even hunt, never has. A shooting range is it for him. Guns are the thing to own if you live in Texas.

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  4. Agreeing with Jean R. here about employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. That has always bothered me.

    If democrats want to get back in the game, they are going to have to learn how to communicate with the voter you've described in this post.

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    1. It seems a mountain of a task to reach these people. Their culture is extremely into conspiracy theories, guns, and talking tough, while they actually know very little about government. Very hard to educate this group, very hard.

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  5. Linda, this is a great post! thank you for presenting us with this glimpse of what it is we are supposed to have understood from within our "bubble" This is your nephew, a real person, and it is possible to have compassion for him and his family, but it is hard to accept that I am supposed to find a way to accommodate him.
    I grew up in rural America, and I have family who are still living in the backwoods of Oregon, literally and figuratively. They would identify with your nephew. There is no dealing with them when what they believe is based on "alternative facts". And they will not be convinced that their beliefs are based on falsehoods. I have no clue how to reach them either.
    This dilemma really has me concerned.

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    1. In Bob's family it's always been a bit awkward for me with some of his family. They view me as 'one of them, 'an elite.' I've never been able to figure out what an elite is exactly. If it means rich, I failed. If it's formal education then I failed that too. If it's because I'm self educated then they could have done the same. They prefer getting their news from conspiracy sources, they buy the gossip rag magazines at grocery store check-outs, a family feud is usually in process, and they like to back up tough talk with a gun.

      I'm not sure they can be reached. I'm leaning toward letting the Republicans keep them and the evangelical Christians. Perhaps Democrats need to work harder to reach Americans who've never voted. There's plenty of them and likely easier to reach. You can't reach a person who's mind is clamped shut like a steel trap.

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    2. I think we give up on them too. I like your idea of going after the non-voters.

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    3. Linda , I read every comment on your posts. You say some very common sense things and show the hypocrisy of alternative facts.

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  6. Hate the be Nancy Negative, but these people are impossible to reach because they arrogantly won't listen. They think they know it all and despise our political beliefs right out of hand. The only things that might change their minds is to have the new Administration's failures slap them in the face. And it is gonna happen.

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    1. No, the true Trump supporters will not desert him, but they're only a small segment of voters, much like the evangelical Christian vote. I'm happy for Republicans to keep both these groups of voters. Democrats need to go after the votes of the non voters. There's masses of them. This group of white angry voters is likely only going to get more angry. I try to remember we are not in the room with Trump and his supporters. They're in the room with us! The sleeping bear has been poked and is waking up! It's not just Democrats, but also Independents, and non voters. Democrats don't have the votes to stop anything in Congress but political activism by citizens is a powerful tool. Repealing Obamacare is the perfect example. Republicans are now bolting from Paul Ryan, and canceling town hall meetings all over the country. They know they're passing around a hot potato and don't know how to get rid of it. Political activism it has to be! Onward to 2018 & 2020!

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  7. I continue to believe it's critically important to focus on local government -- school boards, city councils on up through state -- familiarize ourselves with judges on the ballots. Efforts will be made to infiltrate those systems as a few years ago when a candidate pursued first one of those positions, a few years later the other office -- without releasing his true background until our local newspaper revealed, including with photos, his association with white nationalist/nazi groups much as Bannon. I anticipate more of this everywhere.

    The type individuals you describe often have wives who will say what one such woman acquaintance I've known for years said, "Oh, I don't pay attention to all that, but my husband does, and figures it out -- I don't bother to vote." Or, some likely vote as their husband. This woman couldn't stand HC because she didn't dump Bill after his indiscretion. Likely shared view of her country club member golfing friends from what she said. She also believed she wasn't racist but when Obama was the candidate she surprised me by announcing my occasional comments about how important it was to vote that she had decided to do so. I'll bet dollars to donuts her vote cancelled mine. I no longer encounter her so don't know where she stands on DJT but would bet it's the same as her co-workers, likely others in that shop, who are his supporters. Their belief is he's simply bringing needed change with no clue as to what his kind of change means and are not amenable to hearing any criticism -- the gal I see will become really emotional so can't discuss contrary view. Evangelical Christian in group blind to how un-Christian his behavior is as that Catholic priest's sermon revealed at the prayer breakfast you've probably read.

    Definitely, must reach non-voters. Think only 47% of eligible voters cast votes last election. Some of them may actually be stirred up now, so even though there are only a few offices open for re-election in 2018 some can be changed, but 2020 a real chance to end the current madness.

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    1. Could not agree more with the importance of running for local office, school boards, city councils, mayors, etc. Absolutely a must. I want to see Independents running. They declare themselves "Independents" and get a free ride to swing in the wind, which ever way the wind blows, and the flowers smell the sweetest. Some seem down right pious about it. I see no point in becoming an Independent. Most are either Independent Democrats or Independent Republicans. They need to 'dance with the one that brung them,' or organize a new party.

      Bernie Sanders switched from being an Independent to being a Democrat five minutes before he declared his candidacy, partly he said because of the money. Running as an Independent would mean he had no financial support from a major Party. I understand why it's difficult to run as an Independent at the national level, but starting at the local level that should not make a lot of difference. Come on Independents, run for school boards, and local government.

      I have no desire to go after Trump's supporters or Evangelical Christians. They are not a fit for the Democratic Party. We need to go after the masses who election after election fail to vote.

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  8. I'm always surprised at how many people I know in the 45-55 age bracket who wouldn't vote for Hillary because she didn't leave Bill. Yet they voted for DT who cheated time and time again. Where is the logic in that?

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    1. Impeached Bill for lying under oath about having sex with Monica. Different day different standards I guess.

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  9. What a moving and honest post. I know people like your nephew, and you're right: There's no getting through to them.

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    1. We need to stop thinking we can get through to these people. Let the Republicans keep them and the Evangelical Christians. We need to be pulling in the masses that don't vote at all. I find it encouraging that among the protesters there are nonvoters who now wish they had voted and want to get involved for 2018 and 1010.

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