This is why I’ve (finally) come to recognize that discussing policy with my right wing cousin is impossible. There can be no middle ground, because he is not standing on any ground. He’s sitting in his dad’s old BarcaLounger.
His actual daddy held court at the dinner table every single night, while his mom silently stayed in the kitchen, only coming to the table to serve or clear the dishes.
The group you referenced is the most difficult for me to understand. The long time MAGA loyalists have always been a personality cult with little regard for facts, norms, or truth. But now there is another group in the coalition. They are moderate, intelligent, and informed….but somehow choose Trump anyway. For some inexplicable reason, they see wokeness as the real threat while minimizing or ignoring the constant, egregious shredding of democracy by Trump administration. Matt Taibbi comes to mind. He’s talked about nothing but Russia gate for the last month with nary a peep about what the current FBI is doing right now. He genuinely seems to think that the democrats were so bad that Trumps outrageous behavior is somehow an improvement. I really don’t get it, especially because I never saw him as a partisan or a grifter. It’s really sad honestly
I used to appreciate Taibbi's writing and then during #MeToo it came out he had been abusive to women, and he showed his true colors by his efforts to promote the "Twitter Files." When there's a pattern of bad behavior that's it for me, and I have no problem writing the repeat offender off unless and until I see l evidence of a real change of heart.
Love how you captured patriarchal orthodoxy, Mike, even without touching on the misogyny. Uncritical faith, strict obedience, purity tests: this is why the indoctrinated cultists will drop their previous obsession with the "Epstein files" and guess what, they ignored tons of publicly available victim interviews, legal allegations and court filings even before he told them to drop it. "Circus" was such an appropriate title you chose for your substack, Mike!
Finally a concise, clear explanation of my guttural instinct to abandon the few friendships I had with Trumpers. I've decided donate a gift to support your important work . Thank you
Beyond the tribal vibe, I find shadows of dysfunction that affect other areas as well.
Daddy is a trigger word a lot of times in abusive family life. The old saying "Whatever Daddy wants Daddy gets" conjurs up all sorts of ways Daddy can violate people at will. Look at the tap dance around pedophilia that is happening. Daddy said it was bad. Now Daddy says it is good.
The people you describe that chose the tribe over reason seem to have the "it can't happen to me" belief. Yet by all indications so far, Daddy has no bottom. Daddy is a giant ID lumbering around destroying and gourging on us.
This aspect of accepting all the immortality concerns me that there are a lot of people that follow him that are jealous of his ability to both do it and flaunt it. You can see this in the structures they are using for control (whitewashing history, Christian nationalism, violence etc.)
When people start talking about the acceptance of beating women into submission, disappearing Americans and glorifying slavery. I would say they definitely have Daddy envy.
I appreciate this thought-provoking piece which has me thinking about our human evolutionary biology. From our human ancestors and our great ape ancestors before them, humans have inherited millions of years of evolutionary biology in which being physically isolated from the ‘tribe’ is near certain death. I think of it as one of the original existential threats to any individual ape or human. While physical isolation is no longer the same level of threat, our psychology and emotions are still deeply impacted by this kind of evolutionary tribalism. Since the invention of farming, humans have altered the selection pressure to point to ways beyond such physical tribalism, but the tribal psychology is deeply wired, for good evolutionary reasons, whose current application is often maladapted. Less than 10,000 years of lessening the selection pressure for physical tribalism is not enough to overcome the millions of years of reinforcement that came before, which still manifests in our emotions and psychology. It takes active and conscious honesty, curiosity, empathy, compassion, etc., which are frontal lobe activities to counter those tribal evolutionary impulses. It’s abundantly clear that our current ‘lead ape’ is unencumbered by such frontal lobe activities.
This encapsulates many things I've been thinking since the Dubya era and says them so much better than I would have.
Reagan was a major daddy figure, too, but capable of compromise and not as broadly corrosive of the constitution (although there was that Iran-Contra thing and some back-tracking on civil rights relative to his gubernatorial days, largely to support the religious right leg of The Gipper's Stool. And perhaps some inappropriate props to the other two legs, although that was more in the policy domain and less in the constitutional damage domain)
What R-klans love is Control, and White Supremacy/Separateness provides the scaffolding and justification for Control. Fear feeds the need for Control. Separateness feeds Fear. If you are born and raised with the belief that Control Is Yours, that you have to be the director of your bubble’s Truman Show then you will try to dictate to others how to be human within your community. Daddy and the R-klans share this need for Control. That’s why they can’t quit him. What they don’t understand in a cosmic/soul sense is that this is all just a Truman Show.
Not only is he daddy, they think he is Badass Daddy. Ready to protect them and punish others. The Daddy they wish they had had. But as trump declines, this archetype is melting before us into a limp puddle of slime…
This is why I’ve (finally) come to recognize that discussing policy with my right wing cousin is impossible. There can be no middle ground, because he is not standing on any ground. He’s sitting in his dad’s old BarcaLounger.
Sounds like he loves daddy.
His actual daddy held court at the dinner table every single night, while his mom silently stayed in the kitchen, only coming to the table to serve or clear the dishes.
So on point, as always. Thanks for your clarity, Mike.
The group you referenced is the most difficult for me to understand. The long time MAGA loyalists have always been a personality cult with little regard for facts, norms, or truth. But now there is another group in the coalition. They are moderate, intelligent, and informed….but somehow choose Trump anyway. For some inexplicable reason, they see wokeness as the real threat while minimizing or ignoring the constant, egregious shredding of democracy by Trump administration. Matt Taibbi comes to mind. He’s talked about nothing but Russia gate for the last month with nary a peep about what the current FBI is doing right now. He genuinely seems to think that the democrats were so bad that Trumps outrageous behavior is somehow an improvement. I really don’t get it, especially because I never saw him as a partisan or a grifter. It’s really sad honestly
I used to appreciate Taibbi's writing and then during #MeToo it came out he had been abusive to women, and he showed his true colors by his efforts to promote the "Twitter Files." When there's a pattern of bad behavior that's it for me, and I have no problem writing the repeat offender off unless and until I see l evidence of a real change of heart.
Love how you captured patriarchal orthodoxy, Mike, even without touching on the misogyny. Uncritical faith, strict obedience, purity tests: this is why the indoctrinated cultists will drop their previous obsession with the "Epstein files" and guess what, they ignored tons of publicly available victim interviews, legal allegations and court filings even before he told them to drop it. "Circus" was such an appropriate title you chose for your substack, Mike!
Finally a concise, clear explanation of my guttural instinct to abandon the few friendships I had with Trumpers. I've decided donate a gift to support your important work . Thank you
Mike, Thank you again for all you do.
Amen and well laid out.
Beyond the tribal vibe, I find shadows of dysfunction that affect other areas as well.
Daddy is a trigger word a lot of times in abusive family life. The old saying "Whatever Daddy wants Daddy gets" conjurs up all sorts of ways Daddy can violate people at will. Look at the tap dance around pedophilia that is happening. Daddy said it was bad. Now Daddy says it is good.
The people you describe that chose the tribe over reason seem to have the "it can't happen to me" belief. Yet by all indications so far, Daddy has no bottom. Daddy is a giant ID lumbering around destroying and gourging on us.
This aspect of accepting all the immortality concerns me that there are a lot of people that follow him that are jealous of his ability to both do it and flaunt it. You can see this in the structures they are using for control (whitewashing history, Christian nationalism, violence etc.)
When people start talking about the acceptance of beating women into submission, disappearing Americans and glorifying slavery. I would say they definitely have Daddy envy.
I appreciate this thought-provoking piece which has me thinking about our human evolutionary biology. From our human ancestors and our great ape ancestors before them, humans have inherited millions of years of evolutionary biology in which being physically isolated from the ‘tribe’ is near certain death. I think of it as one of the original existential threats to any individual ape or human. While physical isolation is no longer the same level of threat, our psychology and emotions are still deeply impacted by this kind of evolutionary tribalism. Since the invention of farming, humans have altered the selection pressure to point to ways beyond such physical tribalism, but the tribal psychology is deeply wired, for good evolutionary reasons, whose current application is often maladapted. Less than 10,000 years of lessening the selection pressure for physical tribalism is not enough to overcome the millions of years of reinforcement that came before, which still manifests in our emotions and psychology. It takes active and conscious honesty, curiosity, empathy, compassion, etc., which are frontal lobe activities to counter those tribal evolutionary impulses. It’s abundantly clear that our current ‘lead ape’ is unencumbered by such frontal lobe activities.
This encapsulates many things I've been thinking since the Dubya era and says them so much better than I would have.
Reagan was a major daddy figure, too, but capable of compromise and not as broadly corrosive of the constitution (although there was that Iran-Contra thing and some back-tracking on civil rights relative to his gubernatorial days, largely to support the religious right leg of The Gipper's Stool. And perhaps some inappropriate props to the other two legs, although that was more in the policy domain and less in the constitutional damage domain)
What R-klans love is Control, and White Supremacy/Separateness provides the scaffolding and justification for Control. Fear feeds the need for Control. Separateness feeds Fear. If you are born and raised with the belief that Control Is Yours, that you have to be the director of your bubble’s Truman Show then you will try to dictate to others how to be human within your community. Daddy and the R-klans share this need for Control. That’s why they can’t quit him. What they don’t understand in a cosmic/soul sense is that this is all just a Truman Show.
Searing yet right on point.
Not only is he daddy, they think he is Badass Daddy. Ready to protect them and punish others. The Daddy they wish they had had. But as trump declines, this archetype is melting before us into a limp puddle of slime…
Please give us some names in addition to Taibbi.
Just read the other comments. Man, do you have some high level brain cells commenting on your posts. Happy to be a part of it.
GO DEMOCRACY!
Once again, you've nailed it! I completely agree.
I'm in Vermont, a Bernie fan, and an unashamed progressive. Not sure if that's "tribal"?
"This isn’t stupidity. It’s the deliberate subordination of truth-seeking to threat perception."
Many people would call this, "Stupidity." Count me one of them.