Blargh Honk in Book Five: Working Through the Maze 2018

So, don’t know exactly what is going on… but painful morning, really sleepy commute, and just a blah day in the first hour of work. I’m guessing it is probably to do with how busy we were yesterday. My body is like “Woah. Dude. Can we get a minute?” Nope, not really. Hearings and hearings and depositions and meetings… another fun and likely full day, my friend.

I read something this morning that riles me up, explains a few things, and makes me want to speak truth to power.
The Donald continues to say he’s responsible for “so much job growth. Our economy is great, terrific. I did that. People don’t give me credit, but I did that.” First of all, no… you didn’t. The current upward trend ACTUALLY started during Obama’s presidency. So… y’know… I get that Trump has no concept of past or future and is only obsessed with NOW but… historical context. More damning though is the rubric he is using. He is using NYSE, Nasdaq, DOW, and estimated job growth numbers (numbers he himself has said were “meaningless” before he took office.) It is NOT based on whether the working poor have climbed out of the hole the Recession put them in. It is NOT based on Rust Belt wages or jobs, despite their ardent support of him. When the strength of the economy is based on how much wealthier the wealthy are getting… the working poor are still being treated as invisible. Yet, the people that said they felt most invisible under Obama love Trump. And this disconnect of “your economic strength is actually weaker now, why do you love this guy?” has been the center of SO MANY THINK PIECES! Because… those with the time, inspiration, and motivation to write think pieces CANNOT UNDERSTAND why people most likely to be hurt by Trump Economics love this guy! Previously it has been suggested that it is about racism, homophobia, broken religious zealotry… and every answer DOES apply but may not explain the group en mass. The corruption Denotative v Connotative piece offered an interesting, and I’d argue relatively accurate, explanation from the Social Anthropological side. The idea that Americans do still care about the same things, fighting corruption, but how we define corruption is no longer shared. BUT lets look at it from a Socio-Economic point of view.

You belong in the Rust Belt. You’ve been working a hard job with minimal insurance, no sick time, no holiday pay, for twenty years. You make 9.75 an hour, which you feel is pretty good since it is more than many people you know, even though it isn’t enough to comfortably pay for rent, utilities, medication, and your daily needs. You voted for Donald Trump because he made you feel listened to. He’s done nothing to help improve your wages, but the company is more profitable than ever. Socio-Economically, he hasn’t helped you out at all. BUT he sure is laying into those illegal immigrants who would take your job if they came in. He’s fighting to make sure Christmas is the focus of winter. He’s telling all of those preening feminists to Shut up and leave alone. He’s saying “Gay people shouldn’t have rights!” And “Abortion threatens us all!” So you like him. Because you’re no longer invisible!

That’s the mindset (?) but the truth is… you’re still invisible. Because by trying to steer your attention to the Social and Cultural Issues… you feel heard and validated… while he continues to fuck you over economically.

Quick exercise:
(1) Would you rather (a) keep your job and be paid more for it; or (b) fight for your job every day in a Right to Work environment?
(2) Would you rather (a) get 2 days of Christmas paid vacation; or (b) get 1 week of Holiday paid vacation?
(3) Would you rather (a) work in an environment where you felt safe and appreciated; or (b) work in an environment that allowed workers to bully each other and sabotage one another?
(4) Would you rather (a) get paid maternity/paternity leave like the rest of the world; or (b) make sure gay people can’t get married?
(5) Would you rather (a) spend your outrage and energy making sure you can get paid sick leave; or (b) spend your outrage and energy making sure that an impoverished woman is forced to have a baby?

By shining the flashlight on the social and cultural issues while screaming “Look over here! Look at these things! These are shiny things you care about! The other party wants to take them away from you!!” They are distracting you (hardcore) from the economic issues that would actually benefit you. Rust Belt, Working Poor, Struggling Whites… this is why Think Piece Writers, Liberals, and Traditional Conservatives are fascinated, confused, and disheartened by the current world. You have legitimate, genuine, worthwhile needs and concerns that your political representatives should be working towards. But you support someone who gives raving lip service to cultural issues while voting against your best interests. It is… confusing. And likely… not something that will change or get fixed. But I can hope. I can hope, pray, and work towards a world where… we may not agree on things, but we all agree that we need to work on things. We used to have that, I’m fairly sure. We see poverty as a problem… Liberals say we can spend our way out of the issue, Conservatives say we can cut spending our way out of the issue… and arguments, discussions, and debates took place. Now? Now it feels like Liberals are saying “Poverty is a problem” and Conservatives are saying “We’ll have to check with our base first” while Trumpists are screaming “Brown people and women are coming for my freedoms!” And that is why a nation that is often divided on issues is so divided right now. We don’t all occupy the same reality. We’re not having the same conversations. And seriously? The man at the top? Is a preening egocentric man child that isn’t helping. Disagree with that? Watch this week how Trump will fight to keep himself on the cover of every magazine and paper… he hated McCain, and this week is supposed to be an In Memorial for him. So make sure to watch Trump say batshit, offensive, or nonsensical things to make sure he’s getting the attention. Because, like the unloved child he actually was, he doesn’t distinguish between Good Attention and Bad Attention… he just wants attention, praise, and focus. He’ll settle for two out of three if he can’t get all three.