Stuart, I feel your pain, man. I was born in the Deep South. I know a lot about the South, and a goodly amount about the Wahw. The more I've learned, the less I think there was any value to the South as the institution we remember today. Listening to rubes here bellow about their 'glorious heritage' makes me nauseous. By their 'logic' of the glory of a lost cause, George Pickett would be a hero.
That said, I disagree with your historical analogues. I agree that the BBB could well be the undoing of Trump(ism), but I'll need to actually see that. It's not Pickett's Charge, it was not a crushing flame-out that led to ultimate decline of an underdog. Trump 'won' the BBB, by any means necessary. Trump won election twice, he dominates all branches of our government, his minions control and ruin our lives at will. The BBB was a Pyrrhic victory by a dominant 'winner'.
Rather than a Civil War analogy, if Trump is handed his comeuppance, it will more closely resemble the fruits of hubris best captured by Shakespeare. They quadruple down on every stupid thing they do, their supporters are having their lives crushed as we speak. Can their luck hold out forever? That's the real question.
Stuart, you clearly note above that "Trumpism is driven by wealthy white men desperate to hold on to their power and secure their fortunes. As was the case with the Confederacy, they have convinced enough non-wealthy whites to join them in their battles to create a powerful movement."
Being a Texas boy about your age, I'm old enough to remember LBJ's picture-perfect explanation of why so many of our people were convinced they needed to march up that long hill into the teeth of Federal fire on July 3, 1863. Lyndon said quite sardonically that "[i]f you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
Thank you for brilliantly putting our modern day horror into historical context, Stuart. I will remind myself of this again and again during the darkest days. This is truly our second Civil War.
Stuart, what if anything could shake the trance of poorer and middle-class white people in the South let alone nationally to align with the planter class of our day? My father, who grew up in the Jim Crow South, would rail against the never-ending desire of non-wealthy white people to ally with the people who screw them instead of working with black folks for all of us to live a better life. He lived hoping until his dying day that this scenario would eventually happen.
Although I was of course younger than my father, I was much more cynical than he was and felt that the call of what I called the Great White Tribe could never be overcome. So here we are 160 years after the Civil War and again watching non-wealthy white folks screwing themselves massively in the delusion of screwing black and brown people will reap some sort of "gains". What the hell is supposed to happen that requires them to sacrifice themselves for the plutocrats who wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire? God help us as we drag ourselves out of this never-ending mess once again.....
For your initial question: nothing. They will merely die. They would rather die than lose the opportunity to feel superior to somebody, anybody. It's some kind of monkey-brain thing, our ever-present will to status. They will watch their children and their elderly die of treatable diseases, while cheering on the regime causing it to happen. Trying to 'shake them from the trance' is a waste of time and energy, it's a conceit that the Left can no longer afford. We have no choice but to leave them to their fate.
I love you live in VT tho if my old brain remembers reading you went to Middlebury. Makes the Stowe address publishing make more sense. Hi from Barre "The Granite Capital of the World".
I have started to believe that Lincoln (love him but) should have just let the South go its own way. The rift is worse than ever now; I believe we will never mend it. We can't accept a country where one group has its boots permanently on the other's necks, like the current jackasses are trying to do, and we can't keep arguing about the same stuff and changing direction every four years. We have to figure out a better way, splitting up somehow, but do we have any true STATESMEN to lead the way?
As long as we're imagining hypotheticals, how's this one: The North treated the South as rebellious traitors. Senior Confederate leaders were tried and hanged. Land owners were dispossessed to pay war costs, large populations were relocated, scattered throughout the country. Remaining rebels were either deported or killed.
Reconstruction was the one single, greatest mistake the country ever made. The cowards of the time knew full well that they were leaving in place the seeds of a future rebellion, and possible takeover. But they chose to just kick the can down the the road. To us.
I have one request; please do not refer to Trump as a Yankee. A real Yankee is an ethnically British New England native. I understand that antebellum Southerners called all Northerners Yankees as an epithet, but don't be like them. How about third generation German American Nazi sympathizer? How about vile traitor to his mother's clan of MacLeods, who all must be spinning in their graves about now?
Stuart, I feel your pain, man. I was born in the Deep South. I know a lot about the South, and a goodly amount about the Wahw. The more I've learned, the less I think there was any value to the South as the institution we remember today. Listening to rubes here bellow about their 'glorious heritage' makes me nauseous. By their 'logic' of the glory of a lost cause, George Pickett would be a hero.
That said, I disagree with your historical analogues. I agree that the BBB could well be the undoing of Trump(ism), but I'll need to actually see that. It's not Pickett's Charge, it was not a crushing flame-out that led to ultimate decline of an underdog. Trump 'won' the BBB, by any means necessary. Trump won election twice, he dominates all branches of our government, his minions control and ruin our lives at will. The BBB was a Pyrrhic victory by a dominant 'winner'.
Rather than a Civil War analogy, if Trump is handed his comeuppance, it will more closely resemble the fruits of hubris best captured by Shakespeare. They quadruple down on every stupid thing they do, their supporters are having their lives crushed as we speak. Can their luck hold out forever? That's the real question.
Beautifully state, Stuart! Thanks for this very inspirational post!!
Stuart, you clearly note above that "Trumpism is driven by wealthy white men desperate to hold on to their power and secure their fortunes. As was the case with the Confederacy, they have convinced enough non-wealthy whites to join them in their battles to create a powerful movement."
Being a Texas boy about your age, I'm old enough to remember LBJ's picture-perfect explanation of why so many of our people were convinced they needed to march up that long hill into the teeth of Federal fire on July 3, 1863. Lyndon said quite sardonically that "[i]f you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
Thank you for brilliantly putting our modern day horror into historical context, Stuart. I will remind myself of this again and again during the darkest days. This is truly our second Civil War.
I think you purposely use Usha. But I love it when you are P-E-T-T-Y as fuck .
Impactful! Thank you!
Thank you, Stuart,
I never knew the background of your family, but it makes me even more impressed with your ideology and compassion.
Holy cow, Stuart, you really nailed it! Excellent piece.
Wow, I loved this history lesson Stuart. So on point. Gives me hope for our country. 💙
Stuart, what if anything could shake the trance of poorer and middle-class white people in the South let alone nationally to align with the planter class of our day? My father, who grew up in the Jim Crow South, would rail against the never-ending desire of non-wealthy white people to ally with the people who screw them instead of working with black folks for all of us to live a better life. He lived hoping until his dying day that this scenario would eventually happen.
Although I was of course younger than my father, I was much more cynical than he was and felt that the call of what I called the Great White Tribe could never be overcome. So here we are 160 years after the Civil War and again watching non-wealthy white folks screwing themselves massively in the delusion of screwing black and brown people will reap some sort of "gains". What the hell is supposed to happen that requires them to sacrifice themselves for the plutocrats who wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire? God help us as we drag ourselves out of this never-ending mess once again.....
For your initial question: nothing. They will merely die. They would rather die than lose the opportunity to feel superior to somebody, anybody. It's some kind of monkey-brain thing, our ever-present will to status. They will watch their children and their elderly die of treatable diseases, while cheering on the regime causing it to happen. Trying to 'shake them from the trance' is a waste of time and energy, it's a conceit that the Left can no longer afford. We have no choice but to leave them to their fate.
I love you live in VT tho if my old brain remembers reading you went to Middlebury. Makes the Stowe address publishing make more sense. Hi from Barre "The Granite Capital of the World".
I have started to believe that Lincoln (love him but) should have just let the South go its own way. The rift is worse than ever now; I believe we will never mend it. We can't accept a country where one group has its boots permanently on the other's necks, like the current jackasses are trying to do, and we can't keep arguing about the same stuff and changing direction every four years. We have to figure out a better way, splitting up somehow, but do we have any true STATESMEN to lead the way?
As long as we're imagining hypotheticals, how's this one: The North treated the South as rebellious traitors. Senior Confederate leaders were tried and hanged. Land owners were dispossessed to pay war costs, large populations were relocated, scattered throughout the country. Remaining rebels were either deported or killed.
Reconstruction was the one single, greatest mistake the country ever made. The cowards of the time knew full well that they were leaving in place the seeds of a future rebellion, and possible takeover. But they chose to just kick the can down the the road. To us.
I think the rich know full well what is coming for the rest of Americans, they just don't care who get hurt.
Great piece.
I have one request; please do not refer to Trump as a Yankee. A real Yankee is an ethnically British New England native. I understand that antebellum Southerners called all Northerners Yankees as an epithet, but don't be like them. How about third generation German American Nazi sympathizer? How about vile traitor to his mother's clan of MacLeods, who all must be spinning in their graves about now?
Thank you for saying so eloquently what only a son of the South may say with authority.