It’s really tempting right now to fall into the trap of hating people who voted for Trump and enjoy their suffering as a result of his policies. There’s a term going around on the internet for this ... “FAFO” or “Fuck Around, Find Out.”
The admonishment that follows those sentences for a needful attitude adjustment for Democrats was written by Watauga County's own Jack Yordy, a recent college graduate and an accomplished political organizer. He's on Substack:
Are there people who voted for Trump because they are hateful? Yes. But I don’t believe 74 million Americans base their political decisions on hate. For many, if not most Trump voters, it was our failure to convince them he was bad for the country which left the door open for them to vote for him .... we didn’t communicate the gravity of Trump’s impact on their lives effectively enough, and even we couldn’t imagine he’d freeze all federal funding or intentionally try to collapse the economy.
It was our responsibility to get that message through and for whatever reason, we failed.
Jack's understanding and empathy for people with very different ideas is rooted in dedicated door-knocking, and not the kind of door-knocking that involves shoving a leaflet into a stranger's hands. It's an understanding based on listening, on actually hearing and understanding the fears and anxieties that flesh is heir to. Jack ran canvassing for the Watauga Democratic Party and got his education listening to people who worry, who grow restive, whose uneasiness can ripen into anger.
Also people who never had an opportunity for much education, so their grammar may waver, and when they post on their Facebook pages, they may misspell or misuse words. I've seen those people mocked by my political allies, and it always grates on my nerves. No wonder the people being mocked hate liberals, the over-educated, the snobs.
Jack's conclusion:
The fight isn’t reserved for Democrats in blue states. We’re also fighting for those Nebraskan farmers, and Appalachian coal miners, blue collar Trump supporters and disabled Florida retirees.
Our mandate is to care about these people, not just to win political points but because it’s the right damn thing to do. Laughing at people who are suffering is not productive or good. It will accomplish nothing but the further entrenchment of Trump voters rather than their openness to crossing over to our side. If that’s what you plan to do for the next for years, to revel in the misfortune of people who made one bad and likely uninformed choice, you’re Fucking Around, and you’re going to be part of the next group that has the misfortune of Finding Out.
No comments:
Post a Comment