(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . “Fear Is the Oldest and Strongest Emotion Known to Man” [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-05-21 H.P. Lovecraft Nobody is expecting that a confirmation of Trump’s misogyny in the hush-money/election interference trial will change the minds of his cultists. Though it does deepen the mystery for the sane among us as to why. First there was the Access Hollywood tape. Then his statutory rape conviction, and the extramarital affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall, yet no movement in the polls. Why are they so fanatical? In this post I’ll advance a theory for the cause, and then explain how that theory can be used to advance our cause: flushing The OT down the toilet. At the end we’ll find that it’s all about domination, hierarchy, and authoritarianism. Once you understand that, it makes all the sense in the world why republicans love Trump and why Democrats abhor him so much. Please understand. I’m under no illusion that this will gain votes for Biden. But it will definitely convince some of the cultists to stay home. Let’s connect the dots. Samuel L. Perry, a sociologist of religion, says that Trump’s sinful behavior may actually reinforce his support among at least some evangelicals. Perry “found that evangelicals tend to see sexual temptation as just a normal part of being a Christian man — that God gave men tremendous sexual appetites because he wanted them to be leaders and initiators and people who take charge. And this isn’t just about sexuality; this is about every area of life. … that the ultimate male goal is to lead — in terms of politics, is to lead, in terms of moral authority, is to lead, and also in terms of sexual initiation.” (bold added) For those evangelicals, the natural order that they revere is hierarchical and cast in stone. If that order is broken, then chaos ensues. There is no other source of order – more on that below. This hierarchical mindset has been with us for a long time. Case in point, The Mudsill Speech, delivered by the Honorable John H. Hammond, Senator from South Carolina in the Senate of the United States, March 4, 1858: “In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class requiring but a low order of intellect and but little skill. Its requisites are vigor, docility, fidelity. Such a class you must have, or you would not have that other class which leads progress, civilization, and refinement. It constitutes the very mud-sill of society and of political government; and you might as well attempt to build a house in the air, as to build either the one or the other, except on this mud-sill.” For those who are not conversant in historical architecture, a mudsill is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. There always has to be a bottom component, right? That’s the Mudsill Theory. The Mudsill Theory was foundational for the slave owners until the Civil War, and also for the “Lost Cause” / Jim Crow / Ku Klux Klan perpetrators through the 20th century. Next we will review the evidence that it is still driving today’s Trump supporters. Trump supporters score high on the Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; just over 4 in 10 score in the top quartile in a Monmouth University poll compared to almost zero for Biden supporters. What is an RWA personality? Among other characteristics, they strongly: Defer toward authority figures Insist on obedience from people of “lower” status An RWA views society as a hierarchy; zero sum. If somebody moves up, someone else must drop down. If my group is on top and another group wants to better themselves, it can only come at my expense. The nice thing about being an RWA is that there is no need to think. Just do what the boss says. Everything will be fine. The rest of us are perfectly happy to see the downtrodden better themselves. When that happens, it doesn’t demean us. In fact, we will probably be better off because that person converts from a burden on society to a tax-paying citizen. The allegiance of the RWA personality is to people, not principles. The RWA can not understand the rule of law. Loyalty to the leader is all that matters. This explains why, contrary to popular expectation, Trumpers did not vote their pocketbooks in the 2016 election. MAGA is about cultural fear, not economics. Fear is the strongest emotion. Fear short circuits the logical mind. When a MAGA hears about help for disadvantaged groups, that fear erupts out of their guts like the Alien. Their hierarchical order is shattered. And they have nothing else. Law and principles are meaningless to them. All is chaos and they are scared to death. Trump is a bully, an old-fashioned, schoolyard bully. Anybody who’s moved to a new school knows that you don’t deal with a bully by backing down. But you don’t escalate either. You look them in the eye and stand your ground. If you give an inch, they own you. [That’s why I wish Merchan would have thrown Trump in jail for attacking witnesses. It would be the first time Trump has ever been held accountable for anything. He would be powerless sitting in the cell; another first. He wouldn’t attack witnesses again during the trial. His cultists would see that and it would move the needle. Yes, I know that that he’s maneuvering to be that crucified Christ figure. Don’t believe it. The cultists crave Trump because he exudes strength. They know no more about turning the other cheek than they know about quantum physics.] Back to RWA MAGAs: the aggression that we feel from the MAGAs is caused by fear. With that knowledge you can manage your interaction: DO NOT BACK DOWN. We already know that appeasement doesn’t work. It only causes more aggression. Don’t escalate, either. Escalation will cause more fear and that will cause more aggression. “Ok,” you’re asking. “That’s fine, but how can I actually use that knowledge?” Let me give an example. When a Trumper says that the economy was better under Trump, don’t immediately cite a bunch of facts, however true, that the economy is better under Biden. First, validate the Trumper’s fears about the economy by recognizing the fact that 80% of American workers are worried about getting laid off. So yes, the economy is doing well. But how do workers feel? The answer is that they are scared. And they have a right to be scared. Don’t stop there though. DO NOT BACK DOWN! Continue with a brief summation of current vs. 2020 economic data. Then you tell your Trumper friend, “You know, the Democrats want to make sure you don’t lose your healthcare when you get laid off. Hopefully yall can give other examples. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/5/21/2241976/--Fear-Is-the-Oldest-and-Strongest-Emotion-Known-to-Man?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/