Use of derogatory names for politicians and groups of people

[Dill]

(03-18-2024, 01:41 PM)Matt_Crimson Wrote: But why is that what it means?

It's honestly always kind of boggled my mind that people took "Make America Great Again" as "Make America White Again".

Trump has on multiple occasions spoken within the context of when America was "respected militarily and economically" and how we as a nation didn't "let countries push us around" and constantly talked about how we as a nation were being taken advantage of by other countries with things like NAFTA and NATO and that counries need to "start paying their fair share" instead of us paying for everything. He talked about bringing jobs back to Ameirca that were "taken" from us by other contries. That is what it means for "America to be great again".

Yet, people who oppose him consiistantly ignore all that and say "What does he really mean". He's already said what he means multiple times. You don't have to agree with any of it, but it is a definition of the "movement"  regardless.

Some people would say that America was great when it helped defeat the Axis powers, and then took up the responsibility of rebuilding a safer world, backing the UN, NATO and Bretton Woods institutions. That created both military and economic respect. That came back home with a civil rights movement which ended segregation.

But MAGA tends to define "greatness" as rather something different. Trump himself doesn't seem to know very much about the US or World history, and his handlers always complained they could not teach him. So what does he think makes America great? It does not seem to be the liberal democracy which the US has pushed for the last 70 years. Trump admires Putin and Orban. If they are "great," then what does he think a "great" America should look like?

Signing the TPP might have been one way of "bringing back jobs to America," as it would have forced a number of Asian "Tigers" to increase wages and allow unions, but he refused and it crashed, to be replaced by an East Asian partnership dominated by China and which excludes the US. The MAGA base sees him as "strong" and dominating the world rhetorically, but US allies, who double US power, are disconcerted by him, while our adversaries see him as a gift.

I suspect that most Trump supporters are upset that the country has not continued to progress as it had for previous generations--wages are stagnant, Blacks are doing worse economically, and yes, jobs did go overseas. But it is puzzling how all that gets laid at the feet of some liberal Hollywood elite, and not at the feet of Republican/MAGA big donors, whose tax break was the first great accomplishment of Trump's reign, followed by the undoing of EPA protections and tariffs which raised prices. 

The culture wars seem central to this great re-direct away from the real causes.  Did you know that Trans men can compete in women's sports now???