Analyzing the Fear of Marrying a Trump Supporter
Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. This phrase remains true to the last of its words. What can a political squabble do to a family? Just an argument at the dinner table? Or going to the extreme of driving your child out of the house. Well, the latter remains to be true to this TikToker — Bridgette Olek who had to feel the heat, after her father discovered that she had protested at a Black Lives Matter rally in Fargo, North Dakota.
Perturbation between the two had been leaking fumes for a while. He’s Republican and a Trump supporter. She’s “the polar opposite.” Olek said the last straw had been drawn when she went to a protest instead of entertaining family members who were visiting for the weekend. Her father asked her to leave, so she packed up her van and headed to other parts of Minnesota, then North Dakota, then Arizona, and finally North Carolina — or where ever destiny took her.
Then an appeal just sharing her vent on Tiktok: “But I’mma be homeless for a while so if anyone wants to let me couch surf…” That’s the kind of support teens and young adults like Olek have come to expect in an era of crowdsourcing and mutual aid groups. It was a big ask to Olek’s 500 followers at the time. She now has 22,000. The post was viewed by more than 700,000 times, and more than 5,000 people commented on the viral video.
However, here the scenario is different, to set the scene it was the unprecedented times — not talking about the virus or my job. It was about this dreamy (at least for me), well mannered, soft-spoken guy. A “kind of person” my folks, would be elated for me to get married. All was good in paradise until the elections came. There was a casual discussion on all cliché topics. As we ran out of nice things to say to each other and boost our egos. The topic of our political interests had arrived.
Publicizing the differences had never been a good idea for a budding relationship. As a person with a strong ‘political opinion’. I would not mind to take a megaphone stand on the top of the building and bawl I support Joe Biden this time, contrary to my previous cheer to Donald Trump not exactly supporting his lightning-fast ascent and political invincibility of him to critic people of color or women. Just to reinforce my belief in America — in believing all of the lives matter, even the crazy and extremists one.
Nevertheless, as the conversation furthered my thoughts and scenes of dreamy life ended with the smoke emitting machine in the background running out of its dry ice that is when I realize as I see with my gawking awkward realization that he was a MAGA supporter. Now, this is one of those times where it’s advised to overcome or live with “everyone has their opinions”. Besides, the freedom to choose whomever they support.
But, what else would I have to adjust to? Will he pick his nose on all our romantic dates? Will, he not wear a mask while out in Costco for shopping? Will, he wants to talk to the manager for being mad about his hair cut a quarter millimeter more or less? Or is “Karen” his secret middle (hidden) name?
How did one opposing view of our opinions, bring me here? Any accurate and sufficient answer to that question must not only focus on our differences but Trump himself, and uniquely loyal supporters. Given their extreme devotion and unwavering admiration for their highly unpredictable and often inflammatory leader.
With all these impenetrable thoughts, I turned to my old friend — Psychology. With some basic and scientific explanations based on precise quantitative data and established theoretical frameworks. I came thru many thought-provoking explanations for his enduring support, the accounts of different experts often vary greatly, sometimes overlapping and other times conflicting. However insightful these critiques may be, it is apparent that more research and examination is needed to hone in on the exact psychological and social factors underlying this peculiar human behavior — not considering my “overthinking” here.
How a bumpkin candidate’s speech vehemently lined with absolutist terms like “losers” and “complete disasters,” was naturally appealing to his blind followers. Was there no initial resistance in the mind of this new opulent dressed man? What kind of condition they had for this unchanged resistance and indisputable sway demanding absolute submissiveness to his authority. Even with the display of aggressive approach to its suppressed minorities and rigid hierarchical view of society, this republican gave neck-to-neck contention can only be described specifically with “Authoritarian Personality Syndrome.”
Although, this syndrome is mainly driven by fear, making it easy to fear monger to gain their allegiance. What about those proud veterans and black supporters of Donald Trump? There had to be more to this story.
The flipping of the enormous book led me to various other factors, which were or not related to what I was looking for — still thinking about my dreamy life with this guy, who possesses the perseverance to bear my bean plating.
Trump supporters if not majorly but noticeably were composed of people who prefer the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups dominate the low-status ones. Those with “Social Dominance Orientation” are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest. Trump calculatedly appealed to those with Social dominance orientation who are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest. By repeatedly making a clear distinction between groups that have a generally higher status in society (Whites), and those groups that are typically thought of as belonging to a lower status (immigrants and minorities).
This being said, it would be grossly unjust and imprecise to say that every one of Trump’s supporters has a prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally fallacious to say that many do not. It is a well-known fact that the Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” used strategies that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles” — code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.
While the dog whistles of the past were more subtle, Donald Trump’s are sometimes shockingly straight. There is no denying that he routinely appeals to bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “murderers,” often in a sheathed fashion. Perhaps a novel study has not failed to draw the analogy of Trump with modern racism.
Common explanations for Trump’s popularity among non-parochial voters involve economics. There is no doubt that some Trump supporters are simply angry that American jobs are being lost to Mexico and China, which is certainly understandable, although these loyalists often ignore the fact that some of these careers are being lost due to the accelerating pace of mechanization.
This kind of relative deprivation refers to the extreme experience of deprivation concerning something to which one believes they are entitled. It is the disgruntle that is felt when one has this skewed comparisons to their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them.
While in real-time or more than once, it has seen Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans do. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This proportion has persisted with Trump voters’ physically distancing from the Mexican border.
While all this probing of psychology books and research papers has helped me, understand and sympathize with a chauvinist, charismatic leader. I came to conclude that these supporters are looking for nothing more than being belonging in a covenant. A covenant that has its sentiments running thicker than blood. While I was all merry and happy to understand and accept him. It was all diminished to my micro broodings. He said he never cared and had all forgotten about it and subdued my stress as he rubbished all of my delirious dubiety. Declaring to being a sanguine person.
While this situation has been mollified, so did America with its new hopeful leaders. Hoping to see the soul of the great nation being saved, irrelevant of the party or its leaders.
