
What I learned after 100,000 miles on the road talking to Trump supporters - af16090
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/03/trump-supporters-us-elections
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jtrtoo
It's all too easy to feel righteous indignation for the "others" when we're so
easily immersed in our own little bubbles and personal challenges. To be sure,
there are fringes on the edges of every faction of the political spectrum that
are more difficult to reconcile, but if one can tune out that noise for a
moment there is a possibility of reaching a deeper understanding of one
another here. Whether or not you like the path chosen to office by our new
President-elect--or even like him at all--there is something to be learned
from listening to the large numbers of people who voted him into office and
the factions that supported him. Most of them are honest, decent, and
hardworking people that have similar struggles, hopes, emotions, concerns, and
dreams as most anyone else in this country. The President-elect's message
resonated with many people. That may seem crazy to many folks, but most folks
who voted for him aren't crazy. Pay attention, engage in conversation, and try
to understand why it resonated. And if you supported him, do the same. If
everyone can work hard to remove the rhetoric and BS perpetuated by any of the
political parties all the better.

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blkhp19
A small sampling, but their reasons for supporting Trump just show how little
they know about why they're in their current situation / what electing Trump
could possibly change for them. It's simultaneously sad and infuriating.

This just goes to show that education is key. Education is about so much more
than the classes you take. It teaches critical thinking, which can help
improve emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a powerful skill to
have. It allows one to look inward, reflect on their own circumstance, and
reason about how the society they live in actually affects them.

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MrZongle2
_" This just goes to show that education is key."_

 _IF_ it is accompanied with _understanding and empathy on the part of the
teacher._ Condescension is part of what got Trump elected; going "oh, we have
to teach these poor stupid people" or treating an education project in
Appalachia as a volunteer tourism lark will do little than breed more
resentment.

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dvt
The article tries very hard to portray Trump's followers as racist, but really
I just think they are desperate and forgotten. A quote really resonated with
me, from Lori Ayers in Ohio:

> “I voted for Obama the first time, not the second. Now I am voting for
> Trump. We just got to change things.”

It's obvious that what resonates with blue-collar workers is change. The sad
thing is they are probably a dying breed in a world where computers are
replacing everything from air traffic controllers to bus drivers.

I'm not sure if there IS a solution, apart from massive education reform (to
help their kids break out of that social strata) or massive government
incentives to bring jobs back -- which will most likely not happen.

Conservatives definitely have their own problems, but liberals live in such
bubbles, it doesn't even surprise me Hilary lost (even though I was leaning
that she wouldn't).

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rokosbasilisk
The narrative pushing is too much. I still cant believe how much of asian
indian and asian community voted for him in philadelphia very unexpected.

