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A Confederacy of Toddlers

(www.theatlantic.com)
23 points rbanffy | 1 comments | 04 Nov 25 08:05 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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mrkeen ◴[04 Nov 25 10:03 UTC] No.45809223[source]▶
Remember in 2015 when there was no chance of Trump winning, then he did, and everyone collectively realised no-one had actually talked (listened) to any of the voters that put him in power?

Well, after win #2 (this time with the popular vote) here we are again:

> Friedrich Nietzsche created a concept that can help us understand this political moment. He imported a word from French to describe a kind of deep-seated anger that goes beyond transitory gripes: ressentiment, a feeling that comes from a combination of insecurity, an amorphous envy, and a generalized sense of resentment.

The majority is such a bizarre outlier that you need 19th century German philosophy to really understand what's going on.

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1. happytoexplain ◴[04 Nov 25 12:47 UTC] No.45810355[source]▶
It doesn't seem to be calling the majority an outlier or bizarre. You don't even need to apply this label to the majority - they needn't all have this mental state. Further, it's not an obscure concept - it's a pretty straightforward concept.

Yes, the people aren't listened to. But a big, chunky part of what they are saying is being heard, and is just not solvable because it's based on simple hatred of other people (not an insignificant part of every election - but the core of this one). That grievance doesn't somehow legitimize the vote for him. It only explains it.