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"...given that the people most angry with the direction of society are disproportionately wealthy..." Fairly sure that's not true. The insurrectionist hew fro

"...given that the people most angry with the direction of society are disproportionately wealthy..." Fairly sure that's not true. The insurrectionist hew from red states that are lagging the rest of the country hard. Less educated, under or unemployed, very little upward mobility, extreme feelings of powerlessness (hence the gun fetish to feel powerful) and truly are not really represented by anyone in government except their local officials and congressmen/senators. And they get disparaged by the coasts as dumb hicks. You'd be pretty chaffed if you were in their shoes, too. It doesn't excuse their behavior, but it explains it. If you want peace and a thriving nation, those people need their place, too.

newacct583 6y ago
Do you have a citation for that? This is a VERY common meme, but it doesn't have much grounding in actual numbers. It's been reported ad nauseum that republican voters everywhere, even in red states, are wealthier than democratic voters. In all demographics, even white voters, wealth correlates with republican lean. And as far as the insurrection at the capitol: almost everyone arrested there has been an employed or retired middle class person, often in a white collar job. Which isn't surprising, of course: most people had to travel to be there.
- Miner49er 6y ago
  I think you are working with old data. In 2008 that was true, now it's the opposite. The median income of Democrats is higher than Republicans'. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/economic-divide-in-the-us-is-becoming-as-stark-as-its-politics.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/economic-divide-in-the-us-is... I guess that maybe doesn't take into account cost of living differences and all that, though.
  - newacct583 6y ago
    Gah, that's comparing districts, not voters! They're saying not that poor people vote republican, but that poorer areas tend to be red. Even within those districts, poorer folks vote democrat. It also runs afoul of the problem of using median statistics in a distribution that isn't gaussian. In fact per this quick article I found trying to check out the conclusion in your link, it's bathtub-shaped: both the poorest and wealthiest counties trend strongly blue. https://qz.com/1919592/why-joe-biden-will-win-rich-places-but-not-rich-people/ https://qz.com/1919592/why-joe-biden-will-win-rich-places-bu...
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
> and truly are not really represented by anyone in government except their local officials and congressmen/senators. ...who the hell else should they be represented by in government?
- redleggedfrog 6y ago
  LOL! I take your point. I was thinking more in terms of overall zeitgeist.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
    That's kinda my point. Why do they feel entitled to any more representation, i.e. "in the general zeitgeist", than what they have?
    - everdrive 6y ago
      I think you're absolutely right. There was a similar event somewhat recently. (last 8 years?) I unfortunately can't remember the exact quote or article, but a leader of a small protest movement for racial justice was meeting with the president, and said something like "We feel like our voices aren't being heard," to which President Obama replied "You're speaking to the president of the United States." We seem to have a similar problem now. A lot of the frustrated, disenfranchised people are heard quite a bit: by their local government officials, their Senate and House officials, and then by some sections of the news media. It makes me wonder that "we're not being heard" actually means "we can tell we're not considered mainstream in popular culture."
      - newacct583 6y ago
        That's exactly right, and the elephant in the room. The desire of this disaffected branch of American polity isn't to be "heard", or "represented", it's to be the majority again.

newacct583 6y ago

Do you have a citation for that? This is a VERY common meme, but it doesn't have much grounding in actual numbers. It's been reported ad nauseum that republican voters everywhere, even in red states, are wealthier than democratic voters. In all demographics, even white voters, wealth correlates with republican lean. And as far as the insurrection at the capitol: almost everyone arrested there has been an employed or retired middle class person, often in a white collar job. Which isn't surprising, of course: most people had to travel to be there.

Miner49er 6y ago
I think you are working with old data. In 2008 that was true, now it's the opposite. The median income of Democrats is higher than Republicans'. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/economic-divide-in-the-us-is-becoming-as-stark-as-its-politics.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/economic-divide-in-the-us-is... I guess that maybe doesn't take into account cost of living differences and all that, though.
- newacct583 6y ago
  Gah, that's comparing districts, not voters! They're saying not that poor people vote republican, but that poorer areas tend to be red. Even within those districts, poorer folks vote democrat. It also runs afoul of the problem of using median statistics in a distribution that isn't gaussian. In fact per this quick article I found trying to check out the conclusion in your link, it's bathtub-shaped: both the poorest and wealthiest counties trend strongly blue. https://qz.com/1919592/why-joe-biden-will-win-rich-places-but-not-rich-people/ https://qz.com/1919592/why-joe-biden-will-win-rich-places-bu...

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago

> and truly are not really represented by anyone in government except their local officials and congressmen/senators. ...who the hell else should they be represented by in government?

redleggedfrog 6y ago
LOL! I take your point. I was thinking more in terms of overall zeitgeist.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
  That's kinda my point. Why do they feel entitled to any more representation, i.e. "in the general zeitgeist", than what they have?
  - everdrive 6y ago
    I think you're absolutely right. There was a similar event somewhat recently. (last 8 years?) I unfortunately can't remember the exact quote or article, but a leader of a small protest movement for racial justice was meeting with the president, and said something like "We feel like our voices aren't being heard," to which President Obama replied "You're speaking to the president of the United States." We seem to have a similar problem now. A lot of the frustrated, disenfranchised people are heard quite a bit: by their local government officials, their Senate and House officials, and then by some sections of the news media. It makes me wonder that "we're not being heard" actually means "we can tell we're not considered mainstream in popular culture."
    - newacct583 6y ago
      That's exactly right, and the elephant in the room. The desire of this disaffected branch of American polity isn't to be "heard", or "represented", it's to be the majority again.