https://medium.com/@DaleBeran/4chan-the-skeleton-key-to-the-rise-of-trump-624e7cb798cb#.zgg5puzgd i'm curious mostly about how our resident right-leaning people feel about this. to me it seems believable, and in some cases pretty spot on if i think up a good tl;dr for this i'll post it too
I've read about half of it and skimmed the rest. Interesting read (especially since I haven't much knowledge or experience regarding 4Chan), will probably finish up later when I have more time. If I were to hazard a rough summary of the thrust of the article: A section of people feel dis-empowered, both in their daily lives and in their view of whether or not they could change the world around them for the better. They see on all sides terrible things, and as such go forward with simultaneously embracing and dismissing that including their own "loser" nature. Trump is the ultimate personification of this, thus they support him, not because they think he'll make things better but rather because they know he won't. That he's a joke, albeit a cruel and dangerous one in a way (but then it's not like they would have "succeeded" with another candidate?"). Also only the Left can "save the world" from an impending implosion into far-right totalitarianism (and fix the problems which caused people to feel that supporting Trump would be some sort of cathartic release). ------------------------ *shrug* Personally: I disagree with some of his characterizations and conclusions... but I do think his mention of others' observations is correct. That even if Trump doesn't follow through for a given reason, that they voted for him because it was seen as a departure from the current hegemony... and that they felt that any such departure would be better (even if they knew it would be worse in the long run? Maybe). Therefore, Trump's "antics" and actions are seen as a boon to many supporters (in spite of the inconsistencies and sometimes truly disturbing things inherent in them) rather than a detraction; not in the sense they think anything actually "good" will come from them (at least not directly) but as an expression of their own disgruntled nature... or something. It's something I and many others have been saying for quite some time. Though I had more focused on the "it's something ostensibly different" aspect rather than the being personification angle.
