The right-wing 'seems happy to immiserate the nation' to 'preserve' white privilege

[Celerity]

https://www.rawstory.com/the-right-wing-seems-happy-to-immiserate-the-nation-to-preserve-white-privilege/



The longer the covid is with us, the more it seems John Calvin had a point. The 16th-century theologian and autocrat had a dismal view of human nature, writing in his Institutes of the Christian Religion that "perversity in us never ceases, but constantly produces new fruits." These days, it's not the most stylish perspective. But Lord, is it ever on the money.

I am reminded of this after reading a sociological study that found that exposing white Americans to information about racial disparities in health care lessened their empathy for those who suffered from the covid. It also lowered their fear of the disease and reduced their support for safety precautions against it.

Simply put, the more white people believed the covid was a problem for Black people and people of color, the less they cared about it. That held true across the board for participants. Being a political conservative increased the effects, but even white liberals showed the same basic trend. The conclusions are as terse as they are grim:

Publicizing racial health disparities has the potential to create a vicious cycle wherein raising awareness reduces support for the very policies that could protect public health and reduce disparities.

The more you know, the less you care.

snip

[Hassler]

1. It happened in real time in 2020. When COVID hit, we were all in this together

Until the first reports of it infecting minorities more than white ppl. Then Chump started his open Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia talk and his MAGAts went wild. It's been that way since.

[qazplm135]

2. which is why we have to focus more

on winning elections repeatedly and putting policies in place after, than trying to win people over with policies from the start.

The problem is our voters require policy to turn out to vote, but their voters don't really require that, they turn out to stop liberal policies.

So we only win when they get power and screw up enough, then we get into power, and people forget about the screwups and just fear the "policies" that we ran on to get our voters to turn out in the first place and put back into the power the very people who screwed up, until they screw up again, and we get sent back in to fix it.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

[ymetca]

3. For a cult that largely denies Evolution

they sure practice a lot of Social Darwinism.

[slightlv]

4. Is it that?

Or is it, as I said in another thread... there is just SO MUCH that's wrong... so MUCH to care about... so MUCH EVIL that any one aspect gets lost among the rest of it?

I'm sensitive. I don't say that for any great ooh... or anything. I cry when the damn ASPCA or Humane Society ads come on. I cry when I read about the Russians inhumanity towards Ukraine. I cry at the drop of a hat. And I FEEL these things deep inside me. I know I'm not alone. And I'd lay odds the overwhelming number of those who are like me are Democrats... liberals... progressives. We care. If we didn't feel, we wouldn't care. But maybe because we feel so much some of it gets lost in the morass of evil. Gods, I'm using that phrase a lot today. Morass of evil.

Somebody threw away a beautiful Russian Blue shorthair cat. Just threw it away. It found its way into my catio. I lost my best bud two weeks ago and my heart hasn't stopped breaking since. I dunno, maybe from the Rainbow Bridge he helped this poor cat find its way to my house to help ease my pain. But I haven't stopped crying since. Both for the lost little Blue... and for my lost best bud orange tabby. And I just have to wonder... is it going to be like this until I die? I'm 66 now. I'm part of the generation that waited for the Age of Aquarius. We're almost here, folks. This isn't what I thought it was going to be like. We can't fix the whole world, but we feel like we have to. At least, that's the feeling I'm left with. I guess I've just already lived too long.