November 23, 2016
Page 7
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O PINION
Building a New Populism in the Era of Trump
We’re stuck in
this together
c huck c ollins
Imagine you’re
standing in line
for the American
Dream.
You work hard,
sometimes in dan-
gerous jobs. You
lead a moral life.
But the line is stalling, even mov-
ing backwards. Yet you see new-
comers up front — some of them
immigrants and people of color.
Maybe you’ve worked all your
life alongside African Americans
and Latinos — more than most
northern liberals have — but
when you complain about people
cutting you, those liberals call
you racist. Worse still, they seem
to look down on you because of
your Christianity, or your South-
ern culture.
by
That’s the worldview sketched
out by sociologist Arlie Hoch-
schild, a liberal professor who
spent five years interviewing
Louisiana Tea Party activ-
ists. She made friends with
them and stayed in touch
as they got involved in the
Trump campaign, an expe-
rience detailed in her new
book Strangers in Their Own
Land.
When Hillary Clinton
called Trump supporters “deplor-
ables,” Hochschild’s Tea Party
friends heard a put-down they
suspect liberal elites say about
them behind closed doors all the
time. Trump, on the other hand,
never dismissed them as racists
or rednecks. Instead, he blamed
their problems on the line cutters.
Unfortunately, neither Clinton
nor Trump got at the real reasons
the line isn’t moving.
The fact is, over the last three
decades, both Republicans and
Democrats have helped shift
America’s wealth to a small seg-
ment of rich people and global
corporations. They’ve each sup-
ported a corporate “free trade”
agenda and failed to do anything
more than tinker with tax rules
that accelerate inequality.
The resulting economic inse-
curity has given rise to both pro-
gressive and regressive forms of
populism.
On the one hand, the Ber-
nie Sanders campaign focused
on how the rigged rules of the
economy benefit billionaires and
transnational corporations. On
the other, Trump deflected blame
away from the real holders of
power and onto less powerful
groups.
In the general election, when
Hillary Clinton became pegged
as the status quo candidate, it
shouldn’t have surprised anyone
that Trump’s regressive populism
won out.
But Trump’s plans to deport
immigrants while cutting rich
people’s taxes will almost cer-
tainly fail to address the underly-
ing concerns of the non-wealthy
voters who elected him. That
leaves room for a more progres-
sive populism to get the stalled-
out line moving again.
That means building coalitions
between urban and rural workers
to raise wages and expand op-
portunities at the state and local
levels. At the federal level, cam-
paigns to tax the wealthy, create
jobs by building new infrastruc-
ture, and provide debt-free ed-
ucation could win allies among
Trump supporters.
Meanwhile, progressive popu-
lists should engage with Trump’s
white supporters to explain that
millions of black, Latino, and
Native workers are stuck in line
for many of the same reasons
they are. Together they’ve all
been held back by the 1 percent,
though racism has made things
far harder for people of color.
Fighting racism is essential.
But liberals shouldn’t assume that
Trump supporters are too racist,
too dumb, or too manipulated by
the Koch brothers to vote in their
real economic interests.
Instead, like Hochschild did
in Louisiana, they should take
the time to understand the deep-
er economic and cultural reasons
people might distrust the Demo-
cratic Party establishment and the
broader liberal agenda.
Because we’re only going to
get the line moving again when
we realize we’re stuck in it to-
gether.
Chuck Collins is a senior
scholar at the Institute for Poli-
cy Studies and a co-editor of In-
equality.org, where parts of this
essay previously appeared. He’s
the author of the recent book
Born on Third Base. Distributed
by OtherWords.org.
Reacting to the Stereotype, Not the individual
‘Before I was ever
blue, I was black’
on our pigmentation, our style and
our decoration.
The truth in America, while we
are advancing in certain parts of our
society, there are areas where we
by b obby f. k iMbrough J r .
For the last 55 years of my life, are at a standstill. If law enforce-
before I was ever blue, I was black. ment would be honest, they would
admit there are still some cities that
Undeniably black.
fall under the good ol’ boy culture.
I spent 30 years in
As one presidential candidate called
law enforcement,
but before I was
ever recognized
as a senior spe-
cial agent with the
U.S. Department
Justice, people saw a black man.
Whether I speak to you from a
perspective of a seasoned law en-
forcement expert or an extremely
proud black man born and raised
in the 60s, I must give you what
is true. The truth is there are times it, “locker room talk.” This kind of
when the police deal with the ste- conversation goes far beyond gen-
reotype instead of the individu- der and shows up in encounters peo-
als. There are indeed times when ple of color have with law enforce-
those on the inside of the system ment professionals.
There is a distinct culture in law
must ask themselves, Are we do-
ing what is right or what is white? enforcement. And there is undeni-
Conversely, there are times when ably a racist culture within a cul-
the black man lives up to the ste- ture. Many people know it exists
but have no clue to the depths of its
reotype in grand fashion.
In our society we function on impact. There is underground rac-
the rules of law. Within those rules ism and unbridled hatred. Some do
of law there is a moral justice that not realize how expansive it is until
circles the universe which exists they become a victim of it.
As a black man and a law en-
or gets ignored. African Ameri-
can males become the victim of forcement expert, I understand our
the stereotypes of a white culture. cultural roots. I recognize the need
Whether our adornment is given at for law enforcement to understand
birth or dispensed over the count- the black community, along with
er, we are often stereotyped based the Hispanic, Muslim and other eth-
nic communities. If you look across is the only way to disarm and alter tired senior special agent with the
America to those who protect and the system.
U.S. Department of Justice. He is
serve, many are doing good, but
Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr. is a re- the author of “Surviving the Stop.”
those who don’t skew the results.
In order for us to change the
current atmosphere between law
enforcement and communities of
color, we have to begin an ongo-
ing dialogue that equips every-
one with the knowledge to make
Boss Hogg
Christmas Tree Lot
There is a distinct culture in law
enforcement. And there is undeniably
a racist culture within a culture. Many
people know it exists but have no clue
to the depths of its impact.
sound decisions and take appro-
priate actions.
It is essential that police of-
ficers get consistent training to
manage their emotions when they
come face to face with the stereo-
types embedded in their minds. It
is imperative that we teach chil-
dren at the youngest ages in our
school systems how to interact
with law enforcement officers. It
is the things we do not know that
harm us and jeopardize our lives.
We must educate ourselves in
how law enforcement works and
the fact that the system has issues.
We must realize that sometimes
the system reacts to the stereotype
and not the individual. Moving
forward, armed with knowledge,
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