Voices4Hillarybegan a series on Sunday called Angry White Men. And we began it with a piece by the prominent gender sociologist, Michael Kimmel entitled--what else--Angry White Men.
Do we think all white men are angry? Of course not. Many white men are supporting Hillary, not joining the anger fest the Republican Party demonstrated in Cleveland and at Trump rallies.
Hillary Men often sport their love with style and wit.
But there are too many who are looking backwards --"Make America Great Again"--and don't see a place for themselves in a bright American future.
During the midterms in 2014, according to Slate and others, 64% of white men voted Republican. White voters without a college degree were nearly half of all voters in 2012, and many of those were men. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that white men supported Trump over Clinton 55 percent to 29 percent.
Some white men who have only high school or less education are reacting to rapid changes in their cultural and economic status, with globalization and technology among the principal culprits.
For some, there is simply the troubling fact of Hillary's gender, coupled by Trump's invocation of a low form of masculinist imagery--the ever-present baseball cap, a wife and daughter he treats as accessories and describes as "hot," a crude and arrogant mouth. For some men, Trump, the ignorant demagogue, is Man in Charge.
Hillary shares the anger of displaced and exploited workers, and offers them plans which include education and retraining, increased wages and jobs--jobs specifically in infrastructure and new energy industries, but too many white men seem not to hear her. Tim Kaine, with his working man's appeal, in addition to his other capabilities, is Hillary's quiet attempt to counter Trump's insistent male imagery.
For some white men, imagery trumps economic reality.
What else is operative here, driving these voters to abandon their own economic interests? What more can we learn?
When Hillary secured the Democratic nomination to be the Party's candidate for President of the United States, she smashed one glass ceiling. Gender equality--whether its form is the election of a female President or equal pay and equal access-- is not just for women and girls, but for men and families and communities and even countries. Ours fortunately is not a zero sum world.
As Hillary reminded us in her acceptance speech at the #DHLinPHL, "Standing here as my mother's daughter, and my daughter's mother, I'm so happy this day has come. Happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. Happy for boys and men because when any barrier falls in America, it clears the way for everyone.
"When there are no ceilings, the sky is the limit."
We publish this series for those who, as glass ceilings shatter, don't see the sky.
We hope you will read and share our series, especially with men, who feel forgotten and undervalued. They are our fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, lovers and friends. We understand them and we want them to understand a better future with Hillary. We also want them with us.
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Nicholas Kristof address this subject too in the New York Times on Sunday, July 31, 2016
When Women Win, Men Win, Too.
Hillary Clinton Tackles A Skeptical Crowd: White Male Voters. New York Times, August 1, 2016
Unfiltered Voices from Donald Trump Rallies.
New York Times reporters have covered Donald J. Trump's rallies for more than a year. His supporters at these events often express their views in angry and provocative ways. Here are some examples.
