Angry White American Conservatives

We know the routine. When White American Conservatives feel their privileged social order is threatened they become angry. They started a Civil War when slavery was no longer accepted in a free country. They opposed the civil rights movement and school integration. The very same racism and resentment from the past lingers today and fuels the KKK, white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

You wouldn’t know it from their howling accusations about “Leftist suppression of free speech” in higher education, but far Right white hate groups have been increasing their recruitment activities on college campuses across the country. For some reason Conservatives had no problem when Liberty University de-recognized its campus Democratic club, saying the national party’s platform went against the school’s "moral principles". But Trump is fine, amirite?

As a political weapon, Conservatives have seized the authority to unilaterally define terms of our political and policy debates. They root their dogma in one-sided definitions such as “liberal media”, “death taxes”,  “death panels”, “right to work”, and now even “liberal and leftist” Americans.

Their decades long campaign to smear and demonize the word “liberal” has come back to bite them. Liberals resisted, and reclaimed the word for themselves.

Far Right Conservative Dennis Prager has taken the authority upon himself to separate and redefine “liberals” apart from “leftists”, in order to divide and conquer. Spoiler alert: "Leftists hate America, oppose capitalism, oppose border security, and promote a progressive agenda". The far Right immediately accepted his definitions as absolute. It is the way of all authoritarian followers.

Leftists/Liberals don’t have to redefine words to define American white Conservatives. Instead, we let the historical record define them. In the past, white Americans, no matter how poor, enjoyed a higher social status than minorities. As civil rights and equality expanded, they felt they were the ones becoming marginalized. For the privileged, equality is viewed as oppression.

This meant they had to oppose the advocates of racial equality, minority voter rights, women’s rights, social justice, and democracy.

Angry White American Conservatives were originally Tories loyal to the Crown and then racist slave owners who started a war of treason.

Later Angry White American Conservatives were/are...

...opposed to Blacks having the right to vote.

...opposed to women having the right to vote.

...opposed to child labor laws.

...opposed to labor safety laws.

...opposed to FDR and Social Security.

...opposed to interracial marriage.

...opposed to the civil rights movement.

...opposed to school integration.

...opposed to Medicare.

...opposed to Medicaid.

...opposed to all public healthcare apart from the V.A.

...opposed to public schools and teachers’ rights to negotiate pay and work conditions.

...opposed to public universities and faculty.

...opposed to labor rights and unions.

...opposed to women’s reproductive rights.

...opposed to scientific consensus on greenhouse gasses.

...opposed to a free press critical of Nixon, Reagan, the Bush Dynasty, and Trump.

...opposed to regulating banks and Wall Street.

...opposed to minorities' access to voter registration and polls.

...opposed to environmental regulations

...opposed to LGBTQ equality.

...opposed to democracy itself by vote suppression, gerrymandering, and seizing disproportionate representation in the Senate and Congress.

There are small minorities of White American Conservatives who differed to some degree on some of these issues. Some still believe in personal character and speak out against the Party of Trump. 

But the Angry White Conservatives largely remain loyal to the Party of Trump and still hold to these positions.

While the far Right needs to invent meanings of words to define those who disagree with them, we let their own actions and words define them.