There is a mystique about the West that's every bit as bullshit ad the mystique about the South and similar in some ways. There's the erasing of historical crimes against humanity, the faux claims to independence, and the strange definition of masculinity which includes 'strength" but not brains. The Southern version has more faux morality. Both have BS about being victimized by outside elites. The West version has A LOT of pity party about not being represented when in fact they are over-represented in government.
I guess my question is: Why is that kind of bullshit the model? Why not a model focused on re-imagined Revolutionary War heritage and New England?
2025-10-19 17:14:37
Re: the Lost Cause myth. Along with that is the faux rebelliousness. I mean the guys with the confederate flag on their hat, pickup or window which they say doesn't stand for racism because it is an expression of independence, being opposed to excessive government etc. It's often a self-image thing; "I'm not a follower! I'm not conventional! I'm a free person doing things my way!" Around where I live it goes with long hair, a beard, and sometimes a meth addiction. It doesn't necessarily go with rightwing politics since some of those guys are too dysfunctional to be political. (And sometimes they are felons).
2025-10-19 15:43:42
I was thinking the other day about that weird time when all of a sudden a subset of the national culture was into CB radio, complete with radios, handles, etc. Making excuses to contact each other just so they could say, "Ten four, good buddy!" When I was in college and working in a restaurant, I had the experience of waitressing a get-together of wannabe Burt Reynolds guys and their wives (who went by handles like "Sugar Cookie"). They stiffed me on the tips, BTW.
And a few years later, the sudden sprouting of TX accents and line-dancing.
Both were inspired by movies that glorified an image of southern living.
Of course I, too, was a local manifestation of a media-driven subculture, so I'm not claiming any kind of immunity or superiority to herd instinct. I'd like to believe that my subculture had better values and retains those values even if the outward manifestations have faded.
But this is all an aside. Yes, it appears that the "Southern Strategy" has gone national, at least in rural areas.
BTW I live in a red rural area, complete with flag festooned pickup trucks and local wackos in city government, but over six hundred people turned up for our No Kings Day event and the majority of people who drove past were supportive with honks and waves.
There is a mystique about the West that's every bit as bullshit ad the mystique about the South and similar in some ways. There's the erasing of historical crimes against humanity, the faux claims to independence, and the strange definition of masculinity which includes 'strength" but not brains. The Southern version has more faux morality. Both have BS about being victimized by outside elites. The West version has A LOT of pity party about not being represented when in fact they are over-represented in government.
I guess my question is: Why is that kind of bullshit the model? Why not a model focused on re-imagined Revolutionary War heritage and New England?
Re: the Lost Cause myth. Along with that is the faux rebelliousness. I mean the guys with the confederate flag on their hat, pickup or window which they say doesn't stand for racism because it is an expression of independence, being opposed to excessive government etc. It's often a self-image thing; "I'm not a follower! I'm not conventional! I'm a free person doing things my way!" Around where I live it goes with long hair, a beard, and sometimes a meth addiction. It doesn't necessarily go with rightwing politics since some of those guys are too dysfunctional to be political. (And sometimes they are felons).
I was thinking the other day about that weird time when all of a sudden a subset of the national culture was into CB radio, complete with radios, handles, etc. Making excuses to contact each other just so they could say, "Ten four, good buddy!" When I was in college and working in a restaurant, I had the experience of waitressing a get-together of wannabe Burt Reynolds guys and their wives (who went by handles like "Sugar Cookie"). They stiffed me on the tips, BTW.
And a few years later, the sudden sprouting of TX accents and line-dancing.
Both were inspired by movies that glorified an image of southern living.
Of course I, too, was a local manifestation of a media-driven subculture, so I'm not claiming any kind of immunity or superiority to herd instinct. I'd like to believe that my subculture had better values and retains those values even if the outward manifestations have faded.
But this is all an aside. Yes, it appears that the "Southern Strategy" has gone national, at least in rural areas.
BTW I live in a red rural area, complete with flag festooned pickup trucks and local wackos in city government, but over six hundred people turned up for our No Kings Day event and the majority of people who drove past were supportive with honks and waves.