General Discussion

Trans issues are a fig leaf, one of several excuses for the real issue, that an expected path to prosperity has disappeared for a certain group. Relative deprivation (note, "relative" is a crucial term here) creates resentment. When the person feeling deprived doesn't know the real reason for their failure to progress as expected, they will look for scapegoats. Scapegoats found: other groups, particularly those groups who the scapegoater can easily "justify" opposing based on their culture's accepted standards - e.g. Christian dogma, which meanwhile some sects have twisted over the years to strengthen the supposed justification for reprisal against these groups, e.g. LGBTQ, independent women, immigrants.

I bet many here will disagree with the below analysis - and that is EXACTLY why we have lost this group - overall as a party, failing to understand and even PRETEND to care about the impact of the below problem on the demographic group that has tended heavily MAGAt.

FACT: Jobs in certain high-skilled specialties have been outsourced to non-Americans (both immigrants and overseas) for around 20 years, give or take. If you think of career progression as a ladder, you can say that many rungs near the bottom have been removed for Americans who might have had the talent and interest for those jobs. Note that this includes Americans in all non-elderly demographics - but for one demographic particularly, this is a primary reason for resentment, as other issues that might be more critical to them - such as police abuse, or reproductive slavery, tend not to apply to them.

I know the above is a FACT because I have lived it.

ALSO FACT: Neither party will really make a dent in this outflow of opportunity. Because it is not in their financial interest to do so. Because POLITICS RUN ON MONEY and company political donations are going to go to what they think helps their bottom line. The outsourcing of these jobs at least overtly (and tbh, probably in reality, just not as starkly) improves the bottom line. Ergo, many large, software-dependent companies will support politicians who will not screw with their cheap labor pipeline.

ALSO FACT: Democrats I have spoken with have almost completely failed to acknowledge this issue, and some have implied that the person raising it is "racist". (OMG, those folks have no idea what real racism is, nor the fact of who is impacted at least as badly as white Americans - that would be black Americans, to whom these jobs that once may have presented opportunity, are now almost completely closed off.)

The MAGA movement has PRETENDED to care about this issue, but mostly have successfully obfuscated it by focusing on the scapegoat issues that they have effectively steered their followers to.

Democrats, in my experience, have not even pretended to care, and have even attacked people who think this is an issue. (e.g., me).

If this were my "Gaza" issue like some extremist "liberals" in the last election, I wouldn't vote Democrat. But I continue to register and vote Democrat because Republicans are SO EVIL on ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE (and I even struggle to justify "almost" ). I gave up a long time ago on Democratic politicians supporting my position every single issue I care about. This is a huge one, IMO, but it is up to the Democratic voters to wake up and realize that there is real pain behind why white Americans and especially males support Republicans - and act like they, Democrats, give a shit. And help to make their Dem politicians realize it too. Although it may be too late now, because of the effective replacement of the real issue with the scapegoat issues in the MAGAt mind. And no Democrat should cave on LGBTQ or the environment or women's freedom.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Just to reiterate one point: the "real pain" I speak of, has NOTHING to do with LGBTQ, or most issues that the wrong-wing uses as excuses. Those "issues" are only scapegoats.