Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
There is this weird opinion that unlike the very online, normies are indifferent/apathetic to politics and are just absorbed in their narrow normie lives This is 100% untrue. They’re all powerfully committed to unexamined politics, and their absorption in narrow lives is the most political thing on the planet
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Ben Basche
@basche42
I think this is true for the middle and lower middle classes (most of America) but not really the working class. They’re mostly tuned out
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
Disagree. Driving a pickup truck when you have no work need for one, and listening to talk radio as your routine drive-time entertainment is the opposite of tuned out. That's what I mean by unexamined. But you know it's real because they react *really* strongly if you push even a little on their lifestyles.
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Ben Basche
@basche42
Those are middle class affectations regardless of cultural signifier. Driving a pickup truck means you’re at least lower middle class. IMO banal to say these people are politicized, the real “middle” or depoliticized 1/3 of country has a decent chunk of it that is people with too many real problems for politics
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
Kind of people I'm thinking of (I know several) are definitely working class, buy used trucks and cut spending elsewhere to spend on their truck :) But the truck is just an example. My point is there's lots of signifiers of all class lifestyles that are extremely rigid, and whose politics are revealed if you push
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Venkatesh Rao ☀️
@vgr
Definitely there are the vanity truck crowd people too (know several of those as well) The only actually apathetic people are a subset of those rich enough to not really care because they can live as they want regardless of conditions. For them any interest in politics is a hobby, not a lifestyle protection instinct
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Ben Basche
@basche42
I agree with “if you push” and those material conditions sure are a pushin’
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David
@natdavid
My brother is a mechanic who drives a truck for actual utility and we talk about politics a lot. Even on the simplest level politics is like sports to people. In 3rd world countries even, people will have their hometown political faction Only exception is like dictatorships, but people have thoughts
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