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After a year of increasingly divisive rhetoric, the Presidential election is finally upon us. Whatever happens on Tuesday, we will be entering another stage.
Whether Mr. Trump wins or loses this election, we as a society need to keep our mind on the big question: How did we get here in the first place? How did a person like Trump—openly racist and sexist, an unrepentant bully, someone who jeers at everyone he doesn’t like—become a serious candidate for the highest office in the land?
Trump has not existed in a vacuum. He has been supported by a vocal group, disproportionately disaffected white men who see him as their standard bearer.
Why Trump? Why now?
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In 1993, we were recovering from twelve years of Reaganomics. Bill Clinton was President. The Golden Era of Eisenhower, when white men had exclusive rule over the nation, was long gone. It is this Golden Era that Trump invokes when speaking of making America great again.
These were uncertain times for the White Man in America, and out of these times came a movie that resonated: Joel Schumacher’s “Falling Down.” In the film, Michael Douglas’s William Foster is divorced, unemployed, and living with his mother. Every day, he pretends to go to work, ashamed to tell his mother about his work situation. He cannot visit his daughter due to a protection order.
On his daughter’s birthday, Foster finally breaks. Stuck in traffic, he decides to abandon his vehicle and walk across Los Angeles in order to deliver a present to his daughter. The film follows his break-down, as he gets increasingly more violent and unhinged.
The film also follows Sergeant Martin Prendergast, played by Robert Duvall, as Prendergast tries to catch up with Foster. Eventually, the two meet, leading to a violent confrontation on a pier.
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“Falling Down” represented the increasingly frustrating that many white men felt about a stagnant economy and a general loss of cultural power. Foster, a former defense contractor, felt betrayed by the system: “I did everything they told me to,” he tells Prendergast, “I helped to protect America. You should be rewarded for that.”
Foster also struggles with what he sees as a decay of society. In one scene, he stops in at an Army Surplus store run by a Neonazi who tries to bond with him. “We’re the same, you and me,” the Neonazi says. Foster responds: “We are not the same. I’m an American. You’re a sick asshole.”
When Clinton speaks of the two baskets of Americans supporting Trump, these are the two she’s talking about. The Neonazi is part of her “basket of deplorables,” the alt-right xenophobes who embrace Trump’s hatred of all things different.
But Foster is in the other basket, a white male who might be decent enough in his heart, but who is feeling overwhelmed, disenfranchised, and angry at a system that he feels is leaving him behind. Today, Foster would most likely support Trump over Clinton.
At the same time, Foster’s rage is drenched with a sense of entitlement and privilege. He becomes angry when a fast food restaurant refuses to sell him breakfast because it’s two minutes past the transition to lunch. He accuses a Korean convenience store owner of theft for overcharging for a Coke. He mocks a homeless person for lying in order to get spare change. He attacks construction workers for fixing a road that he feels wasn’t in need of repair. He shoots at some wealthy golfers who try to hit him with a golf ball. He punches up, he punches down.
When I think of many of the comments I’ve seen over the last year in support of Trump, especially those coming from white men, Foster echoes in their words. All the problems of the world are someone else’s fault. It’s the gays, it’s the Mexicans, it’s the Muslims. They say blacks are getting shot by the police because they’re violent and non-compliant, not because there’s a problem with law enforcement. They insist that Clinton is going to take away their money and their guns, just as Obama did.
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What makes “Falling Down” powerful is that it allows the viewer to see Foster’s perspective; some viewers even saw him as a hero, not as the anti-hero that Schumacher intended. It allows us to explore the rage of the White Male who sees a past where he had more power, more respect, and more prestige.
In the end, though, Foster is not let off the hook. The final moral of the film is delivered by Prendergast, who is spending his last day before retirement chasing down a psychopath. After Foster complains about his betrayal, Prendergast responds: “That doesn’t give you any special right to do what you did today.”
I myself am a white man. I was not born into wealth but I was raised middle class by college-educated parents. I grew up with certain expectations about how the privileges I did have would protect me through life.
I’m not as financially stable as my parents were. My house is nowhere near as nice. I have significant debts. I could connect with Foster’s anger, as well as with the anger of the other white men who feel that Trump is offering them a way out.
I don’t, though. I have come to see that, no matter how frustrated and betrayed I may feel at times, I’m still better off than many of my fellow Americans. Much of my situation is due to my own mistakes. Blaming the Other is not going to change my situation.
◊♦◊
I’m not optimistic about being able to reach the deplorables like the Neonazi Army Surplus owner in “Falling Down.” But, as the dust settles from this nasty and often divisive Presidential election, I think that it’s crucial that we find a way to come together, to help the Fosters among us work through their rage and frustration and realize, as Michelle Obama says, “We all know better. Whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or independents, it doesn’t matter. We all understand that an attack on any one of us is an attack on all of us, and we know that that is not who we are.”
We know better. Let us stop focus on falling down and focus instead on standing back up.
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Photo credit: IMDB/FallingDown
Paul, Good article. Your points are well-taken. White men have been privileged in many ways and many respond with anger and rage when their position is threatened. You mention the 1993 film, Falling Down. Although the film focuses on the way the Michael Douglas character goes off the rails, we need to also recognize the underlying causes. First, he lost his job. This is devastating to men since we believe the core of our identity is tied up with being “the breadwinner.” Second, he lost his wife. Many men feel that if their wives no longer love them, they are… Read more »
Brilliant article. Well said. I am a 47 year old man, educated, always worked hard and 11 months ago was forced to resign my position for political reasons. I still haven’t found a job and feel very much like the American Dream is over. I am going to check out this movie you mentioned in your article.
Nothing will improve in this nation until we start to truly listen to one another. Every man and woman, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, politics, etc should be heard. When you dismiss someone because you feel their “word choice” makes any discussion pointless, then clearly you are not open to any kind of real discussion. You must have it you way. Well, if you insist upon having it your way Mr.Hartzer then so be it. It will get us no where. This is the problem today in America, especially with our new educated elite. This new elite feels as… Read more »
Excuse me Jules, but Trump certainly feels entitled to talk down to people and yet you say nothing about his own brand of elitism. Trump is exceedingly arrogant and superior but you seem more at ease with him being both these things while attacking Clinton. You mockingly refer to the use of “deplorable” but never mention all the names Trump has used to bully and abuse people. Trump is certainly America’s new president. But even more so, he is White Men’s President. Where does that leave women and minorities? Second class citizens, where privileged men like us to be because… Read more »
Paragraph 2: Criticizes someone as being closed-minded for commenting on “word choice”.
Paragraph 3: Criticizes someone in a closed-minded way over their word choice.
So what Erin said.
Yes, I am white and already an old man, but I reject strongly such a suggestion that ‘white old men’ are to blame for any kind of wrongdoing.
“All the problems of the world are someone else’s fault” At the same time you have many non-male or non-white privileged people saying that white males are still to blame for everything. The fact is, you don’t have to be white and male to cause shit to happen, look at all the petty, backward banana republics out there who pretend to govern but instead torture, rape, kill their own citizens in the name of controlling their citizenry, pushing their agendas and lining their pockets via overseas accounts. Yes it is largely males who are doing that but they are certainly… Read more »
Paul, Has not the progressive left in America created the whole culture of victimization? This whole notion of “mirco aggressions” and “safe spaces” is a total creation of the progressive left. More importantly, the reason behind all of this nonsense is that tells certain groups that they are victims. It tells them that they deserve special treatment because they are victims. It also says to these groups, “you are not responsible for your situation.” The “us vs. them” or race baiting or any other kind of divisiveness has always been fostered by the progressive left. This is how they get… Read more »
I disagree with your comment, but your word choice suggests a debate would be pointless.
Jules’ first paragraph, re the dominant culture’s use of victimization & entitlement, is spot on about what you failed to mention: that era’s rising groupthink that absolved selected groups by blaming others and supported entitlements for selected groups … but not others. He put the burden back in your court to address these issues (again, to be clear, not in the 2d paragraph), and it seems disingenuous to point out disagreement that’s already plain and avoid engagement with the issue by a “word choice” ploy. Which words? Upon further review, I have to assume you meant the words “progressive left”.… Read more »
Typical “open-minded” progressive I see.
The conservative right has not a record of economic success when it comes to putting America back to work even though they have cut taxes for corporations and wealthy people plus giving them subsidies, and keeping government out of the economy. All this stuff that the conservatives have done has created the Great Depression of 1929, the Savings and Loan Scandal of 1990s, the Wall Street Scandal of the 1980s, and the Great Recession of 2008. A lot of white male Americans have constantly voted against their own economic interests for the last 36 years. so they need to blame… Read more »
Great article, but while the support for Trump is predominantly angry white male, it’s not necessarily the answer to ‘how?’ The alchemy of Trump’s support is such a paradox, that should it ever be a science experiment, it would blow up in your face. The American dream is not a big one. Neither is it selfish. It’s not about entitlement. It’s about being left behind. These people are angry. Anger has no intelligence. When a man commits suicide, we ask why. Voting for Trump is a suicide of sorts. If your’e feeling hopeless, ‘Make America great again’ has a certain… Read more »
Excellent article! Some White men are just plain ass*oles!!!
Some [Color] [gender] are just plain ass*oles!!!
So, D. Are you a racist, misandrist, or both?
Or is your ‘qualification’ “Some” supposed to inoculate you from both descriptions of what you express? If so, it renders your “reply” utterly devoid of meaning, as it’s always true that “some” [adjective] [categorization of people] are [name-calling].
Lovely piece. Overcoming frustration and finding perspective and the strength
to accept change is a wonderful goal for us white guys. I write about that in my book, “Breaking the Male Code.” Your article is a wonderful contribution, Paul.
Thanks
Thanks very much for the comment of support. 🙂
“All the problems of the world are someone else’s fault. It’s the gays, it’s the Mexicans, it’s the Muslims. ” If anything it’s a response and repudiation of the progressive mantra that everything is the CIS, white, man’s fault. The mainstream, progressive, left has done a much better job of dividing the country than the alt right ever has. Even the neonazis believe it was us vs them. With the main stream, progressive, left it’s the gays vs the straights vs the trans. It’s men vs women and abled vs disabled. It’s white people against every other race and every… Read more »
Ah, the irony of blaming everybody else in your defense.
IIRC, John’s not white.
So… now what?
So? I assume he doesn’t consider himself part of the “mainstream, progressive, left”, which is who he’s apparently blaming for all the divisiveness.
I’m not. I’m ultra progressive. You can consider it progressivism without the BS. Main stream progressivism caused other inequalities to exist. The answer isn’t always moving the needle to the right although at times it is. Sometimes it’s moving the needle even farther to the left. I’m Filipino. If you hadn’t noticed, Asians have outperformed white people on average in just about every metric that progressives use to define success / privilege: education, wealth, not being incarcerated, life expectancy, etc. and its not because we haven’t been discriminated against. When my mother and father got married, inter racial marriage wasn’t… Read more »
John, Do you hear crickets after those 3 paragraphs? I do.
Mainstream conservatives and extreme right conservatives are responsible for cause the inequalities to exist for the last 36 years.
Some inequalities, but not all. It was actually the religious people who did away with slavery after all and I wouldn’t call them liberal even for their time. We now have liberal organizations like NOW opposing shared parenting, opposing rebuttive paternity (in Michigan a man who father a child with another man’s wife was not legally considered the father and couldn’t legally rebut the presumption of paternity. Oddly enough every feminist I spoken to outside of Michigan thinks NOW was nuts for opposing it, but of course they pulled that letting men know their wives were cheating would put her… Read more »
Yeah, and you did not have a lot of conservatives wanting to outlaw slavery and freeing the slaves.
“it was s the liberals who pushed to exclude white, CIS, men from access to the protections of VAW”
Yeah and you have conservatives who don’t want to give any kind of labor protections to even white workers no matter what their background is. It is all about protection for corporations and rich people.
No the conservative right has done a better job of dividing the country starting with Lee Atwater
Or we can look at the big picture instead… I do understand well enough how the opposite brings weird comfort
https://mosaicscience.com/story/global-health-check
Wait, if things have gotten better and white men have been in charge, how can we blame white men for screwing things up? That’s the problem when truth gets in the way of the PC narrative.
White men still hold the keys of political, social, and economic power. There was a white male CEO of the Scott Tape company who stated that guys like him are in charge of the economy and they are not going to give it up. When Obama asks a white male CEO about bringing the manufacturing jobs back to America, the CEO told him no. Yeah, white men are still in charge especially since they are wealthy white men.
OK, so how does that negate the fact that white men have contributed to the improvement of life for all and in fact are dis proportionally responsible for it?
So now does that negate the fact that white men have also contributed to the lower standard of life around the world since half the world’s population is still struggling on $2 to $10 per day. You can’t have it both ways.
Couple of contentions here. First, Trump is not seeking to give men a way out, but our entire nation an opportunity to change direction from this downward spiral, failing infrastructure, unmanageable dept., finally some real solutions to the race issue, etc. etc. It is only through the twisted rhetoric, misinterpretation of his words (mostly in the left leaning media), so as to suit an anti-white, anti-male agenda that sees it any other way. Second is this illusion of male privilege and power. It is that assumption that because one looks like the guy in charge, that he is also in… Read more »
Most of our downward spiral is caused by greedy businessmen who have rigged the system in their favor.
How precisely will that be fixed by literally giving a greedy businessman who has rigged the system in his favor the reins?
But I digress. Most of the people who are buying Trump’s snake oil are white men. Unless you want to tell me you’re a POC female…?
Thank you! Talk abt delusion!
Paul, I still remember the movie and it was a powerful reminder of the inner workings of men who become violent and yes, I think it has implications today. Another theme in the movie, the thing that triggered is rage, was his disconnection from his children and the feeling of pain and anguish that he couldn’t be the father he wanted to be. Men out of work, or afraid of being out of work, and their inability to be a positive presence in the lives of their children are two of the themes that we are still dealing with today.… Read more »
I agree but good luck with getting to that point when with sentiments and articles like these that refuse to acknowledge the collective spirit of white men (and in many cases men in general) until its time to blame them for something. But Foster is in the other basket, a white male who might be decent enough in his heart, but who is feeling overwhelmed, disenfranchised, and angry at a system that he feels is leaving him behind. Today, Foster would most likely support Trump over Clinton. I bolded that word ‘feels’ part because this about as close as this… Read more »
And what the white liberals love doing is ignore the pleas of the black community who are saying that people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are crooks yet these two are loved by liberals and the media and fall all over them. White liberals love jumping on the band wagon and wave their “look at me, I’m white and I care” flag. Get off your high horse, come down to reality. Ya’ll want an old rich white women in the white house … come Tuesday you may have her and you’re welcome to her. But as I think DJ… Read more »
White conservatives have ignored the pleas of the black community, the American workers and want to sanitize American history and not show the dark, evil side of American history..
Well, let’s assume that Trump has abused the tax code and business rules. Wasn’t Clinton a senator who had some input into those? Didn’t she actually vote for those? Your solution is to let her introduce more laws that would alow the ricj to abuse the system. How is that gonna help?
Actually, some of the tax code loopholes that Trump abused have been closed.
Don’t tell me what my solution is, please. For someone who brags about being free of BS, you’re engaging in quite a few BS rhetorical tricks.
What rhetorical trick. It seems more you’re outraged that you were caught. You blame Trump for a tax code he could not have voted for, but absolve Clinton, the self proclaimed co-president, if you remember back to 1992 for creating the laws that Trump supposedly abused. That is blatantly dishonest.
Reminds me of when Clinton got on Trump over his supposed support of the war, and all her followers seemed to conveniently forget that he was a private citizen with no greater access to information than any other, and she was in office.
Come on, John, you’re too bright to put forth such a thin argument. Blaming Clinton for Trump’s loophole is ludicrous for several obvious reasons, the most direct one being that she simply isn’t and couldn’t be responsible for it. Your statement is blatantly dishonest, and therefore also hypocritical.
Paul, I disagree. The other Paul is suggesting that because Trump used pro-business tax loopholes, which he didn’t create, he would create pro-business loopholes when in fact it could be suggested that since he knows how to find loopholes, he’d actually be better at closing them. Well, you can’t draw either conclusion from the simple fact that he used a loophole. That doesn’t mean other things can’t be brought into play. The other Paul can’t make a case simply on Trump following what was then current law. You can be a lot more accurate with Clinton though. We do know… Read more »
I am not the least bit outraged.
And either you know the games you’re playing, or you’re going to have to get someone else to point them out to you, because this isn’t the venue for us to tango.
Look at the article I linked to in my response to Paul. Now consider this in the back drop of Clinton wanting the tax payers to completely fund education and what that would do to prices and would do for for profit institutions which are essentially diploma mills since under Obama part of the school’s rating is determined by how many students are in default. Students who would now under Clinton all never be in default as they wouldn’t owe the money. We would. Consider that shortly after Clinton received $18 million for essentially no work. Well, aside from possibly… Read more »
We would not have student debt if we had not gotten rid of giving students free/affordable college education like we used to have in the late 40s, 1950s, and 1960s, until Reagan set the precedent of getting rid of it.
Students don’t have an affordable college education because the cost of college has risen at a rate several times (I believe it’s about 4 times, but I’d have to look it up) the rate of inflation. Many have tied that increase to the fact that it is government subsidized. Clinton wouldn’t resolve the underlying problem of the cost of education. It would still remain unaffordable in fact with government paying for all of it, expect the costs to rise 6 or 7 times the rate of inflation. It will simply be all the tax payers who will be unable to… Read more »
The government subsidizes the GI Bill and the colleges during the 1950s and 1960s and ended up with the greatest middle class in American history. You don’t see the European nations drowning in national debt because they give their people a free college education.