The other voice(s)
This is going to be a unique Echo Chamber Club. It’s difficult to show you a different point of view to the metropolitan norm when so much noise is flooding through the media / social media. We can’t monitor what the general consensus is so we can’t challenge it. Having said that, many of you have asked for particular information, so here are some articles that may sit outside your social feed.
In the past few months we’ve touched on the American election three times. We looked at the alt-right and the philosophical arguments against neoliberalism. Another time we looked at personalities in support of Trump, focusing on Scott Adams. Finally, we showed you why an American might believe the election is rigged, demonstrating that rules can be manipulated in any democracy.
We hope that this commentary helps you understand a steel-manned different point of view. If it did then please tell everyone about us – hit share to Facebook at the bottom of this email and encourage people to subscribe here.
Minorities for Trump
Women for Trump
The content on the various Women for Trump Facebook groups is not dissimilar to the content on any pro-Trump site. They are against the Democrats because they are against establishment corruption and they are pro typical Republican policies (pro-life, anti-political-correctness, pro-Christianity.)
“All issues are women’s issues. I have no idea why liberals continue to separate them. Do they really believe we only care about vaginas, boobs and killing our offspring? Liberals assumed we (women) would vote for Hillary based on those reasons alone. THAT’S sexist if you ask me.”
Read more in Chicks on the Right
(P.S. checked if this is a real person and not a troll)
“In a 2015 CNN interview, attorney Michael Cohen produced numbers from the Trump organisation which demonstrate that there are more female executives (than male executives) in the firm, and a large number of these women “are paid more.””
Hispanics for Trump
“The media wants to believe what is convenient for them to believe. They create their own reality. Latinos and other minorities have been exploited by the system for too long. We too feel disenfranchised.”
“Obama, if you remember, when he ran the first term said within the first year all of the illegal, undocumented people would have documents. He said he would fix their situation. But he didn’t do it.”
Blacks for Trump
Very few black people voted for Trump, but an increased percentage voted for Trump compared to Romney. Here are a couple of views from a small minority.
Is Trump Racist? Let’s take a look by Van Bravo – It’s fairly difficult to pick out one quote here but these views do exist. In another video this view was espoused…
“I am not on a plantation … No one owns my vote … Michelle Obama said … It does not matter who is on that ballot, it does not matter what they’ve said or what they’ve done. You just vote Democrat … It really upset me … I am valuable … I am worth someone taking the time to woo me.”
Michelle Obama: Don’t tell us how to vote – posted on Milo’s FB – it’s difficult to watch. It has 1.1M views and nearly 30k shares though – so it’s an influential voice.
Amish for Trump
The Amish rarely vote – however Trump’s campaign team realised that mobilising this community could win them Pennsylvania and the election. Some believe it did.
“We knew it would be close from the beginning,” Walters said. “We knew the Amish were a sizeable enough amount of the population to provide the margin, should the election come down to the wire in Pennsylvania.”
The reaction from…
The Alt-Right
Radix Journal published a ‘symposium’ of alt-right thoughts on the ‘Meaning of Trump’ on the day of the election.
“I think we all looked at Donald Trump and instinctively knew “this is what real leadership looks like.” This man could be a Caesar, a Duke, or a King.”
“We on the Alt-Right should never be naïve about politics, but many of us have crossed the line into pure shilling and simplistic cheerleading with Trump. I know I have.”
Points of Light | American Caesar | Millennial Dawn | Make Persia Great Again | Survival? | The Return of the Great Man | Which Way Maga Man?
The Middle East
“[Obama] sought to downplay US interests in the Middle East and to downplay the extent to which the US could shape outcomes in the Middle East, and tended to view the Middle East as a distraction that prevented America from focusing more energy on areas of the world that were more central to its interests, in particular Asia,” Heydemann told Al Jazeera.
“I have a feeling that the next president will look at the Middle East differently … and will probably move quickly to re-engage in a number of different arenas.”
“Arab autocrats are gleeful. Islamic extremists seem ecstatic. Israel’s right-wing government is exuberant. Only Iran seems nervous about the election of Donald Trump.”
Also recommended is this piece from Mada Masr on Trump’s stance towards conflicts in different regions. It’s difficult to pull one quote but please do read it.
Russia
It is highly recommended you watch the whole of Putin’s statement about “resuming and restoring relations between Russia and the United States”
“[Putin is talking] As I have repeatedly said it is not our fault that Russian American relations are in that poor state.”
You may also be interested in our previous newsletter on how the West has continually broken their promises with Russia.
The Caliphate
I almost left this out because ISIS would have had a similar reaction if either candidate won. Clinton is anti-ISIS because she’s a woman, Trump is anti-ISIS because he said he’s against Muslims. Each works for the Daesh narrative that the West is against Islam and should be destroyed.
“ISIS supporters have previously expressed their enthusiasm for Trump’s success, like when he secured the Republican nomination in June. The militant group sees Trump’s alienation of Muslims in the West as an ideal recruiting tool.”
State specific laws passed
A little has been spoken about this on social media but there are a few wins and losses for liberal policies. Cannabis is now legal for recreational use in half of the US. Colorado has legalized specific conditions for euthanasia. Arizona, Colorado and Maine voted for an increased minimum wage. California, Nevada and Washington voted to make their gun laws even tighter. Maine, however, rejected a similar initiative.
Florida has voted to release genetically modified mosquitoes whose offspring cannot reach adulthood to combat the Zika virus.
The death penalty has been strengthened however. Nebraska overturned their ban, and California and Oklahoma further entrenched the death penalty into their laws.
To conclude
We’ll be back with a proper Echo Chamber that focuses on a particular issue next week. By that point our monitoring should tell us what the consensus believes, so we can continue steel-manning the opposing arguments.
The Echo Chamber Club is launching something big next week! So keep your eyes peeled for an announcement!
Also you might be interested in this article I wrote about how to reach out to a Trump supporter.
Please keep sending us your thoughts and thanks for your support so far!
