With the caveat that I think the political landscape is going to be vastly different from now on '26 and '28 and I think "look at those freaks" is a pretty winning message in the mean time, I think middle class people don't understand how important being better than welfare is important for non-poor conservatives. It's why we have to make so much effort to hide some of the biggest welfare programs in the tax codes or people have to believe they earned their Medicare and social security.
I also think substantively we really should have more welfare programs and services that protect men. Lots of the worse dudes could really use a therapist and a social worker! But the idea of getting such help makes men very angry. It's that paradox of masculine privilege.
I also think that, in the same way educated lefties are wrong to paint poor men as secret socialists, certain centerists are wrong to paint poor men as evil nerds a la Richard Hanania, who is a different kind of educated freak and not a disaffected youth in the rust belt.
Great piece! Very easy to project a kind of paternalist, working class solidarity cosplay onto the actual working class. Talking about their priorities, empirically, is a good call!
That is so funny. According to Google you are correct. It's legit working class coded to genuinely not know. But probably not to try to use French and actually it's Latin and also get it wrong.
BUT, there is an informal definition: "documentary evidence showing a person's legitimacy; credentials."
With the caveat that I think the political landscape is going to be vastly different from now on '26 and '28 and I think "look at those freaks" is a pretty winning message in the mean time, I think middle class people don't understand how important being better than welfare is important for non-poor conservatives. It's why we have to make so much effort to hide some of the biggest welfare programs in the tax codes or people have to believe they earned their Medicare and social security.
I also think substantively we really should have more welfare programs and services that protect men. Lots of the worse dudes could really use a therapist and a social worker! But the idea of getting such help makes men very angry. It's that paradox of masculine privilege.
I also think that, in the same way educated lefties are wrong to paint poor men as secret socialists, certain centerists are wrong to paint poor men as evil nerds a la Richard Hanania, who is a different kind of educated freak and not a disaffected youth in the rust belt.
I'm so obsessed with Hanania right now. I might even fuck around and read his book. Scientific racism is dumb and evil. But IQ is real.
"Being better than welfare is important for non-poor conservatives." Girl it's important for poor conservatives too. At least it was for this one.
Great piece! Very easy to project a kind of paternalist, working class solidarity cosplay onto the actual working class. Talking about their priorities, empirically, is a good call!
Excellent piece, but I’m pretty sure bona fides is latin for “good faith”
That is so funny. According to Google you are correct. It's legit working class coded to genuinely not know. But probably not to try to use French and actually it's Latin and also get it wrong.
BUT, there is an informal definition: "documentary evidence showing a person's legitimacy; credentials."
Sorry, yes I didn’t mean to imply your usage was wrong! I just think it’s useful to know the precise translation, a very PMC-coded thing to think!