"A new trend has emerged in American politics: The very youngest voters — 18-to-24-year-olds — say they’re more conservative than the cohort that’s just older,” according to the latest Harvard Youth Poll.
“This new trend — which is true for both genders and emerged only in the last few years — is especially pronounced with men.”
If you didn’t know this, you haven’t been paying attention. Right wing voices have gone hard at the young male demographic for years now. They’ve targeted kids in online games and social media, and groomed them for years all with the goal of shaping their world view and by extension, their politics. Lonely young guys looking at people who present themselves as successful, rich, and rolling in women, not giving a fuck about anyone but themselves, telling young boys that they just need to be more sexist and racist and that’ll get them laid and make them feel fulfilled. Telling them that the world is wrong and they’re not. It’s been extremely successful, and all wide out in the open. That’s why voices like Andrew Tate made it into the public zeitgeist.
Frankly, it’s an absolute failing on all of the left for being completely unable or unwilling to see this or show an alternative world view. Too often, when I hear people talk about young white men’s issues, I get crocodile tears from everyone who can’t separate them from actual right wing provocateurs.
You’ve identified the problem many see, but what is the solution?
This demographic is notoriously hard to reach and the nature of its age and experience has a tendency to have their priorities woefully out of whack and susceptible to shit like Andrew Tate to Jordan Peterson. Asking or forcing them to watch Mr. Rogers isn’t going to cut it, if you know what I mean.
I may get downvoted for this but I tend to downvote comments that lay everything right wing on boomers/olds. I’m nearly one myself, and most of my RL friends are boomer age lefties. Is Vance old? Is Loomer a boomer? Maga Mike, MTG, Boebert, at most Gen X, are leading the charge, and all the Patriot Front dudes are millennials and gen Z. If it were all boomers only we could just wait for them to die off, but it isn’t.
I didn’t know I accused boomers, or older people specifically, of anything. Did I do that? Or am I misunderstanding what you mean?
I’m agreeing with you
No, u/dirthawker0 is supporting your point.
Don’t forget Gamergate.
I think the reason the left doesn’t hit back as hard is because it feels sort of strange to do so. It’s difficult to acknowledge at the emotional level that we’re really back to just fighting for the most fundamental basics of liberty, equality and pursuit of happiness. Especially given how the right co-opted talking about freedom in general a number of years ago. Do we really need to rewind our level of discourse all the way back to the 18th century though?
Well, if those are the principles that are under attack, perhaps we do.
All of this began with Steve Bannon and his WoW guild. I can’t believe how far they’ve taken it.
https://www.thewrap.com/how-world-of-warcraft-propelled-steve-bannon-to-the-white-house/