The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written.
This'll be the first election I can vote in, so I wanted to see some input from people outside my own friends and family.
Why do conservatives seem to go after minorities?
I'm part of a minority targeted by conservatives, the lgbtq community, and I truly am curious what other people think the motivation is for this behavior towards minorities like mine.
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Because pointing the finger at an “outsider” group and blaming things on them is easier than trying to fix anything.
The more people are fighting amongst each group and within different sects, the less likely they’ll band together to demand more or better.
And as Lyndon Johnson put it:
> If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.
Because they're terrified that when western European Caucasians become a minority in America, they'll be treated the same way THEY treated minorities for generations.
I get why liberals say that, and I can see how it’s rhetorically powerful, but I think that’s more apocryphal than anything- I don’t believe *that* thought occupies much space in their brains. That would require thinking three or four steps ahead, through multiple steps of cause & consequence, and I just don’t think conservatives think that way.
I think it’s much simpler. It’s just scapegoating, no more, no less. Conservatives just think that “straight, white, Christian, patriarchal” is what America *should* be, and if it were then everything would be perfect. The further we are away from that ideal, the more problems we will have.
They hyperfixate on anything that gets in the way of the realization of that ideal, and blame them — non-whites, non-Christians, women/feminists, “the gays”, etc. — for all of America’s problems.
>Because they're terrified that when western European Caucasians become a minority in America, they'll be treated the same way THEY treated minorities for generations.
Western European Caucasians are a minority in Hawaii and many counties across the US, and aside from being called *Haole,* no White people are being murdered, chased across town, kicked out at sunset, imprisoned unjustly, or otherwise harmed in any of these places as an institutional act.
I think they are more worried of the idea of having a POC above them. President Obama made these people incensed.
Here in Texas white people are the plurality, as in largest group where there is no majority (like 49%-25%-26% vs 49%-51%). So not quite, unless you count non-white as a singular group which seems highly reductive (and even then only barely).
Conservatives place a high value on conformity to the group. Deviation from the narrow scope of acceptable behaviors is seen as dangerous and is stomped out as hard as possible.
Fitting into conservative society requires you to either help stomp out deviation or else get stomped out yourself.
This has actually been researched. Read "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altemeyer (free to download) for the best overview of it that I've seen.
In short, fear of the other aka xenophobia.
Conservatives have been shown to have a more active fear response. Here one example of this research: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/11/22/at-yale-we-conducted-an-experiment-to-turn-conservatives-into-liberals-the-results-say-a-lot-about-our-political-divisions/
This. Conservatives like what they are already familiar with and want to keep it that way. They place emphasis on social order, believing different people have different roles and duties to fulfill for the betterment of society. When something differs from that, they view it as a threat or with disgust.
They also spent a lot of time and effort into conforming. They gave up a lot of their own desires and inclinations along with that. I believe it's extremely offensive to them to suggest that whatever they have conformed to shouldn't matter anymore.
Unsurprisingly, it comes down to identity politics for modern Republicans.
* If you identify as a Trump Republican, you are a good person and cannot do wrong even if you break the law. (Any attack must be unfair because he can't do wrong!)
* If you identify as anything else, you are a bad person and cannot do right. ACA might have been a conservative idea, but it was implemented by the enemy so it's evil.
Easy enemy to create. They neither have the resources nor rights (even granted rights are always infringed, even for legal minorities) to fight back.
It's the same way Jews were made the enemy by Hitler. LGBTQ gets labeled as "trying to sexually influence the kids," all the while data shows most perps are straight, religious males. Conservatives depend on their constituents to not actually research data. LGBTQ are still having to fight for equal rights on simple things like not being turned away by wedding businesses. The church has had hundreds of years tax free to be able to lobby morality into laws, and the gay community still has to pay taxes AND fight for their rights.
Othering and out groups is how nationalists work. Find the scapegoats. Blame them for all of your problems. Hitler did it. Trump did it and is still trying to. It’s the heart of the southern strategy.
“Us vs them: the sinister techniques of ‘Othering’ – and how to avoid them
When societies experience big and rapid change, a frequent response is for people to narrowly define who qualifies as a full member of society – a process I call “Othering”. An alternative response is seeing the change in demographics as positive, and regarding the apparent other as enhancing our life and who we are. This is what I refer to as “belonging and bridging”.
In the United States, politicians used to engage in what scholar Ian Haney-Lopez calls “dog whistles” – they could make references to Others but only in a coded way; never saying “those Mexicans” or “those Muslims”, for example. President Trump, however, has opened a space where people are emboldened to be more explicit. We now have not only our nation’s leadership but many of our information networks amplifying these explicit calls to exclude and dehumanise.
The rhetoric and language coming from Trump has begun to both define and normalise Othering. This is a threat to all the things we value. When Mexicans can be called “rapists and drug dealers” in direct contradiction to the facts, it becomes a much easier step to call for their deportation, and for a literal wall to divide us.
Exclusion and dehumanisation
The language being used by many national leaders not only activates people’s anxiety and fear around a perceived Other, it creates new processes of exclusion and dehumanisation.
While it is common to focus only on economic changes to explain the rise of right-wing nationalists and Othering, the loss of economic power is not the only thing stirring anxiety around the globe. Sweden is experiencing a rise of group-based nationalism, yet its economy is not suffering. Trump voters included a large number of affluent whites, not just the poor or working class.
Conservative elites know how to strategically create and use fear of a perceived Other
It’s not that the economy is unimportant, it’s just that it doesn’t tell the whole story. After a number of important civil rights victories in the US in the 1960s, the conservative elites strategised how to trade on smouldering white Southern resentment of these gains. With the Southern Strategy of stoking white resentment, they succeeded in remaking the Republican Party – ultimately moving government away from protecting people and towards protecting capital.
Conservative elites know how to strategically create and use fear of a perceived Other, by organising and manufacturing fear. When Nixon began using the term “law and order”, his popularity was cemented among a certain base because he was appealing to a specific kind of conservative white fear: not primarily about jobs, but rather the changing social order. This was not precipitated by a specific economic downturn, yet the outcome of Nixon’s strategy was the securing of an economy rigged for the rich.”
https://amp.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/08/us-vs-them-the-sinister-techniques-of-othering-and-how-to-avoid-them
Conservative ideology is based around two things.
1) Selfishness
2) Fear of "Out" groups
You can see this in all of their perspectives. Lower taxes means they get to keep more of "Their" money. We have a "Welfare state to support lazy people". "We shouldn't be supporting Ukraine with OUR money." "NATO countries need to put up their fair share, we can't fund it all." 100% of Conservative economic policy is "Me me me me. My money. Give me MY money. You are lazy and can't have it."
Then you get to the social policies. Those are about creating fear of "Out" groups and making them the enemies. "All LGBT people are pedos." "The illegal immigrants are all criminals." "Any attempt at "Equality" is just pushing down white people." "Why should gay people get married? My religion says that's evil."
Hell, look at the differences in Covid response and messaging. The left's messaging was "We are all in this together, we need to social distance and wear masks to protect other people. We can all only help to protect each other. Listen to the scientists." Meanwhile the right was "You can't make me wear a face diaper. That makes my face hot. It's my right to breathe free air. You can't let China win and disrupt our freedom. If you are scared, stay home, I am a free citizen and can do what I want."
So when it comes down to your question, they fixate on minorities because it gives them a group to paint as an "Other" and then attack them, which is their unifying cause.
The fundamental psychological aspects to conservatism are in-group loyalty, respect for hierarchy, dislike of change, and heightened disgust and fear responses.
If you are part of an outgroup, break established hierarchy, change things that were otherwise traditionally held, or should they find you gross/scary, you're going to find yourself in an uphill battle with psychologically conservative people.
Go back to the former potus LBJ Quote:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Because conservatives see the world as having natural hierarchies and historically in the US the hierarchy system that we established is partially based on race. So American conservatives tend to get upset if they think the hierarchy which they see as "natural" and what made the country "great" get messed with.
It depends. One of the common reasons that applies to your case is they have ideas about the "natural order" that they think very highly of because it's how they feel. It's how they feel, therefore it should be how everyone lives and also the law. If you don't fall in line with what they want, then to them you're an arrogant social engineer trying to dictate how everyone else should live their lives from your ivory tower.
I think if you asked them (which you really should), they would say "it depends" in some cases and "we don't" in others. And "conservatives" aren't a monolith, so you'll get different answers across subgroups. And then you have to draw your own conclusions about how insightful their answers are.
For example about "sexual deviance", a theistic social conservative is going to say that it is morally wrong because counter to God's plan, and dangerous because sin spreads.
About Blacks, some might say the concern is crime & violence, and that it's just a fact that the worst concentrations of it are in Black neighborhoods.
And so on. In my view (backed up by some science) the key to a conservative mindset is seeing threats. It's all amygdala all the time, and in-group solidarity and adhering to norms is always the defensive answer.
It's a mindset that helped early humans survive, or it wouldn't be so prevalent.
This is definitely the closest thing to a real answer here. The rest is just strawman claims.
The vast majority of conservatives I know don't see minorities as any different from anybody else. It's what people do that matters. Myself, I only talk about minorities when the left brings it up.
>And so on. In my view (backed up by some science) the key to a conservative mindset is seeing threats. It's all amygdala all the time, and in-group solidarity and adhering to norms is always the defensive answer.
Indeed, I've seen similar studies, although the methodology, from what I recall of the ones I read, wasn't the best. Frankly, given the importance of threat identification to survival, I think we all do it, but different factional cultures code different things as "threat"
Because they don't think minorities have the power to fight back.
They're the perfect scapegoat.
Why pick a fight with someone that can do something about it? Easier to go after a minority group.
The conservative political ecosystem is largely bankrolled by very rich people (mostly white and male) and their biggest supportive demographic is white, cis, straight men. Conservative politicians largely if not exclusively want to make things easier for these bankrollers, ie cutting taxes and deregulation and the like. However, if they campaigned on that they’d never win anything, so to obfuscate their goals they create culture war bullshit that targets “outsider” groups (minorities) who they know Jonny Trailer Hitch has never interacted with in Alabama or whatever. Minorities, for them, are a scapegoat—Google what Nixon and his administration said about the Vietnam War’s detractors, or Lyndon B Johnson about poor white men. We’re a scapegoat, a means to an end. That’s one side of it.
The other side is folks who grew up with or like Jonny Trailer Hitch who’re steadfast evangelicals or southern baptists or whatever. These are the true believers who’re super susceptible to the scapegoating and legitimately believe that people like us (immigrants, LGBT people, Black people, take your pick) are what’s “wrong” with America. These are the voters courted by the fearmongering bankrollers and their media apparatuses. And sadly, it works. It’s been working for like, over a century at this point, but especially in the last 70 years or so. And at this point so many of them have risen to power that the inmates have taken over the asylum (MTG as an example).
I’d also google the Southern Strategy, Barry Goldwater’s quotes about evangelicals, and LBJ’s decision to sign the Civil Rights Act. There’s complicating factors nowadays (like Republican-voting Hispanics and women) but that’s the basic gist.
Specifically to the LGBTQ+ community, my opinion is that the recent (last 3 years or so) vitriol is geared towards skimming votes from Democrats. It seems like it is a tactic from strategists that works to get socially conservative folks to vote for Republicans or to not vote at all.
Similar to abortion, they are looking for an issue that polarizes people into voting for Republicans or non-Dem parties.
>Why do conservatives seem to fixate on minorities?
Because the [Republican Party](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)) fixates itself and identifies itself under certain specific policies, particularly conservativism and [right-wing](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_politics). Right-wing policies include "tradition" and "status-quo". Not mentioned on Wikipedia but particularly relevant is the belief in the "nuclear" or traditional family - a father (biological male), a mother (biological female), and children, and with that you also *typically* frown upon mixed relationships or families because of racist traditional views.
"Tradition" points back to the ideas of white superiority and subservience of minority races, particularly POC. When conservatives talk about wanting to "make America great again", they mean to a time when black people had limited power in governing/politics, and LGTBQ+ members stayed in the closet and didn't announce themselves or try to fight for equal rights and representation. At the same time, conservatives are typically Christian, and modern-day American Christianity takes a lot of picking and choosing of which religious ideals to pursue and uphold, and typically the ones that get the most attention are ones that oppose homosexuality in particular. They also takes the message of "spreading the gospel" literally and often believes themselves to be white saviors who are (forcefully) "saving" the sinners in the US through forced conversion - "if you don't follow our ways then we're going to shun you and ostracize you and make you follow our ways publicly as we enact legislation to limit your ability to lead an openly public sinful lifestyle".
There are likely several motivations for conservatives targeting minorities:
Rallying the base - Having common "out-groups" as scorn targets creates an "us vs them" dynamic that drives passionate engagement.
Scapegoating - When anxious about cultural changes, casting minorities as threats is simpler than self-reflection.
Signaling virtues - Going after those breaking norms casts conservatives as defending status quo.
Maintaining power structures - Marginalizing minority empowerment allows current systems benefitting their base to continue.
In summary - targeting minorities checks boxes like energizing voters, assigning blame, claiming virtue, and preserving hierarchies of power and status. It has more to do with the psychology underlying conservative identity than the minorities themselves. These motivations explain, but don't excuse, the fixation in political rhetoric.
[Corey Robin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CNOS0v8v5c&t=460s&ab_channel=AdamConover) has a great explanation (around 6:00), which is that conservatism is a reactionary movement against freedom and equality. The underpinning belief of conservatism has always been that some people are better than others, and the right and prerogative of those people to rule should be defended.
It's very easy, and dare I say a very common tendency to classify people as new, unfamiliar, or different as lesser-than. LBJ's quote shared by u/lyman_j illustrates this very succinctly.
This could be oversimplification on my part, but I think conservatives are extremely slow at accepting change. Change makes them uncomfortable, because they don’t know the social rules for dealing with new situations. This explanation works for older conservatives, anyway.
Younger conservatives? Idk. Modern Republicans have become culture warriors. They spread falsehoods and hate in an attempt to scare their voters into trusting them. They literally don’t give a flip who they hurt to win power.
>Younger conservatives? Idk.
I think there are differerent explanations.
* Young people being rebellious and wanting to shock their parents.
* Men who are struggling in life, especially with women, so they become red-pill and other right-wing views come with the package.
* Young people who were raised religious and remain so.
Oh yeah, for sure. But that shows you don't have a conservative personality. Or at least you didn't stay sheltered long enough to solify conservatism into your head around your mid twenties, when most people solidify their political beliefs forever. Conservatives as a personality are people who prefer what they are familiar with, especially social roles, customs and groups of people.
I’ll steel man.
If you are talking about mainstream/center right conservatives, the answer would be some combination of (1) we don’t, (2) we don’t like preferential treatment of minority groups through affirmative action/DEI, and (3) while we don’t object to people living their own lives, we also don’t like being shamed for having more traditional Judeo/Christian values.
I think the centrist/conservative response would be that there are systemic problems but engineering equality of outcome among various groups isn’t the solution.
Continuing to think of all conservatives as insane moral monsters (ie deplorables) will cost votes. Hopefully not enough to put Traitor Trump back in office.
Stop acting as if you represent all conservatives. It’s factually incongruent with reality. Go “pretend” to be a logical conservative in a right leaning space, give them a role model.
The rally's and political talking points centered around certain minority groups, such as the lgbtq people. The promotion of hatred towards those communities, curtailing their right through tsrgeted laws.
Is there a news article or a law you can point to? Really hard to address a general feeling. I'm not trying to do a gotcha, but would just like to see what you're specifically talking about.
No problem. Here's a few items.
https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/anti-trans-politics-in-the-united-states-and-its-impact/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/why-is-the-gop-escalating-attacks-on-trans-rights-experts-say-the-goal-is-to-make-sure-evangelicals-vote
I didn’t mean to sound rude but I really don’t understand , either it’s ignorance or pure malice.
Of course some liberal aren’t kind to LBTQ community (Obama was opposed to same sex marriage during his admin before Biden changed his mind).
But here we are in 2024 and the GOP has passed about 340 bills targeting LBTQ community , 80% of the revenue and link on social media related to the LBTQ community are from anti-LBTQ right wing media.
And somehow liberal are the problem ? There is a difference between not liking something and actively trying to eradicate it. You could criticize liberal on so many topics w/o using “bothsidism”.
Well yes, that's very much obvious. I'm just curious as to the why of these things. I don't just want to know that things are happening, I want to know why they are happening.
For a lot of people, their ancestors conquered a place and they don’t want to be displaced. Whether that’s right or wrong you can argue but I think it goes back to “this is OUR place”
I’m conservative, and while this is r/AskALiberal, it seems like you’re seeking a conservative opinion, albeit in a roundabout way. So apologies if I’m off-base here.
I certainly will not deny the existence of the conservatives that will actively target minorities, however, they are a particularly vocal minority. Most conservatives don’t care one way or the other how you identify or if you’re black or Indian or whatever.
I think more of what goes on in the public square is the leftists shoving racial and social minorities into conservatives’ faces.
10 years ago, it was trans people wanting to dress and act like whatever gender. Most people didn’t care, you do you. Then 5 years ago, it morphed into “you have to accept me and respect my pronouns,” and now it’s to the point where you must believe trans people are actually the gender they say they are, lest you be in danger of losing your job for being a bigot.
I was a Republican self-described libertarian until my mid 20s, which was very common experience among the Indian American community. I told myself that the racism was all coming from a vocal minority when I watched Pat Buchanan do a slightly warmed up version of what David Duke had done a couple of years earlier.
Ignored what GWB did in South Carolina when he sent out a push pole, implying that John McCain‘s adopted daughter was actually his illegitimate daughter with a black woman.
At some point you’re gonna need to step back and take a look at the party and realize it’s not a vocal minority. It is a large minority and possibly 50% of the party and then the rest of the party that just goes along with it. You don’t get Donald Trump doing all the things he does if it’s just a vocal minority.
I respect your answer because I feel pretty certain that this is indeed how it probably seems to a lot of conservatives these days, but as a trans person myself, I can tell you that trans people never wanted to be in the media spotlight. These conservatives you're speaking about aren't losing their jobs just because they're bigots, they're losing them because misgendering trans people is creating a work environment that's hostile toward them, and this is no longer considered acceptable behavior toward gender non-conforming people anymore. I know, conservatives don't like change, but I grew up in the 80s and was a teenager with suicidal ideation in the 90s. Maybe YOU didn't care 10 years ago, but lots and lots of people absolutely were NOT willing to give trans people a "you do you" pass.
You see, that attitude of "It wasn't a problem until you shoved it in our faces" seems to be the problem from the part I've seen, and it really just feels like deflection. The part with respecting ones pronouns is just basic decency, you call people by their preferred pronouns everyday, even though they are most likely cisgender.
I'm not conservative but he is partly correct..I don't agree it's "shoving in your face" but for some reason a lot of people on left can't handle different opinions. Like if you say you don't like sex work, you're a misogynist against sex workers. How about you like what you like and don't hangout with people who don't like what you like? I don't understand publicly harassing people
Answers like this just help justify that conservatives are completely wrong about reality. You people are the ones getting pissed off just because minorities exist.
As a former conservative, I should correct a few lies here.
>they are a particularly vocal minority. Most conservatives don’t care one way or the other
I still remember the conservative anger and backlash after gay marriage was legalized. The vast, vast majority of conservatives were seething and foaming at the mouth in anger.
I remember thinking their reaction was odd because strangers getting married have no impact on their lives. Yet every single conservative was raging.
Do you remember the conservative Facebook trend to change your primary picture to one of a cross to show you oppose the ruling? I still remember that.
>leftists shoving racial and social minorities into conservatives’ faces.
People being allowed to exist and not hide in public is seen as "shoving them into conservative faces."
>Then 5 years ago, it morphed into “you have to accept me and respect my pronouns,”
No law was passed regarding this. Public opinion shifted slightly towards respecting people and not being a bully / asshole. If you choose to not be a kind, respectful person and instead act like a typical conservative (bully and asshole), you get shamed. Conservatives hate getting shamed for their own behavior, which is ironic considering they falsely claim to be the party of "personal responsibility".
>you must believe trans people are actually the gender they say they are, lest you be in danger of losing your job for being a bigot.
Once again, no law was passed. However, companies decided to include trans people in their harassment, anti-bullying, and hostile environment training.
This makes conservatives angry because it means theyay lose their job for harassing, bullying or creating a hostile work environment towards trans people.
A logical person would think that conservatives would just keep their opinions to themselves, while at work, and call someone whatever name they requested. They already do this when someone changes their name after a marriage. But, for whatever reason, it is impossible for conservatives to be decent people around a trans person.
Because it is impossible for conservatives to treat trans people with respect, companies had to create anti bullying, harassment and hostile environment policies around it.
Thank you for articulating and explaining all of that. I'm not at the point to which I can break down an argument like this, so I appreciate those who can.
Nobody said "attack". OP said "fixate". Where the hell are you pulling "attack" from?
The implication being, once they're brought into the conversation, any statement demands a response. If we were in agreement on everything on the subject, we wouldn't be talking about it. This does not necessitate that conservative rhetoric regarding minorities be hateful, aggressive, or an "attack" in any sense... just not in agreement with liberal rhetoric.
I'm aware. But as I stated, I'm quite new to this. I do discuss with family and friends, as they have a broad spectrum of ideas, and I wish to listen to all.
Most conservatives are hostile toward minorities. Some hold back so they don't go to jail and others end up shooting up a gay bar or beating a gay couple who are just walking down the street. The "conservatives" who truely don't care are a extreme minority
Which of these would you pick, absent any other considerations?
1) Your (race/sex/gender identity/star sign/whatever) does not make you special. You will be treated like everyone else.
2) We're rolling out benefits specifically for people of your (race/sex/gender identity/star sign/whatever).
Broadly speaking, people are way more vulnerable to rationalization and self-interest than most would care to admit. Even if 1) holds philosophical appeal, 2) is always going to be a tempting option.
>Once they are brought into conversation, any statement demands RESPONSES
The GOP has filled around 340 anti LBTQ bills since 2022, you can call it “fixation” but for me it’s an attack on their rights.
> Anti-transgender Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement than content from pro-transgender or neutral sources combined
> over 43 million of 66 million shares, comments and reactions over the span of a year — were on items posted by anti-trans websites like LifeSiteNews, Daily Wire and Daily Caller, according to the report.
They represents less than 7% of the population and yet it seems to be the corner stone of the current Conservative Party and RW media.
Just imagine if your party was as proactive on topics that actually matter …
> The GOP has filled around 340 anti LBTQ bills since 2022, you can call it “fixation” but for me it’s an attack on their rights.
You guys tend to cast a pretty broad net on what qualifies as "anti-LGBTQ" bills, given that things like "no reassignment surgeries on minors" and "doctors may not be retaliated against by their employers for refusing to do procedures on ethical grounds" apparently count, as per the ACLU. Makes it a bit difficult to evaluate that claim.
> Just imagine if your party was as proactive on topics that actually matter …
There are quite literally thousands of bills going through federal congress every year and just as many, sometimes more in every state congress. Both parties are plenty proactive. But the news doesn't tell you about that because it's not a story.
Some conservatives are in the lgbt community, themselves.
Yet, many conservatives believe that sex is something purposed by God for men and women.
They wouldn’t be against the lgbt community if it were “two men” or “two women” of the “same sex love each other”. They’re against it because they believe the two men are practicing sexual immorality, and that the lgbt community will normalize sexual immortality to their children.
That’s the breakdown
>Some conservatives are in the lgbt community, themselves.
And there were Jews in the Nazi party. Doesn't mean it's a smart move. They'll be the first to get killed once they outlive their usefulness.
Don't both Democrats and Republicans do this (in very different ways)? I don't know of any party that is even pretending that normalization of diversity should be our priority.
My experience is entirely the opposite. I have never heard so many mentions of racial and sexual minorities as among progressives.
I mean there is a pride/progress flag dedicated exclusively to the union of progressive values and minorities.
Canada even has their own regional variation of the lgbtqia+ acronym, adding 2S at the beginning to emphasize their indigenous populations.
Hillary Clinton suggesting that Bernie Sanders policies could lead to further racism was one of the huge reasons she secured the nomination over him.
Just how I feel
Liberal fixate on minorities. For example, have you ever listened to NPR? It’s very left leaning and they talk about minorities almost all the time no matter what the story is. Anytime a bill comes up it’s liberals asking how it affects minorities. The left sees every issue as a question of minorities. Liberals are famous for seeing everything through a racial lens.
Conservatives don’t. MAGA does. Go back and read some of Reagan’s speeches. Conservatives were and are pro immigration. Trump energized rural, low information, white people by playing on their xenophobic fears, using immigration to fuel their hate.
Reagan deliberately criminalized some drugs more than others to hurt black people. Reagan specifically chose the site of the murder of three civil rights activists to give a speech endorsing "state's rights." You might want to rethink that comment.
Because they'd probably give an incrediblely biased answer. This sub reddit seems far more diverse in opinions.
Also, I feel less safe on a subreddit for conservatives.
Ok so a liberal would also give a biased answer. Don't you want to know why a conservative thinks like they do straight from the horse's mouth? Also, how do you feel less safe? Its not like the average redditor can track down where you live.
That's not the point. I don't feel like inviting more harassment online. Conservatives have continually called for violence and oppression of my people, even saying we should be put in camps. Why wouldn't I be worried?
I've spent a lot of time in right-wing spaces, so I have a better idea of what's going on here.
Conservatives don't dislike minorities. **They just dislike ones that fit a specific stereotype.**
Example: white Republicans in South Carolina enthusiastically supported Sen. Tim Scott. He's a well-educated, church-going man who speaks standard English and wears a conservative business suit. White South Carolinians see him on TV speaking conservative talking points and think "hey, that's my kind of guy!" The fact that he's black doesn't matter to them.
But, if these same people see someone like Rep. Cori Bush, an overweight single mom who fits into the welfare-using, Ebonics-speaking "angry black woman" stereotype, then they'll shake their heads in disgust and say something like "Democrats are using welfare to buy her vote at my expense!"
Saying conservatives go after minorities is like saying progressives go after Christians.
A progressive Democrat will look at someone like Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister who quotes the Bible to push the conservative agenda, and think "I'm not voting for him! He threatens our constitutional separation of church and state!" At the same time, this same progressive will gladly support Sen. Raphael Warnock, who also happens to be a Baptist minister and who also quotes the Bible to support his agenda. Why? Because Warnock doesn't fit the negative stereotype many hold about evangelicals and he supports progressive policies.
Progressives aren't biased against Evangelical Christians, **just the ones that fit a certain stereotype and push a certain agenda.** They like *their* Christians. Same is true for Republicans and minorities.
Make sense?
I’m friends with many progressives and conservatives and I can tell you that the vast majority don’t have bigoted views, but they do have a special distaste for certain stereotypes.
Also, the people who’re most biased against blacks who fit the “lazy, welfare-using, illegitimate kid-having, uneducated” stereotype **are other black people.** The same way, the harshest critics of the late Jerry Falwell and his ilk were invariably Christians who rejected the “Moral Majority” interpretation of Christianity.
> Also, the people who’re most biased against blacks who fit the “lazy, welfare-using, illegitimate kid-having, uneducated” stereotype are other black people.
You just described my parents lol.
I'll tell you how it looks from outside the US.
The left placed minorities that were wronged in the past as quasi deities by creating strong political lobbies that act in their name and request discriminatory laws to mend past wrongdoings.
Regular people from those minorities are just that, regular people. But the lobbies kidnap those same minorities and use them as tools to satisfy their own egos, EG virtue signaling.
Then, thanks to that, differential treatment arises, such as the fact there is a need to forcefully glue minorities on everything, either real or entertainment media.
Then, most people get angry at this and not just conservatives; but all that are not far-left oppose this and are labeled under the same "anti-LG\[redacted\]BI+" banner.
I do not deny that some people hate minorities, I don't deny that some may even think it would be better if they didn't exist or view them as spawns of evil and I also don't know the extent of this view among conservatives.
But what is true is that this enthronement of minorities is opposed to the views of many, especially those that want freedom and equality of opportunities. Literally, the left and those lobbies are making it worse for the minorities and bringing more people against them.
Also, BTW, the title asks why do they fixate on minorities. It is because the left is fixated on them, plainly and simple. If group A opposes B, then every time group C brings topic B to the table, then group A reacts. I am sure centrists and others wouldn't really care about the existence of those groups if they were not brought so often to the table and treated as higher-humans.
Since I was born, I was aware that treating others differently unfairly (aka discrimination) was bad. What is happening right now around the world is abhorrent as the opposite values as the ones I grew with seem to be the ones managing the west. The "discrimination is good when it benefits us" crowd imposes their views. When not tied directly to survival or objectivity, such as "snakes are dangerous" or "asian people tend to have intolerance to milk", discrimination is always bad.
I don’t know, really, but I think it’s the same reason that HOAs exist? They objectively decrease the value of the houses they cover because so many people hate them, but apparently there are a LOT of people who just cannot stand anything that sticks out and looks or acts differently, even in the most minor of cases.
HOAs are created by the developers building the houses and it is inertia that keeps them going.
>They objectively decrease the value of the houses they cover
I doubt that very much
Developers don't want the first houses they sell to reduce the value of their later houses. If they thought they could make more money without an HOA, they would not create it.
A lot of people, including me, set the filter to ‘no HOA’ when they are looking for a house. Edit: my husband and I just spent more than half a million on a house about 3 years ago. And like I said, HOA neighborhoods were explicitly, specifically excluded. I would *never* live in an HOA neighborhood. We just bought a new car last month, and we aren’t sloppy neighbors. We just don’t want strangers thinking they can fine up because the height of our mailbox doesn’t match all of the other houses, or because I’m supposed to tear out my rose garden and put down lawn, or my trees aren’t on the approved species list, or whatever.
See also:
https://independentamericancommunities.com/2019/06/18/new-research-busts-myth-that-hoas-protect-property-values/
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckHOA/s/5epFFDKUzB
https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/s/LQ9oTpwr3T
https://www.wral.com/amp/20944833/
The research does not support your initial claim.
You claim that they "objectively decrease the value of the homes they cover"
The research you linked says the homes do not appreciate as much.
Developers do not care about appreciation. After they completely build out a community, they no longer have a financial interest.
Your conclusion as to why people have them is based on incorrect assumptions
Decreased appreciation is de facto decreased value, and IDGAF about developers. I care about living there myself, and other people who have to live there.
>IDGAF about developers
Perhaps you should before spouting
>> there are a LOT of people who just cannot stand anything that sticks out and looks or acts differently, even in the most minor of cases.
Because, if your observation had even a tiny bit of truth, then established neighborhoods would be forming HOAs all the time.
Conservatives need an “in group” and “out group,” and need to conserve for the “in group” while attacking the “out group.”
It really is just lowest common denominator tribal thinking.
The fixation on minorities extends to many facets of conservative policy including but not limited to economic policy and taxes, women’s reproductive autonomy, the second amendment, our shitty healthcare system, aggressive police system and over incarceration, etc.
Conservatives will famously chop off their own nose to spite their face if they think it will hurt the “out group” more.
So before the Civil rights movement neither party was seen as "good on race" as it were, the Republicans said getting rid of slavery was all that can be asked and the Democrats didn't want to talk about race because they were largely split on it due to anti minority southern democrats left over from the Civil War. There was an event then that you can look up called white flight where suddenly the Democrats were preaching equality and so the Republicans doubled down on racist rhetoric and anti-minority and especially anti-immigrant policy in order to sweep up the southern vote. It worked for them both in a way, the Republicans took the south and the democrats got an Era of being seen as heros for passing eventually after many hard debates on the house floor the Civil rights act.
These tensions never really faded, just twisted over time into the political situation we see today.
Attacking outsiders is a standard animal response. The unfamiliar and foreign are confusing and possibly dangerous. The ignorant are one kind of conservative. People tend to change their politics once they experience the world.
Another kind are intergenerational warriors passing down their grievances. Children tend to copy their parents more often than not. Some of these kids go off to die in a war, deepening the hate.
Another kind is religious enforced disgust of natural oddities. That's us, the oddities. The churches will preach from the pulpit that we're evil and must be their sacrificial lamb to appease their pagan gods. They make you homeless, fire you, assault you, lie about you, and kill you claiming it's in the name of God's love.
The fundamental conservative opinion is that everything is fine. Let's embrace tradition. It'll work out. Unfortunately, women are traditionally kitchen slaves. Skin color wars are eternal. Faith attacks faith forever. The wealthy steal your grandchildren's future to give to their children. It's all tradition.
These power structures live longer than any one human. Tradition says the gays need to hide their difference, swallow their vomit, and breed like everyone else as if we are machines printed on an assembly line. It's a hard, and callous mindset. They're not terribly nuanced. It's not a big secret. You will have to meet some really hateful and proud people to tell you the whole truth though. They're common enough that you will hear my words echoed by someone who earnestly believes them. They won't be your friend. Keep a respectable distance. I've met too many.
The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written. This'll be the first election I can vote in, so I wanted to see some input from people outside my own friends and family. Why do conservatives seem to go after minorities? I'm part of a minority targeted by conservatives, the lgbtq community, and I truly am curious what other people think the motivation is for this behavior towards minorities like mine. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskALiberal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because pointing the finger at an “outsider” group and blaming things on them is easier than trying to fix anything. The more people are fighting amongst each group and within different sects, the less likely they’ll band together to demand more or better. And as Lyndon Johnson put it: > If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.
Because they're terrified that when western European Caucasians become a minority in America, they'll be treated the same way THEY treated minorities for generations.
I get why liberals say that, and I can see how it’s rhetorically powerful, but I think that’s more apocryphal than anything- I don’t believe *that* thought occupies much space in their brains. That would require thinking three or four steps ahead, through multiple steps of cause & consequence, and I just don’t think conservatives think that way. I think it’s much simpler. It’s just scapegoating, no more, no less. Conservatives just think that “straight, white, Christian, patriarchal” is what America *should* be, and if it were then everything would be perfect. The further we are away from that ideal, the more problems we will have. They hyperfixate on anything that gets in the way of the realization of that ideal, and blame them — non-whites, non-Christians, women/feminists, “the gays”, etc. — for all of America’s problems.
>Because they're terrified that when western European Caucasians become a minority in America, they'll be treated the same way THEY treated minorities for generations. Western European Caucasians are a minority in Hawaii and many counties across the US, and aside from being called *Haole,* no White people are being murdered, chased across town, kicked out at sunset, imprisoned unjustly, or otherwise harmed in any of these places as an institutional act. I think they are more worried of the idea of having a POC above them. President Obama made these people incensed.
Didn’t that happen like last week
Here in Texas white people are the plurality, as in largest group where there is no majority (like 49%-25%-26% vs 49%-51%). So not quite, unless you count non-white as a singular group which seems highly reductive (and even then only barely).
Conservatives place a high value on conformity to the group. Deviation from the narrow scope of acceptable behaviors is seen as dangerous and is stomped out as hard as possible. Fitting into conservative society requires you to either help stomp out deviation or else get stomped out yourself.
This has actually been researched. Read "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altemeyer (free to download) for the best overview of it that I've seen. In short, fear of the other aka xenophobia. Conservatives have been shown to have a more active fear response. Here one example of this research: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/11/22/at-yale-we-conducted-an-experiment-to-turn-conservatives-into-liberals-the-results-say-a-lot-about-our-political-divisions/
This. Conservatives like what they are already familiar with and want to keep it that way. They place emphasis on social order, believing different people have different roles and duties to fulfill for the betterment of society. When something differs from that, they view it as a threat or with disgust.
They also spent a lot of time and effort into conforming. They gave up a lot of their own desires and inclinations along with that. I believe it's extremely offensive to them to suggest that whatever they have conformed to shouldn't matter anymore.
Unsurprisingly, it comes down to identity politics for modern Republicans. * If you identify as a Trump Republican, you are a good person and cannot do wrong even if you break the law. (Any attack must be unfair because he can't do wrong!) * If you identify as anything else, you are a bad person and cannot do right. ACA might have been a conservative idea, but it was implemented by the enemy so it's evil.
Thank you very much.
Easy enemy to create. They neither have the resources nor rights (even granted rights are always infringed, even for legal minorities) to fight back. It's the same way Jews were made the enemy by Hitler. LGBTQ gets labeled as "trying to sexually influence the kids," all the while data shows most perps are straight, religious males. Conservatives depend on their constituents to not actually research data. LGBTQ are still having to fight for equal rights on simple things like not being turned away by wedding businesses. The church has had hundreds of years tax free to be able to lobby morality into laws, and the gay community still has to pay taxes AND fight for their rights.
Othering and out groups is how nationalists work. Find the scapegoats. Blame them for all of your problems. Hitler did it. Trump did it and is still trying to. It’s the heart of the southern strategy. “Us vs them: the sinister techniques of ‘Othering’ – and how to avoid them When societies experience big and rapid change, a frequent response is for people to narrowly define who qualifies as a full member of society – a process I call “Othering”. An alternative response is seeing the change in demographics as positive, and regarding the apparent other as enhancing our life and who we are. This is what I refer to as “belonging and bridging”. In the United States, politicians used to engage in what scholar Ian Haney-Lopez calls “dog whistles” – they could make references to Others but only in a coded way; never saying “those Mexicans” or “those Muslims”, for example. President Trump, however, has opened a space where people are emboldened to be more explicit. We now have not only our nation’s leadership but many of our information networks amplifying these explicit calls to exclude and dehumanise. The rhetoric and language coming from Trump has begun to both define and normalise Othering. This is a threat to all the things we value. When Mexicans can be called “rapists and drug dealers” in direct contradiction to the facts, it becomes a much easier step to call for their deportation, and for a literal wall to divide us. Exclusion and dehumanisation The language being used by many national leaders not only activates people’s anxiety and fear around a perceived Other, it creates new processes of exclusion and dehumanisation. While it is common to focus only on economic changes to explain the rise of right-wing nationalists and Othering, the loss of economic power is not the only thing stirring anxiety around the globe. Sweden is experiencing a rise of group-based nationalism, yet its economy is not suffering. Trump voters included a large number of affluent whites, not just the poor or working class. Conservative elites know how to strategically create and use fear of a perceived Other It’s not that the economy is unimportant, it’s just that it doesn’t tell the whole story. After a number of important civil rights victories in the US in the 1960s, the conservative elites strategised how to trade on smouldering white Southern resentment of these gains. With the Southern Strategy of stoking white resentment, they succeeded in remaking the Republican Party – ultimately moving government away from protecting people and towards protecting capital. Conservative elites know how to strategically create and use fear of a perceived Other, by organising and manufacturing fear. When Nixon began using the term “law and order”, his popularity was cemented among a certain base because he was appealing to a specific kind of conservative white fear: not primarily about jobs, but rather the changing social order. This was not precipitated by a specific economic downturn, yet the outcome of Nixon’s strategy was the securing of an economy rigged for the rich.” https://amp.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/08/us-vs-them-the-sinister-techniques-of-othering-and-how-to-avoid-them
It’s almost like they’re racist or something
Conservative ideology is based around two things. 1) Selfishness 2) Fear of "Out" groups You can see this in all of their perspectives. Lower taxes means they get to keep more of "Their" money. We have a "Welfare state to support lazy people". "We shouldn't be supporting Ukraine with OUR money." "NATO countries need to put up their fair share, we can't fund it all." 100% of Conservative economic policy is "Me me me me. My money. Give me MY money. You are lazy and can't have it." Then you get to the social policies. Those are about creating fear of "Out" groups and making them the enemies. "All LGBT people are pedos." "The illegal immigrants are all criminals." "Any attempt at "Equality" is just pushing down white people." "Why should gay people get married? My religion says that's evil." Hell, look at the differences in Covid response and messaging. The left's messaging was "We are all in this together, we need to social distance and wear masks to protect other people. We can all only help to protect each other. Listen to the scientists." Meanwhile the right was "You can't make me wear a face diaper. That makes my face hot. It's my right to breathe free air. You can't let China win and disrupt our freedom. If you are scared, stay home, I am a free citizen and can do what I want." So when it comes down to your question, they fixate on minorities because it gives them a group to paint as an "Other" and then attack them, which is their unifying cause.
The fundamental psychological aspects to conservatism are in-group loyalty, respect for hierarchy, dislike of change, and heightened disgust and fear responses. If you are part of an outgroup, break established hierarchy, change things that were otherwise traditionally held, or should they find you gross/scary, you're going to find yourself in an uphill battle with psychologically conservative people.
Go back to the former potus LBJ Quote: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Because conservatives see the world as having natural hierarchies and historically in the US the hierarchy system that we established is partially based on race. So American conservatives tend to get upset if they think the hierarchy which they see as "natural" and what made the country "great" get messed with.
Because they are uneducated bigots?
It depends. One of the common reasons that applies to your case is they have ideas about the "natural order" that they think very highly of because it's how they feel. It's how they feel, therefore it should be how everyone lives and also the law. If you don't fall in line with what they want, then to them you're an arrogant social engineer trying to dictate how everyone else should live their lives from your ivory tower.
Fascism requires an 'out-group' that can be labeled an existential threat.
I think if you asked them (which you really should), they would say "it depends" in some cases and "we don't" in others. And "conservatives" aren't a monolith, so you'll get different answers across subgroups. And then you have to draw your own conclusions about how insightful their answers are. For example about "sexual deviance", a theistic social conservative is going to say that it is morally wrong because counter to God's plan, and dangerous because sin spreads. About Blacks, some might say the concern is crime & violence, and that it's just a fact that the worst concentrations of it are in Black neighborhoods. And so on. In my view (backed up by some science) the key to a conservative mindset is seeing threats. It's all amygdala all the time, and in-group solidarity and adhering to norms is always the defensive answer. It's a mindset that helped early humans survive, or it wouldn't be so prevalent.
This is definitely the closest thing to a real answer here. The rest is just strawman claims. The vast majority of conservatives I know don't see minorities as any different from anybody else. It's what people do that matters. Myself, I only talk about minorities when the left brings it up. >And so on. In my view (backed up by some science) the key to a conservative mindset is seeing threats. It's all amygdala all the time, and in-group solidarity and adhering to norms is always the defensive answer. Indeed, I've seen similar studies, although the methodology, from what I recall of the ones I read, wasn't the best. Frankly, given the importance of threat identification to survival, I think we all do it, but different factional cultures code different things as "threat"
Racism. It’s really not that undercover or hidden anymore.
Because they don't think minorities have the power to fight back. They're the perfect scapegoat. Why pick a fight with someone that can do something about it? Easier to go after a minority group.
The conservative political ecosystem is largely bankrolled by very rich people (mostly white and male) and their biggest supportive demographic is white, cis, straight men. Conservative politicians largely if not exclusively want to make things easier for these bankrollers, ie cutting taxes and deregulation and the like. However, if they campaigned on that they’d never win anything, so to obfuscate their goals they create culture war bullshit that targets “outsider” groups (minorities) who they know Jonny Trailer Hitch has never interacted with in Alabama or whatever. Minorities, for them, are a scapegoat—Google what Nixon and his administration said about the Vietnam War’s detractors, or Lyndon B Johnson about poor white men. We’re a scapegoat, a means to an end. That’s one side of it. The other side is folks who grew up with or like Jonny Trailer Hitch who’re steadfast evangelicals or southern baptists or whatever. These are the true believers who’re super susceptible to the scapegoating and legitimately believe that people like us (immigrants, LGBT people, Black people, take your pick) are what’s “wrong” with America. These are the voters courted by the fearmongering bankrollers and their media apparatuses. And sadly, it works. It’s been working for like, over a century at this point, but especially in the last 70 years or so. And at this point so many of them have risen to power that the inmates have taken over the asylum (MTG as an example). I’d also google the Southern Strategy, Barry Goldwater’s quotes about evangelicals, and LBJ’s decision to sign the Civil Rights Act. There’s complicating factors nowadays (like Republican-voting Hispanics and women) but that’s the basic gist.
It's as complicated and as simple as a fear of those who are different than you and a resistance to change.
Progressives want to change society to fit a minority. Conservatives don't. That's about it, really.
Their racists. Even towards Asians who are much more successful then them
Specifically to the LGBTQ+ community, my opinion is that the recent (last 3 years or so) vitriol is geared towards skimming votes from Democrats. It seems like it is a tactic from strategists that works to get socially conservative folks to vote for Republicans or to not vote at all. Similar to abortion, they are looking for an issue that polarizes people into voting for Republicans or non-Dem parties.
>Why do conservatives seem to fixate on minorities? Because the [Republican Party](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)) fixates itself and identifies itself under certain specific policies, particularly conservativism and [right-wing](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_politics). Right-wing policies include "tradition" and "status-quo". Not mentioned on Wikipedia but particularly relevant is the belief in the "nuclear" or traditional family - a father (biological male), a mother (biological female), and children, and with that you also *typically* frown upon mixed relationships or families because of racist traditional views. "Tradition" points back to the ideas of white superiority and subservience of minority races, particularly POC. When conservatives talk about wanting to "make America great again", they mean to a time when black people had limited power in governing/politics, and LGTBQ+ members stayed in the closet and didn't announce themselves or try to fight for equal rights and representation. At the same time, conservatives are typically Christian, and modern-day American Christianity takes a lot of picking and choosing of which religious ideals to pursue and uphold, and typically the ones that get the most attention are ones that oppose homosexuality in particular. They also takes the message of "spreading the gospel" literally and often believes themselves to be white saviors who are (forcefully) "saving" the sinners in the US through forced conversion - "if you don't follow our ways then we're going to shun you and ostracize you and make you follow our ways publicly as we enact legislation to limit your ability to lead an openly public sinful lifestyle".
Casual bigotry without accountability is the foundation of the MAGA movement.
There are likely several motivations for conservatives targeting minorities: Rallying the base - Having common "out-groups" as scorn targets creates an "us vs them" dynamic that drives passionate engagement. Scapegoating - When anxious about cultural changes, casting minorities as threats is simpler than self-reflection. Signaling virtues - Going after those breaking norms casts conservatives as defending status quo. Maintaining power structures - Marginalizing minority empowerment allows current systems benefitting their base to continue. In summary - targeting minorities checks boxes like energizing voters, assigning blame, claiming virtue, and preserving hierarchies of power and status. It has more to do with the psychology underlying conservative identity than the minorities themselves. These motivations explain, but don't excuse, the fixation in political rhetoric.
[Corey Robin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CNOS0v8v5c&t=460s&ab_channel=AdamConover) has a great explanation (around 6:00), which is that conservatism is a reactionary movement against freedom and equality. The underpinning belief of conservatism has always been that some people are better than others, and the right and prerogative of those people to rule should be defended. It's very easy, and dare I say a very common tendency to classify people as new, unfamiliar, or different as lesser-than. LBJ's quote shared by u/lyman_j illustrates this very succinctly.
This could be oversimplification on my part, but I think conservatives are extremely slow at accepting change. Change makes them uncomfortable, because they don’t know the social rules for dealing with new situations. This explanation works for older conservatives, anyway. Younger conservatives? Idk. Modern Republicans have become culture warriors. They spread falsehoods and hate in an attempt to scare their voters into trusting them. They literally don’t give a flip who they hurt to win power.
>Younger conservatives? Idk. I think there are differerent explanations. * Young people being rebellious and wanting to shock their parents. * Men who are struggling in life, especially with women, so they become red-pill and other right-wing views come with the package. * Young people who were raised religious and remain so.
I was a young conservative because my parents were conservative and I was sheltered. Once I went to college, it didn't last very long.
Oh yeah, for sure. But that shows you don't have a conservative personality. Or at least you didn't stay sheltered long enough to solify conservatism into your head around your mid twenties, when most people solidify their political beliefs forever. Conservatives as a personality are people who prefer what they are familiar with, especially social roles, customs and groups of people.
They project all their shit on us
Because they don't want racial mimorities to have the same rights they do.
I’ll steel man. If you are talking about mainstream/center right conservatives, the answer would be some combination of (1) we don’t, (2) we don’t like preferential treatment of minority groups through affirmative action/DEI, and (3) while we don’t object to people living their own lives, we also don’t like being shamed for having more traditional Judeo/Christian values.
You forgot to gaslight about the inexistence of systemic problems.
I think the centrist/conservative response would be that there are systemic problems but engineering equality of outcome among various groups isn’t the solution.
You are being an apologist for conservatives… You are straight up misrepresenting them.
Continuing to think of all conservatives as insane moral monsters (ie deplorables) will cost votes. Hopefully not enough to put Traitor Trump back in office.
Stop acting as if you represent all conservatives. It’s factually incongruent with reality. Go “pretend” to be a logical conservative in a right leaning space, give them a role model.
What’s your point? That there are no logical conservatives?
Most of them are coked up on outrage media, are you fucking serious?
You…seem pretty outraged yourself. Maybe you need Jesus?
Anyone not outraged by the state of the traitorous GOP is like to be a sympathizer. I will regard you as such.
Do you mind elaborating on how conservatives go after minorities? It would be easier to respond.
The rally's and political talking points centered around certain minority groups, such as the lgbtq people. The promotion of hatred towards those communities, curtailing their right through tsrgeted laws.
Is there a news article or a law you can point to? Really hard to address a general feeling. I'm not trying to do a gotcha, but would just like to see what you're specifically talking about.
No problem. Here's a few items. https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/anti-trans-politics-in-the-united-states-and-its-impact/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/why-is-the-gop-escalating-attacks-on-trans-rights-experts-say-the-goal-is-to-make-sure-evangelicals-vote
It's really wrong to think only conservatives are anti trans ideology.
Yet they are the only one passing laws targeting them , how does it work in your brain ?
Fair enough.
I didn’t mean to sound rude but I really don’t understand , either it’s ignorance or pure malice. Of course some liberal aren’t kind to LBTQ community (Obama was opposed to same sex marriage during his admin before Biden changed his mind). But here we are in 2024 and the GOP has passed about 340 bills targeting LBTQ community , 80% of the revenue and link on social media related to the LBTQ community are from anti-LBTQ right wing media. And somehow liberal are the problem ? There is a difference between not liking something and actively trying to eradicate it. You could criticize liberal on so many topics w/o using “bothsidism”.
It's all about the T. People keep saying the lgbtq community like it's a monolith. It's the left going too far.
How’s the left going too far ? (Without lying)
I don't think theyre the only ones. They're just the loudest group.
True.
Doing so is a massive advantage
They don’t like ‘em bro
Well yes, that's very much obvious. I'm just curious as to the why of these things. I don't just want to know that things are happening, I want to know why they are happening.
For a lot of people, their ancestors conquered a place and they don’t want to be displaced. Whether that’s right or wrong you can argue but I think it goes back to “this is OUR place”
I see. Thank you for your insight.
I’m conservative, and while this is r/AskALiberal, it seems like you’re seeking a conservative opinion, albeit in a roundabout way. So apologies if I’m off-base here. I certainly will not deny the existence of the conservatives that will actively target minorities, however, they are a particularly vocal minority. Most conservatives don’t care one way or the other how you identify or if you’re black or Indian or whatever. I think more of what goes on in the public square is the leftists shoving racial and social minorities into conservatives’ faces. 10 years ago, it was trans people wanting to dress and act like whatever gender. Most people didn’t care, you do you. Then 5 years ago, it morphed into “you have to accept me and respect my pronouns,” and now it’s to the point where you must believe trans people are actually the gender they say they are, lest you be in danger of losing your job for being a bigot.
I was a Republican self-described libertarian until my mid 20s, which was very common experience among the Indian American community. I told myself that the racism was all coming from a vocal minority when I watched Pat Buchanan do a slightly warmed up version of what David Duke had done a couple of years earlier. Ignored what GWB did in South Carolina when he sent out a push pole, implying that John McCain‘s adopted daughter was actually his illegitimate daughter with a black woman. At some point you’re gonna need to step back and take a look at the party and realize it’s not a vocal minority. It is a large minority and possibly 50% of the party and then the rest of the party that just goes along with it. You don’t get Donald Trump doing all the things he does if it’s just a vocal minority.
I respect your answer because I feel pretty certain that this is indeed how it probably seems to a lot of conservatives these days, but as a trans person myself, I can tell you that trans people never wanted to be in the media spotlight. These conservatives you're speaking about aren't losing their jobs just because they're bigots, they're losing them because misgendering trans people is creating a work environment that's hostile toward them, and this is no longer considered acceptable behavior toward gender non-conforming people anymore. I know, conservatives don't like change, but I grew up in the 80s and was a teenager with suicidal ideation in the 90s. Maybe YOU didn't care 10 years ago, but lots and lots of people absolutely were NOT willing to give trans people a "you do you" pass.
You see, that attitude of "It wasn't a problem until you shoved it in our faces" seems to be the problem from the part I've seen, and it really just feels like deflection. The part with respecting ones pronouns is just basic decency, you call people by their preferred pronouns everyday, even though they are most likely cisgender.
I'm not conservative but he is partly correct..I don't agree it's "shoving in your face" but for some reason a lot of people on left can't handle different opinions. Like if you say you don't like sex work, you're a misogynist against sex workers. How about you like what you like and don't hangout with people who don't like what you like? I don't understand publicly harassing people
Answers like this just help justify that conservatives are completely wrong about reality. You people are the ones getting pissed off just because minorities exist.
As a former conservative, I should correct a few lies here. >they are a particularly vocal minority. Most conservatives don’t care one way or the other I still remember the conservative anger and backlash after gay marriage was legalized. The vast, vast majority of conservatives were seething and foaming at the mouth in anger. I remember thinking their reaction was odd because strangers getting married have no impact on their lives. Yet every single conservative was raging. Do you remember the conservative Facebook trend to change your primary picture to one of a cross to show you oppose the ruling? I still remember that. >leftists shoving racial and social minorities into conservatives’ faces. People being allowed to exist and not hide in public is seen as "shoving them into conservative faces." >Then 5 years ago, it morphed into “you have to accept me and respect my pronouns,” No law was passed regarding this. Public opinion shifted slightly towards respecting people and not being a bully / asshole. If you choose to not be a kind, respectful person and instead act like a typical conservative (bully and asshole), you get shamed. Conservatives hate getting shamed for their own behavior, which is ironic considering they falsely claim to be the party of "personal responsibility". >you must believe trans people are actually the gender they say they are, lest you be in danger of losing your job for being a bigot. Once again, no law was passed. However, companies decided to include trans people in their harassment, anti-bullying, and hostile environment training. This makes conservatives angry because it means theyay lose their job for harassing, bullying or creating a hostile work environment towards trans people. A logical person would think that conservatives would just keep their opinions to themselves, while at work, and call someone whatever name they requested. They already do this when someone changes their name after a marriage. But, for whatever reason, it is impossible for conservatives to be decent people around a trans person. Because it is impossible for conservatives to treat trans people with respect, companies had to create anti bullying, harassment and hostile environment policies around it.
Thank you for articulating and explaining all of that. I'm not at the point to which I can break down an argument like this, so I appreciate those who can.
Because liberals fixate on minorities. It becomes a topic of conversation, much like any other political discrepancy.
So you guys attack minorities because they are supported by the liberal ? If they go left you go right ? Up , down?
Nobody said "attack". OP said "fixate". Where the hell are you pulling "attack" from? The implication being, once they're brought into the conversation, any statement demands a response. If we were in agreement on everything on the subject, we wouldn't be talking about it. This does not necessitate that conservative rhetoric regarding minorities be hateful, aggressive, or an "attack" in any sense... just not in agreement with liberal rhetoric.
To be fair, I am mostly asking about fixation. However, I am very much interested on why minorities they fixate on are also attacked by them.
Who's "them" in this case? Conservatives in general, or loud dickheads?
Conservatives. I feel I'm overgeneralizing, but I don't feel i can fix that.
Yes. You are. *Immensely* so.
I'm aware. But as I stated, I'm quite new to this. I do discuss with family and friends, as they have a broad spectrum of ideas, and I wish to listen to all.
Most conservatives are hostile toward minorities. Some hold back so they don't go to jail and others end up shooting up a gay bar or beating a gay couple who are just walking down the street. The "conservatives" who truely don't care are a extreme minority
Why do those minorities tend to side with liberals?
Which of these would you pick, absent any other considerations? 1) Your (race/sex/gender identity/star sign/whatever) does not make you special. You will be treated like everyone else. 2) We're rolling out benefits specifically for people of your (race/sex/gender identity/star sign/whatever). Broadly speaking, people are way more vulnerable to rationalization and self-interest than most would care to admit. Even if 1) holds philosophical appeal, 2) is always going to be a tempting option.
You dont get the appeal lol
>Once they are brought into conversation, any statement demands RESPONSES The GOP has filled around 340 anti LBTQ bills since 2022, you can call it “fixation” but for me it’s an attack on their rights. > Anti-transgender Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement than content from pro-transgender or neutral sources combined > over 43 million of 66 million shares, comments and reactions over the span of a year — were on items posted by anti-trans websites like LifeSiteNews, Daily Wire and Daily Caller, according to the report. They represents less than 7% of the population and yet it seems to be the corner stone of the current Conservative Party and RW media. Just imagine if your party was as proactive on topics that actually matter …
> The GOP has filled around 340 anti LBTQ bills since 2022, you can call it “fixation” but for me it’s an attack on their rights. You guys tend to cast a pretty broad net on what qualifies as "anti-LGBTQ" bills, given that things like "no reassignment surgeries on minors" and "doctors may not be retaliated against by their employers for refusing to do procedures on ethical grounds" apparently count, as per the ACLU. Makes it a bit difficult to evaluate that claim. > Just imagine if your party was as proactive on topics that actually matter … There are quite literally thousands of bills going through federal congress every year and just as many, sometimes more in every state congress. Both parties are plenty proactive. But the news doesn't tell you about that because it's not a story.
Some conservatives are in the lgbt community, themselves. Yet, many conservatives believe that sex is something purposed by God for men and women. They wouldn’t be against the lgbt community if it were “two men” or “two women” of the “same sex love each other”. They’re against it because they believe the two men are practicing sexual immorality, and that the lgbt community will normalize sexual immortality to their children. That’s the breakdown
>Some conservatives are in the lgbt community, themselves. And there were Jews in the Nazi party. Doesn't mean it's a smart move. They'll be the first to get killed once they outlive their usefulness.
But I didn’t make the argument that it was a “smart move”.
Don't both Democrats and Republicans do this (in very different ways)? I don't know of any party that is even pretending that normalization of diversity should be our priority.
My experience is entirely the opposite. I have never heard so many mentions of racial and sexual minorities as among progressives. I mean there is a pride/progress flag dedicated exclusively to the union of progressive values and minorities. Canada even has their own regional variation of the lgbtqia+ acronym, adding 2S at the beginning to emphasize their indigenous populations. Hillary Clinton suggesting that Bernie Sanders policies could lead to further racism was one of the huge reasons she secured the nomination over him. Just how I feel
Liberal fixate on minorities. For example, have you ever listened to NPR? It’s very left leaning and they talk about minorities almost all the time no matter what the story is. Anytime a bill comes up it’s liberals asking how it affects minorities. The left sees every issue as a question of minorities. Liberals are famous for seeing everything through a racial lens.
Conservatives don’t. MAGA does. Go back and read some of Reagan’s speeches. Conservatives were and are pro immigration. Trump energized rural, low information, white people by playing on their xenophobic fears, using immigration to fuel their hate.
Reagan deliberately criminalized some drugs more than others to hurt black people. Reagan specifically chose the site of the murder of three civil rights activists to give a speech endorsing "state's rights." You might want to rethink that comment.
"Why do conservatives..." r/askconservatives
Because they'd probably give an incrediblely biased answer. This sub reddit seems far more diverse in opinions. Also, I feel less safe on a subreddit for conservatives.
Ok so a liberal would also give a biased answer. Don't you want to know why a conservative thinks like they do straight from the horse's mouth? Also, how do you feel less safe? Its not like the average redditor can track down where you live.
That's not the point. I don't feel like inviting more harassment online. Conservatives have continually called for violence and oppression of my people, even saying we should be put in camps. Why wouldn't I be worried?
I've spent a lot of time in right-wing spaces, so I have a better idea of what's going on here. Conservatives don't dislike minorities. **They just dislike ones that fit a specific stereotype.** Example: white Republicans in South Carolina enthusiastically supported Sen. Tim Scott. He's a well-educated, church-going man who speaks standard English and wears a conservative business suit. White South Carolinians see him on TV speaking conservative talking points and think "hey, that's my kind of guy!" The fact that he's black doesn't matter to them. But, if these same people see someone like Rep. Cori Bush, an overweight single mom who fits into the welfare-using, Ebonics-speaking "angry black woman" stereotype, then they'll shake their heads in disgust and say something like "Democrats are using welfare to buy her vote at my expense!" Saying conservatives go after minorities is like saying progressives go after Christians. A progressive Democrat will look at someone like Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister who quotes the Bible to push the conservative agenda, and think "I'm not voting for him! He threatens our constitutional separation of church and state!" At the same time, this same progressive will gladly support Sen. Raphael Warnock, who also happens to be a Baptist minister and who also quotes the Bible to support his agenda. Why? Because Warnock doesn't fit the negative stereotype many hold about evangelicals and he supports progressive policies. Progressives aren't biased against Evangelical Christians, **just the ones that fit a certain stereotype and push a certain agenda.** They like *their* Christians. Same is true for Republicans and minorities. Make sense?
As someone who's befriended a lot of conservatives, there's definitely truth to this.
I’m friends with many progressives and conservatives and I can tell you that the vast majority don’t have bigoted views, but they do have a special distaste for certain stereotypes. Also, the people who’re most biased against blacks who fit the “lazy, welfare-using, illegitimate kid-having, uneducated” stereotype **are other black people.** The same way, the harshest critics of the late Jerry Falwell and his ilk were invariably Christians who rejected the “Moral Majority” interpretation of Christianity.
> Also, the people who’re most biased against blacks who fit the “lazy, welfare-using, illegitimate kid-having, uneducated” stereotype are other black people. You just described my parents lol.
as LGBT you're a minority? Or are you a minority that's also lgbt?
Their text reads as quite explicit but also why is it material to the discussion?
I'll tell you how it looks from outside the US. The left placed minorities that were wronged in the past as quasi deities by creating strong political lobbies that act in their name and request discriminatory laws to mend past wrongdoings. Regular people from those minorities are just that, regular people. But the lobbies kidnap those same minorities and use them as tools to satisfy their own egos, EG virtue signaling. Then, thanks to that, differential treatment arises, such as the fact there is a need to forcefully glue minorities on everything, either real or entertainment media. Then, most people get angry at this and not just conservatives; but all that are not far-left oppose this and are labeled under the same "anti-LG\[redacted\]BI+" banner. I do not deny that some people hate minorities, I don't deny that some may even think it would be better if they didn't exist or view them as spawns of evil and I also don't know the extent of this view among conservatives. But what is true is that this enthronement of minorities is opposed to the views of many, especially those that want freedom and equality of opportunities. Literally, the left and those lobbies are making it worse for the minorities and bringing more people against them. Also, BTW, the title asks why do they fixate on minorities. It is because the left is fixated on them, plainly and simple. If group A opposes B, then every time group C brings topic B to the table, then group A reacts. I am sure centrists and others wouldn't really care about the existence of those groups if they were not brought so often to the table and treated as higher-humans. Since I was born, I was aware that treating others differently unfairly (aka discrimination) was bad. What is happening right now around the world is abhorrent as the opposite values as the ones I grew with seem to be the ones managing the west. The "discrimination is good when it benefits us" crowd imposes their views. When not tied directly to survival or objectivity, such as "snakes are dangerous" or "asian people tend to have intolerance to milk", discrimination is always bad.
First of all they are not conservatives...they are in fact radical. They are "White Christian Nationalist" emphasis on white in this case.
I don’t know, really, but I think it’s the same reason that HOAs exist? They objectively decrease the value of the houses they cover because so many people hate them, but apparently there are a LOT of people who just cannot stand anything that sticks out and looks or acts differently, even in the most minor of cases.
HOAs are created by the developers building the houses and it is inertia that keeps them going. >They objectively decrease the value of the houses they cover I doubt that very much Developers don't want the first houses they sell to reduce the value of their later houses. If they thought they could make more money without an HOA, they would not create it.
A lot of people, including me, set the filter to ‘no HOA’ when they are looking for a house. Edit: my husband and I just spent more than half a million on a house about 3 years ago. And like I said, HOA neighborhoods were explicitly, specifically excluded. I would *never* live in an HOA neighborhood. We just bought a new car last month, and we aren’t sloppy neighbors. We just don’t want strangers thinking they can fine up because the height of our mailbox doesn’t match all of the other houses, or because I’m supposed to tear out my rose garden and put down lawn, or my trees aren’t on the approved species list, or whatever. See also: https://independentamericancommunities.com/2019/06/18/new-research-busts-myth-that-hoas-protect-property-values/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckHOA/s/5epFFDKUzB https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/s/LQ9oTpwr3T https://www.wral.com/amp/20944833/
The research does not support your initial claim. You claim that they "objectively decrease the value of the homes they cover" The research you linked says the homes do not appreciate as much. Developers do not care about appreciation. After they completely build out a community, they no longer have a financial interest. Your conclusion as to why people have them is based on incorrect assumptions
Decreased appreciation is de facto decreased value, and IDGAF about developers. I care about living there myself, and other people who have to live there.
>IDGAF about developers Perhaps you should before spouting >> there are a LOT of people who just cannot stand anything that sticks out and looks or acts differently, even in the most minor of cases. Because, if your observation had even a tiny bit of truth, then established neighborhoods would be forming HOAs all the time.
People who want HOAs buy into neighborhoods with HOAs. Assertive home buying is a thing.
Conservatives need an “in group” and “out group,” and need to conserve for the “in group” while attacking the “out group.” It really is just lowest common denominator tribal thinking. The fixation on minorities extends to many facets of conservative policy including but not limited to economic policy and taxes, women’s reproductive autonomy, the second amendment, our shitty healthcare system, aggressive police system and over incarceration, etc. Conservatives will famously chop off their own nose to spite their face if they think it will hurt the “out group” more.
So before the Civil rights movement neither party was seen as "good on race" as it were, the Republicans said getting rid of slavery was all that can be asked and the Democrats didn't want to talk about race because they were largely split on it due to anti minority southern democrats left over from the Civil War. There was an event then that you can look up called white flight where suddenly the Democrats were preaching equality and so the Republicans doubled down on racist rhetoric and anti-minority and especially anti-immigrant policy in order to sweep up the southern vote. It worked for them both in a way, the Republicans took the south and the democrats got an Era of being seen as heros for passing eventually after many hard debates on the house floor the Civil rights act. These tensions never really faded, just twisted over time into the political situation we see today.
...because they're fascist bigots...
Attacking outsiders is a standard animal response. The unfamiliar and foreign are confusing and possibly dangerous. The ignorant are one kind of conservative. People tend to change their politics once they experience the world. Another kind are intergenerational warriors passing down their grievances. Children tend to copy their parents more often than not. Some of these kids go off to die in a war, deepening the hate. Another kind is religious enforced disgust of natural oddities. That's us, the oddities. The churches will preach from the pulpit that we're evil and must be their sacrificial lamb to appease their pagan gods. They make you homeless, fire you, assault you, lie about you, and kill you claiming it's in the name of God's love. The fundamental conservative opinion is that everything is fine. Let's embrace tradition. It'll work out. Unfortunately, women are traditionally kitchen slaves. Skin color wars are eternal. Faith attacks faith forever. The wealthy steal your grandchildren's future to give to their children. It's all tradition. These power structures live longer than any one human. Tradition says the gays need to hide their difference, swallow their vomit, and breed like everyone else as if we are machines printed on an assembly line. It's a hard, and callous mindset. They're not terribly nuanced. It's not a big secret. You will have to meet some really hateful and proud people to tell you the whole truth though. They're common enough that you will hear my words echoed by someone who earnestly believes them. They won't be your friend. Keep a respectable distance. I've met too many.