Trump’s Growing Grip on Young Men Exposes A HUGE Problem For Liberals... & Today’s News
PDS Published 11/07/2024
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As Young Men Vote For Trump, Many Try To Break Down This Rightward Shift
And then, in the post-election discourse, we have seen a ton of people looking at which demographics voted what way and dissecting what all of that means.
And there is a ton to say about a ton of different groups, but right now we’re going to focus on young men and their turnout for Trump.
With NBC News exit polls finding that men 18-29 went 49% for Trump and 47% for Kamala Harris.[]
And that gap was even more pronounced in swing states, with CBS News finding that men under 30 in Pennsylvania voted for Trump 56% to 38%.[]
ABC News finding that in Michigan, Trump had a 20-point lead with young men.[]
And this is a major gender gap nationwide, because Harris got 61% of the vote for women in the 18-29 group.[]
And while young people in general went for Harris, the Democrat’s hold on young voters is shrinking, with CNN finding that the advantage went from 24 points for Biden in 2020 to just 11 points for Harris.[]
And Axios noting that this shift, especially considering the turnout from young men:
“signals that the MAGA movement — with the support of a great deal of America’s youngest voters — has lasting power.”
And the thing is, if you look at coverage of the political gender gap heading into this election, these results actually are not too surprising.
Back in August the New York Times ran an article titled: “Many Gen Z Men Feel Left Behind. Some See Trump as an Answer.”[]
And this is something Trump’s campaign was actively trying to tap into, especially in terms of young men’s media consumption.
With Trump notably going on the podcasts of a ton of male influencers, and some even crediting that for him winning this demographic.
With the Hollywood Reporter declaring that Trump won the first “influencer election” and noting that people like Dana White took the stage at Trump’s victory to say:
“I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ With The Boys and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.” (1:34-1:46)
Because not only did Trump sit down with those influencers, but they used their platforms to advocate for him.
The Nelk Boys posting frequently about Trump online and condemning Harris, even going onto Fox News to discuss their support.
Joe Rogan being one of the biggest podcasts appearances, with that ultimately ending in a Trump endorsement.
And some arguing he didn’t even need to appear on these podcasts to court votes, that the popularity of these creators alone was indicative of where young men’s politics lean.
And some people have been ringing the alarms for a minute, with this clip of Hasan Piker on Crooked Media’s Offline podcast earlier this year now going viral:
“If you’re a dude under the age of 30 and you have any hobbies whatsoever, whether it is playing video games, working out, listening to a history podcast or whatever, every single facet of that is dominated by center right to…like definitely center right to Trumpian right. Openly Trump right. Not like genuinely neo-nazi, that part has quieted down a little, but like 90% of the way there.” (7:51-8:09) (8:17-8:30)
“It creates a lot of vulnerable men who are looking for answers. And I think a lot of right wing men and manosphere podcasters and the like take advantage of that, and they do a good job taking advantage of that, they’re like, you’re angry because trans people exist, you’re angry because women are taking your jobs they should be going back to a traditional lifestyle.” (11:09-11:30)
And as people have been discussing this manosphere trend, most people have been pointing fingers at the popularity of Andrew Tate, who is a self-described misogynist. [][][][][]
He has notably celebrated Trump’s win by saying he wants to move back to the US and even posting a photo of him as Trump’s press secretary.[][]
Using the win to further his anti-women rhetoric by tweeting:
“I saw a woman crossing the road today but I just kept my foot down. Right of way? You no longer have rights.”[]
And so now, you have people arguing that if Democrats want to win, they need a liberal Andrew Tate. []
And while yes, it is true that Democrats probably need to rethink their media strategies, especially as it pertains to the youth vote, that could be an oversimplification.
With Bloomberg showing charts about why young men likely voted how they did.
Noting that “After years of stagnation, median weekly real wages for men aged 21 to 35 rose steadily during Trump’s first tenure as president.”
Also noting that many men entered the workforce under Trump, though there was notably a big pandemic drop and many did enter again later under Biden, but the association of those jobs is there nonetheless.
And Bloomberg also noting that men are falling behind in education.
And the no college degree crowd was more likely to vote right.[]
So Bloomberg noted that this all made Trump’s rhetoric appealing to young men, but also:
“Trump may have made young men feel heard during the campaign, and they did experience some genuine improvements during his administration. But the shifts in the job market are real, and it’s not clear Trump’s policies will help young men adapt.”
And so I would love to know your thoughts on any and all aspects here, on young men’s Trump lean in general, on the urge to blame media consumption, anything here.
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Trump isn’t even in office yet, but DOJ officials are talking about dropping his criminal cases, and experts expect he’ll try to delay hush money sentencing
Trump isn’t president again yet, but just his victory alone has already thrown a wrench into the criminal cases against him.
Right, multiple outlets are now reporting that special counsel Jack Smith is in active talks with senior leadership at the Justice Department on how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against Trump —
Which charge him with trying to overturn the election and hoarding classified documents after leaving office.
And this move is coming because, once Trump is in office, he will be protected from charges thanks to standing DOJ policy that prevents sitting presidents from being prosecuted.
And while he’s not president yet, there’s no way the cases could be resolved before Trump is in the White House.
But regardless, we all knew that if Trump won, one of his first actions in office would be to have his new attorney general get rid of those cases.
Hell, he has even said himself that he would fire Jack Smith — the special counsel leading the cases — “within two seconds” of taking office, thus halting them.
But sources say this effort to unwind the two federal cases is driven by a need to smooth the transition between the administrations —
And avoid a showdown over the no-prosecution policy in the period between when Trump assumes office and a new attorney general is approved to toss the cases.
Now, as far as what exactly this unwinding will look like, that remains unclear to the public.
But it could be very complicated — right, we’re talking about something that is totally unprecedented.
And, as NBC explains, it leaves many questions unanswered, like:
“Could the prosecutions resume after Trump leaves office or would they be time-barred? What happens to the evidence? What about the two other defendants charged with helping Trump hide classified documents? Will the special counsel write a report, as special counsels usually do?”
Right, and on that last point, it is possible that even with the unwinding, Smith could still have time to finish his reports on the two cases before Trump assumes office and, presumably, fires him.
And that would be very notable because Attorney General Merrick Garland has implied that he would make those reports public.
Now, of course, they wouldn’t have any legal ramifications, but it would be a big middle finger to Trump.
But beyond that, the Mar-a-Lago documents case also poses a unique challenge.
Right, that case was technically thrown out by a Trump-appointed judge who bucked decades of legal precedent and ruled that special counsel Smith had been appointed illegally because his appointment wasn’t approved by the Senate.
Now, of course, Smith has appealed that decision, but Justice Department officials have worried that the judge’s ruling could jeopardize ANY federal prosecutor or senior official serving in a temporary position and thus wasn’t approved by the Senate.
So, as a result, there are serious, sweeping concerns about what would happen if the appeal is dropped and the judge’s decision is left unchallenged.
And for now, we’re just gonna have to keep our eyes on that whole nightmare.
But it’s not just the federal cases that have been upended simply by Trump winning —
The sentencing for his criminal conviction in New York over the hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels is now in jeopardy too.
Right, Trump is currently scheduled to appear on November 26th to receive a sentence for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
But it is widely expected that his lawyers will use his recent victory to try and disrupt the case from a few different angles.
One option that sources say his lawyers are working on is to have the case thrown out altogether on the grounds that, as president-elect, he has the same constitutional protections as a sitting president.
And thus is protected from sentencing by state prosecutors.
But, even if the judge dismisses that argument, Trump’s attorneys could appeal to a higher court and seek to delay sentencing further while they do.
And that’s not their only option for delaying sentencing — another route they’re all but certain to take is to postpone the sentencing indefinitely on the grounds that he is too busy getting ready to assume office to stand for sentencing or other court procedures.
Still, those are just some of the paths — there are a bunch of different maneuvers and appeals his team can take based on various different legal outcomes.
And I won’t get into all the possibilities because all you really need to know is that this is a cluster fuck and it’s all but certain Trump will not face any accountability for his crimes in New York before he takes office and gets sweeping immunity.
And if he ever does face consequences, it will be years from now after he leaves office — assuming he doesn’t find a way to make himself President 5ever, which… I don’t think we safely assume…
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Election updates: Dem Elissa Slotkin wins Senate seat in Michigan despite Harris’ loss, House seats that have been flipped, Biden to speak at 11 am ET
Then I want to quickly cover some election updates we’ve seen with the House and Senate.
Starting in the upper chamber, we now have the official confirmation that Democrat and friend of the show Elissa Slotkin has won the open Senate seat in Michigan — which was one of the tightest and most closely-watched races this cycle.
Just barely beating her Republican opponent by 0.39%[]
Right, and her win here is a big deal for a few reasons.
First of all, the seat she was running for had been vacated by a retiring Democrat, making it a prime target for Republicans to flip because Michigan is a swing state and they weren’t fighting against a sitting Dem with an incumbency advantage.
And while the GOP has already won the Senate, keeping their majority as slim as possible is essential because it will make it that much harder to get shit done.
I mean, just look out how the Democrat's slim majority for the last two years has worked for them… not good at all.
But another reason Slotkin’s win is so notable is the fact that she won an open seat in a state that Harris lost.
Right, during a presidential election year, most people vote down the ballot — so they’ll vote for a senator who is in the same party as whichever presidential candidate they’re voting for.
And when the presidential candidate does well in the state, the senator can ride their coattails, but when they do badly, they can drag others down with them.
Now, sometimes, incumbency can offset that — which can help explain why Senator Tammy Baldwin won her re-election in Wisconsin even though Harris lost that state as well.
So for Slotkin to win this open seat — that speaks volumes both about her as a candidate AND how the people of Michigan feel about Harris.
Right, not only did Slotkin win her race, but her victory means that Democrats have not lost a single statewide race since Trump won the state in 2016.
So Harris’ loss there is especially notable, and the people at the top of the Democratic Party better be putting some serious energy into how the campaign went so wrong there.
Now, with all that said, as of recording, we haven’t gotten any more updates about the Senate, but there are several key House races I wanted to hit on.
Right, the House is still undecided, though Democrats' path to victory is narrowing here, with Republicans now having won 209 seats to Democrats’ 195 as of recording.[]
And so far, both parties have managed to flip several key seats.
Very notably here, Democrats have now turned a total of three seats previously held by Republicans in New York’s 4th, 19th, and 22nd districts.[][][]
We also saw an incredibly significant and historic flip in Alabama — yes, that Alabama.
And there, Democrat Shomari (Shuh-mar-ee) Figures beat his Republican challenger, winning the state’s 2nd district.
And while Figures technically flipped the seat, it’s also a bit of a unique case because the district was actually just redrawn after federal judges forced Alabama to change their map to better represent Black voters.
A ruling that the Supreme Court upheld in a landmark and shocking decision.
Right, and this is something we talked about on the show a bunch when it was playing out in the court, but the TLDR is that the Alabama GOP had drawn its Congressional map so just one of the state’s 7 districts had a Black majority.
This despite the fact that almost 1 in 3 voters in the state are Black.
And under the ruling, the Republican state legislature was directed to re-draw the map so at least two districts had a majority of Black voters or “close to it.”
So, after a bunch of bullshit trying to find loopholes and get around the ruling, a final map was put in place that made the 2nd district majority Black, with those voters then election Figures.
And his election breaks a bunch of different fucked up Alabama records.
Right, despite the fact that a third of the state is Black, thanks to the years of racist gerrymandering, he is only the fourth Black person elected to Congress from Alabama since Reconstruction.
This is also the first time EVER that a Black person in Alabama has been elected to Congress in a district other than the 7th.
Because, you know, that was the only Black-majority district Alabama Republicans allowed to exist until they were forced to redraw their map.
So, as a result, this is also the first time that Alabama will have two Black members of Congress serving at the same time — which again is insane for a state with 7 that is 30% Black and has 7 Congressmembers.
But, of course, Republicans also flipped some key seats too.
With the big ones there being Michigan’s 7th district — which notably is the seat that Slotkin is vacating.[]
As well as Pennsylvania’s closely-watched 7th and 8th districts.[][]
But again, remember that this is all developing, so we will see more results coming in soon.
And as we wait to see if Republicans secure a trifecta with the House, regardless, this morning, we saw Biden addressing the nation for the first time and promising a smooth transfer of power to Trump in the White House.
Right, that in line with the promise Kamala Harris made yesterday.
Biden also taking time to thank election workers for their service and notably saying:
"I also hope we can lay to rest the question of the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest. It is fair and it is transparent, and it can be trusted. Win or lose." 1:35:23-1:35:37
With Biden also adding:
"The struggle for the soul of America since our very founding has always been an ongoing debate and still vital today. I know for some people, it's a time for victory to state the obvious. For others, it's a time of loss. Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I've said many times, you can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbors only when you agree." 1:34:29-1:35:10
But yeah, let me know your thoughts on anything we talked about here.
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Ukraine after Trump election
Pretty much the entire world turned its eyes toward America Tuesday night, but one country in particular watched the election with a mixture of hope and fear: Ukraine.
Right, I mean that literally; Ukrainian soldiers simultaneously monitored Russian troop movements and U.S. vote counts from their bunkers Wednesday morning. [Image and Quote, find “Oksana”]
With one private telling the New York Times, “It feels like a small loss of hope for better support in our difficult struggle, knowing his stance and sympathy toward our enemies. At the same time, I understand that the situation has become so tough recently that even the aid we’ve received hasn’t been enough to improve our position.” [Quote same link]
Right, what she’s referring to there is Trump’s well-known hostility toward military and financial aid to Ukraine and his longtime admiration for Vladimir Putin. [Image]
Which has many Ukrainians and their supporters worried that he’s going to cut off aid at a time when they’re struggling to hold their ground against a larger and better-equipped adversary.
Though President Zelensky’s been nothing but flattering toward Trump, appealing to his image as a big boy who’s really strong and tough and brave. [Image]
With Ukraine’s leader congratulating Trump after the election, and publically saying he looked forward to an “era of a strong United States of America under President Trump's decisive leadership.” [Quote and B roll]
Adding, “I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.” [Quote same link and same B roll]
But as far as Trump’s actual plans for the conflict, if they even exist, we just have to wait and see because he’s refused to detail them every time he’s been asked.
With him simply promising to end the war in one day without specifying how.
Which many have taken to mean he’ll turn the screws on Ukraine to settle with Russia as quickly as possible, which would almost certainly mean conceding territory on unfavorable terms. [B roll, 00:00 - 00:07]
Because right now, Moscow occupies about a fifth of the country. [Same B roll]
Also, during his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump refused multiple times to say whether he even wanted Ukraine to win.
[Clip, 00:01 - 00:07; Clip, 01:27 - 01:35] Caption: [Moderator:] “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” [Donald Trump:] “I want the war to stop. I want to save lives.” [Moderator:] “Do you believe it’s in the U.S.’ best interest for Ukraine to win this war, yes or no?” [Donald Trump:] “I think it’s the U.S.’ best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.”
Now arguably, a lot of the details are gonna come down to his key appointees.
Because if Trump picks somebody like Mike Pompeo to lead the Defense Department, he’s likely to take a more hardline approach toward Russia.
But if he picks someone like Richard Grenell [Pronounce 00:08] for his secretary of state or national security Advisor, that could create pressure in the opposite direction from within his administration.
Though ultimately, of course, the buck stops with Trump himself, as one of his former National Security Council aids told The Wall Street Journal.
Saying, “Anyone—no matter how senior in Trump’s circle—who claims to have a different view or more detailed window into his plans on Ukraine simply doesn’t know what he or she is talking about or doesn’t understand that he makes his own calls on national-security issues, many times in the moment, particularly on an issue as central as this.” [Quote]
But whatever happens next, it’s going to be vital in determining the future course of the war.
Because as Ned Stark put it, winter is coming, and Russian forces in recent months have been advancing at the fastest pace since the war began nearly three years ago. [Image]
With Ukraine’s short-staffed military having to constantly shuffle soldiers around between hotspots on the front line. [Image]
Leaving the points they came from open to attack, which is exactly what Russia’s been doing. [Image]
Meanwhile, from January to September, Ukrainian prosecutors recorded about 51,000 soldiers deserting their posts, more than double the number from last year. [Quote, find “51,000”]
And at the same time, over 10,000 North Korean soldiers are now fighting alongside the Russians, though their numbers probably won’t be decisive. [Headline/image]
So if the United States abandons its ally, we’ll have to see if Europe can pick up the slack.
Though even that may be up in the air after what just happened in Germany …
[Potential segue into Brian’s script]
Links:
https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraines-zelenskiy-praises-trumps-impressive-election-win-2024-11-06/
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Not just the US dealing with election uncertainty: ruling German coalition collapses and new elections likely incoming, sparking fears of far-right gains
Looks like we’re not the only country with election drama this week after Germany’s ruling coalition collapsed yesterday.
Things officially came crashing apart after Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked Finance Minister Christian Lind-ner, but that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Scholz relies on three parties to maintain a majority, including the Free Democrats that Lind-ner belongs to.
However, they’ve been having big disagreements about which direction Germany’s economy should go as the country struggles with about two years of economic troubles.
[]Things really came to a head over the budget, with Scholz accusing Lind-ner of blocking proposals on shaky ground and thus putting party over country, with Scholz going on to say:
"We need a government that is able to act, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions for our country.”
Scholz is now expected to reach out to the opposition conservative party to try and get his budget passed, which was likely blocked because it had spending increases and Lind-ner and his party are extremely financially conservative. []
And I don’t mean like spending increases across the board, it was mostly just on the military -- something many European countries are considering now that Donald Trump will be president again.
But running a minority government is expected to just be a short term thing since on January 15th he plans to hold a no confidence vote.[]
It’s widely expected that since he’s in the minority he’ll lose that, meaning that there would be snap elections sometime around March.
Obviously that’s not right around the corner… which is why he’s facing growing pressure to speed up that timeline and have a snap election much sooner.
That includes calls from Lind-ner, which is interesting because his Free Democrats are polling below 5% right now, which is the threshold needed to even be allowed into German parliament. []
Other parties are also pressuring, such as the Christian Democratic Union which are currently leading the polls by a massive margin at 32%. []
Their leader wanted it done as early as next week, saying:
“There are also a whole series of international commitments, conferences and decisions in the European Union that now require a German federal government that is capable of acting.”
“We simply cannot afford to have a government without a majority in Germany for several months.”
Following them are the far, far-right AfD, then Scholz’s own SPD.
So it makes sense that many parties want an election NOW while they’re still way up in the polls while Scholz would obviously want to delay it to hopefully have enough time to dig his party out of the hole they’re in.
There’s a real chance that just like the US, Germany is taking a turn to the right come 2025.
Although there are obviously some big differences, such as security across Europe.
Trump has a history of antagonizing NATO partners and clearly doesn’t want to send more arms to Ukraine.
The Christian Democrats over in Germany are the opposite and have been frustrated by how slow European help to Ukraine has been.
So we’ll keep an eye on this, but parliamentary systems just remind me that while our elections and government are shit shows, so are everyone else’s.
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The far right and alternative health enthusiasts have a new hill they want to die on: raw milk.
And if you’re unfamiliar, raw milk is just unpasteurized milk, right, it hasn’t gone through the process to kill all kinds of nasty bacteria that could potentially contaminate it, like salmonella, E.coli, and listeria.[]
For decades, pasteurization has been a very standard and basic health measure, and it’s pretty simple, right, it’s just heating milk to a certain temperature for a set time to kill all the gross stuff.
That way you can be spared from diseases that killed people for centuries like tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and more. []
And if you don’t pasteurize milk and drink it raw, well, your chance of consuming harmful bacteria increases, which could lead to food poisoning symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and body aches.[]
And these illnesses can be especially harmful to immunocompromised people, children, elderly adults, or if you’re pregnant.
Still, social media is full of content from people consuming and promoting raw milk as a healthier and more wholesome option than pasteurized milk.
Some people showing themselves giving it to their kids straight from the utter, saying it tastes like freedom.
Others saying things like:
“Raw milk is an incredibly nutrient-rich, healing food for humans. (0:17-0:21)
“Did you know that raw milk never goes bad?” (0:00-0:03)
“Never drink regular milk…Instead, only drink raw milk that is unpasteurized.” (0:00-0:02) (0:07-0:10)
Right, the pro-raw milk crowd has a wide array of people, you have the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow saying she puts raw cream in her coffee every morning.
Marjorie Taylor Greene likewise tweeting that it’s healthy.[]
And among their reasons, they say raw milk tastes better, is more nutritious, easier to digest, especially for people with lactose intolerance, and they also say that it can prevent seasonal allergies and asthma.[]
Though, the FDA would beg to differ, saying pasteurization does not cause lactose intolerance or reduce milk’s nutritional value. []
And the FDA is not alone, most food scientists say that there is no nutritional difference between pasteurized and raw milk.[]
With Nicole Martin, an assistant research professor in dairy foods microbiology at Cornell University, telling the Washington Post that:
“What folks really need to hear is that this product, raw milk, does represent a higher risk of illness. Even if they perceive there to be a nutritional benefit, or a health benefit, there really is no support for that in scientific studies.”
And while other experts have noted that not all raw milk is going to make everyone who drinks it sick, you need to pasteurize it in order to remove the chance of contamination.
And this is even true if you get it straight from your clean and friendly neighborhood farm, with an associate professor of food policy at Northeastern University telling Women’s Health:
“Buying raw milk from a reputable farm with good hygiene practices may reduce the risk of contamination, but it does not eliminate it. Even well-managed farms can have bacteria present in the environment, equipment, or from the cows themselves.”[]
“Trust in the farm’s reputation does not equate to a guarantee of safety when it comes to raw milk.”
You also had an infectious disease specialist at New York University further explaining to Rolling Stone that a ton of people are drawn to raw milk because it seems more “natural,” but:[]
“Drinking raw milk is about as ‘natural’ as drinking water contaminated with raw sewage. Pasteurization is no more ‘unnatural’ than cooking, refrigerating, or freezing food. We do all of these things to make food safer to consume.”
Because, for some context, before pasteurization standards were adopted 100 years ago, 25% of foodborne illness in the US was related to dairy, but now, dairy products only account for 1% of these illnesses. []
Which is why you had one expert telling the AP that drinking raw milk is kind of like playing Russian Roulette, and the more you keep drinking, the more likely it is to get you.
And the raw milk crowd is not just the organic crunchy natural wellness people anymore, it has become a sort of flashpoint among the far right and anti-establishment crowds, too, because many drink it kind of just to stick it to government agencies.
With Mark McAfee, owner of Raw Farm USA telling the AP that:
“People are seeking raw milk like crazy. Anything that the FDA tells our customers to do, they do the opposite.”
With the outlet adding that sales of raw milk are increasing even as a new risk has entered the chat: bird flu.
Cases of bird flu were confirmed in US cattle in March, but in May, weekly sales of raw cow milk have ticked up somewhere between 21% and 65% compared to the same time last year.
And the virus has been found in high levels in the raw milk of cows who were infected.
Though, very importantly, the virus is killed in pasteurized milk.
Right now, it is still unclear if the virus can be transmitted to humans via untreated milk.
Some doctors think it is unlikely we would get it this way, but others think there is a possibility because cats on dairy farms have gotten bird flu, likely from raw milk.[]
And the overall consensus is that bird flu is surely not the biggest concern when it comes to raw milk, but it is still not worth the risk, with Dr. Meghan Davis, an environmental epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins, telling the New York Times that:
“The precautionary approach would be to avoid raw-dairy products [altogether]...We have so many unknowns.”
But despite the unknown and well-known concerns, raw milk sales are okayed in at least some capacity in most states, []
With some states allowing retail of it, and others restricting it to farm sales or requiring pet food labeling.
And it’s not a red state vs blue state thing in terms of allowing sales, right, states on both sides of the aisle have approved it.
But still, it has become a political statement among the right, or among others who just don’t want to listen to or trust the government.[]
With Matthew Motta, who studies health misinformation at Boston University telling the AP:
“It’s not that people are stupid or ignorant or that they don’t know what the science is. They’re motivated to reject it on the basis of partisanship, their political ideology, their religion, their cultural values.”[]
You also had James Fitzgerald, an associate professor of security studies at Dublin City University, telling Rolling Stone that going against scientific consensus and government recommendations:
“provides individuals with a sense of agency, freedom, and control: one of the reasons why the topic taps into broad support among individuals who may not otherwise support far/extreme-right causes.”[]
With him noting it's similar to those who opposed vaccination during COVID.
And you had one epidemiologist telling the outlet that there is a good reason a lot of people do not trust the US healthcare system, right, it is profit first, inaccessible, difficult to navigate, and all of that pushes people to alternative guidance.
And this also pushes people further to conspiracy, with Fitzgerald saying that the anti-establishment groups can use the raw milk craze to boost other theories.
Because, it probably does not surprise you that there are tons of theories about liberal control of food sources, and once you can hook someone on raw milk, it might be easier to feed them that, too.
And Fitzgerald says raw milk also is a tool that the right can use to romanticize the past, and the very strict gender roles and white supremacy that controlled those times, explaining:
“The consumption of raw milk — like the tradwife aesthetic, which is also leveraged by the extreme-right — is a lifestyle choice that harkens back to a ‘better,’ simpler time when traditional social hierarchies persist.”
And so I would love to know your thoughts on this phenomenon, on this rise of interest in raw milk, this distrust in the science and the federal officials that warn against it, and the greater political and cultural implications.
Because damn, what a world we live in where people can’t even be normal about drinking fucking milk!
