The Deviancy of Trump Supporters
We live in a society. Within this society resides many cultures that inhabit various parts of our world. The United States of America is composed of people from all across the globe as a result of colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and immigration. This country is known for being multicultural, and without that diversity we would not have advanced and be in possession of a culture that many are proud of. But the origins of this culture have a dark past. One that is not properly taught or promoted by the American education system or by our government. As a result of this negligence to share the true history of our country, there exists a culture of ignorance that enables hate, discrimination, and inequality. This collective consciousness of ignorance is what led to the election of the 45th president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
To familiarize ourselves with the current Commander in Chief, Donald Trump is a Queens, New York born self-proclaimed entrepreneur and businessman. Trump came into the American public sphere as an often-misinformed opinionated socialite of New York City. The family real estate business in which he was President of up until his election has been shrouded in controversy relating to racial discrimination, illegal business practices, tax evasion, and bankruptcy. Trump would often tout that he built his business with a one million dollar loan that he received from his father, but business associates and experts confirm that all of the property and assets that he acquired after becoming President of his family’s business were given to him by his father. The common theme that is evident here is that Trump is known for extreme exaggerations and lying. This type of behavior we would describe as deviant, but amongst his many allies and fans it is either ignored or supported as honest and sincere.
As we approach one of the most important mid-term elections in American history we are reminded of another conundrum that we Americans are posed with, political polarity. There exists a shared cynicism amongst some Americans. Politics is a realm that is paradoxically foreign though it is the platform that grants us a voice and representation in our government. Since its inception, American politicians have devised various methods into parading the public to vote in their favor. Both of our current centered political parties, Republicans and Democrats, engage in electoral campaigning that is often riddled with manipulative, misleading, misconstrued, and controversial tactics against each other that are intended to sway voters into their favor by bringing to light the supposed faults and weaknesses of the opposing party. Through these vitriolic campaign practices each side is exposing how corrupt and deviant our political system is, and we are posed with the question of choosing whom are we supposed to trust?
In the contemporary American political arena, the Republican Party has been associated with conservative values that are mostly held by middle to upper middle class white Americans with strong religious beliefs. Their party’s policies have often been against taxation of large corporations, and social welfare for all Americans. While the Democratic Party has been associated with Americans who are commonly from lower socioeconomic backgrounds that are ethnically and culturally diverse. Democratic policies have often been considered more liberal and supportive of public services. This accentuates the division that exists in our society, and how those who are afforded privileges as a result of their ethnic identity and socioeconomic status are often the ones who are in control of economic and political decision making. Donald Trump, as a wealthy upper middle class white American man, is a member of the Republican Party. The congressional members of the Republican Party and its supporters are the reason Donald Trump was elected into the office of the Presidency. These individuals often claim to live by morals and values that are based off of religious beliefs and are supposedly posed to benefit all Americans. But as our current cultural climate has shown that is not the case and their stances are oppressive and even fatal.
Sociology has taught us through the constructivist perspective that deviance as a subjective experience assumes that the deviant person is a feeling, thinking, reflective subject who has worth and dignity. Therefore, sociologists should not treat deviants as immoral, unpleasant or repulsive, but understand how the deviant thinks about himself and society. The positivist perspective taught us that deviance, as an observable object, is the belief that deviant behavior has an objective nature that can lead to observation and study. Applying both of these theories to observing Americans who support Donald Trump as President presented me with a similar lens that sociologists use when studying human behavior. From what I have gathered through observable research, and from a few academic articles, I was able to theorize that supporting Donald Trump as President is a form of deviant behavior.
One of the main characteristics observably attributable to Trump supporters is that the majority of them are middle aged, middle to upper middle class white men and women. When we look back at factors that enable behavior to be defined as deviant, we recognize that this particular demographic has the privilege of holding social status and power that grants them the ability to evoke the notion that their stance and claims are more legitimate than those who oppose them. This is essentially the halo effect, where they hold a position of power that allows them to oppress the views of anyone who disagrees with them. It is an abuse of power and privilege that contributes to dismissive and harmful behavior. Since the majority of the individuals who make up our congressional representation come from this demographic, it can be assumed that they are more likely to support and condone the behavior of Donald Trump since he comes from the same background as them. It is a gross reality that contributes to the mistrust that many Americans have with our politicians and fellow citizens.
More disturbing is the apparent dismissal of Trump’s obvious deviant behavior. Multiple women have accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment on numerous separate accounts. He was even caught in a recording admitting to sexually harassing women and proudly stated that the power and privilege he possesses is what enabled him to abuse women. In “A Desire for Deviance’’ the author opens by stating group members prefer leaders who have characteristics and attitudes that are in line with group norms (Chang, 2015). With the knowledge that Trump admitted to sexual abuse, and not denouncing him as the sexual deviant he is, his supporters are complicit with sexual abuse and openly support a sexual abuser. This is relative to the power of influence. More specifically, in how people are unfortunately more likely to believe the accused if they hold a position of power over the accuser. Openly supporting a known sexual abuser and denouncing the victims as liars not only promotes abuse but it in itself is a form of abuse directed at the victims.
One of the common tropes spoken amongst Trump supporters is their belief that he “speaks the truth and tells it like it is”. The irony in this is that Trump’s entire identity and empire has been built on lies and deception. In “Donald Trump as Cultural Revolt ‘’ the author states that “…Donald Trump is not the cause of cultural deviance, rather, support for him is the product of salience of restrictive communication norms” (Conway, 2017). This is referencing the opposition to political correctness, where Trump and his supporters feel that requesting respect for identity politics is infringing on their freedom of speech. The individuals who feel this way are supported by Trump who abuses his social capital and often uses vulgar and obscene rhetoric in an attempt to rile his supporters against those who oppose his beliefs. This has led to acts of violence from radical white American male terrorists against multiple groups of marginalized American citizens. This maladaptive behavior can be traced back to Robert Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance. In these incidents, where individuals behave irrationally to the point that it leads to violence, they believe this deviant behavior, as an act of rebellion against perceived oppression, will lead to an awakening. But through this behavior they are engaging in domestic terrorism that has long been associated with white supremacist groups.
Trump was able to gain followers and supporters by acting on the fear that many white Americans possess as a result of their belief that job stealing, criminal, terrorist immigrants are overrunning the country they call home. This exemplifies the Social Control Theory from Travis Hirschi where common values that are associated with a group’s norms influence their behavior. When these values or norms are assumed to be violated, the group members act out. The irony in this is that the white Americans who perceive there values and norms are being violated or restricted are acting out in behavior that is often criminal and in many cases are acts of domestic terrorism. What is disheartening about this is that Donald Trump has had the opportunity to denounce these acts of domestic terrorism that were committed by white men who are often supporters of him, but instead he deflects and often places the blame on the media and opposing politicians instead of condemning these criminals for their actions. In some cases, he has promoted ideas of white nationalism, even claiming that he himself is a nationalist. This is related to the Shaming Theory, more specifically on interdependence. Trump and those in his staff, some of whom have direct ties to white nationalism, are aware that fear mongering and support from individuals who hold white nationalist ideals contributed to Trump’s election. In an attempt to not lose their support and favor, they refuse to denounce white nationalism and choose to deflect it as a problem created by their opponents, the Democratic Party. These methods have existed in politics throughout history, but if there is one thing we have learned from history is that this bottle necking can lead to an even more violent eruption.
The behavior that is exhibited by Trump and his supporters is so sensationalized thanks to propaganda and our salacious entertainment driven culture that to many it doesn’t permeate the culture as actual problematic behavior. It is viewed as a theatrical phenomenon rather than an actual sign of the regression of our cultural standards. In “The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump” the author states “We find that Trump’s supporters voted for him mainly because they share his prejudices, not because they’re financially stressed. It is true, as exit polls showed, that voters without four-year college degrees were likelier than average to support Trump.” (Smith, 2018). This alludes to the idea of conformity. Where individuals who are ignorant to politics practice group think and favor a politician whose political ideologies are catered and geared towards their insecurities. The repetitive rhetoric that is innate to Trump speech contributes to this indoctrination that is associated with his persona. Because he is an entertainer he is able to polarize an audience that now consists of the citizens he represents. Many Americans do not comprehend that his position and political role is not a performance, and the policies he wishes to enact and also destroy actually have serious effects on millions of Americans including his supporters. In most cases, the policies that Trump wants to enact actually work against the majority of his supporters, and yet they ignorantly continue to support a man who does not have their best interest at heart. It is made transparent through his policies that his moral compass and values don’t share the same polar pull that is possessed by those who wish to see forward progress for all American citizens.
To be a Trump supporter in an era where we are making strides with our attempts to dismantle archaic sexual and social roles is counterproductive. We have always existed in a hetero-patriarchal society that in American culture is supported by white supremacy as a result of colonization and the creation of our nation by white European men. There exists enough research and evidence to support the fact that many of our cultural and social norms are dated and there are racist, sexist, homophobic and ableist undertones that are embedded in them. Many of the politicians who are active in American politics were raised in an era of racial and sexual segregation and oppression and were complicit with it. Yet these are the same individuals who are still active in policy making. These individuals also possess the support of Americans who were also raised in that era and still teach the same racist and sexist rhetoric to their children. These Americans now have the executive support of a man who believes that making our country great again means reversing all of the policies and progression that has actually allowed our country to potentially become great, one day.
Sources:
Chang, J. (2015) A Desire for Deviance: The Influence of Leader Normativeness and Inter-Group Competition on Group Member Support. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210311400122X.
Conway, L., Repke, M., Houck, S. (2018). Donald Trump as a Cultural Revolt Against Perceived Communication Restriction: Priming Political Correctness Norms Causes More Trump Support. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, North America, 5, may. 2017. Retrieved from: <https://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/732>.
Smith, D. (2018) The Anger Games: Who Voted For Donald Trump in The 2016 Election. Retrieved from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0896920517740615
Thio, A., Calhoun, T., Conyers, A. (2010) Readings In Deviant Behavior: Sixth Edition
