This seems to be a big talking point in the news and online right now; Biden got 75 million votes, the most ever for a winning candidate, but Trump got 70 million votes, the most ever for a Republican. The context seems to be that Biden’s 75 million are a fractured group that will come apart at any moment, while Trump’s 70 million are solid as a rock.
I have to disagree, with that take.
What I am reminded of is a research study that was part of our curriculum in a Sociology class I took in college. The study was over punk rocker membership and social strata, and how that reflects on society as a whole. Follow me on this…
In the punk rock world, at the center were the hardest of the hard-punk rockers. These people dressed punk 24/7, lived it, and worked in it. Punk rock was their identity, and nothing could shake them from it, and though hard core and the most visible, it was a small group. Then around them was a larger ring with more people, but they were not as hard core, listened to the music and adopted the ideology, but also might have had a job and paid bills. Then outside of that ring was a larger group, who liked the music, and maybe had tattoos, but worked normal jobs, and dress punk out of work and on the weekends. (I think you get the point.) Finally, after several rings, you get the final group that likes the music, but does not have anything else to do with the punk scene, but those people do consider themselves to be “punk” on some level.
This is how I see Trump’s voters. Trump’s people want us to believe that all 70 million voters are the tight hardcore at the center, but to be honest that’s the smallest group. The majority of Trump voters make up those final two “soft” outer rings. They consider themselves to be Republicans/Conservatives, but aren’t Trump people. Now, if you give these two rings the binary choice of Republican or Democrat, they will always side with Republican because that what they consider themselves, but again, they aren’t live or die Trump people. They are the people that are sad that Trump lost, but they don’t see it as a conspiracy.
My point; relax everybody. It’s not as dire as everyone thinks.
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