by Richard C. Raynard, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Don’t call it crazy or wacky. Don’t surrender your understanding. Look at the emotion.
Joe Bageant (2007) can tell us where they are coming from. He is a journalist who, after 30 years, returned to his hometown in Appalachia to find his roots. He found things the same, but more run down: rickety bungalows, low-rent supermarkets, shabby churches, and secondhand trucks – a picture “painted by Edward Hopper”. Looking closer, he saw an ever-hardened, brutal life: mill and factory work, overtime if you’re lucky, rent until you die, Bud Light for consolation. Even closer, he saw his people “overweight, bad teeth, cheap clothing, and looking as though they’ve been shot at and missed”.
Deeper, Bageant saw disillusionment and life without much hope. Parents taught you to avoid education and expect disappointment. “Your dreams are bullshit; go get a job”. Your strength is toughness and endurance, and lazy is the worst a person can be. He saw much anger and fear underneath, from the insults of employers and the elite. “It comes down to gumption” and doing without. Being given to weakens you and steals your strength. Fulfillment is a trick. A gift is not comprehensible.
Hoffer (1951) also saw the working poor, as a longshoreman. He felt the insecure and oppressed see themselves as unworthy and angry at the world. He saw the greater the disappointment in themselves, the greater the hatred. “Passionate hatred can give meaning to an empty life”. In the extreme, he felt that “a spoiled life” leads to joining extreme causes that promise redemption or joining a “brotherhood of the righteous”. The True Believer despises the “soft, selfish, pleasure-seeking” way. To Hoffer, their failure in everyday affairs makes them “take satisfaction in chaos”, as it ruins the satisfaction of others. To mask their failure, they deprecate the present, like to make believe, are naïve, and ready to attempt the impossible. Their doctrine give them power, not from making sense, but from certitude.
In emotional terms, having others feel your pain, your disillusionment, is a form of satisfaction. Schadenfreude, or pleasure from the misfortune of others, has been found associated with envy. So “now you know how we feel” not only gives comfort, but seems to be a form of justice.
Can you now imagine the satisfaction the Tea Party got in denying comfort, security, order, fulfillment to the rest of us? Are you smiling yet?
About Dr. Raynard Dr. Richard Raynard is a licensed clinical psychologist with 35 years experience resolving a broadrange of emotional problems. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist who has specialized in anxiety andphobic disorders since 1980, he has spent the last 35 years fulfilling his life-long desire to explore and define the true purpose of emotions and how people can easily use emotions to create meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Dr. Raynard's series of books on emotions can be found on Amazon.com. His other books include Don't Panic, and Anxiety & Panic Medications.
