What author Stephen Hassan called the cult of Trump has taken on such a life of its own that the man himself may be disposable should he shy away from the policies and ideas that solidified his community.įrom Fox News anchors like Tucker Carlson to Republican politicians like Florida Gov. When Trump himself sheepishly suggested at a recent Alabama rally that taking the vaccine wasn’t so bad, he was booed. What we’ve seen until recently among Trump followers is people who almost unquestioningly worship their leader, believe his words no matter how untrue and view those who question him as the enemy.
Trumpism has led to the consolidation of a tribe of politically and culturally affiliated people. An anti-vaccination stance has become characteristic of the alt-right, even at the cost of lives. People have become bound together and aligned through bitter, negative emotions and anti-democratic desires. Today, growing economic anxiety, inequality and bigotry has led to a right-wing populist movement. Those who can’t or won’t follow the script can be seen as strangers or even as threats to the community. As such, “happiness” and “belonging” act as forms of emotional coercion. Ahmed asks: What happens when one doesn’t believe in the same set of emotional and cultural ideas that would make one a “legitimate citizen” of a given community?įor example, marginalized individuals are expected to carry the same beliefs and feelings as dominant society.
British environmentalist and activist George Monbiot highlights how neoliberalism has contributed to a culture of competition by redefining “citizens as consumers whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling.”Īs argued by feminist author and scholar Sara Ahmed, emotions play a part in building community spaces and their boundaries. Unpacking political tribalism and its spillover into entertainment means understanding how communities have come to be shaped under pressures of uncertainty in a neoliberal era of globalization. Photo credit: Nicole Alexander – Vimeo: VMAs 2018 Time Capsule (view archived source) (frame occurs at 0:43), CC BY 3.0. Minaj at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
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