Why is "MAGA" offensive?

[DaisyDay]

One nation under God is a phrase that became a part of the pledge in the 1940s

1954 - during the McCarthy era.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I agree with your statement. However, where I disagree with is who the "unscrupulous people" are and what their "own ends" were.

I'm referring to Klansmen, Neo-nazis, White Supremacists, and the "ends" in question are using "great" as a synonym for "white."

I cannot speak for every Trump supporter,

Nor do I speak about every Donald supporter, or even anything close to a large percentage of them.

It's an unfortunate truth that in our era of mass communication, that a group is often saddled with the label stuck on them not by their largest contingent, but their loudest one.

but I can tell you is that based on the responses thus far, myself and over 99% of Trump supporters have no clue what MAGA "really means".

And I have said nothing to contradict this -- most of Donald's supporters aren't White Supremacists...

But it only takes a handful of wackjobs in a group to give the majority a bad name -- especially if it appears (truthfully or not) as though that majority hasn't done enough to denounce the wackjobs. It's hardly fair, but that's how the world is.

Don't believe me? Ask a Muslim.

 

[SummerMadness]

1954 - during the McCarthy era.

Ha, I transposed the number in my head, 1945. I should have double checked because I said to myself, "Wasn't the 'under God' term added during the McCarthyism/Red Scare era?"

 

[DaisyDay]

Ha, I transposed the number in my head, 1945. I should have double checked because I said to myself, "Wasn't the 'under God' term added during the McCarthyism/Red Scare era?"

Yep, shoulda listened to yourself!

 

[StrivingFollower]

Liberals want a country that barely cares about border security, where you can't criticize a criminal if they're not white, and if you don't defend a non-white criminal who's been deemed cool you're a racist. They want a country where if you don't think adding a little more socialism is smart, you should be seen as crazy. And these are the same people that are completely sure that MAGA is referring to the 1950s and not to the time a few years ago when the left wasn't outrageously power-hungry and historically ignorant. Right...

And even if it was referring to the 1950s.. gee wasn't that the time when the economy was most prosperous? Why is everything seen as black and white? You know there's a way to look at the past and pull the best ideas of the past without pulling every idea from the past? Pretty much every innovation in every field works this way. But no America was never great on any level. Nope, not at all. There's never been a great country and there never will be. How inspiring, how uplifting. That's a way to progress alright.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Liberals want a country that barely cares about border security, where you can't criticize a criminal if they're not white, and if you don't defend a non-white criminal who's been deemed cool you're a racist. They want a country where if you don't think adding a little more socialism is smart, you should be seen as crazy. And these are the same people that are completely sure that MAGA is referring to the 1950s and not to the time a few years ago when the left wasn't outrageously power-hungry and historically ignorant. Right...

You forgot the parts about Sharia law, mandatory abortions, and a gay marriage in every church...

And even if it was referring to the 1950s.. gee wasn't that the time when the economy was most prosperous?

Are you suggesting we raise the taxes back to what they were to maintain that 1950s economy?

 

[LiberalChristian1980]

Liberals want a country that barely cares about border security, where you can't criticize a criminal if they're not white, and if you don't defend a non-white criminal who's been deemed cool you're a racist.

No, we don't.

They want a country where if you don't think adding a little more socialism is smart, you should be seen as crazy.

Our economy has been a mix of capitalism and socialism since the 1930s. Finding the right balance takes work, and the balance that was appropriate a few years go may not be what is needed today.

And even if it was referring to the 1950s.. gee wasn't that the time when the economy was most prosperous?

Only for white people, and amongst white people, pretty much only for white, Christian men. The 1950s were a horrible time to be a racial minority in the United States, a terrible time to be LGBT, not a great time to be non-Christian, and pretty iffy for women, too. Also, the shared prosperity that marked the 1950s was driven in large part by high marginal tax rates on individual incomes, high levels of unionization, and an economic philosophy that didn't believe that "increasing shareholder value" was the sole purpose of a corporation.

 

[geodub]

MAGA as an ideology is not offensive.

However, MAGA as a logo has become offensive because of the visual "light" the media has given it. Please bring back to mind most of the news clips you have seen the "MAGA" logo in. These clips are normally emotionally charge and have been typified over the past years to convey a certain image about the President and his campaign.

It's this continual visual barrage that has driven the MAGA logo and the people attached to these clips, not the MAGA ideology, to imply offense. It very subtle and effective programming and it's worked.

We all love our country and want it to remain great. Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) watch TV and follow social media.

Be blessed.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

No, we don't.

Our economy has been a mix of capitalism and socialism since the 1930s. Finding the right balance takes work, and the balance that was appropriate a few years go may not be what is needed today.

Only for white people, and amongst white people, pretty much only for white, Christian men. The 1950s were a horrible time to be a racial minority in the United States, a terrible time to be LGBT, not a great time to be non-Christian, and pretty iffy for women, too. Also, the shared prosperity that marked the 1950s was driven in large part by high marginal tax rates on individual incomes, high levels of unionization, and an economic philosophy that didn't believe that "increasing shareholder value" was the sole purpose of a corporation.

Well said! America has very deep roots in white supremacy and racism against minorities. Let's take at look at America in the 1950s: 'Separate but Equal,' Jim Crow Laws, black people were being lynched and hung from trees, black people had to sit at the back of the bus, black people were legally required to give up their seat to a white person, black people couldn't eat at the same counter as white people in a public restaurant, black people couldn't use the same public restroom as white people, black people couldn't drink from the same water fountain as white people, black children could not go to a public school with white children until 1957, black people were prevented to vote because of the Jim Crow Laws, and there were "No Colored" signs, "No Mexicans" signs, "No Indians and dogs" signs, and "Whites Only" signs dawning public stores and restaurants in the 1950s. Freedom, liberty and justice was only for WASPs and not for black people, Native Americans and other minorities in the 1950s.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

One nation under God is a phrase that became a part of the pledge in the 1950s, you can't talk about returning to that time while ignoring segregation. That's why the very phrase itself is exclusionary because returning to the past, but let's ignore the reality for a large segment of the population is telling that population they don't matter. Moreover, it seems quite hypocritical because returning to that time because the country was "under God" implies that God was also for segregation, which again is exclusionary. Kids can play in the streets now (so as long as cars are not coming).

It's quite simple: the MAGA crowd is about showing their support for the current president. Not all of them share the racist views that the president has expressed; however, many of these people still voted for a man that has made bigoted statements and the current incarnation of his political career was based on a racist lie. At the end of the day, not all the president's supporters are racists, but they fall into two camps: they are either racist or they have no problem supporting someone who espouses racist or bigoted beliefs.

What exactly did America trust in God for? Was it trusting in God to keep minorities in their place? What a disingenuous motto 'In God We Trust' is in light of America's true history of perpetual racism and discrimination against minorities. It took America 188 years (from 1776 to 1964) to finally give minorities civil rights and equality to white people. And even after the Civil Rights Act, it took another year to give minorities suffrage (Voting Rights Act in 1965) and another 14 years to finally give Native Americans religious freedom (American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978). In God We Trust?

 

[Fantine]

I agree that MAGA really means "Mueller ain't going away." Buyer beware.

But when justice returns to America and the purge is completed, you may want to sell your hat on Ebay. When America has stepped up and answered Mueller's challenge, I will "buy it now."

 

[USincognito]

Would you say that America is more racist today than it was in 2008?

Is this the old "we can't be racist because we elected Obama" angle or the "we're more racist because of Obama" angle?

 

[USincognito]

..

Go back and fix your quote tags.

 

[Pommer]

Liberals want a country that barely cares about border security...

Would this be the Southern Border?
Or the much LONGER, much less fenced/walled, Northern Border?

...where you can't criticize a criminal if they're not white, and if you don't defend a non-white criminal who's been deemed cool you're a racist.

Do you have an example?
Like, say, maybe “The Central Park Five?”

They want a country where if you don't think adding a little more socialism is smart, you should be seen as crazy.

Government is a set of social institutions that enforce the collective will. What that “will” is on any given day, is always in flux; yet the institutions that service that will are also necessarily insulated from wild, wide, policy swings of “outlier” politicians.

Some things that we, each, all need are better when they are taken care of by a National Government, such as defense.
Yet the very idea of a standing Army was anathema to the founding fathers, so much so, that they took pains to make sure that the militias were Constitutionally protected, (to ward off the creation of the standing army that they opposed.) And yet, here we are, having had that Army for most of our history!

Some people think that economies-of-scale that a national healthcare system would give would benefit ALL Americans, and we’re slowly getting to that point.

And these are the same people that are completely sure that MAGA is referring to the 1950s and not to the time a few years ago when the left wasn't outrageously power-hungry and historically ignorant. Right... ...

Since 1989 the Republican Candidate has won the popular vote in the Presidential Election once...yet won the seat three times, but “the left is ‘outrageously power-hungry’”!?
Democrats, (inside of a score of years), won the popular vote in two elections, where the Republicans won the Electoral College, but you’re surprised that people fight for power?
Shrug.

And even if it was referring to the 1950s.. gee wasn't that the time when the economy was most prosperous?

No.
We’re much MORE prosperous NOW, but the top 0.1% take the lion’s share of the growth. It’s “wealth redistribution” from the bottom to the top.

Why is everything seen as black and white? You know there's a way to look at the past and pull the best ideas of the past without pulling every idea from the past?

Right, we don’t HAVE to bring along “white supremacy” while trying to make OTHER aspects of our society, fit our nostalgic, idealized past.

Pretty much every innovation in every field works this way. But no America was never great on any level. Nope, not at all. There's never been a great country and there never will be. How inspiring, how uplifting. That's a way to progress alright.

This used to be what the essence of what Conservatism was. Too bad that political movement has ceased to be.

 

[Radagast]

It took America 188 years (from 1776 to 1964) to finally give minorities civil rights and equality to white people. And even after the Civil Rights Act, it took another year to give minorities suffrage (Voting Rights Act in 1965) and another 14 years to finally give Native Americans religious freedom (American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978).

And afaik it wasn't until 1980 that the last "stolen land" case was settled (United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians).

In God We Trust?

But are you really using past unjust actions by the US government as a reason to not trust in God?

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Is this the old "we can't be racist because we elected Obama" angle or the "we're more racist because of Obama" angle?

No, I am not suggesting that America doesn't have racist people because we had a black president. I am not even saying that America isn't racists in a general sense because we had a black president. The question is simple, "Is America more racist today than it was in 2008?" SummerMadness seems to suggest that it is based on the level of hate crimes. The question is then, "Why?". Why did so many "racist" people vote for President Obama in 2008 and 2012 only to vote for Trump in 2016?

I really don't think racism had anything to do with it and more to do with 8 years of being called racists for disagreeing with Obama's policies. A lot of minorities voted for Trump because of decades of failed democrat leadership in their communities. They voted for Obama because of promises of "hope and change" and gave him 8 years to fulfill his campaign promises that didn't happen. Now we can go back and forth as to the reasons for the failed promises (GOP opposition). Do you remember the Tea party Movement of 2010? What I really don't think liberals are understanding is that conservatives are telling you what they believe and why. The problem is that liberals rather believe a false narrative generated by the left rather than listening to the people that actually hold the conservative positions. The more and more Conservatives are ignored and invalidated, the louder and louder conservatives will become. Once again, Trump was not elected because of racism. Make America Great Again has nothing to do with racism. However, the anger and frustration began in 2008 when conservative were being told to 'get in the back of the bus and quite being racist' because we disagreed with the policies of the Obama administration.

Listen, conservatives are not having secret meetings to discussion future world domination and I know of no such conservative committee which set "MAGA" as a secret code for, 'white power' (I am not white BTW). If you don't want to listen to a conservative is actually saying and still want to listen to the left tell you conservatives are saying, that is fine. Just stand by for another 4 years of trump. I will end with a question for you. What do you call it when people show intolerance of conservatives merely because they hold a different opinion? What do yo call it when liberals generate preconceived opinions about conservatives that is not based on reason or actual experience? ​

 

[USincognito]

When it comes to "Make America Great Again" and its meaning, there are two options. You can either continue to believe the lies propagated by the left. Or you can actually listen to what conservatives actually say, and at least try to understand it. If you really want to understand, you can start by watching this video.

One either understands a false dichotomy, or one doesn't.

And watching a self-congratulatory propaganda video from Dennis Praeger's outlet is hardly as informative as you think it is.

 

[USincognito]

Liberals want a country that barely cares about border security, where you can't criticize a criminal if they're not white, and if you don't defend a non-white criminal who's been deemed cool you're a racist. They want a country where if you don't think adding a little more socialism is smart, you should be seen as crazy. And these are the same people that are completely sure that MAGA is referring to the 1950s and not to the time a few years ago when the left wasn't outrageously power-hungry and historically ignorant. Right...

Given the army of straw men and falsehoods in this paragraph, the last sentence is rather ironic.

And even if it was referring to the 1950s.. gee wasn't that the time when the economy was most prosperous?

Yeah, there was this little thing that happened prior to the 1950s called World War II where around 100,000,000 died and entire industrialized nations were reduced to rubble. On the other hand the U.S. only lost 400,000 and our mainland was touched only be a single balloon bomb and U-boat shelling on the coasts. The unique macro-economic conditions that allowed (some) in the U.S. to be hyper-prosperous should never be replicated ever again.

Just for some perspective, wartime rationing in the UK didn't end until 1954. In contrast most of the rationing in the U.S. ended in August 1945 immediately after the war.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

One either understands a false dichotomy, or one doesn't.

And watching a self-congratulatory propaganda video from Dennis Praeger's outlet is hardly as informative as you think it is.

So as long as you consider conservatives telling you what conservatives believe and think "self-congratulatory propaganda" you will never understand the conservative point of view and you can expect another 4 years of Trump. I will tell you that I personally am not a fan of trump. However, as a result of the prejudice and bigotry made against conservatives by the left, I will vote for Trump rather than giving liberals the privilege of removing him from office. Nothing that has been stated from liberals thus far has brought me any closer to changing my mind. ​

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

Given the army of straw men and falsehoods in this paragraph, the last sentence is rather ironic.



Yeah, there was this little thing that happened prior to the 1950s called World War II where around 100,000,000 died and entire industrialized nations were reduced to rubble. On the other hand the U.S. only lost 400,000 and our mainland was touched only be a single balloon bomb and U-boat shelling on the coasts. The unique macro-economic conditions that allowed (some) in the U.S. to be hyper-prosperous should never be replicated ever again.

Just for some perspective, wartime rationing in the UK didn't end until 1954. In contrast most of the rationing in the U.S. ended in August 1945 immediately after the war.

Do you think it was wrong for the United States to have been involved in WWII? The men and women during the WWII era are regarded as "the Greatest Generation". Why do you think they received this title and why do you disagree with it?