Persuasion 101: You’re Stupid

Lessons in the much-abused Art of Insult.

Deplorables have been on my mind. Of course, they have been in the news a lot lately.

Guests on a recent CNN show lampooned the deplorables who support President Trump. (CNN anchor Don Lemon and panelists Rick Wilson and Wajahat Ali mocked the intelligence of Trump supporters.) In response, Trump lovers lightning-zipped that video around the internet. It shows the world how the uppity elites scorn and belittle Trump supporters.

Hillary Clinton set this particular ball rolling with her “basket of deplorables” remark in the 2016 presidential campaign. Many on the left (and Never Trumpers on the right, like Wilson) have been happy to kick it along. Which is how it ended up on CNN, among many other programs.

Deplorables are fat targets for those who see Trump as their enemy. Hollywood types, politicians, political mouthpieces, commentators — so many of them go beyond criticizing or attacking the president.

They also belittle his voters. Let me strengthen that verb. They insult his supporters. They call them rubes, idiots, and disgusting repulsive illiterates. 

The politicians and political strategists opposing Trump are organized. They pow-wow, shape, and follow the party line. Frequently that line is to attack not just Trump, but also the deplorables who support Trump.

To me, such a strategy is a puzzlement. But what do I know?

The political class studies lots of polls that tell them whether their strategies work or flop. All I have are scraps of what we think we know about behavior. One tidbit is that if you want to persuade a person to agree with you, you don’t call him or her a doofus.

I hear a few readers shrieking, “Nah, nah, the other guys do it too.” Yes, they do. But the guys on the left hog the spotlight and microphones at the moment. Only because Trump lives in the White House and dominates the dialogue these days.

Those who insult voters, left or right, don’t do their causes any favors. Their insults repel those who might support their cause and vote with them. 

When I hear the insults, I think of a big-time business guy. He was the number two man in the world’s largest shoe manufacturer. He told me that in the depths of the Great Depression his company was desperate for business. Any amount of business at any price, just to keep the plant open.

The owner dispatched his son on an urgent mission: to win a big order from a major chain store company.

The son met with the top buyers of the chain stores. He sent a telegram back to his father. Something like “No order. I can’t get anywhere with these stupid SOBs.”

The number two executive decided to try. He too called on the buyers at the chain. He won them over. He brought back a large order. “Our profit was a penny a shoe,” he told me. “But it kept the plant going.”

The son was gob-smacked that the exec succeeded where he had failed. He asked the exec how in hell he got it done.

“Well, for starters,” he told the son, “I did not regard my customers as stupid SOBs.”

The Left has a challenge. They need to persuade a number of Trump voters to vote their way. Something tells me that spending four years telling them they are moronic rubes ain’t gonna help that effort.

I am pretty certain the shoe executive would back me up on this.

From Tom…as in Morgan.      

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home in upstate New York. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com or read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com.