I don't make a habit of dwelling on the death of individuals who did harm, but today for #OnlySky I have a meditation on how we process the death of prominent figures who did harm in their lives.
In this case, the "Joe" in question didn't actually represent the "average" US citizen well, but his fame came from a system that rewards people building a legacy on sowing division.
How do we move with greater dignity through the mess they leave behind?
#Humanism #Politics
https://onlysky.media/mclark/on-the-death-of-an-average-joe/
@MLClark I remember "Joe the Plumber" all too well. He's an early example of how today's Republican Party stumbled into outrage politics, creating a faux avatar to incense blue-collar voters.
A more modern example is Kyle Rittenhouse. He went to Wisconsin looking to hunt protestors. Fox News and the GOP turned him into an avatar for the gun-nut movement.
Trump, of course, is the prime example. The cult follows him because he's an avatar for their frustrations, real or imagined.
@MLClark Joe the Plumber came up recently in my book research ... John McCain did a rally here on October 17, 2008. McCain kept invoking "Joe the Plumber" at the rally. That day, the Miami Herald ran this article exposing Joe the "Plumber" as not really a plumber.
Yes indeed - and he also wasn't in a tax bracket to be affected negatively by the proposed plans; he would have *benefited* from them, which is why it's all the more heartbreaking that he became an icon of the average joe supposedly impeded in his pursuit of the American dream. His political actions (and Republican uplift of them) misled folks into voting against their interests. Just... so much time wasted on the misrepresentation of serious, life-changing issues.
@MLClark I've long said that the electorate gets the government it deserves. Certain politicians prey on voter apathy and ignorance. Most of the time, the Republicans do that, although my former political mentor who turned evil was a Democrat; I quit because he started playing games like that.
Faux avatars work for the base but not beyond it, if the electorate remains informed. I think Trump has scared most people into realizing they can't ignore politics any more.