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In her acclaimed 2016 book “Strangers in Their Own Land,” sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild from UC Berkeley introduced the idea of a “deep story,” a personal narrative that individuals develop about their lives and surroundings, rooted more in emotion than empirical truth. This concept is particularly pertinent when examining the motivations of Tea Party conservatives, who laid the groundwork for Donald Trump’s rise nearly a decade ago.
For these conservatives, their collective deep story revolved around the American Dream, which they perceived to be just out of reach. Yet as they observed others—refugees, women, and people of color—advancing past them, a sense of resentment grew, bolstered by policies under the Obama administration. White men without college degrees felt increasingly stagnant and disenfranchised.
Now, in her latest book “Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame and the Rise of the Right,” Hochschild suggests that the narrative shaping Trump’s enduring support requires an update. She describes a dichotomy of bullies: the “bad bully” represented by entities like the Democratic Party and mainstream media that chastise and ostracize the downtrodden, and the “good bully,” embodied by Trump, who positions himself as a champion against a growing list of adversaries.
Hochschild elaborates on this notion, noting that Trump has assumed the role of what she terms a “shame shield” for a constituency that feels wronged. This dynamic manifests in a repetitive cycle, where Trump makes incendiary statements, faces backlash from those he brands as the bad bully, portrays himself as a victim of their disdain, and then rallies against his critics. This ritual goes beyond mere performance; Hochschild asserts that Trump actively engages his followers in this ongoing narrative.
‘Stolen Pride’ Broadens the Scope of ‘Strangers’
While “Stolen Pride” shares themes with Hochschild’s previous work, it expands to cover significant events and policy shifts from the Trump and Biden administrations, starting from 2017. In her research, Hochschild concentrated on Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District, notably marked as the whitest and second-poorest in the United States. The area, once a stronghold for Democrat Bill Clinton, dramatically shifted to an overwhelming support for Trump in 2020.
The underlying causes of this political transition, alongside ongoing economic challenges, intrigued Hochschild. Her scholarship has long addressed major societal changes, spanning the broader participation of women in the workforce to the nuanced demands of emotional labor in service industries. Hochschild has established herself as a key commentator on the Tea Party’s emergence and the persistent influence of Trump’s political ideology.
According to Hochschild, the demographic of white voters over 25 without college degrees constitutes a substantial portion of the American electorate. This group’s narrative is marked by a distinct sense of economic and social decline. While Black individuals in similar educational categories may face greater poverty overall, they have also experienced some economic gains, unlike their white counterparts, particularly in regions like Appalachia, which have been devastated by the decline of coal mining jobs and the opioid epidemic.
As she embarked on her research in Pikeville, Kentucky, Hochschild pondered what made pride and shame so significant in a locality grappling with such profound economic transitions.
Confluence of Turmoil
Shortly after initiating her investigation, Hochschild recognized she was amidst a storm of disruptive forces. The decline of coal jobs was compounded by an escalating opioid crisis. An event in April 2017—led by white nationalist Matthew Heimbach, who had previously organized a violent rally—further escalated tensions in an already polarized community. While many interpreted this rally as a symptom of rising right-wing extremism, Hochschild perceived it as a convergence of social dynamics and a deep sense of loss.
“I realized I was witnessing a perfect storm,” she remarked. This personal inquiry led her to engage with a wide range of participants, from the rally’s organizers to community leaders and individuals directly affected by these tensions, allowing her to capture the multifaceted nature of these events. The narrative she constructed in the first half of the book sets the stage for the Charlottesville march that transpired later that same year.
Throughout her extensive research on anti-government and right-wing movements over the past decade, Hochschild has contemplated an old adage: “If there is no wood, the fire goes out.” She likens Trump to the match that ignited fervor among those disillusioned, emphasizing that this ignition doesn’t occur uniformly. Many of her interview subjects expressed immense pride in their hard work and resilience, but when faced with job losses attributed to automation and broader economic shifts, they internalized those losses as personal shortcomings.
Hochschild notes an essential distinction in how pride is perceived across different socio-economic strata. Members of economically struggling, less-educated communities often internalize job losses as personal failures, whereas their more educated counterparts are more likely to attribute setbacks to external factors. “The most self-critical individuals are found in the hardest-hit economies,” she observes, highlighting a stark contrast to those in more prosperous circumstances.
While many in Pikeville rejected Heimbach’s extreme views, they found resonance with Trump’s narrative, which paradoxically echoed themes that mirrored Heimbach’s inflammatory rhetoric. Many residents eventually came to believe their lost jobs and self-worth were ‘stolen,’ paralleling Trump’s claims regarding the integrity of the 2020 election.
A Quest for Understanding
“Stolen Pride” marks Hochschild’s tenth publication and features a culmination of her lifelong effort to advocate for those marginalized in the discourse of politics and society. She interprets the resounding support for Trump as a backlash against the values of equity and justice she once championed. “In the latter part of my career, I’m reflecting on the reaction against those principles,” she explained.
An emeritus professor, Hochschild credits her accomplishments to her tenure at Berkeley’s sociology department, considering it a nurturing space for her intellectual growth. Engaging deeply with individuals whose beliefs diverged from her own, she emphasized the importance of maintaining an open mind. During her visits to vastly conservative eastern Kentucky, she often encountered hostility at the mention of her Berkeley affiliation but found common ground through humor and shared experiences.
“Despite the extreme polarization, we could find moments of connection,” Hochschild said, underscoring her enduring commitment to emphasize commonality, regardless of the contentiousness of the discussions at hand.
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phys.org