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curl-6 on 07 November 2024
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sc94597 said:
curl-6 said:

I feel like the left has really taken young people for granted recently.

They've just assumed that Gen Z (and soon Alpha) will be more progressive than previous generations as if that's just the natural and inevitable outcome. 

As Hiku touched on though, a lot of the youth, especially men, are slipping through the left's fingers because while the left has been preaching political correctness at them, the right has been smarter at making their politics seem cool, edgy, and anti-establishment, which appeals to teens and young adults.

In 2020, just 36% of Gen Z voted for Trump; this year that grew 7 points to 43%.

For years now I've heard leftists talk about how the world will be a progressive paradise once all the conservative old people die, but people have been saying that since my parents were young lefties in the 70s, and here we are half a century later.

Gen Z is "more progressive" than previous generations. All of the data has shown us that a plurality to majority are more left-wing (especially on political-economy, but also culture) than previous generations when asked about issues that fall on the left-right spectrum. 

The issue is that there is also a large minority of Gen Z, especially males, who are socially-alienated and therefore more persuadable by far-right propaganda. This also explains things like the rise of mass-shootings, depression, and suicide in this group. 

But yes, the mainstream center and center-left do take Gen Z for granted, and that is why the majority are political independents even when they are further to the left than the Democratic Party (as most are.) 

@Bolded This margin doesn't tell us anything unless we are also including non-voting populations in this percentage for 2020 vs. 2024. This is especially the case given that Kamala seems to have lost this election by losing Biden voters, while Trump's absolute votes have remained pretty stable. 

https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2024-11-07/trump-gained-ground-with-young-voters-thanks-to-gender-gap-and-economy


"Youth voter turnout was down from 2020, when upwards of 55% of young people voted. This election was similar to 2016, with early estimates showing about 43% of youth having voted in this election."

The share of under-30s voting Trump was up from 2016 too, by 5 points:

https://nypost.com/2024/11/06/us-news/kamala-badly-fumbles-gen-z-vote-which-broke-big-for-trump/

But yeah for the most part I agree, a large portion of young men have grown up in an environment where it can feel like left side of the political spectrum is hostile towards them, which makes the right feel welcoming by comparison.

Let's say a young white dude votes for the first time this year. For much of his life, he's seen the left constantly carrying on about how men are garbage, masculinity is toxic, white people are evil, and straight white men especially are the devil incarnate. All that adds up. Then someone like Trump or Tate comes along and says hey, you're actually great, follow me and I'll make your life better.

It's not hard to see how so many end up leaning right.