You don’t hear the word ‘spite’ much in the media these days. But I think it might be the most important descriptor of the mood of the MAGA cultists.
I’m taking a lot of this material from Neurolink.com. Spiteful Behavior: Causes, Consequences, and Coping Strategies
It’s a unique beast that sets itself apart from other negative emotions like anger or jealousy. While anger might lead to an outburst in the heat of the moment, spite is often more calculated and persistent. And unlike jealousy, which stems from wanting what others have, spite is fueled by a desire to see others suffer or fail.
The MAGA cultists want to see the elite and ‘woke’ elements of society suffer. They want Trump to attack the elite Ivy League universities, while not caring about East Podunk State College. They want to take down medical research; those arrogant scientists should not be allowed to find a cure for cancer. And of course, there’s ICE. MAGA gets a thrill of vengeance from seeing hard-working immigrants dragged from their beds, beaten, detained without due process, and secretly shipped off to some foreign hellhole, because it somehow ‘owns the libs’.
At its core, spite often stems from a deep-seated sense of injustice or a perceived slight. It’s the brain’s way of trying to even the score, even if that means cutting off its nose to spite its face (pun absolutely intended). [In the semi-desert Sahel in Africa, they have an equivalent expression: “Shit in the shade”. Think about that.]
Low self-esteem and insecurity can be major drivers of spiteful behavior. When someone feels inadequate or threatened, they might lash out spitefully as a way to boost their own sense of power or worth. It’s like trying to build yourself up by tearing others down –
The desire for control and power is another key factor. Some people use spite as a way to manipulate others or assert dominance.
The above sounds a lot like the typical MAGA voter.
Here’s a twist that might surprise you: the person who suffers most from spiteful behavior is often the spiteful individual themselves. It’s a classic case of the punishment not fitting the crime – or rather, the punisher becoming the punished. Carrying around all that negativity takes a serious toll on mental and emotional well-being. It’s like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick.
Let’s apply this to MAGA behavior. “Smug Hillary looked down on us and called us ‘deplorables’. We’ll show her, and vote against her and her fellow libtards no matter what Trump may do to us.” You can say they got what they voted for, but it was more what they voted against, regardless of the consequences, of which they were fully aware.
I read a great book some years ago, called What’s the Matter with Kansas?, by Thomas Frank. He examines the phenomenon of people voting against their own interests. They vote to spite some elite group, at their own expense.
Frank posits that the political discourse has shifted from addressing economic inequality, to focusing on cultural issues such as abortion and gay marriage. This shift has allowed conservative leaders to redirect public anger away from economic hardships and towards cultural battles, effectively consolidating their power . [Wikipedia]
Today we see MAGA supporting the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ which will deprive them of their health benefits, but that’s acceptable to them, as long as the GOP doesn’t allow a handful of transgenders to play women’s sports. Trump just refused to release money to provide food assistance to some 42 million poor people, but MAGA says that’s OK, as long as Trump continues to build concentration camps for those raping and murdering immigrants.
Almost every day I hear pundits ask, “How can MAGA vote against their own interests?” When asking the question, keep in mind the spite angle, as voting against your own interests is secondary to spiting the elite and the ‘woke’.