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CSUSB political science professor discusses Trump’s weaponization of masculinity
NPR via WAMU (American University)
Oct. 28, 2020
A news report asserts that President Donald Trump “Trump has been blatant about amping up his particular, aggressive and pugilistic brand of masculinity. After four years, that machismo has manifested itself in seemingly every area of his presidency. And it matters — it has potential political and even policy impacts that may last well beyond his tenure in office.”
For example, Trump has questioned the use of masks as a public health measure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, despite his administration’s guidelines for their use.
There was another approach Trump could have taken, says Meredith Conroy, professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino.
“There was a way to make wearing a mask masculine, a different type of masculinity, about protecting other people and being patriotic,” she said. “But that’s not the type of masculinity that Trump has really ever embodied. So it probably was never going to happen.”
Read the complete article at “Trump has weaponized masculinity as president. Here’s why it matters.”
President’s rhetoric targeting political adversaries echoed by his supporters, CSUSB professor says
The Washington Post
Oct. 28, 2020
Self-identified members of extremist groups often repeat President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, down to “the same pieces of wording” in online channels, said Kevin Grisham, associate director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
Criticism and conspiracy theories aimed by President Donald Trump at Anthony S. Fauci, the U.S. immunologist leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic, philanthropist George Soros and other frequent targets course through messaging apps, including Telegram, as well as Parler, a relatively new platform that members of Trump’s campaign have promoted as unfettered by the constraints increasingly imposed by Facebook and other mainstream services.
Whether the president “really intends to incite violence,” Grisham said, “the evidence points to a strong correlation.”
Read the complete article at “Trump’s attacks on political adversaries are often followed by threats to their safety.”
CSUSB professor discusses influence of conspiracy theory ‘QAnon’
Revyuh (Delhi, India)
Oct. 17, 2020
The increasingly widespread conspiracy theories are hitting an unprecedented boom in 2020. The perfect cocktail is capped off by the pandemic and the U.S. presidential race, with a Donald Trump encouraging bizarre theories and willingly accepting the role of “savior” of humanity, assigned by QAnon, the most powerful group on the planet of conspiracies and denialism.
“When the U.S. president retweets messages from individuals from QAnon and other extremist groups, he is legitimizing them. Their actions and not questioning their beliefs lead ordinary people to think that these ideas are a reality,” says Kevin Grisham, associate director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at the California State University, San Bernardino, which monitors global movements that foster hatred and polarization.
Read the complete article at “Who are the Covid conspirators?”
The article was also published, in Spanish, in LaVangardia (Madrid, Spain), on Oct. 17.
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