Van Jones and "The messy truth"

From Sunday's New York Times:

...Central to his[Van Jones's] progressive mission is finding common ground with right wingers, even as he disagrees with them on matters big and small...

“There’s a ritual Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots quality to TV news, where everyone is supposed to come bludgeon the other person with their talking points,” Mr. Jones said. “And over the course of the last 18 months, I’ve fallen out of love with that. I think the truth is messy.”

That segues neatly to Mr. Jones’s new web series for CNN, called — what else? — “The Messy Truth.”

It debuted in late October, and the first episodes featured Mr. Jones going to Gettysburg, Pa., where he spoke with empathy and open-mindedness to Trump supporters, who discuss their economic concerns and heartbreak over being branded as racists simply because they support Mr. Trump.

Several thanked Mr. Jones at the end for really listening to them and asked him to pose for pictures. The symbolism of this black man surrounded by a phalanx of star-struck white Trump supporters was hard to miss. (A televised special of “The Messy Truth” will air on CNN Dec. 6)

Consequently, Mr. Jones didn’t want people to infer from his election-night comments that he thinks all of President-elect Trump’s supporters are bigots. At the same time, he thought it was essential not to brush aside the role of racism in Mr. Trump’s ascent...

Rob's comment:
Trump supporters are suffering "heartbreak over being branded as racists simply because they support Mr. Trump"? Boo fucking hoo! 

If you voted for Donald Trump, you voted for racism, not to mention misogyny and sexual assault. Trump made his racial appeal explicit during the campaign.

I wish Jones well in his TV career; he's trying to walk a fine line. But I admit I lack "empathy" for those crybabies. Taking a selfie with Jones doesn't mean you're not a racist.

Turns out the reports about the downtrodden and "forgotten" Trump supporters are bullshit:

According to this new analysis, those who view Trump favorably have not been disproportionately affected by foreign trade or immigration, compared with people with unfavorable views of the Republican presidential nominee. The results suggest that his supporters, on average, do not have lower incomes than other Americans, nor are they more likely to be unemployed.

Aftermath November 2016 from Steve Cohen on Vimeo.

Thanks to the Friendly Atheist.