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Melanie Tannenbaum has written several interesting blog posts about ambiguity intolerance and its connection to the early popular support Donald Trump is currently enjoying. Roughly speaking, people who are not comfortable without a plan of action or a path forward are said to have more ambiguity intolerance.
What may be surprising, however, is the research showing that people high in ambiguity intolerance feel so profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of uncertainty, they will often prefer a slightly negative yet certain outcome to a potentially-more-positive, uncertain one. In other words, people may find Donald Trump to be disagreeable, abrasive, or downright unlikeable. But because of his reputation for "telling it like it is" and "being honest to a fault," they also feel certain that they can believe Trump when he says he's telling the truth.
Tannenbaum points out that despite a record of Trump making contradictory comments in the past, people tend to believe his convictions on what he says because nobody would say those "non-normative" things if they really didn't believe it.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @02:40PM
I don't have any use for Trump. I don't agree with his positions. His persona is boorish.
I do like watching him kick the power-elite in the nuts. I like watching the power-elite dance around like they just got kicked in the nuts. Others may feel the same way.
On another level, I appreciate that someone is finally exposing the power-elite and their "elections" for the joke and sham they are. The more that happens, the sooner change can occur.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 19 2015, @03:20PM
I like the guy because, unlike every other candidate except Ben Carson, he's not a politician yet. Which is also why I like Ben Carson. Granted, I still only like them for a value of like relative to the other candidates. Neither of them are remotely awesome like Tim Moen.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @03:30PM
We're pretty much in agreement on that.
That said, though, I'd rather see the arrogant prick raising hell in the White House, than see any one of the power elite resting on their laurels there.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @11:09PM
Yes, except he too is one of the power elite. It's kind of like that phone commercial where the old white dude in the corner office talks about how his new cell phone plan lets him "stick it to the Man," to which his assistant quips, "But...you *are* the Man, so, aren't you really sticking it to yourself?"
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 20 2015, @12:39AM
Yes, except he too is one of the power elite. It's kind of like that phone commercial where the old white dude in the corner office talks about how his new cell phone plan lets him "stick it to the Man," to which his assistant quips, "But...you *are* the Man, so, aren't you really sticking it to yourself?"
No, he's not "The Man". "The Man" isn't a hivemind or an organized group, at least in the case of corporations. Suppose the old white dude in the corner office is an CEO in the insurance business. He isn't profiting from rip-off cellular plans and the horrible state of the cellular phone industry in this country. He's getting screwed just like the rest of us, having to pay too much for monthly service and getting poor service and coverage in return (compared to other nations such as Korea and any European country). Yes, he's likely screwing us with our insurance premiums, but that's not related to cell service. So he has every right to feel like he's "sticking it to the Man" when he gets a better cell plan and ditches Verizon (or whoever; Verizon seems to be the biggest rip-off right now).
It's not like he gets a special cellular plan deal just because he's a CEO.
It's the same with Trump. Yes, he's one of the power elite, but in a totally different sector. He isn't one of the power elite in *politics* or government (yet). He is in some other business(es), I suppose NY area real estate. Being a real estate tycoon in one small (but economically powerful) geographic area does not make you "one of them" as far as national politics. It doesn't necessarily make him better either, but it does make him different, and a real change of pace from the business-as-usual of the Washington politicians.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday August 19 2015, @07:13PM
...and what, exactly, makes you think Trump is *not* one of the power elite? He's had, what, five bankruptcies and is still living like a king. He has more money than either of us would if we worked at our honest, productive jobs for 20,000 years, 80 hours a week. He *is* the elite, perhaps *more* so than some of the career politicians you're whinging about.
Just because he's a tactless moron with the guile of a charging rhino on adrenochrome doesn't mean he's on your side.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 19 2015, @11:53PM
Oh no, he is. He certainly is. And I would never vote for him. He is not on anyone's side but his own. The presidential race is clearly a lark for him, a gag. At best, it's an ego trip.
Still it amuses me to see him discomfit the clubby power-elite that are the Demo-Republicans and their Wall Street backers. But then I'm generally in favor of those guys getting kicked in the nuts hard, often.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 20 2015, @12:47AM
He's had, what, five bankruptcies and is still living like a king.
And what exactly is wrong with that? You act like bankruptcy is a bad thing. This probably is because you're European; one of the main reasons Europe is less economically powerful than the US is because it's so unforgiving about debt and bankruptcy, unlike the US.
AFAIK, Trump has never declared personal bankruptcy. His five (or was it four? Most people say 4) bankruptcies are business bankruptcies. That's normal in the business world. Sometimes businesses go belly-up. Business is a risk, and credit is a risk too; that's why interest exists: it's so the lender can still make a profit even if some of its loans are defaulted on. If you don't want to risk losing money by lending it, then don't lend it in the first place.
Starting a business is a lot easier in the US than the EU: you get some venture capital lent to you, you go into business, and if it works out, great, the investors get a return on their investment. If it doesn't work out, oh well, the investors lose their money, but you personally get to walk free and not lose your personal assets (assuming you didn't invest in the business yourself; if you did, you can lose that money). This allows people to take risks since they won't have their lives completely ruined if their business venture fails. From what I've read about the EU, it isn't nearly as nice over there, and a failed business venture usually means being in debt for the rest of your life. No wonder no one wants to start a small business there.
Now if Trump is doing a crappy job with his companies and investors are losing their shirts, well they should have thought about that before investing with him (especially after the 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd... bankruptcy). It's not like taxpayers are on the hook for it; bankruptcy only means that your creditors can't sue you to repay the debt. And in the case of a business, your personal assets are separate from the business assets anyway.
(Score: 1) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday August 20 2015, @07:25PM
Actually I'm from Wisconsin, but thanks for playing. Here's a copy of Atlas Shrugged and a box of tissues; clean up when you're done.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday August 21 2015, @12:43AM
WTF does Atlas Shrugged have to do with anything? This is basic US bankruptcy law, and I'm pretty sure all this stuff was around long before idiot Rand wrote her dumb books. If you think people should go to prison for debt, it's you who's on the side of the ultra-rich; US bankruptcy law is more beneficial for the non-rich. If the banks had their way, the laws would be changed so people couldn't get out of debt so easily.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday August 23 2015, @11:35PM
WTF does Atlas Shrugged have to do with anything?
See? This is part of the allure of hating political correctness. You completely (more of a SMOOSH than a Whoosh) missed the part about the box of tissues.
One of the better responses seen to date on SoylentNews. The Wit is strong in Wisconsin!