Society/Culture Why are young males now more right wing then older males?

[liz]

Prosperity stems from a combination of personal discipline, ethical values, and a commitment to continuous improvement and meaningful relationships. Which is why cashed up sports stars can loose their fortune within years of retirement.

Those things matter, sure. But so do lots of things outside our control or even influence. Such as where we were born, to whom we were born, what opportunities we had early in life, what mentors crossed paths with us at critical life stages, being in the right place at the right time for certain job opportunities, enjoying good health (which is only partly influenced by lifestyle), etc etc.

There's an awful lot of chance (or luck) that affects our life outcomes, including financial, social and emotional prosperity.

 

[Chief]

It's the Left that are scratching their heads.

They really aren't.

 

[smelly cat]

Those things matter, sure. But so do lots of things outside our control or even influence. Such as where we were born, to whom we were born, what opportunities we had early in life, what mentors crossed paths with us at critical life stages, being in the right place at the right time for certain job opportunities, enjoying good health (which is only partly influenced by lifestyle), etc etc.

There's an awful lot of chance (or luck) that affects our life outcomes, including financial, social and emotional prosperity.

I think you are 100% spot on.

 

[demondavey]

'The left' is not a homogenous group. It's a weird amalgam of different movements that (broadly) aim to change the status quo to achieve a more equitable society.

Within that movement, there's groups that focus on women's rights, LGBTI rights, activism to support people from indigenous or multicultural backgrounds. We could argue that a rising tide lifts all boats... that men will be better off if women achieve more equality, etc. But I suspect that might be futile.

So ignoring that aspect, there's still plenty that 'the left' has to offer:

- Unions are still active, and many young men are members of unions - particularly in construction and trades, in education and healthcare, the public service, the police force, etc. Unions still offer solidarity and aim to improve conditions for workers, offer representation and support, etc.

- Environmental groups, parties such as the greens, advocate for a more sustainable future. That's relevant to young men, who are going to live, work and inhabit a rapidly changing world.

- 'Left' political parties also offer representation to young men. In the last decade or so the Federal ALP has introduced a broad range of measures that should help young men: off the top of my head, I can list things like strong investment in TAFE (men are quite heavily weighted in trades), major construction and infrastructure projects (employing majority men), the introduction of the NBN, NDIS, reforms to the education (Gonski), etc. Could they do better? Probably. But there is plenty within their policies for young men


The bigger question for me is why do so many 'young white cis hetero' men feel so threatened by progressive movements that don't directly cater to them?

Because these young men grow up with privilege and pamper. They think society owes them.

 

[demondavey]

We’ve only just come out of the sphere of conservatism being the norm in society. We’ve had a very white male orientated social hierarchy from basically colonisation up until about 2010. I saw social change really ramping up around the Rudd era. Think about what John Howard and the liberals stood for? Look no further than Howard cutting a deal to abolish RU486 with Brian Harradine in order to gain his support for a deal re Telecom.

Aboriginals weren’t able to vote until 1967, so basically up until 58 years ago they were treated as second class and denied free speech in our society, ironic that the right peddle their free speech contraventions now.

We’ve basically had a rusted on conservative Christian driven climate of segregation, racism, and isolation of minorities for about 220 years. It’s only the last 15 or so years we’ve started seeing progress. Liberals have been in power for 2/3 of our Federation.

Social media is fuelling these ‘oppressed’ conservatives who are striving for relevance after minorities have been given a fairer share of the social pie. News is condensed into sexy formats of blogs, tweets, and paragraphs of messaging that is designed for impact as opposed to education or information. Someone mentioned young men who are about 20-30 now. They’ve grown up on this resurgence of right wing rhetoric and the Donald Trump agenda. They’ll also grow up with Peter Dutton likely being the PM whom will brazenly tear down our Aboriginal flag and replace it with that of a colonist English pseudo flag.

There’s your answer.

 

[sr36]

Click worthiness is king amongst many youth and Trump trumps everyone on that front.