This is also all part of the authoritarian mindset. A book which was extremely enlightening for me was The Authoritarians, which is available in a free pdf, (just Google the title).

I would also argue, as Tim Wise does, that these people don’t just want a return to fifty years ago. They want a return to pre-Civil Rights America. In one of his speeches he specifically mentioned 1957, and that idea has stuck with me ever since. These people have distinct memories of being able to assert their authority over others, and it must be especially galling for them to no longer be able to do so without pushback.

It’s interesting to note the age of the people who support him, the kind of white people who most directly remember being able to treat marginalized people however they pleased. I think (to some extent) Generation X is maybe the first generation of white people who, while they were taught to be racist by the society around them, don’t actually have direct memories of that time period, so while they may wear MAGA hats, they’re not trying to return to a time before they were born. They were, at least, born with the idea present, that others are their equals, (even if they don’t believe it.)

The really sad part is that all this fighting is completely pointless. Change is inevitable, and these people have been living in a constant state of terror (encouraged by capitalism), for decades. Everything, in our entire society, has encouraged them to be terrified of everything, and everyone, and react to it, from that mindset. I think fear is a huge factor in this too, because they literally don’t know any other way to be.

They’ve never lived without fear, and rather than acknowledge and deal with their fears, insecurities, and anxieties, have done their absolute best to simply past those fears to marginalized people, who recognize that this fear is not theirs, are tired of being scared all the time, and have made it clear that we are not going back.