askchapo

I think there has been less need for the general population of the US to be explicitly racist as neoliberal policies do the dirty work for them-- you don't need lynch mobs when they can subject marginalized populations to extreme austerity through opaque financial mechanisms. I think this has created an environment where more people can say "Hey racism is bad!" while still enjoying the benefits of the racism with plausible deniability. I think the Christian orthodoxy around "being a good person" comes into play here too, but that's a conversation for another time.

That's not to say it's that cut and dry. I think more people than before genuinely realize how sick and twisted this system is and no longer want to take part, also creating cynicism and nihilism that can be a vector for reactionary thought. Because the system needs to reinforce itself, it is simply adapting to these conditions and finding new ways to create new reactionaries.