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I always loved this paragraph from Thomas Frank, talking about this sort of self-inflicted comedy:the real kicker is that everyone who dies in this utterly humiliating fashion also voted for the exact politicians who are staunchly against any kind of social safety net that their remaining families would benefit from. It's a perfect circle of entirely self-inflicted comedy
"This situation may be paradoxical, but it is also universal. For decades, Americans have experienced a populist uprising that only benefits the people it is supposed to be targeting. In Kansas we merely see an extreme version of this mysterious situation. The angry workers, mighty in their numbers, are marching irresistibly against the arrogant. They are shaking their fists at the sons of privilege. They are laughing at the dainty affectations of the Leawoof toffs. They are massing at the gates of Mission Hills, hoisting the black flag, and while the millionaires tremble in their mansions, they are bellowing out their terrifying demands. 'We are here,' they scream, 'to cut your taxes.' "