In the 2018 re-launch of “Roseanne”, it turns out that white, feminist, Boomer icon Roseanne Conner voted for Trump. Many feel that this is a betrayal of the character. Is it?
No. It’s deeply accurate.
If you think it’s unrealistic and a betrayal of the character that a white feminist Boomer icon like Roseanne Conner would vote for Trump, I don’t think you yet have a realistic idea of what happened in 2016.
Boomers voted for Trump by a 9-point margin.
That means white Boomers voted for Trump by a double-digit margin.
White Boomers who were women voted for Trump by a slightly lesser margin…but they still voted for Trump.
This was especially true of white Boomers without a college education, such as Roseanne.
Roseanne Conner is at a demographic intersection where she would have been extremely likely to vote for Trump.
Trump won white voters by a greater margin than any in our history outside Reagan ’84.
During the original run of “Roseanne” from 1988-97, Fulton County was one of the most liberal in the state. In fact, it hasn’t gone Republican since 1984.
You should feel betrayed – but not by the show. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t critique it or its messages. But if you think Roseanne Conner would never have voted for Trump, you’re still not looking at 2016 with a realistic eye for what happened.
There are results where racism overbears other progressive leanings. We need to understand that.
A lot of Roseanne Conners voted for Trump, and if you can’t recognize that, you’re harming your ability to understand why and to work against it.
The feature image of the “Roseanne” cast is from Biography here.
