A friend years ago clued me in to the Rosetta Stone for understanding conservatives: At base, they have a deep, abiding self-hatred. Yes, people often say it’s fear, but everybody’s motivated by fear of something. The conservative is motivated specifically by fear that they’re worthless, that they don’t measure up.

It makes so much sense when you game it out: They’re constantly needing external validation that they are good, or at least, better than somebody else. The basis of racism becomes clear as day in this light, and the desperate need to be special is just kind of axiomatic.