LEWISTON — Crying isn’t what it used to be.

In 1972,  the campaign of U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine to become the Democratic presidential candidate foundered in the snows of New Hampshire after it appeared he cried about a forged letter portraying him as prejudiced against the many French Canadians who settled in New England.

Press accounts made it seem to people he was “acting like a woman” or someone weak and vulnerable, said Bates College professor Senem Aslan during her Thursday talk on “Populism and the Politics of Emotion” at the Great Falls Forum at the Lewiston Public Library.

But for many of the authoritarian-minded strong men around the world, from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Brazil’s new leader, Jair Bolsonaro, a few tears are a way to deepen their emotional appeal and to sharpen a sense of authenticity, Aslan said.

Aslan said populist leaders are generally “very, very thin” on ideology. They span the political spectrum from right to left, she said.

What they have in common, she said, is a desire to appeal directly to “the people” in opposition to elites; bad manners marked by “offensive remarks and vulgar appeals;” and a reliance on a steady stream of crises to keep their supporters feeling “constantly under siege” from enemies near and far.

Crying during patriotic or pious moments, Aslan said, can help a leader connect directly with a public that might otherwise start to notice the luxury and power a president typically possesses. Without that emotional appeal, leaders can begin to seem distant from the people they claim to represent.

Crying becomes “an identity-building measure,” she said.

But women leaders can’t count on finding success by displaying so much emotion, Aslan told about 20 people at the forum.

When a woman cries, she said, “public opinion is unforgiving.”

While women would come across as “very weak,” people “are more forgiving with men,” Aslan said.

scollins@sunjournal.com

 

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