Is it really any surprise that Donald Trump is popular with white blue-collar workers? These people have seen their jobs disappear and wages stagnate. A lot of Americans are struggling just to survive.

These people look at Donald Trump and see that, for all his misogyny and racism, he’s an outsider, a guy who has never held political office, a man not captured by the political elites. He comes from outside the system that is making their lives so tough.

People are suffering and Trump is promising bold solutions. So why shouldn’t they give him a go? What do these people, who have lost so much already, have to lose?

It’s like when you have a toothache and you go to the dentist. The dentist fiddles around for half an hour, poking and prodding your teeth, and at the end she gives you a huge bill. Then a week later the toothache’s back, and now it’s worse than ever. It’s debilitating. So you ring the dentist to demand an explanation and she says “well, you know, it was a complex procedure, and maybe you need to come back so I can take another look.”

So you go back. She fiddles around some more, and there’s another huge bill waiting for you at the end. Sure enough, the toothache’s back a week later. You’re in utter misery.

You’re also pissed off. You reckon your dentist knows exactly what’s wrong but just doesn’t want to cure you. It’s better for her financially if you keep having to come back to her for treatment every few weeks. You feel used and exploited, but what are you going to do? They’re all the same, these greedy dentists. You’ve heard similar stories from your friends and co-workers. These people don’t give a damn about their patients.

Then you hear an advert on the radio for a dentist who uses an entirely new procedure guaranteed to take care of your toothache forever. He promises a full refund if you aren’t instantly cured. So what have you got to lose?

This new dentist is incredibly popular and you have to wait weeks to secure a consultation. But finally you get in to see him. This new guy talks a lot, mostly about how amazing he is, how terrible your last dentist was and how she should be thrown in jail for all the things she has done to her patients over the years. He comes across as a bit of a blowhard, but what have you got to lose? Anyone has to be better than the last dentist you used.

When you ask him how his new procedure works, he just shrugs his shoulders and says “it’ll be amazing, totally amazing. Just wait and see.” This does nothing to reassure you, but then you remember the last dentist’s bill and the money-back guarantee. What do you have to lose at this point?

You lie on the dentist’s chair as he stuffs a grenade in your mouth, pulls the pin and flees the room. In those few seconds before your toothache is gone forever (no money back for you!) you think to yourself “well, what did I have to lose?”

And the moral of this story? Don’t give dentists access to explosives. Obviously.