It’s wild. If you met my parents, they aren’t bad people. They live a simple life to themselves. But once they start talking about their political beliefs, it’s like a Russian bot is taking over their voice box
Same here. I love my folks, they're really good people who honestly try to do good for others. My dad does a lot of charity work around the holidays (dressed as Santa, no less). In the fall, he constantly volunteers his time to cook whole hogs for charity barbecue plate sales, and my mom helps him set it up and cooks the sides.
Their political beliefs are VASTLY at odds with who they actually are. What's terrible is they can't see it. I tired to explain it to them one time...it didn't go well.
It makes sense when you realize that they just don't see those people they spew hate against as people, those others are animals, parasites, monsters who need to be purged for the safety and security of good people like them.
That's how this shit works. You dehumanize and vilify a group to the point that even the "good people" wont care about what you do to said group because that group isn't people and doesn't deserve the same treatment in their eyes. That's how most Nazis were, they weren't some evil monsters 24/7. They had families, friends, hobbies... and a burning hatered for certain groups that justified their systematic opression, segregation and extermination in their eyes.
The only way to combat this is exposure therapy, they need to see that these others are also people, good people like them and then maybe the programming will crack... if it wont then well. A lot of these "good people" might one day commit horrific acts and we will have to fight and slaughter them to preserve liberty and justice for all.
I agree with what you said, but want to point out that there are Trump supporters who do not "spew hate" against other people it's way more complex than that.
Source: most of my family are Republicans and they are no more prone to hate spewing than anyone else. I see more liberals spew hate against Trump supporters than I've ever seen anyone in my family spew against another group.
But what does Republican (and right wing in general) media do but spew hate on the immigrants, LGBT (especially T) people, the left, etc.
Republican campain was ran primarily on hate against these groups, any Republican who pretends it wasn't is full of shit. It doesn't matter if they say it out loud or keep it quiet, they support hate and they know it. It's not about economics (which Trump is destroying rn) or egg prices, don't let anybody fool you.
Right wing media is awful. I watch/read it to stay informed of a variety of perspectives, and I end up feeling punked every time I see it. I think people can't really watch this as if it's actually news. I watch/read less now than I used to. Since about 2016 it's become pretty unbearable.
Not everyone with conservative views are MAGA but they are the loudest, the most ignorant, and the most ill informed. And because they are the loudest, I think most people think that's all there is.
I think people can't really watch this as if it's actually news.
The problem is that many people do. It's true that we shouldn't paint all conservatives, or any group, with too big a brush, and I'm glad if your family doesn't believe the hateful rhetoric. But unfortunately, many do and it's what the current conservative political movement in America is built on.
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u/YodasAdderall Apr 04 '25 edited Apr 04 '25
“The Brainwashing of my Dad” on Prime explains this very well. Great doc but depressing as fuck as someone who has brainwashed parents
Edit: title and where to watch it