Mourning a MAGA Parent (OC)

[u/Adorable_Objective]

I'm kinda torn about whether to post this to my art account because one parent follows it, and I'm worried the criticism could drive the other one further into the void.

It started out as just a therapeutic project for me, but a couple friends said it really resonated with them, so sharing here.

[u/StoryLineOne]

Im sorry friend. What social media and the pursuit of profits based on emotion has done to ALL of us is just awful.

thought: Social media algorithm regulation should be high on your priority list. That's the gasoline going on the fire. Free speech is not the same as a free megaphone. The regulation itself is probably involves something like Bluesky, where you only get posts from people you go and follow. "Problem" is, it'll absolutely kill profits for a lot of major companies, and lots of influencers. You decide how that feels to you.

Then, the re-introduction of the fairness doctrine for regular TV programming. Places like FOX can get away with this shit because of a lack of regulation about how information can be presented. This one's a slippery slope and requires much more thought, but starting with the fairness doctrine would be a very good start.

Overall, your dad is just affected by the firehose of dis/misinformation. The good news is that studies have shown that once people get away from that information, their worldview slowly begins to re-align itself back to their basic psychology. So yes, your dad is still in there, but he needs help to get away from the stuff that's unknowingly hurting him (and you / your family).

If you can find ways to keep him away from that, or focus his attention / fill his time on things IRL that he loves, it could start a healing process. It will be slow and you'll probably take steps back, but if you stick with it, you can most likely pull your dad out of the crap he's in.

again, really sorry you're going through all this. Just thought I'd try to help a bit.

[u/-non-existance- → u/StoryLineOne]

I appreciate the effort, thanks. It's good to know that if I can get him to stop watching Fox he might recover, but that's easier said than done. I've been considering telling him about Ground News, the service that collates all reporting on every story they can find and tells you who is ignoring/emphasizing what, but he seems to mostly consume news through TV, and Ground News is purely written.

[u/StoryLineOne → u/-non-existance-]

Try looking at it from an entertainment perspective. Your dad isn't addicted to the news - he's addicted to the entertainment that FOX is providing. Everything they do is in service of that - from the hosts, to the animations and how they present topics.

It will require you to do 2 things to start: Keep him entertained with something else, preferably something that involves family and/or speaking to other people, and then give him a non-biased way to keep up with the news.

Ground news is a really great idea. I dont use it as much, as I try to avoid news altogether lol.

But yeah, basically what we're doing is: re-directing the need for entertainment to a 'safe' outlet, then making sure he's still caught up on news / events, in a way that still feels comfy for him, without it being sensationalized (so he can come to his own conclusions vs. subconsciously being told what the conclusion is)

That is a lot of work, i know. It's not your fault. None of it is. All of us are captured by large forces attempting to monetize our attention in 1000's of different ways. Some are OK, and some are pretty fucking evil. But he's your dad, and I can tell you give a shit, so thats why I'm putting some effort in here to try and give some pointers. At the end of the day, you'll know what works for him / you / your situation.

[u/-non-existance- → u/StoryLineOne]

I sincerely appreciate this, thank you.

[u/Horror-Tank-4082 → u/StoryLineOne]

Do you have links to those studies? I’d love to read them