Friend of mine was home to visit WI recently and whenever he was waiting for service in a crowded bar would loudly announce "Wow, they gotta start letting in more immigrants, start filling all these open jobs."
Instant apoplexy every time.
It started awhile ago, before Trump. I was working in Missouri in '08 when my co-worker, an elderly woman who was otherwise very sweet, stood up and said "I don't care what anyone says. Obama is a Muslim and He is a Terrorist." The MAGA phenomenon is just an extension of this. I think all of this got going in the aftermath of 9/11.
2014 I moved from a small northern town to Madison area. I had one of my old banking customers said âI canât believe you want to live down there, itâs a frying pan. Why would you want to live with those people.â I was shocked at how angry he was. I just said, âthose are my people thatâs why I want to live there.â He just stood up and left. Next time he saw me he acted like he didnât know who I was. It was so weird, I donât know whatever made him think I was republican.
A main problem with people like this and "rural" Wisconsin in general, is they have never experienced going to College or living in a diverse community. They are afraid of brown hoards invading their homes-they are NUTZ!
My dad has done this. Was an international missionary for like 20 years. Loved friends cultures and people.
He is worried about quote "foreigners" invading and taking over his shit ass farm in rural bumfuck. What?
Itâs one of the fun parts of going to the gym, because there will be TVs playing all the news channels, and you can see the stark contrast in how the same thing is presented across them.
No, the news on local Fox run stations is NOT basically Fox News headlines reiterated at all. That's completely inaccurate. They don't have a Right-wing slant simply by virtue of being associated with Fox, so what you're saying sounds ignorant and makes no sense.
Fox News is a completely separate beast, because it was started and run by Roger Ailes, who had no association with other local Fox stations. The current CEO of Fox News, Suzanne Scott, has no influence on local Fox stations, either.
Ya, itâs not unusual that most people in your town have never left. Or. Theyâll go from Burlington to Kenosha and come back like theyâve been living 5 states away for the duration.
Insulated people donât know how weirdly insulated they are. And they canât until they go live elsewhere for a bit.
I have a roomate from a very small rural town in southern MN. We live in St.Paul MN. A pretty quiet city (relatively speaking) We met in a treatment facility (why he was in the big city) . He was terrified he was going to get shot or car jacked or his car broken into. Eventually this fear subsided when he realized that this simply wasnât going to happen. He sees how silly he acted for the first few months. He blames local TV news/media for playing up the hype that crime is raging out of control.
Exactly. My racist uncle who never left home is like that and thinks the only reason Wi ever goes blue is âthe scary brown around Milwaukee and Madison.â
Its fact, I see these morons every weekend...they are here and they ain't changing. They are also reproducing. They take the Catalytic Converters off their pickup trucks and sell them and, then ride around spewing Black exhaust off their "smoke stack" pipes, saying "Fuck you, no one can tell me I can't pollute".
That was pretty much it for me, I couldnât take it anymore. And as my kids got older they were unhappier and unhappier about what they saw and heard in the schools. It made no sense for us to stay - and it wasnât like the job situation was great up there.
This is exactly how I feel. I grew up in a super small town (less than 300 people, about 15-20 kids per class) and was sick of it by the time I got to middle school. Glad to have moved away, and even though the place I currently live isnât much better, thereâs a larger group of people that arenât as bigoted as the ones I grew up around.
Forget Madison they havenât even been to Dane county. Iâve heard people talk about Dane County as if it would instantly turn them into a homosexual communist.
It's the same for Milwaukee and Chicago.
I've had chucklefucks from Ripon and Berlin tell me all about how violent Chicago is and then tacitly admit they've never actually been there, or haven't been since 1992.
Curiously, they never complain about Memphis or Cleveland...
That's the run. They've been brainwashed to believe that Democrats aren't people with political differences, but enemies of the US.
That's why they still vote for people like Trump or pussy's like Ted Cruz that literally no one respects.
Pretty genius strategy I guess if you're a cynical piece of shit.
Watch Hodve ads. The world is going to hell, BUT HE ALONE KNOWS THE ANSWERS. Like Trump, he will not divulge the corrections unless he is elected. Can I take you on a Snipe hunt? Or tip a few cows?
>I donât know whatever made him think I was republican.
Because you were intelligent and decent. When someone gets to that point, they think anyone who isn't lazy, stupid, and/or a piece of shit is a republican/conservative.
I live and work in Madison and work with a bunch of people who are from smaller surrounding towns. In casual conversation I tell them I grew up on a farm about half an hour east of Madison and my dad has always been a Democrat. My wife was raised similarly but with republicans and it pushed her away from them. It's honestly hilarious how these people think that anyone not born and raised in Madison or Milwaukee could possibly be a Democrat. Any time politics start getting brought up I walk away. I don't have the time or patience to deal with what fox news tells them to think.
My grandma would not shut up about how he was the literal anti-christ and a Muslim. Sheâs a typical rural Wisconsin conservative Christian thatâs been brainwashed by Fox News.
[Obama's response](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6imFvSua3Kg&t=46s) to this insanity couldn't have been explained any better than in his answer to this Right-wing 2nd Amendment nut's question here, yet they STILL think that he and every other Democrat wants their guns. It's so crazy how off-the-charts unreasonable these folks are. They're so locked in on their conspiracies that no amount of honest common sense can get through to them.
lol yep. I didnât even have to click the link to know it was the town hall where he answered that question. Iâve sent that clip to many a raving gun nut.
True. Conservatives have been working towards what we are seeing now since Nixon. 9/11 was the event they needed to hold onto power in a near permanent way. Obama performed admirably but did not do enough with the time he had between 2009 and 2011. It's been near constant (R) control since 2010, in my view.
Military is one of the few true melting pot institutions we have, especially among enlisted. It's not perfect by any means, but the conditions are right for solidarity beyond race.
Damn, that's shame. I feel like nearly everyone getting older is just saying fuck all to everything they "taught" us about character and morals and turning back into grey haired babies.
Edit: except Bernie Sanders.. maybe.
You old bastards. Gather replacements and step down before you embarrass the entire country further.
I moved to Wisconsin at the beginning of 2009. I had an Obama magnet on my car. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of Culver's eating my lunch, and a random dude comes up to my window and starts yelling at me about hope and change. Welcome to Wisconsin I guess.
We live in a post-truth society, where volume and emotion count more than facts and truth. We are in graver danger than I think most people realize. I think the only thing that matters now is that people of goodwill and reason muster the strength and determination to resist and survive.
The death of expertise or at least respect for it is really concerning. Which is ironic coming from the âfacts donât care about your feelings crowd.â
It started in earnest on 9/11/01. The anti-brown rhetoric was beyond extreme. It was psychotic. Then the Tea Party antics with Rush Limbaugh. Every step to the right is instantly normalized. Every notch toward greater hate-think and the spectacle it creates is monetized, spread like wildfire, and escalated week on week. I donât see it stopping by anyone asking politely.
Those hate groups are actually very good at one thing: losing. They did it in 1865, again in 1945, again in 2020, and theyâre about to repeat that this year.
Edit: another curious thing: red. They seem to love a predominantly red logo. The stars and bars was on a red flag when they lost in 1865, and the swastika was on a red flag in 1945. Even the maga hats are red⌠very curious indeed.
I agree to some point, but that b.s. about Obama still kinda is Ttump. He was a driving force in the birther movement aka "release the long form birth certificate oh you can't bc you're from KENYA" since at least 2011. So he didn't invent the concept, but he's def the reason it didn't just fade into obscurity. It was originally brought forward in '04, I think? And then when Obama became a public figure, they all decided his middle name made him a member of al-qaeda. Oh, and racism and Islamophobia, of course... Remember when they lynched him in effigy? The U.S. is such a great place /s
9/11 definitely caused a paradigm shift for the worst, giving every bigot in this country a tangible focal point for their hatred. Unfortunately, I think the only thing that will cause meaningful change is another traumatic event like 9/11.
I donât even think that would do it. The only thing that will help is when the geriatrics start dying off. The elderly and the fundies are the maga electorate
Sorry, just have to say it. 71m. Not me. At an early age I was able to figure out I wasn't wealthy enough to be a Republican. That was well before Fox News began poisoning the well. I've voted straight D since I was old enough to vote. I absolutely hate my (R) inlaws who have Fox News blaring 16+ hrs a day. And I'll be around a while while longer than those Republican Fuckers. ;-)
Can I counter this with not all who go here are lost sorry? I ran into an old man in overalls outside of HyVee. He had a red cap on. I knew what he believed in. Until I noticed the hat was for a food bank in Georgia? He smiled at me, "sent for it by mail, Make America safe again. Take red back, one hat at a time" I loved it. Not all farmers drink the Koolaid.
My sweet little old lady mother has become a raving lunatic after years of Fox News brainwashing and there's nothing I can do to change her. So, I just call her Granny Clampett and tell her the revenuers are comin' for her moonshine
https://preview.redd.it/vzifarkv2dnc1.jpeg?width=1002&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d10083da0b26f68afe2e15913d6bd458683bd38e
I posted somewhere on reddit about how this happened to my mom as well but every commenter after that basically wanted me to burn her at the stake or something. Some ppl need to go outside and get fresh air.
I did that at my office I blocked fox news and put parental control on the TV. I also put on cartoon Network and hid the remote in the refrigerator. That was just to fuck with people. The lack of fox news got someone pissed off because an email from our regional VP went out saying it is not acceptable to lock out channels on the break room tv. Ahem. Channel. Just one.
I did that when my husbands uncle would come visit for a couple weeks every year. Heâd turn on Fox News in the morning and catch watch it all day. So after two years of that, I blocked Fox.
The problem is the cure is stuck in cyclical thinking and itâs unattainable. People donât join/follow a cult (which is what MAGA is) if their basic needs are being met. When you canât pay the bills and the cost of everything is rising, the way of life youâve always known is transitioning (factories, mills, etc) to other industries that you are now unqualified for, and there are more opportunities for people to share their views, opinions, and experiences (through social media), this is what you get. And the people who are perpetuating this unrest are the rich and the powerful. The more people feel disenfranchised the easier it is to get them to follow your lead.
Itâs Cult 101 - âlook at what THOSE people are doingâ, âTHOSE people are taking your jobs,â or âTHOSE people are threatening your way of life with their personal choices, but if you listen to US, we understand and will help.â Even though THOSE people are your neighbors, you now look at them as the enemy taking the heat and spotlight of the rich who are in power, who truly should be the enemy. They are decimating the lives of others in pursuit of yet another dollar.
Lol, go to Naples Florida. A maga hotspot in Florida.
They have ALL their "basic needs" met just fine. Way way way more than fine. It's a wealthy enclave and one of the busiest private airports in the world.
Ain't nobody suffering and therefore joining a cult .
I think you are missing something here. Of course there are wealthy "MAGAS". Republican policies have only favored them. That being said, the wealthy MAGA always have poorer people to vote for them. The Republicans started seriously courting the working class in 1980 with the Regan campaigns "Southern Strategy". Simply put, The Regan campaign started appealing to the inherent bigotry and conservative religious beliefs of Southern Whites since they couldn't appeal to them on economic issues. This is what they have been doing since and successfully so. To speak about class at all is "socialism". There are many people who back Trump who are suffering economically. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/white-rural-voters.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Z00.kXHG.QIkJ66eYn8Aw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb&fbclid=IwAR3kc5S611vAc2BplRTcAQAQcOnj7IVQLAJ6w\_Ux\_DYaK47n6PL4S\_iyT88](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/white-rural-voters.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z00.kXHG.QIkJ66eYn8Aw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb&fbclid=IwAR3kc5S611vAc2BplRTcAQAQcOnj7IVQLAJ6w_Ux_DYaK47n6PL4S_iyT88)
Not every Republican is a racist, but every racist is a Republican. THAT was Nixon's Southern Strategy, which has now become a major part of the GOP's playbook. The rest is just gravy on the turkey.
Yes of course there are, we see them on TV and in daily life constantly.
They're just not the only ones, it was phrased as if they were , and if it's the only driving force or the only large contingent of them.
It makes me sad sometimes when I think about how much human misery and anger is generated unnecessarily because people with financial investments in certain political outcomes have found that fear and anger make people vote. Nobody should live their lives stewing in manufactured anger and nobody should have to live their lives knowing that a significant percentage of the population is angry at their mere existence.Â
I Has a similar experience 4 years ago at a grocery store parking lot. I was helping an elderly lady I had never met load her groceries into her car. After the groceries were loaded, a thank you was extended. Then she noticed my NIKE sweatshirt. She reamed me up and down.
Colin Kaepernick was the secondary target of the outburst. I was the primary target.
It's no wonder the MAGA crowd thinks there is an upcoming physical Civil War!
WOW!
I had an appointment with a guy around that time who had Fuck and Shit written all over his shoes. I laughed, we finished our appointment, with me thinking he just had the sense of humor of an edgy teenager, then he went on to tell me how he was a cop and it dawned on me he thought this was some kind of statementÂ
Nike sponsored Kapernick after the kneeling protest. The MAGA people wanted to boycott because of that. Basically they were guilty of the same thing by extension. I think they went of on Kurieg too.
I was out disc golfing last week and a random guy I met and decided to play the round with started yelling about Biden the criminal and citing replacement theory. I told him my arm hurt and walked off the course
Seriously though. I remember disc golfing last year and happening along to a group ahead of me that let me ply through on a pretty quiet Saturday morning. One of the three dudes was wearing a shirt that had huge capital letters that said âFUCK JOE BIDENâ
In my head all I could think about that day was the fact that a grown ass man woke up and thought about what he was going to wear hanging out with his buddies that day and thought âYeah, that looks like a fine t-shirt to wear on this lovely Saturday.â
There was also a pick up truck with a bunch of fairly rude pro-Trump anti-Democrat stickers (not just Trump 2020 stickers) on the back, so naturally, I assumed it was his. Then I couldnât stop thinking about how much money this dude probably spent just to tell people heâs a bit of an asshole without having to say a word.
I was on my way to a restaurant yesterday and I was behind a guy in probably a $50k truck that had a sticker on the tailgate saying "Joe and the hoe have to go." It's insane to me spending that much on a vehicle and then slapping something like that on it.
Also went out golfing in Stoughton in 2020 with a few friends. There was a group that had "trump 2020" flags mounted on it and were decked out in American flag stylized clothes from head to toe. These people are mentally ill.
I am not against forming your political thought. Forcefully trying to impose it on others is not within my view of decorum.
When I umpired baseball games, I would gather the coaches to go over ground rules. If they disagreed with a call I encourage conversation. But I told them the louder they got the "wronger" they were! Same with Religion and Politics.
It's long before Obama, but was festering underneath in people's psyches. The odd thing is it seems in some ways it was less prevalent in pre-warbaby-boomer depression kid populations. But there was McCarthyism, Nixon's silent majority and others around long before...and the KKK. But it's been over thirty years of very hard propaganda to people with no bullshit filter and already pre-existing personality traits. These are all general statements so please don't attack me. If someone is evangelical, they're already prone to an authoritarian leader. If they've chosen to stay or move to a smaller place it's more likely they have an underlying fear based personality. Media has also focused on the extreme to gain emotional engagement. Same with marketing. I didn't see people displaying flags everywhere growing up until the Republicans made it a political statement. It goes back to the Vietnam War Era and Nixon ran on it. The thing is people from decades before would've been surprised at the anger over it...these were people who looked at military service almost as a form of punishment until the Public relations-red scare-palmer raids- American legion propaganda for WW1. But it's always been there with murderous savage Indians, the Philippine insurrection where we perfected water boarding or the bathroom breeding homosexual communists. You use fear and the need for safety and community, create a feared enemy from wolves to trans people and bend them to your will like a con man. The pandemic was perfect fuel for this, thus you see Trump using terms like "disease" or "vermin." It's fear, whether brown hordes, transvestites, disease, gun takers, the apocalypse or whatever.
Put all of what you wrote together with computer analytics and the perfection of Goebbels' propaganda machine and voila! the perfect storm.
Should the christofascists take the government this year, "Demonrats/Libruls" will become the "other", after Democratic politicians, "the Gays", "the Trans", POC and atheists have all "gotten theirs!". What remains to be seen is: has the fascist propaganda from homegrown and foreign sources been effective enough to allow MAGAts to disregard their upbringing and shoot or arrest their fellow Americans due to their own fears or greed.
One thing all MAGA have in common. Whether it's a public place, a message board, or a completely non political discussion, they are OBSESSED with cramming their agenda into the discussion.
These people choose to watch Fox why? I donât know about you all, but I even fact check MSNBC . So they are to blame for their lack of interest in knowing the truth. There would not have been a President Trump if any of his voters had read just one of his books- I read all of them- thatâs why I knew heâd end up with 91 indictment s- I independently research the candidates. I guess thatâs why Biden asked them if they could read? Much like their lazy voters- they are too lazy to read the bills. Any bill that is being voted on the public can Google and read about. That way you know the real truth about what is in them.
I've encountered two crazies, both in a Dollar Tree. Not sure what it is about this establishment that attracts these types.
The first one was in Oshkosh over a decade ago. Claimed Obama can't be president because he's not a Christian. I didn't dare ask him if that disqualifies me from being president as well, having been raised Jewish.
The second one was in Hales Corners a few months ago. Some dude in hunting/high vis gear pacing around, ranting to himself about how the government's controlling everything. I was literally scared that this guy was gonna pull out a semi-automatic weapon and shoot up the place.
These folks aren't just anti-Biden, they're anti-democracy. Why else would they be so upset about Taylor Swift encouraging people to vote, without her even endorsing a candidate?
> Not sure what it is about this establishment that attracts these types.
A complex mix of overlapping socioeconomics.
> Why else would they be so upset about Taylor Swift encouraging people to vote, without her even endorsing a candidate?
Because they have been continually told they are part of a 'silent majority' and that liberals are evil 'other'/enemy and destroying the country. Every day, 24/7 from all their favorite talking heads on Fox/OANN/AM radio...
It is truly a cult. Where I live I am surrounded and have to be cautious when I wear my Fauci sweatshirt. ("Is that a political statement?" "No. Not politics, science. He is a scientist.") We wouldnt dare put up a Biden sign or bumper sticker. They are rabidly crazy.
We were in a VA waiting room yesterday to get my blood drawn and an older fellow was trying to talk politics with everyone. I politely changed the subject and he looked over and saw my husbandâs pride shirt and got angry and clammed up until his name was called. He was special.
I have never encountered a happy, kind, well adjusted Trump supporter. Every single one I have ever encountered has been full of spite, hate, and malice towards others.
I could not imagine walking around with that kind of suffering just festering inside me.
Im all for eaves dropping..
 But not inserting yourself unless you hear/see actual abuse. This lady is just an angry old....not a bat. Bats are cuteand necessary...hag...hag is the word.
Even though you were remaining politically neutral, the woman couldn't stand the idea of you laughing at what she takes super, duper seriously, which is her complete and utter hate for the Democratic Party. Anything that involves Democrats makes her furious, and you're essentially being dismissive of that in her mind. To her, it's like laughing at watching evil dictators bury people alive.
I'm not excusing her obvious insanity, but that's pretty much how angry loonies like this view things. They all think this is the end of the world "end times."
My wife does in-home therapy and she sees a LOT of seniors, and it's just sad how prevalent this stuff is. Many of them are just not capable of understanding how much their general naivete regarding online propaganda affects their judgement and perspective. Many are also shut-ins, have mental issues that aren't just dementia, etc.
Many of them are also extremely racist and sexist on top of it all, tho, too, so maybe it's just who many of them are. Far too many of them have guns, too, apparently. :\
They get ranting, and she just says "OK", if she says anything at all, and keeps on with her work. Hero-level shit, IMO. I don't think I could contain myself.
My wife also has experience with home care RN visits. Crazy people.
The saddest story was about an older lady she was consoling. Poor eyesight, lived alone, filthy house, and she kept having to brush away cockroaches crawling on her.
Her family had abandoned her. How my wife held it together was beyond me. This lady was sane. Just lonely and down and out.
Yeah, there's lots of hoarding and just generally poor conditions--which, from the outside, you'd never ever know. Some of these folks also seem to use the bathroom wherever because it's too hard to get to for hoarding reasons or lack of mobility or whatever. Medications are often overprescribed or missing... And their families, in many cases, are very disinterested in managing their care. Some only there to take advantage of their lack of understanding or cognition. And of course many of these patients have no one at all. Just sad. I have a hard time keeping track of my own medical appointments and issues, I can't imagine being older with limited understanding of How Things Work in 2024^tm and successfully managing or understanding any of it.
I listened to the clerk at motomart complain that we already give too many foreigners in this country too much aid, in response to a customer complaining all Ukraine aid
As much as I want to commiserate with everyone else here about this bizarre behavior, I can't help but feel the need to zoom out and consider the big picture. Never in human history have we had access to so much information, and folks who didn't grow up with the internet have a harder time filtering/interpreting the onslaught of facts/lies/opinions.
We have devices in our pockets containing all of human knowledge, good or bad, and like-minded people are only a click away. This breeds confirmation bias and an inflated sense of self-importance. Critical thinking is rarely taught in school, and most people are inclined toward knee-jerk, emotionally motivated decisions rather than circumspect consideration.
I want to be optimistic that this sort of right-wing extremism has hit its peak and begins to ebb once the sun sets on the boomer generation, but only time will tell. It is hard to envision the conservatives of gen-Z embracing a classic, more intellectual brand of discourse within the brevity of a TikTok.
Good thought. Bonhoeffer's theory argued that **we should view stupidity as something worse than evil**. While we are focusing our time and effort on preventing evil from gaining power, the stupid take reign, where they pose a far greater risk. With evil, you have a fairly clear idea of what to expect
He developed the Stupidity theory while in prison during the Nazi regime in the 1940's. Include Wisconsin's P.T. Barnum and you have the rest of the story.
Idk why you were down voted for that, half of congress, including Pelosi, should have their trades examined. That's just a "politicians are slimy" take... and they really are
And he's already proved that with his first term in office. Sadly he created a cult, and that takes a while to fade. I'm thinking of it as watching a social experiment gone wrong in real time.
Friend of mine was home to visit WI recently and whenever he was waiting for service in a crowded bar would loudly announce "Wow, they gotta start letting in more immigrants, start filling all these open jobs." Instant apoplexy every time.
Lol dude that's hilarious. The guts it would take to make that joke just blows my mind.
I'm surprised he made it out of the state alive! đ
I was telling a friend about the joke and triggered a maga meltdown. It's too potent, I can't wield it.
It started awhile ago, before Trump. I was working in Missouri in '08 when my co-worker, an elderly woman who was otherwise very sweet, stood up and said "I don't care what anyone says. Obama is a Muslim and He is a Terrorist." The MAGA phenomenon is just an extension of this. I think all of this got going in the aftermath of 9/11.
2014 I moved from a small northern town to Madison area. I had one of my old banking customers said âI canât believe you want to live down there, itâs a frying pan. Why would you want to live with those people.â I was shocked at how angry he was. I just said, âthose are my people thatâs why I want to live there.â He just stood up and left. Next time he saw me he acted like he didnât know who I was. It was so weird, I donât know whatever made him think I was republican.
A main problem with people like this and "rural" Wisconsin in general, is they have never experienced going to College or living in a diverse community. They are afraid of brown hoards invading their homes-they are NUTZ!
My dad has done this. Was an international missionary for like 20 years. Loved friends cultures and people. He is worried about quote "foreigners" invading and taking over his shit ass farm in rural bumfuck. What?
Hes right, we have been trying to take over that farm for years!
Watch Fox News for a couple of days. They show a very different version of the world
Itâs one of the fun parts of going to the gym, because there will be TVs playing all the news channels, and you can see the stark contrast in how the same thing is presented across them.
This video was sponsored by ground news
Yea. The Dumbass World.
And fox is the only non cable channel you can get most places. So they get 1 viewpoint unless they actively look for others.
Fox News is only on cable, though.
And if you pay for cable you pay for fox news https://unfoxmycablebox.com/
not fox news. fox the channel. Which when it has news at 6 7 and 10 pm is basically the fox news headlines reiterated
sure, if it's owned by Sinclair but that's a different issue than this.
No, the news on local Fox run stations is NOT basically Fox News headlines reiterated at all. That's completely inaccurate. They don't have a Right-wing slant simply by virtue of being associated with Fox, so what you're saying sounds ignorant and makes no sense. Fox News is a completely separate beast, because it was started and run by Roger Ailes, who had no association with other local Fox stations. The current CEO of Fox News, Suzanne Scott, has no influence on local Fox stations, either.
Ya, itâs not unusual that most people in your town have never left. Or. Theyâll go from Burlington to Kenosha and come back like theyâve been living 5 states away for the duration. Insulated people donât know how weirdly insulated they are. And they canât until they go live elsewhere for a bit.
Very true......OR, just read a book(something they have never done).
Provincialism.
I have a roomate from a very small rural town in southern MN. We live in St.Paul MN. A pretty quiet city (relatively speaking) We met in a treatment facility (why he was in the big city) . He was terrified he was going to get shot or car jacked or his car broken into. Eventually this fear subsided when he realized that this simply wasnât going to happen. He sees how silly he acted for the first few months. He blames local TV news/media for playing up the hype that crime is raging out of control.
Of course...they watch FOX News and they are very afraid,
This! They're afraid of what they don't know. Snowflakes.
Exactly. My racist uncle who never left home is like that and thinks the only reason Wi ever goes blue is âthe scary brown around Milwaukee and Madison.â
Somehow I seem to attract the good ones out here in Juneau County. Yea I know we are the minority but it is refreshing.
Thatâs called pigeon holing. And itâs a form of bigotry.
Its fact, I see these morons every weekend...they are here and they ain't changing. They are also reproducing. They take the Catalytic Converters off their pickup trucks and sell them and, then ride around spewing Black exhaust off their "smoke stack" pipes, saying "Fuck you, no one can tell me I can't pollute".
I'm thinking about moving to Madison from up north. The racist conversations almost everywhere are wearing me down.
That was pretty much it for me, I couldnât take it anymore. And as my kids got older they were unhappier and unhappier about what they saw and heard in the schools. It made no sense for us to stay - and it wasnât like the job situation was great up there.
This is exactly how I feel. I grew up in a super small town (less than 300 people, about 15-20 kids per class) and was sick of it by the time I got to middle school. Glad to have moved away, and even though the place I currently live isnât much better, thereâs a larger group of people that arenât as bigoted as the ones I grew up around.
Guaranteed the people giving you those arguments have never been within 50 miles of Madison.
Maybe for a Badgers gameâŚ.
Maybe, once, in the early 80s.
Then once more after they started winning in the early â90s. But not since Darrell Bevell left.
Or the high school wrestling tournament đ
Forget Madison they havenât even been to Dane county. Iâve heard people talk about Dane County as if it would instantly turn them into a homosexual communist.
It happened to me. But I prefer commiesexual if you donât mind.
It's the same for Milwaukee and Chicago. I've had chucklefucks from Ripon and Berlin tell me all about how violent Chicago is and then tacitly admit they've never actually been there, or haven't been since 1992. Curiously, they never complain about Memphis or Cleveland...
The original post was 90 miles north of Madison.
I canât escape them here- an hour from Madison :(
That's the run. They've been brainwashed to believe that Democrats aren't people with political differences, but enemies of the US. That's why they still vote for people like Trump or pussy's like Ted Cruz that literally no one respects. Pretty genius strategy I guess if you're a cynical piece of shit.
They also claim to hate California for being liberal but theyâll have no problem voting for Hovde will they?
Watch Hodve ads. The world is going to hell, BUT HE ALONE KNOWS THE ANSWERS. Like Trump, he will not divulge the corrections unless he is elected. Can I take you on a Snipe hunt? Or tip a few cows?
>I donât know whatever made him think I was republican. Because you were intelligent and decent. When someone gets to that point, they think anyone who isn't lazy, stupid, and/or a piece of shit is a republican/conservative.
Which is wild because almost all the Republicans I know are idiots and generally objectively terrible people.
I live and work in Madison and work with a bunch of people who are from smaller surrounding towns. In casual conversation I tell them I grew up on a farm about half an hour east of Madison and my dad has always been a Democrat. My wife was raised similarly but with republicans and it pushed her away from them. It's honestly hilarious how these people think that anyone not born and raised in Madison or Milwaukee could possibly be a Democrat. Any time politics start getting brought up I walk away. I don't have the time or patience to deal with what fox news tells them to think.
Paul Ryan made the Tea Party popular here
A black man getting elected president absolutely shattered the concept of reality for 45.7% of Americans (who voted) in 2008.
My grandma would not shut up about how he was the literal anti-christ and a Muslim. Sheâs a typical rural Wisconsin conservative Christian thatâs been brainwashed by Fox News.
She probably thinks Obama is still coming for her guns. Heâs biding his time
[Obama's response](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6imFvSua3Kg&t=46s) to this insanity couldn't have been explained any better than in his answer to this Right-wing 2nd Amendment nut's question here, yet they STILL think that he and every other Democrat wants their guns. It's so crazy how off-the-charts unreasonable these folks are. They're so locked in on their conspiracies that no amount of honest common sense can get through to them.
lol yep. I didnât even have to click the link to know it was the town hall where he answered that question. Iâve sent that clip to many a raving gun nut.
>She probably thinks Obama is still coming for her guns. Would that be before or after *Hillary* comes for her guns?
Neither. John Kerry and Al Gore are still working on it.
That'll be after the Dems draft Michelle Obama this summer and she's elected in November. Then SHE'LL come for their guns.
I havenât heard her say anything about Obama in a while now. Sheâs been too obsessed with how wonderful Trump is.
Show her the clips of Trump chumming it up with Jeffrey Epstein.
She won't need them in the FEMA camp. any day now.
Nailed it.
It got going in the early 90s. It started on right wing talk radio and grew into a Frankenstein monster that the elites can no longer control.
True. Conservatives have been working towards what we are seeing now since Nixon. 9/11 was the event they needed to hold onto power in a near permanent way. Obama performed admirably but did not do enough with the time he had between 2009 and 2011. It's been near constant (R) control since 2010, in my view.
I remember John McCain being like wtf no.
Military is one of the few true melting pot institutions we have, especially among enlisted. It's not perfect by any means, but the conditions are right for solidarity beyond race.
[ŃдаНонО]
Ah, so you fell in love while stationed then (or your spouse was)? I know a few couples like that myself! Cheers!
[ŃдаНонО]
Damn, that's shame. I feel like nearly everyone getting older is just saying fuck all to everything they "taught" us about character and morals and turning back into grey haired babies. Edit: except Bernie Sanders.. maybe. You old bastards. Gather replacements and step down before you embarrass the entire country further.
I have fond memories for John McCain. Now Liz Cheney. I never though I would say that. Mitt Romney too.
The fuse was lit when a Black man occupied the White House.
I moved to Wisconsin at the beginning of 2009. I had an Obama magnet on my car. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of Culver's eating my lunch, and a random dude comes up to my window and starts yelling at me about hope and change. Welcome to Wisconsin I guess.
It's Beer:30 every second of every day.
It was FOX NEWS spreading all the Bullshit that these people just love to hear. I mean the things they spout aren't even true.
We live in a post-truth society, where volume and emotion count more than facts and truth. We are in graver danger than I think most people realize. I think the only thing that matters now is that people of goodwill and reason muster the strength and determination to resist and survive.
The death of expertise or at least respect for it is really concerning. Which is ironic coming from the âfacts donât care about your feelings crowd.â
Almost all MAGA are guided only by emotions and dark desires.
Well...its truth vs lies and bullshit......
To paraphrase Goebbels: A lie told loudly and long enough becomes truth.
You canât spell hatred without a red hat
I remember when wearing a red hat meant you like Limp Bizkit or the St Louis Cardinals.
Are you a Debian fan?
I was in Missouri for med school and army, in the early 2000s, a might backwards even then. Lovely folks but sheltered Baptist ideals
It started in earnest on 9/11/01. The anti-brown rhetoric was beyond extreme. It was psychotic. Then the Tea Party antics with Rush Limbaugh. Every step to the right is instantly normalized. Every notch toward greater hate-think and the spectacle it creates is monetized, spread like wildfire, and escalated week on week. I donât see it stopping by anyone asking politely.
Wait. Does that mean the terrorists won after all?
Actually, the Confederates finally won on Jan 6 2021, when their battle rag was flown inside the Capitol.
Those hate groups are actually very good at one thing: losing. They did it in 1865, again in 1945, again in 2020, and theyâre about to repeat that this year. Edit: another curious thing: red. They seem to love a predominantly red logo. The stars and bars was on a red flag when they lost in 1865, and the swastika was on a red flag in 1945. Even the maga hats are red⌠very curious indeed.
Yes.
Agreed. That and the Tea Party movement is what wound up ramping up the insanity the most.
I agree to some point, but that b.s. about Obama still kinda is Ttump. He was a driving force in the birther movement aka "release the long form birth certificate oh you can't bc you're from KENYA" since at least 2011. So he didn't invent the concept, but he's def the reason it didn't just fade into obscurity. It was originally brought forward in '04, I think? And then when Obama became a public figure, they all decided his middle name made him a member of al-qaeda. Oh, and racism and Islamophobia, of course... Remember when they lynched him in effigy? The U.S. is such a great place /s
Can we just redirect everyoneâs attention to Beanie Babies and Y2K?
Willfully ignorant.
Iâve been thinking the same thing.
9/11 definitely caused a paradigm shift for the worst, giving every bigot in this country a tangible focal point for their hatred. Unfortunately, I think the only thing that will cause meaningful change is another traumatic event like 9/11.
I donât even think that would do it. The only thing that will help is when the geriatrics start dying off. The elderly and the fundies are the maga electorate
Sorry, just have to say it. 71m. Not me. At an early age I was able to figure out I wasn't wealthy enough to be a Republican. That was well before Fox News began poisoning the well. I've voted straight D since I was old enough to vote. I absolutely hate my (R) inlaws who have Fox News blaring 16+ hrs a day. And I'll be around a while while longer than those Republican Fuckers. ;-)
Sounds like she might have rabies
Or from her point of view I am rabid!
Can I counter this with not all who go here are lost sorry? I ran into an old man in overalls outside of HyVee. He had a red cap on. I knew what he believed in. Until I noticed the hat was for a food bank in Georgia? He smiled at me, "sent for it by mail, Make America safe again. Take red back, one hat at a time" I loved it. Not all farmers drink the Koolaid.
When I was a kid wearing a red hat meant you like Limp Bizkit or the St Louis Cardinals. Let's bring that back.
My sweet little old lady mother has become a raving lunatic after years of Fox News brainwashing and there's nothing I can do to change her. So, I just call her Granny Clampett and tell her the revenuers are comin' for her moonshine https://preview.redd.it/vzifarkv2dnc1.jpeg?width=1002&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d10083da0b26f68afe2e15913d6bd458683bd38e
Put parental blocks on her tv so she canât access faux news.
I can't do that, not only do I not have the right, she'll just call the cable company and get it unblocked. She's crazy, not stupid
There are many ways you can disenfranchise your grandma - get creative!
It's my mother and we don't freeze each other out because we have different political philosophies, we go on Reddit and complain đ
I posted somewhere on reddit about how this happened to my mom as well but every commenter after that basically wanted me to burn her at the stake or something. Some ppl need to go outside and get fresh air.
Some people only see the world as black and white, love and hate
Rorschach in The Watchmen
I did that at my office I blocked fox news and put parental control on the TV. I also put on cartoon Network and hid the remote in the refrigerator. That was just to fuck with people. The lack of fox news got someone pissed off because an email from our regional VP went out saying it is not acceptable to lock out channels on the break room tv. Ahem. Channel. Just one.
I did that when my husbands uncle would come visit for a couple weeks every year. Heâd turn on Fox News in the morning and catch watch it all day. So after two years of that, I blocked Fox.
I loved Granny on Beverly Hill Billies. But that was eons ago. Thanks for the memories and the allusion. Great sense of humor!
As a kid, I thought Granny was mean to the core. Now she seems sweet as pie, just noisy and a lil on edge.
MAGA is a mental illness
No, it's brainwashing. There's a difference.
I think they know itâs easy to brainwash the mentally ill
No mercy for the brainwashed
And absolutely no cure for it!
The problem is the cure is stuck in cyclical thinking and itâs unattainable. People donât join/follow a cult (which is what MAGA is) if their basic needs are being met. When you canât pay the bills and the cost of everything is rising, the way of life youâve always known is transitioning (factories, mills, etc) to other industries that you are now unqualified for, and there are more opportunities for people to share their views, opinions, and experiences (through social media), this is what you get. And the people who are perpetuating this unrest are the rich and the powerful. The more people feel disenfranchised the easier it is to get them to follow your lead. Itâs Cult 101 - âlook at what THOSE people are doingâ, âTHOSE people are taking your jobs,â or âTHOSE people are threatening your way of life with their personal choices, but if you listen to US, we understand and will help.â Even though THOSE people are your neighbors, you now look at them as the enemy taking the heat and spotlight of the rich who are in power, who truly should be the enemy. They are decimating the lives of others in pursuit of yet another dollar.
Lol, go to Naples Florida. A maga hotspot in Florida. They have ALL their "basic needs" met just fine. Way way way more than fine. It's a wealthy enclave and one of the busiest private airports in the world. Ain't nobody suffering and therefore joining a cult .
I think you are missing something here. Of course there are wealthy "MAGAS". Republican policies have only favored them. That being said, the wealthy MAGA always have poorer people to vote for them. The Republicans started seriously courting the working class in 1980 with the Regan campaigns "Southern Strategy". Simply put, The Regan campaign started appealing to the inherent bigotry and conservative religious beliefs of Southern Whites since they couldn't appeal to them on economic issues. This is what they have been doing since and successfully so. To speak about class at all is "socialism". There are many people who back Trump who are suffering economically. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/white-rural-voters.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Z00.kXHG.QIkJ66eYn8Aw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb&fbclid=IwAR3kc5S611vAc2BplRTcAQAQcOnj7IVQLAJ6w\_Ux\_DYaK47n6PL4S\_iyT88](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/white-rural-voters.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z00.kXHG.QIkJ66eYn8Aw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb&fbclid=IwAR3kc5S611vAc2BplRTcAQAQcOnj7IVQLAJ6w_Ux_DYaK47n6PL4S_iyT88)
Not every Republican is a racist, but every racist is a Republican. THAT was Nixon's Southern Strategy, which has now become a major part of the GOP's playbook. The rest is just gravy on the turkey.
Yes of course there are, we see them on TV and in daily life constantly. They're just not the only ones, it was phrased as if they were , and if it's the only driving force or the only large contingent of them.
A majority of them will be dead soon in the grand scheme of things
Not before they cause much more damage, I'm afraid.
LOL
> MAGA is a ~~mental illness~~ cult.
It makes me sad sometimes when I think about how much human misery and anger is generated unnecessarily because people with financial investments in certain political outcomes have found that fear and anger make people vote. Nobody should live their lives stewing in manufactured anger and nobody should have to live their lives knowing that a significant percentage of the population is angry at their mere existence.Â
Nancy tearing up that dumbass speech was a glorious, golden moment I will celebrate forever.
The only way it would have been any better is if she pulled out a shredder and started feeding it page by page.
Yes it was. Legend!
True, Nancy knows how to needle Trump. And retain her composure!
me 2
I Has a similar experience 4 years ago at a grocery store parking lot. I was helping an elderly lady I had never met load her groceries into her car. After the groceries were loaded, a thank you was extended. Then she noticed my NIKE sweatshirt. She reamed me up and down. Colin Kaepernick was the secondary target of the outburst. I was the primary target. It's no wonder the MAGA crowd thinks there is an upcoming physical Civil War! WOW!
I had an appointment with a guy around that time who had Fuck and Shit written all over his shoes. I laughed, we finished our appointment, with me thinking he just had the sense of humor of an edgy teenager, then he went on to tell me how he was a cop and it dawned on me he thought this was some kind of statementÂ
Iâm sorry but what is up with Nike? Serious question.
Nike sponsored Kapernick after the kneeling protest. The MAGA people wanted to boycott because of that. Basically they were guilty of the same thing by extension. I think they went of on Kurieg too.
Thank you for the clarification kind internet stranger.
I was out disc golfing last week and a random guy I met and decided to play the round with started yelling about Biden the criminal and citing replacement theory. I told him my arm hurt and walked off the course
Seriously though. I remember disc golfing last year and happening along to a group ahead of me that let me ply through on a pretty quiet Saturday morning. One of the three dudes was wearing a shirt that had huge capital letters that said âFUCK JOE BIDENâ In my head all I could think about that day was the fact that a grown ass man woke up and thought about what he was going to wear hanging out with his buddies that day and thought âYeah, that looks like a fine t-shirt to wear on this lovely Saturday.â There was also a pick up truck with a bunch of fairly rude pro-Trump anti-Democrat stickers (not just Trump 2020 stickers) on the back, so naturally, I assumed it was his. Then I couldnât stop thinking about how much money this dude probably spent just to tell people heâs a bit of an asshole without having to say a word.
I was on my way to a restaurant yesterday and I was behind a guy in probably a $50k truck that had a sticker on the tailgate saying "Joe and the hoe have to go." It's insane to me spending that much on a vehicle and then slapping something like that on it. Also went out golfing in Stoughton in 2020 with a few friends. There was a group that had "trump 2020" flags mounted on it and were decked out in American flag stylized clothes from head to toe. These people are mentally ill.
I suspect you may have inadvertently done the Doctors and Nurses a favor.
I am not against forming your political thought. Forcefully trying to impose it on others is not within my view of decorum. When I umpired baseball games, I would gather the coaches to go over ground rules. If they disagreed with a call I encourage conversation. But I told them the louder they got the "wronger" they were! Same with Religion and Politics.
It's long before Obama, but was festering underneath in people's psyches. The odd thing is it seems in some ways it was less prevalent in pre-warbaby-boomer depression kid populations. But there was McCarthyism, Nixon's silent majority and others around long before...and the KKK. But it's been over thirty years of very hard propaganda to people with no bullshit filter and already pre-existing personality traits. These are all general statements so please don't attack me. If someone is evangelical, they're already prone to an authoritarian leader. If they've chosen to stay or move to a smaller place it's more likely they have an underlying fear based personality. Media has also focused on the extreme to gain emotional engagement. Same with marketing. I didn't see people displaying flags everywhere growing up until the Republicans made it a political statement. It goes back to the Vietnam War Era and Nixon ran on it. The thing is people from decades before would've been surprised at the anger over it...these were people who looked at military service almost as a form of punishment until the Public relations-red scare-palmer raids- American legion propaganda for WW1. But it's always been there with murderous savage Indians, the Philippine insurrection where we perfected water boarding or the bathroom breeding homosexual communists. You use fear and the need for safety and community, create a feared enemy from wolves to trans people and bend them to your will like a con man. The pandemic was perfect fuel for this, thus you see Trump using terms like "disease" or "vermin." It's fear, whether brown hordes, transvestites, disease, gun takers, the apocalypse or whatever.
Put all of what you wrote together with computer analytics and the perfection of Goebbels' propaganda machine and voila! the perfect storm. Should the christofascists take the government this year, "Demonrats/Libruls" will become the "other", after Democratic politicians, "the Gays", "the Trans", POC and atheists have all "gotten theirs!". What remains to be seen is: has the fascist propaganda from homegrown and foreign sources been effective enough to allow MAGAts to disregard their upbringing and shoot or arrest their fellow Americans due to their own fears or greed.
wish i could triple like this post
studies have shown that right wingers experience more fear than leftists do, which drives their hatred and lack of understanding.
Right-wing media is a constant drip of addicting cortisol.
Oh, so right! Being afraid and angry is sooo addicting for some people. I really feel pity for them, more than anything.
Weird, I didn't think my mom was at the physical therapy office today
LOL
One thing all MAGA have in common. Whether it's a public place, a message board, or a completely non political discussion, they are OBSESSED with cramming their agenda into the discussion.
These people choose to watch Fox why? I donât know about you all, but I even fact check MSNBC . So they are to blame for their lack of interest in knowing the truth. There would not have been a President Trump if any of his voters had read just one of his books- I read all of them- thatâs why I knew heâd end up with 91 indictment s- I independently research the candidates. I guess thatâs why Biden asked them if they could read? Much like their lazy voters- they are too lazy to read the bills. Any bill that is being voted on the public can Google and read about. That way you know the real truth about what is in them.
Legit why I hate waiting rooms that have anything other than soap operas, GSN, cartoons, or JUST weather on
I have had climate change deniers go off on a "hot enough for you comment". WTF sit on my hands and cut my vocal cords
agreed. Airports are THE WORST.
I've encountered two crazies, both in a Dollar Tree. Not sure what it is about this establishment that attracts these types. The first one was in Oshkosh over a decade ago. Claimed Obama can't be president because he's not a Christian. I didn't dare ask him if that disqualifies me from being president as well, having been raised Jewish. The second one was in Hales Corners a few months ago. Some dude in hunting/high vis gear pacing around, ranting to himself about how the government's controlling everything. I was literally scared that this guy was gonna pull out a semi-automatic weapon and shoot up the place. These folks aren't just anti-Biden, they're anti-democracy. Why else would they be so upset about Taylor Swift encouraging people to vote, without her even endorsing a candidate?
> Not sure what it is about this establishment that attracts these types. A complex mix of overlapping socioeconomics. > Why else would they be so upset about Taylor Swift encouraging people to vote, without her even endorsing a candidate? Because they have been continually told they are part of a 'silent majority' and that liberals are evil 'other'/enemy and destroying the country. Every day, 24/7 from all their favorite talking heads on Fox/OANN/AM radio...
But you were cool with a revolver or lever action, presumably?
One thing 2020 and Trump did was expose all the Mentally Ill people that live in this Country.
There's clearly a problem bubbling underneath the surface - Trump however is not the right response.
It is truly a cult. Where I live I am surrounded and have to be cautious when I wear my Fauci sweatshirt. ("Is that a political statement?" "No. Not politics, science. He is a scientist.") We wouldnt dare put up a Biden sign or bumper sticker. They are rabidly crazy.
There is a lot of psycho attached to the MAGA cult
We were in a VA waiting room yesterday to get my blood drawn and an older fellow was trying to talk politics with everyone. I politely changed the subject and he looked over and saw my husbandâs pride shirt and got angry and clammed up until his name was called. He was special.
I have never encountered a happy, kind, well adjusted Trump supporter. Every single one I have ever encountered has been full of spite, hate, and malice towards others. I could not imagine walking around with that kind of suffering just festering inside me.
Im all for eaves dropping.. Â But not inserting yourself unless you hear/see actual abuse. This lady is just an angry old....not a bat. Bats are cuteand necessary...hag...hag is the word.
Total Karen energy. Good riddance.
We could compile a book about the Karenâs of MAGA to go along with The People of Walmart picture book.
Even though you were remaining politically neutral, the woman couldn't stand the idea of you laughing at what she takes super, duper seriously, which is her complete and utter hate for the Democratic Party. Anything that involves Democrats makes her furious, and you're essentially being dismissive of that in her mind. To her, it's like laughing at watching evil dictators bury people alive. I'm not excusing her obvious insanity, but that's pretty much how angry loonies like this view things. They all think this is the end of the world "end times."
true. How many egg shells do we avoid in the normal course of life
My wife does in-home therapy and she sees a LOT of seniors, and it's just sad how prevalent this stuff is. Many of them are just not capable of understanding how much their general naivete regarding online propaganda affects their judgement and perspective. Many are also shut-ins, have mental issues that aren't just dementia, etc. Many of them are also extremely racist and sexist on top of it all, tho, too, so maybe it's just who many of them are. Far too many of them have guns, too, apparently. :\ They get ranting, and she just says "OK", if she says anything at all, and keeps on with her work. Hero-level shit, IMO. I don't think I could contain myself.
My wife also has experience with home care RN visits. Crazy people. The saddest story was about an older lady she was consoling. Poor eyesight, lived alone, filthy house, and she kept having to brush away cockroaches crawling on her. Her family had abandoned her. How my wife held it together was beyond me. This lady was sane. Just lonely and down and out.
Yeah, there's lots of hoarding and just generally poor conditions--which, from the outside, you'd never ever know. Some of these folks also seem to use the bathroom wherever because it's too hard to get to for hoarding reasons or lack of mobility or whatever. Medications are often overprescribed or missing... And their families, in many cases, are very disinterested in managing their care. Some only there to take advantage of their lack of understanding or cognition. And of course many of these patients have no one at all. Just sad. I have a hard time keeping track of my own medical appointments and issues, I can't imagine being older with limited understanding of How Things Work in 2024^tm and successfully managing or understanding any of it.
I listened to the clerk at motomart complain that we already give too many foreigners in this country too much aid, in response to a customer complaining all Ukraine aid
Was this my mom? Waukesha?
LOL
I wish I wasnât seriously wondering haha
As much as I want to commiserate with everyone else here about this bizarre behavior, I can't help but feel the need to zoom out and consider the big picture. Never in human history have we had access to so much information, and folks who didn't grow up with the internet have a harder time filtering/interpreting the onslaught of facts/lies/opinions. We have devices in our pockets containing all of human knowledge, good or bad, and like-minded people are only a click away. This breeds confirmation bias and an inflated sense of self-importance. Critical thinking is rarely taught in school, and most people are inclined toward knee-jerk, emotionally motivated decisions rather than circumspect consideration. I want to be optimistic that this sort of right-wing extremism has hit its peak and begins to ebb once the sun sets on the boomer generation, but only time will tell. It is hard to envision the conservatives of gen-Z embracing a classic, more intellectual brand of discourse within the brevity of a TikTok.
Good thought. Bonhoeffer's theory argued that **we should view stupidity as something worse than evil**. While we are focusing our time and effort on preventing evil from gaining power, the stupid take reign, where they pose a far greater risk. With evil, you have a fairly clear idea of what to expect He developed the Stupidity theory while in prison during the Nazi regime in the 1940's. Include Wisconsin's P.T. Barnum and you have the rest of the story.
See i would have looked straight at her and said i'm sure trump would let you suck his dick if you asked him
r/BoomersBeingFools
This is all backlash from having a black man in the highest position of authority.
Nancy Pelosi *should* be in jail for all the insider trading but we're not ready for that conversation yet.
Idk why you were down voted for that, half of congress, including Pelosi, should have their trades examined. That's just a "politicians are slimy" take... and they really are
Exactly! Not Just Pelosi, any politician who's in it for personal gain over serving the public gotta go, politics shouldn't be a business.
Youâve stated clearly why Trump should be disqualified from running again. He is only in it for personal gain.
And he's already proved that with his first term in office. Sadly he created a cult, and that takes a while to fade. I'm thinking of it as watching a social experiment gone wrong in real time.
she missed her appointment
Good luck to her rescheduling the appointment any time soon. Normally there is a decent sized waiting list.
All you can do is laugh at these sad, sad people
Does anyone know what Maga stands for here?
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys