I really… really… want to comment on this, but… I can’t. I honestly don’t know what to say to this.
It’s terrifying, frankly.
What I will say is this… one thing many people say, and really do believe, in many cases, is that these conservatives and these conservative ideals are dying out. However, that belies a lack of understanding of how things get passed on from generation to generation. Sure, people are getting older today, but they’re also having children and grand-children who are being brought up to believe the same things. These extreme right-wing views infect each generation like a virus, and I don’t see the virus going extinct any time soon…
From Alternet… (ignore the rather hyperbolic title)
By any metric, Donald Trump’s first 60 days in office have been among the most turbulent in American presidential history. On Wednesday night, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota attempted to find out if Trump voters would agree. Her focus group left her positively dumbstruck.
Well… no, not “dumbstruck”… just surprised and not entirely sure how to respond…
“Health care, some people put in the ‘loss’ column; the travel ban is not yet in effect; the budget has not gotten a hearty agreementl; he said he’d get rid of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) right away; he said he’d get rid of the Iran Nuclear Deal; the wall hasn’t been built; he hasn’t defeated ISIS in 30 days,” she rattled off. “How long realistically would you give him to accomplish some of those things?”
“Two years,” Sara Marie Brenner, former Delaware County Chairman for Trump Campaign answered. Others offered no time frame.
Camerota also discovered that the panel still believed Trump’s claims of voter fraud, despite his failing to proof a shred of evidence.
“He got elected, and we don’t know, as far as the votes and fraud and everything else,” said guest Billy Bae.
*sigh*
Sorry for this, but… here’s the video…
(Quick commenting note… if you choose to comment on this, please try hard to avoid ableist language. Yes, I do indeed consider words like “stupid”, “idiot”, “moron”, “dumb”, etc to be ableist. This is not the post to discuss that, however. I am working on a post about ableism, and moderated discussions can be had there when that’s up. I’m also working on a commenting policy [finally], and this will be worked into that. But for now, as this is my blog, I ask that you respect this request, both here and on future posts. Thank you.)
How about “cognitive dissonance”?
They’re frustrating -- extremely frustrating -- in their willful disconnect from reality. They don’t want to believe anything bad about the one they elected, so they have to pretend everything’s going great.
Ignorant works. Especially when preceded by willful. Morally bankrupt works. I’ll swing by for the ableist language post. Splash damage free insults are going to be a growth industry, i think.
We seem to be facing what I call Dawkins’s Tetralemma: … ignorant, [s-word] or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).
All four factors seem in play here: would our esteemed host rather have an unoffensive analysis or an honest one?
Fwiw, I also see tribalism and blue lies, driven by very real economic/healthcare stresses, exacerbated by religious and political demagogues and inextricably interwoven with bigotry and hypocrisy. Any “cure” will have to include drastic improvements in education and child-rearing, but exactly what those should involve, how to get to a situation where those can get stared, and how to survive in the meanwhile … somebody give me a hand here!
Ahem! @ my # 4: pls read as “… where those can get started…”
@Pierce R. Butler… It’s possible to have an honest (and even offensive!) analysis without being ableist, but like I said… that can be discussed when I get the post on ableism up.
Like your analysis there: tribalism, blue lies, and the idea for a “cure”. Perfectly great analysis without splash damage.
Donald’s approval rating is at about 42%. That’s very close to half of the US looking at his administration and saying, “Yup, that’s all good.”