The U.S. will mark the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Saturday, a milestone that will confer upon the reality-dwelling citizenry a grim reminder of the potency of propaganda and how quickly it can warp perception when introduced into the public square.
Just three years ago, most of the country watched with dismay and horror as a violent MAGA mob beat back authorities and stormed the country’s citadel of democracy. The Donald Trump-incited crush of disillusioned rioters, fueled by a stream of fantastical lies, believed that the 2020 election had been stolen by sinister forces working to undermine the democratic election.
Of course, not only was their belief flatly incorrect, but evidence later emerged indicating that it was Trump who, in fact, had tried to subvert democracy.
Facts, however, have little bearing on the sentiment inside the Republican Party, which has been fed a steady diet of lies and half-truths by Fox News and the rest of the sprawling right-wing media machine. To wit, the false notion that Joe Biden nefariously stole the 2020 election is now widely shared inside the GOP. A CNN poll conducted over the summer found that nearly 70% of Republicans believe Biden’s win was not legitimate, a number that has continued to tick up.
I think people are too literal when trying to understand each other. If someone says they believe in god, it means they identify as someone who believes in god. If someone says they think the election was stolen, it means they identify as someone who thinks the election was stolen. You don’t defeat this with direct education / facts, you give these people an out. They need identities that are constructive and based in reality. Friends, family, culture… it all needs to be rewritten. Then they’ll “believe” in reality.
So why don’t they adopt an identity based in reality like the rest of us?
Is it because they want to hate demographics and the one media that supports that pushes irrational thought because their core components are irrational and it’s easier to control them like that? I’m actually asking, because that’s my best guess.
Unfortunately, yes. Main Street never came back with Wall Street and Hillary never set foot in the rust belt. They’re hurt and afraid. I’m compassion fatigued to give a pass on Nazism but this is their explanation.
Nazis don’t get a pass. People who advocate for violence against people they don’t like don’t get a pass. IDGAF. I’ve tried being open and receptive and all that (this “offramp” idea,) but at least here in the Bible belt all the bigotry and hate is tied directly into the religious suspension of disbelief and they’re not interested in entertaining any ideas that aren’t from their Fox News (or wherever) prophets.
Because reality is a neverending nightmare.
Nobody has the time for that.
That’s an excellent point and probably why things only continue to get worse