How many times does Trump have to show us who he really is and tell us what he actually thinks before the MAGA cult begin to realize he isn't the very different person they've been insisting he is?
How many times does Trump have to show us who he really is and tell us what he actually thinks before the MAGA cult begin to realize he isn't the very different person they've been insisting he is?
There's about 30% of the population of the world (not just US) that has a proclivity toward authoritarianism in all its forms. Normally, that instinct is muted. However, in times of crisis, fear, etc. the switch is flipped on.
That switch was turned on in the US via conservative media (slowly + methodically) for decades. Stoking fear over ridiculous stuff, ya know "war on christmas" and all that. Now it's fully on, duct-taped down, locked into 'on' position with reinforced steel...well, you get the metaphor.
Even if they know it's all bs from Trump and he's nothing "like them" the self-aware ones (as Tim recounts in his fantastic book) have deluded themselves because they HATE (not disagree or dislike, actively HATE) the other side. Polarization at it's peak is bad and leads people to ignore reality in favor of team supporting fiction.
At this point, anything is justifiable and that's what is troubling. The trend isn't surprising, and Americans are no less immune to authoritarian tendencies than any other people. It's not a stretch to go from "the election was rigged, we should primary all the people who upheld the vote" to straight up violence and murder.
The way this ends is how former extremists exit hate groups. Slowly and painfully, one at a time, sometimes over years or even decades, with a lot of wavering and back-and-forth mixed in. Trump is just a figurehead that tied a lot of people to the GOP, but after he's gone the same tendencies that have been built up over decades remain.
The biggest component preventing the cracks in the wall from appearing is the conservative media ecosystem that's been built up, particularly online (plus a dash of Carlson's Fox News show to boot).
How many times does Trump have to show us who he really is and tell us what he actually thinks before the MAGA cult begin to realize he isn't the very different person they've been insisting he is?
There's about 30% of the population of the world (not just US) that has a proclivity toward authoritarianism in all its forms. Normally, that instinct is muted. However, in times of crisis, fear, etc. the switch is flipped on.
That switch was turned on in the US via conservative media (slowly + methodically) for decades. Stoking fear over ridiculous stuff, ya know "war on christmas" and all that. Now it's fully on, duct-taped down, locked into 'on' position with reinforced steel...well, you get the metaphor.
Even if they know it's all bs from Trump and he's nothing "like them" the self-aware ones (as Tim recounts in his fantastic book) have deluded themselves because they HATE (not disagree or dislike, actively HATE) the other side. Polarization at it's peak is bad and leads people to ignore reality in favor of team supporting fiction.
At this point, anything is justifiable and that's what is troubling. The trend isn't surprising, and Americans are no less immune to authoritarian tendencies than any other people. It's not a stretch to go from "the election was rigged, we should primary all the people who upheld the vote" to straight up violence and murder.
The way this ends is how former extremists exit hate groups. Slowly and painfully, one at a time, sometimes over years or even decades, with a lot of wavering and back-and-forth mixed in. Trump is just a figurehead that tied a lot of people to the GOP, but after he's gone the same tendencies that have been built up over decades remain.
The biggest component preventing the cracks in the wall from appearing is the conservative media ecosystem that's been built up, particularly online (plus a dash of Carlson's Fox News show to boot).
Well said