Stupidity, in the common sense, has little to do with it. We all have things that we are willfully ignorant of. Willful ignorance is symptomatic of humanity... which is why it is pernicious and so hard to deal with.
The problem is that a large portion of humanity--at least in the Western World and in the upper echelons of the socio-economic hierarchy--lives in detachment from objective reality.
And, in the upper echelons, when objective reality comes knocking at the door, you usually are not the one that has to pay the bill. The peons, in the form of the government, will pay the bill for you... or you will flat out be forgiven because you are famous and rich... or you have good lawyers... or the corporation takes the hit, not you.
These people like to talk about risk and reward, but the reality is that they do not face risks of the same type and level as "regular people." The people that lose everything because of an unexpected medial bill.. or they get hurt.. or they get sick (or their kids or spouse)... and they end up broke and homeless. Oh noes, Mr. Corp Exec might end up as mere multi-millionaire or might have to resign their job, collect their golden parachute and then get a similar job a bit later. They have medical insurance to cover things. Assets to fall back on.
Is willful ignorance always indicative of stupidity? We all choose our information sources, at least most in this country do.
Stupidity, in the common sense, has little to do with it. We all have things that we are willfully ignorant of. Willful ignorance is symptomatic of humanity... which is why it is pernicious and so hard to deal with.
If one chooses to be (willfully) ignorant of objective reality that choice is going to get someone hurt.
The red light means Stop, no matter what Trump said about it.
The problem is that a large portion of humanity--at least in the Western World and in the upper echelons of the socio-economic hierarchy--lives in detachment from objective reality.
And, in the upper echelons, when objective reality comes knocking at the door, you usually are not the one that has to pay the bill. The peons, in the form of the government, will pay the bill for you... or you will flat out be forgiven because you are famous and rich... or you have good lawyers... or the corporation takes the hit, not you.
These people like to talk about risk and reward, but the reality is that they do not face risks of the same type and level as "regular people." The people that lose everything because of an unexpected medial bill.. or they get hurt.. or they get sick (or their kids or spouse)... and they end up broke and homeless. Oh noes, Mr. Corp Exec might end up as mere multi-millionaire or might have to resign their job, collect their golden parachute and then get a similar job a bit later. They have medical insurance to cover things. Assets to fall back on.
You might find this interesting.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/12/january-6-insurrection-us-capitol-riots.html