And worst of all, often a complete unwillingness to learn. So many are proudly closeminded.
[deleted] on
I’ve noticed that part of the problem is that our systems are kept deliberately obscure and confusing because the powers that be don’t want people questioning or engaging with it. I’ve seen this in issues from tax code to our immigration and asylum system. Fewer people can emigrate if they can’t navigate through the immigration system.
So yes, a lot of these people are rock-stupid, but it’s not like anyone has gone out of their way to educate them.
Wyrdeone on
In their defense, many of them are not stupid, they are brainwashed. It’s literally a cult, and intelligence is no guarantee against indoctrination.
Look at some of his past supporters, doctors, lawyers, scientists even, in rare instances! They’re not dumb, they’re affected.
There is very real science behind his appeal, if you look at research into authoritarianism and the mechanisms by which it works.
Putting it simply, some people are rendered powerless when in the presence of someone perceived to be very powerful. It’s a deer and headlights situation…
modernhedgewitch on
I have! My sister in law. We actually had a full conversation about ALL THE THINGS, and it was great. We see each other often, so this will continue until the election for sure.
But, otherwise, no. Lost cause.
DanielTheEunuch on
Furthermore they will deny evidence, facts, and reality if they conflict with their beliefs.
CudjoeKey on
Most of my extended family who all are GOP are not voting for trump this time. It’s not worth asking why they originally voted for him, or why they changed their mind now because they will say something stupid.
First_Play5335 on
Had one last night right here. Claimed they cared about the border and they agreed Trump was childish but refused to see that Trump’s childishness had prevented the very thing they cared about. I hate them.
WaitingForNormal on
They’ve demonized education to the point that being smart is elitist.
TroublePair0Dice on
Oh but the corporate tax rate
Crutley on
The gaslighting loop also known as the right wing media has spawned cosplay politicians and maliciously misinformed voters, stoked them with racist and sexist malevolence, and set them against our democratic principles.
I don’t want a Civil War and neither do you. But they need to be stopped and it may not end at the ballot box.
outsidehere on
Have you ever met a delusional sports team fan who tries to argue that their team is going to win, the refs are cheating all the time but EXTREMELY MAXED OUT? Trump supporter
Wirehed on
I feel like you’re lucky, everyone of these I’ve talked to say something incredibly racist within a few minutes of conversation.
KebariKaiju on
I find that they’re consuming media from insanely unreliable sources and dogmatically attached to the idea that they’re in on some big secret truths and everyone else is deluded.
mike2ff on
Willful ignorance. They don’t care about facts or truth. He says and does mean stuff to groups of people they don’t like, and that makes him a hero.
You thinking you’re going to break thru with logic & facts is like Charlie Brown thinking Lucy is actually gonna hold that football still.
Klutzy-Ad-6705 on
Ignorance isn’t the same as stupidity,unless it’s willful ignorance.
DickySchmidt33 on
I’ve run out of patience listening to people insist that 2+2 doesn’t *have to* equal 4 if they don’t think it should.
They will tell you that 2+2=4 is just your opinion. They read a study that said that sometimes 2+2 equals something else and they’ve decided to believe that instead.
bitee1 on
There is a reason Trump held up a bible outside a church during the height of BLM and that he is selling bibles. It has everything with his people being proudly gullible and Faith being intellectual dishonesty made into an elite virtue.
DrLaneDownUnder on
It’s not just that they’re stupid/ignorant. I’ve taken a Trump supporter to task for not knowing the reason his kids get free school meals is because he lives in blue Massachusetts, and Republicans are trying to get rid of it everywhere. When he finally acknowledged the point, his response was, “oh well, at least they’re not butchering 6 year olds over made-up gender.”
They’re stupid because they don’t care if they’re wrong. They just like that Trump has made it okay for them to be open bigots.
Gnostikost on
100% this.
Tons of examples, but one in particular I remember a conversation during Covid where the MAGA cultist was arguing masks don’t work because the Covid virus is too small. I told him that the virus when expelled from our mouth or nose is suspended in water molecules which are much larger and are indeed blocked by masks, which is why they have been used in sterile environments like operating rooms for a century or more.
He looked at me silently for a second like his brain was rebooting, and for a second I thought maybe…maybe…and then he went back to insisting that masks were a tool of Democrats to make Republicans look bad or something as if nothing had ever happened.
Gnostikost on
Yep.
I have stopped saying whether people “believe in Climate Change” and started using the more accurate characterization of whether people “understand Climate Change”.
DinkandDrunk on
You cannot have an honest argument with someone living in an entirely different reality. It can’t be done.
I know that works both ways, but in my reality I have verifiable facts and sources to backup my thoughts. I’ve spent time wrestling with the nuance of issues. Im probably harboring some bias; we all do. I’m still genuinely open to common ground. Unfortunately, most of the conservatives I encounter in the world cite Facebook and feelings, and I can’t work with that.
howardzen12 on
They have been brainwashed.Also they are very ignorant.
Meb2x on
It’s not that they don’t have the facts, it’s that they don’t believe them. My ultra-conservative boss this morning was literally talking about FEMA withholding money and Dems controlling the weather. No amount of facts or logic can drill through that level of willful ignorance
rangoric on
Was ‘discussing’ abortion laws in Texas, and how restrictive they are.
He said no that’s not the law anywhere.
I linked him the Texas State Law Library.
He said the SLL isn’t the LAW itself.
Then links me 1 speech by the Governor saying one thing that is easily disproven, then links me the Texas law itself (that says what I said), a random website that agrees with me, and another law that expands the first and still agrees with me. In addition to the MN state legislature site that has a different law (obviously) than Texas.
Then declared victory because I wouldn’t read the law from MN.
Like after a bit I was quoting the websites he linked to and not even having to look anything up. He did it for me.
zefal12 on
Dont be ridiculous.
Sometimes its because they’re racist
LonelyHunterHeart on
They tell me I’m stupid. Always in a paragraph of misspelled words.
They make a bunch of wrong assumptions about who I am and what I believe.
They inevitably resort to lines like “cope” and “cry about it.”
It’s completely predictable. They have no original thoughts.
xpacean on
I actually have conversations with smart, reasonably well informed GOP supporters all the time. See, they’re just assholes. That’s the problem.
extopico on
You should do it on LinkedIn so that both of your entire networks can admire the stupidity.
Trump supporters are so incredibly dumb and seemingly pathologically incapable of holding more than several variables in their mind simultaneously that it is impossible for them to even contemplate how two things can be true at the same time. This makes it impossible for them to process objective information.
BurstEDO on
The author is not alone.
MAGA eradicated bipartisanship. They’re actively holding up progress unless they get 100% of their demands met. That’s not deliberation; that’s holding the nation hostage.
And that’s what their fans have come to demand. Why get anything accomplished when stonewalling can be blamed on the opposition to bolster more grifting and political capital?
30 Comments
And worst of all, often a complete unwillingness to learn. So many are proudly closeminded.
I’ve noticed that part of the problem is that our systems are kept deliberately obscure and confusing because the powers that be don’t want people questioning or engaging with it. I’ve seen this in issues from tax code to our immigration and asylum system. Fewer people can emigrate if they can’t navigate through the immigration system.
So yes, a lot of these people are rock-stupid, but it’s not like anyone has gone out of their way to educate them.
In their defense, many of them are not stupid, they are brainwashed. It’s literally a cult, and intelligence is no guarantee against indoctrination.
Look at some of his past supporters, doctors, lawyers, scientists even, in rare instances! They’re not dumb, they’re affected.
There is very real science behind his appeal, if you look at research into authoritarianism and the mechanisms by which it works.
Putting it simply, some people are rendered powerless when in the presence of someone perceived to be very powerful. It’s a deer and headlights situation…
I have! My sister in law. We actually had a full conversation about ALL THE THINGS, and it was great. We see each other often, so this will continue until the election for sure.
But, otherwise, no. Lost cause.
Furthermore they will deny evidence, facts, and reality if they conflict with their beliefs.
Most of my extended family who all are GOP are not voting for trump this time. It’s not worth asking why they originally voted for him, or why they changed their mind now because they will say something stupid.
Had one last night right here. Claimed they cared about the border and they agreed Trump was childish but refused to see that Trump’s childishness had prevented the very thing they cared about. I hate them.
They’ve demonized education to the point that being smart is elitist.
Oh but the corporate tax rate
The gaslighting loop also known as the right wing media has spawned cosplay politicians and maliciously misinformed voters, stoked them with racist and sexist malevolence, and set them against our democratic principles.
I don’t want a Civil War and neither do you. But they need to be stopped and it may not end at the ballot box.
Have you ever met a delusional sports team fan who tries to argue that their team is going to win, the refs are cheating all the time but EXTREMELY MAXED OUT? Trump supporter
I feel like you’re lucky, everyone of these I’ve talked to say something incredibly racist within a few minutes of conversation.
I find that they’re consuming media from insanely unreliable sources and dogmatically attached to the idea that they’re in on some big secret truths and everyone else is deluded.
Willful ignorance. They don’t care about facts or truth. He says and does mean stuff to groups of people they don’t like, and that makes him a hero.
You thinking you’re going to break thru with logic & facts is like Charlie Brown thinking Lucy is actually gonna hold that football still.
Ignorance isn’t the same as stupidity,unless it’s willful ignorance.
I’ve run out of patience listening to people insist that 2+2 doesn’t *have to* equal 4 if they don’t think it should.
They will tell you that 2+2=4 is just your opinion. They read a study that said that sometimes 2+2 equals something else and they’ve decided to believe that instead.
There is a reason Trump held up a bible outside a church during the height of BLM and that he is selling bibles. It has everything with his people being proudly gullible and Faith being intellectual dishonesty made into an elite virtue.
It’s not just that they’re stupid/ignorant. I’ve taken a Trump supporter to task for not knowing the reason his kids get free school meals is because he lives in blue Massachusetts, and Republicans are trying to get rid of it everywhere. When he finally acknowledged the point, his response was, “oh well, at least they’re not butchering 6 year olds over made-up gender.”
They’re stupid because they don’t care if they’re wrong. They just like that Trump has made it okay for them to be open bigots.
100% this.
Tons of examples, but one in particular I remember a conversation during Covid where the MAGA cultist was arguing masks don’t work because the Covid virus is too small. I told him that the virus when expelled from our mouth or nose is suspended in water molecules which are much larger and are indeed blocked by masks, which is why they have been used in sterile environments like operating rooms for a century or more.
He looked at me silently for a second like his brain was rebooting, and for a second I thought maybe…maybe…and then he went back to insisting that masks were a tool of Democrats to make Republicans look bad or something as if nothing had ever happened.
Yep.
I have stopped saying whether people “believe in Climate Change” and started using the more accurate characterization of whether people “understand Climate Change”.
You cannot have an honest argument with someone living in an entirely different reality. It can’t be done.
I know that works both ways, but in my reality I have verifiable facts and sources to backup my thoughts. I’ve spent time wrestling with the nuance of issues. Im probably harboring some bias; we all do. I’m still genuinely open to common ground. Unfortunately, most of the conservatives I encounter in the world cite Facebook and feelings, and I can’t work with that.
They have been brainwashed.Also they are very ignorant.
It’s not that they don’t have the facts, it’s that they don’t believe them. My ultra-conservative boss this morning was literally talking about FEMA withholding money and Dems controlling the weather. No amount of facts or logic can drill through that level of willful ignorance
Was ‘discussing’ abortion laws in Texas, and how restrictive they are.
He said no that’s not the law anywhere.
I linked him the Texas State Law Library.
He said the SLL isn’t the LAW itself.
Then links me 1 speech by the Governor saying one thing that is easily disproven, then links me the Texas law itself (that says what I said), a random website that agrees with me, and another law that expands the first and still agrees with me. In addition to the MN state legislature site that has a different law (obviously) than Texas.
Then declared victory because I wouldn’t read the law from MN.
Like after a bit I was quoting the websites he linked to and not even having to look anything up. He did it for me.
Dont be ridiculous.
Sometimes its because they’re racist
They tell me I’m stupid. Always in a paragraph of misspelled words.
They make a bunch of wrong assumptions about who I am and what I believe.
They inevitably resort to lines like “cope” and “cry about it.”
It’s completely predictable. They have no original thoughts.
I actually have conversations with smart, reasonably well informed GOP supporters all the time. See, they’re just assholes. That’s the problem.
You should do it on LinkedIn so that both of your entire networks can admire the stupidity.
Trump supporters are so incredibly dumb and seemingly pathologically incapable of holding more than several variables in their mind simultaneously that it is impossible for them to even contemplate how two things can be true at the same time. This makes it impossible for them to process objective information.
The author is not alone.
MAGA eradicated bipartisanship. They’re actively holding up progress unless they get 100% of their demands met. That’s not deliberation; that’s holding the nation hostage.
And that’s what their fans have come to demand. Why get anything accomplished when stonewalling can be blamed on the opposition to bolster more grifting and political capital?
We have allowed stupidity to become a virtue.
MAGAts are stupid and proud of it.