How do you de-radicalize people who are stupid enough to believe what Trump tells them ?
56-60, M
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
I'm not sure, but calling them deplorables sure as hell didn't do it.
I'm not sure that calling them stupid or uneducated helps either, because a lot of them aren't stupid and buy into the lies knowing they're lies because they genuinely think that lying is acceptable and justified because the other guy does it well and that the way to survive is to kill before some one kills you.
Cruz and Hawley both come to mind. I don't for a second believe that either of those guys don't know that Biden's win wasn't the result of massive election fraud, but they both supported and spread the lies because doing so benefitted them.
Can you force people to behave by punishing those who don't? Sure, you can some, but for many, all you're going to do is make them better at not being caught.
At this point, I'd settle for that, I guess, discouraging openly criminal and antisocial behavior, but I think the real key, which might not open any locks for a generation or so, is educating their children about the reason for laws and how, respecting them and other members of society can greater benefits than living in a pure state of nature where everyone is only out for themselves and even the strong who can kill or enslave the weak, don't enjoy the greater benefits of living in a cooperative society.
If we don't, sooner or later, the tribes who spend all their time fighting amongst themselves are going to be taken advantage of by bigger tribes or even just smarter ones.
I'm not sure that calling them stupid or uneducated helps either, because a lot of them aren't stupid and buy into the lies knowing they're lies because they genuinely think that lying is acceptable and justified because the other guy does it well and that the way to survive is to kill before some one kills you.
Cruz and Hawley both come to mind. I don't for a second believe that either of those guys don't know that Biden's win wasn't the result of massive election fraud, but they both supported and spread the lies because doing so benefitted them.
Can you force people to behave by punishing those who don't? Sure, you can some, but for many, all you're going to do is make them better at not being caught.
At this point, I'd settle for that, I guess, discouraging openly criminal and antisocial behavior, but I think the real key, which might not open any locks for a generation or so, is educating their children about the reason for laws and how, respecting them and other members of society can greater benefits than living in a pure state of nature where everyone is only out for themselves and even the strong who can kill or enslave the weak, don't enjoy the greater benefits of living in a cooperative society.
If we don't, sooner or later, the tribes who spend all their time fighting amongst themselves are going to be taken advantage of by bigger tribes or even just smarter ones.
This message was deleted by its author.
RodionRomanovitch · 56-60, M
@MistyCee "Mr. Hawley’s idea of freedom is the freedom to conform to what he and his preferred religious authorities know to be right. Mr. Hawley is not shy about making the point explicit. In a 2017 speech to the American Renewal Project, he declared — paraphrasing the Dutch Reformed theologian and onetime prime minister Abraham Kuyper — “There is not one square inch of all creation over which Jesus Christ is not Lord.”
From a piece in today's NYT which attempts to address in some measure what I'm getting at , although confined to the Republican Party itself rather than the plebs who tried to overrun the Capitol.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/opinion/josh-hawley-religion-democracy.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
(If you don't have a subscription I can copy and paste it for you.)
From a piece in today's NYT which attempts to address in some measure what I'm getting at , although confined to the Republican Party itself rather than the plebs who tried to overrun the Capitol.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/opinion/josh-hawley-religion-democracy.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
(If you don't have a subscription I can copy and paste it for you.)
@RodionRomanovitch Damn, that's more nauseating to me than Barr's justifications for his positions, but thanks for pointing it out.
I try not to get too deeply into religion here, because I actually do try and respect people's faith, and don't want to push my own issues with religion on others, but it does help to understand people's justifications for their positions. Honestly, I find discussions of religion and morality tedious, because all too often, it seems like anything can be justified by faith and a God told me so line.
I try not to get too deeply into religion here, because I actually do try and respect people's faith, and don't want to push my own issues with religion on others, but it does help to understand people's justifications for their positions. Honestly, I find discussions of religion and morality tedious, because all too often, it seems like anything can be justified by faith and a God told me so line.