Seriously, they are both former military, my dad was in for like 30 years, how do they like the drunk secretary? I get that he saw combat, but being in combat doesn’t automatically make you qualified for… well anything except therapy and medical care.
The comments here are wild. So much judgement about people we literally know one single thing about.
There should really only be one answer to this question: “I dunno. Why don’t you ask them?”
Just because your parents like some guy that they’ve never met doesnt mean they are evil, sociopathic, racist monsters. The most likely explaination is that they got walked down the right wing media rabbithole by some network of acquaintences, and now they are trapped in a fairy tale depiction of the world designed to appeal to their baser emotions.
People believe in bigfoot and the flat earth. Why? Mostly because they feel lonely and powerless, and want to feel like they are part of a group that is united in their knowledge of The Truth.
Most reasonable answer. Propaganda is insidious. It is subtle, it can latch onto anything. It could be racism, that’s one thing sure. It could be that they wanted lower taxes and over time it slowly convinced them it was all of the others. It could be anything. To assume like this, well, it’s exactly why the right has so much just reasoning when saying we’re quick to throw the racism card. Because, well just look at this thread.
Right, and those who supported Hitler were just poor misinformed good people.
I think it depends on what you mean by “supported”. But during the Nazi regime, the vast majority of Germans were, in some way or another, working to support the Nazis. But after the Nazis were defeated, the Germans became one of the most progressive people in the world. And these were the same people.
Yours is the best answer but my kneejerk gut feeling is:
Edit: The ‘you’ in this image refers to OP’s parents.
I think their just trapped in a bubble of bad info and are influenced by racism subconsciously. I KNOW my parents aren’t bad people, but they sure as hell arent talking like good people or even well thought-out people.
I guess I just thought my parents were smarter, that they could see through this admins BS. They seriously claim that Trump is doing much better than Biden, but I talk to everyone I know, and they are all having money problems, food insecurity and housing problems, all being made worse under Trump.
I think my parents are just selfish. And it breaks my heart that they are betraying everything I thought I learned from them. I guess maybe they didnt influence me as much as I thought.
It was kind of funny though, because my husband was like, “Now you know how I feel.” At least they are a-okay with me and my husband, though, at this rate, I’m worried that wont be the case in a couple years.
I’m getting pretty convinced that as people get older, they get more selfish. The evidence is all anecdotal for me, but perhaps the mentality of “I don’t have much time left, better get mine” creeps in for those who aren’t satisfied with what they have. (Which, of course, is doubly so for those who were already selfish)
But yeah that propaganda “news” is a powerful bitch.
Recently I have been looking at how ai is likely to impact my job. There are things I would do career-wise, if I were in my twenties, that are not realistic at my age.
Ageism exists, so does the simple fact that an employee in their twenties can put in much longer hours (at least until they burn out) than I (who was worked to burnout in my 20’s/30’s).
I have to think carefully about what I am going to be able to do as I get older and weaker, in what I am sure is going to be a more economically constrained time.
That “I don’t have much time left, better get mine” can be driven by fear, or legitimate concern, rather than selfishness, at least in some cases. Yeah others just want to pull up the drawbridge when they get economically secure. Capitalism pits us against each other, join a union, vote for genuine socialists or similar, or read a few books and try and change things.
So you know, sociopathic racists.
Or white people who’ve never thought of the wider world. Yeah, there’s racism there, but that’s mostly fear of the unknown. Not excusing racists, just saying that people know what they know and conservative propaganda reaches them faster because it meets them where they are (afraid of the unknown and not knowing anyone who isn’t white)
The biggest mistake I think people make is they automatically assume racists must be misinformed or tricked or stupid. When they can be intelligent and know more, and it comes down to simply not liking a certain group for existing and wanting to reduce those groups influence and population within their country. And that can be despite them seeing more of the world than other people.
I think this automatic assumption of wanting to believe they are dumb or tricked is why they have successfully gained traction, since people still keep underestimating their intelligence and planning. Its like people just don’t want to believe people can actually be evil at their core.