The same thing that President Joe Biden meant when he said “qualified voters”.
Thanks for a phrase that finally allows me to frame my own thought here.
Dehumanization is how cult leaders and fascist dictators lead their lemmings to believe in and commit atrocities.
Slapping catchy, derogatory labels on other groups of people to make them all seem identical is no different, regardless of the cause. It makes other human beings “the Other,” and opens the door not to fixing any problems or finding common ground, but to unending strife.
While I have no interest in being a Trump follower, I recognize that these people are human, too, and that cultish behavior exists in all belief systems and political parties. While finding a bridge to Trumpists who are so different than me seems almost impossible, I know people don’t change because others hate or look down on them, but I am not willing to foment my own hate, to stoop to their level, to make our world a better place. (Still working on how to do that)
ETA: IDK how to quote someone without replying directly to them. Sorry, this was just a general post based on your quoted statement.
I wonder if another ingredient to the problem is that America has this sort of all or nothing idea of punishment. Like either you simply forgive and forget or you completely destroy people. We see that both used as a way to resist accountability for white supremacists (they’re humans! they don’t deserve to be eradicated like vermin!) and in draconian punishment for others (they deserve punishment so this is what they get).
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I would say so, primarily because we go by the old testament concept of retribution and revenge rather a more new testament, mercy and justice based approach. Odd, given that so many Americans claim to be Christians!
That too!
Yes. White supremacy still reigns supreme.
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Yes, it is extremely hard to change a worldview. Challenging one (regardless of what it is) often results in violence before reason. When it comes to authoritarians there is also that observation that their numbers are quite stable, usually between 25% to 33%. You don’t try to change the unchangeable, you have to make sure this minority never gets real power. The real gamechanger are the people “in the middle”. When times get tough, conservative ideals start to look sexy, after all they also want what was lost, and when the world doesn’t work anymore, that whole “challenged world view” problem kicks in.
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