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'It's a cult': Former GOP lawmaker blames Republicans for contributing to the cult of Trump
(www.rawstory.com)
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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politics
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I have to admit that I have a bit of a failure of empathy when it comes to people who get sucked into cults. I understand many of them suffer from various psychological vulnerabilities, and if you're talking about someone with extremely low self-esteem or certainly an intellectual impairment, then fine, I get how they might be duped by a cult leader. But if you're basically mentally healthy, the signs of cultdom seem so obvious to me that I have a hard time understanding why they don't see them. I accept that they don't, but it's difficult for me to understand.
As such, this whole Trump thing has put me in a kind of political existential dilemma: I don't know that I will ever be able to see Trump supporters (~90% of conservatives) as mentally reliable people from now on. I don't mean to be dramatic; I go back and forth on this (hence it being a dilemma). At times, I tell myself, "it's not that bad, it can't be that bad," but then another poll comes out reporting that 3/4 of these folks really are forehead-deep in the Kool Aid.
The sad thing is this is my field! I work in mental health; I'm supposed to understand how this shit happens, and when it's a small group (like most cults) I...guess I just sort of write it off as an anomaly. But this is over 1/3 of the U.S. population. I've done a little research and the prevailing explanation seems to be groupthink and echo chambers—Trump supporters are just surrounded by each other and so when everyone you know seems to think these things are true, you reason that they can't all be wrong and agree based on that heuristic. But...really? No critical thinking?
I accept that this is a failing on my part though, because there are other examples of this in history. I guess seeing it play out in front of my eyes is just too surreal for me to handle. I don't know. I guess the scariest part is the idea that in theory this can happen to any group of people. Leftists are not immune, we just haven't had it happen to us yet. It's a truly depressing thought that our brains have this kind of innate software bug, but then again I guess it does explain a lot about human history.
it would seem to me that the intersection between certain flavors of religion, authoritarianism, faux patriotism, hate of the "other" and self loathing is a perfect catalyst for this national cult nightmare.
I agree, it is a sort of bug and deep down I think these people either want a rigid hierarchical society (where they are at least not the bottom rung) or are 100% willing to burn everything and everyone down to the ground - its binary with zero nuance or room for compromise. trump is the perfect guy for them.
I tend to witness it like you describe too. I do not see people saying "oh, we were wrong, the pandemic wasn't going to be over by Easter 2000 and it went on for years"... or really kind of admit that Fox News mislead them, or Alex Jones is a liar and they want to make sure that skills like his don't keep influencing the next generation.
Why can't people blame advertising for being fat... do you really need McDonald's and Burger King reminding you all the time that they have food? At what point do you realize the influence that can be scientifically measured with advertising is real. What would the side-effects be of too powerful of advertising, Donald Trump? Obesity icon? If an advert does not work, they change technique, media outlet, agency, or they run it at a different time, they very much measure the increased sales. At what point do you look at your brain and go - oh, I can't defend against weaponized snack food and soda. It's engineered to make me crave it.
It's a very personal experience. It really doesn't take long to be exposed to something, maybe even a movie, through advertising instead of a friend actually recommending it to you personally based on experience.
why would you want to live knowing there are profiting manipulating you to purchase things you don't really want and vote for people that don't deserve it, etc. At what point do you stand up and realize that those people are organized and learning what other people will accept and using it on you? What kind of freedom is this, and why do you want everyone else to be treated this way too.
sigh.