DumpingSh1tandBeingKind2
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Mar 6, 2025 3:08 PM
DumpingSh1tandBeingKind2
9106
583
5
bluemyles
I have a friend whose siblings are skilled aeronautical engineers working for the government in California, they were typical liberals but turned hard maga over the vaccine mandate and lockdowns. I can understand feeling like the vaccine mandate was overreach but I'll never understand how people so well educated go from that not entirely unreasonable position to 'trump will save us all'.
bluemyles
Oh and yes, they are likely losing their jobs.
CaptainDogWasTheBestDog
Thankfully my parents have done the reverse; we grew up conservative, went to catholic Sunday school, dad on the republican town hall side. Always told I’d get more conservative as I’ve aged. Not so for me! And slowly but steadily not so for my parents. There is hope, I hope!!
Banannagram13
My dad actually went the other way- used to vote Republican (considered himself fiscally conservative but socially liberal). I convinced him to vote for Hillary in 2016 and he’s voted Democrat every election since. Many of his friends are Trumpers, but he keeps the political dialogue open with them and tries to point out the flaws in their logic.
TsunamiWombat
I'm terrified of this happening to my parents. It hasn't fully taken them yet, but the people whose ethics and values I attribute my beliefs to... we don't share politics, lets just say. And I don't expect us to agree on everything, but it's awful. I in no way feel equipped to run interference and try to fill my parents lives with truth in the face of the sewer water being pumped into their minds. When I can reason with them, they're reasonable. But I can't always.
usernametakenisthestoryofmylife
The moment you start watching and believing in Fox News, something's wrong.
nickasaurusrex83
UK person here. A colleague at work showed me this amid some of the mental Trump stuff today. It's fucking insane. "What sort of husband goes grocery shopping with his wife". https://youtube.com/shorts/iioIuIg6AXc?si=IrsH7Zm9hJ_0UVPs
FoamingToad
That's insane. I (O->) probably shop more frequently than my partner. Why would that constitute an epithet? Stupid, stupid gateposting.
CarlBassett
I see lots of clearly husband and wife couples shopping in Asda and Tesco.
tonchandailvert
Does he think husbands don't eat? Or only eat what they grow? Is he gendering shops?
Polymathena
Whether attributed to Lenin, Goebbels, Murdoch, or Miller, tis a diabolical, time-tested tactic. Tell a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. Check out "truthiness" in the Bush II era. But the most important thing is how to overcome it.
Freakayou
It was 30 years ago in middle school. I sometimes still believe Marilyn mansion removed his bottom two ribs so he could give himself a BJ.
ToSisPoS
“That sounds like you aren’t with us, you terrorist!”
Polymathena
*Miller, ^et alii viri
levyathyn
Lead poisoning
MenloPart
I don't want to hate anyone and I feel suspicious of anyone complimenting me or telling me I am a victim.
DaisyfromDownunder
Recruiting PhDs for research & development roles in defence support industries showed me that PhiDiots were in good supply. A PhiDiot is an idiot with a PhD.
TofuGolem
If you think it's embarrasing to admit that you might be wrong, you haven't considered the humiliation involved in pretending to be right.
DumpingSh1tandBeingKind2
That's so fucking true!
masteryoplait
My acquaintance Bob said some economic pain “was worth getting rid of the Mexicans and Jews.” He said this to me a Latino with a straight face. The cheetah promised them to got after who they hate.
dviking
My Dad, who has voted conservative his whole adult life, has decided to start voting liberal instead. Having a trans granddaughter and a trans daughter helped him with that decision (also his brother has a trans grandson). Now the uphill battle to get other life long conservative voting family members to change their minds as well.
Maverickaura
i will admit, its become very difficult to not think of myself as the smartest person in any given room now. trump getting elected a second time did WONDERS curing my imposter syndrome. i live in florida, for context.
chipjack
You're definitely in the top 50% of the state. Unfortunately, with Florida's push to create dumber and dumber graduating classes, your position is destined to rise even higher over the coming years. With Elon pulling random parts out of the FAA to see what breaks, can't we get Ron DeSantis on planes more often? Surely he needs to fly somewhere, for something this week.
shawns11385772
My mom was never a saint, but she was much better than she is now. She's just a miserable old person now and pretty much only brings up politics when she wants to start a fight because I'm pretty sure making others miserable is the only thing that makes her happy these days.
I've long since given up on trying to stop her from supporting Trump and I'm just waiting for her to pass away so I can remember how she used to be instead of how she is now.
cjpoet
Trump et al convinced my brother that COVID was a Democrat hoax. I got to meet a lot of his friends at his funeral.
DumpingSh1tandBeingKind2
I'm so sorry for your loss , that's awful! Trump has so much to answer for!
LanceSackless
Im pretty sure my dad avoided the fox news trap because he knew his dad was a fucking idiot and his dad believed all that stuff
karlfrack
I've watched Fox and the brainwashed cult drones who watch it in doctor's office waiting rooms, car repair shops, barber shops, gyms, bars, and on and on and on. The people watching are of a type. Very weak critical thinking skills often coupled with low IQs. Fox plays right to them and they are caught. The people like those mentioned above are even sadder. Even somewhat intelligent people just wilt in the face of Fox propaganda. It explains the Trumptard cult so well.
MarkRavingMad
Boomer lead poisoning teed it up and FOX News kicked it in. Most of an entire generation ruined. Such a waste. The best we can hope for now is to clean up the mess after they're done.
rainbowsandunicorns575
Fuck, these stories are so sad.
OhIfIMust
prfesser
Needs more piss.
iggylights
This reminds me, I read an article that said so many people are pissing on Trump Tower in NYC that the police are just ignoring it now because it's too many for them to bother arresting.
MarkRavingMad
Thank you. I needed some good news today.
hyptosis
What a waste of good piss.
I always think of the saying "I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire."
I always think, "I would when he was done burning though."
lljkstonefish
"I wouldn't piss in his mouth if his teeth were on fire"
ImGoingToGoFallAsleepOnABench
There's the rub - Limbaugh is *never* done burning, and since the piss won't put it out where he is, might as well just let it flow onto his headstone.
Bubbells
It wasn't fox news, but my mother was the same. She used to believe in science and now she frequently is scammed by doterra, her spiritual therapist, astrology posts, and false news pushed by trump and McConnell. Every now and then I hear the woman who raised me to enjoy STEM, do experiments, and care for others. Frankly it's depressing to think about.
TheCobb1
You know what’s kinda crazy about this? My dad has been a staunch conservative his entire life. Made it to retirement in 2019. Started spending more time with his extremely republican neighbors and over the past 5 years, he’s actually become more liberal. He can’t stand that he can’t talk to his neighbor without homeboy going buck fuckin wild about the immigrants… he just wanted a quiet retirement with nice people to be old with, and he’s surrounded by hateful assholes.
MarkRavingMad
Same with my dad. Super mild mannered farm boy turned engineer. living in the middle of nowhere in retirement surrounded by red-hats. All my life he was center-right, but now when we talk politics he's basically talking about how if wealth inequality gets any worse people are gonna start hunting billionaires.
It's good to see the lead poisoning and Fox News didn't get all the boomers.
FoamingToad
Please don't take this as an insult, as it's not intended as such; but it's reassuring to hear that some people haven't succumbed to brain worms. Props to your father.
TheCobb1
lol I don’t take it as an insult. He could’ve easily fallen in line, and for a while he did advocate for Trump. He’s not a bleeding heart or anything, but in the least he sees through the trumpian bullshit.
FoamingToad
Good to hear. Thank you for the kind response.
TheCobb1
I’m here for a good time, not to make enemies. Have a nice night.
Subtilico
It would cost fox many millions to turn me!
meganical
Would it? What if they replaced their reporters with big-tiddy goths?
Subtilico
No matter how hot someone looks at 1st sight, the moment they start spouting dumb shit, they lose all attraction to me.
TheAnimalFactsGuy
My father was always short-tempered, but he was an animal-loving environmentally conscious former combat-field medic. Now he believes vaccines cause autism, global warming isn't real, and gets violently angry with anyone who disagrees with anything he says.
My mother was always Christian and always conservative, but now she's more vocal about her dislike of the LGBTQ community. Mostly how they should be strung up on meat hooks in public to suffer and die.
Glad I didn't turn out like either.
hyptosis
Yeah, same for my family, it's insane. Just watching their brains rot and if you try to help them they freak the fuck out.
DoingItWrongSince1980
No one is safe. I keep that always in my mind these days.
Every time I see something that contradicts what I think to be true, I revalidate my assumptions. I challenge them: what if I'm wrong and this is true? I look for guide posts and well established studies to anchor certain positions or invalidate others. Sometimes, I did miss something.
And then when I feel like this is protecting me, I question if now I'm now vulnerable because I feel safe.
I don't think these parents are doing that.
Xenarion
Same. And also: always try to understand other people. Why do they think that? Why do they act that way? There's always a reason.
MarkRavingMad
I'll never forget how they treated my LGBTQ friends, and how they keep passing abortion laws that, had they been in place, would have straight-up killed women I love by depriving them of miscarriage care. Forgiving them enough to even hear what they say would require a degree of soul searching I dont think I'm capable of.
Maybe that does make me susceptible to some kind of "Left wing propaganda" instead, but given our circumstances, I'll cross that bridge when and If we come to it.
cartherium
Nobody is immune to propaganda.
lonelyrangerofthedreams
You are right, but stil… JFC…
agburanar
Nobody is immune to propaganda, but not everyone is susceptible to the same propaganda.
There are innate personality traits that correlate with political leanings; the kind of propaganda that works on a more conservative person does not work as well on a more liberal person (and vice versa). I'm so far left the label "liberal" offends me; the Fox News style "woo scary immigrant" doesn't do it for me.
(The "woo scary rich dude" does work on me a bit too much.)
testzero
ARoseByAnotherUsernameWouldSmellAsSweet
That‘s what they want you to think
leshawk
I dont think people on imgur get how suceptible they are. Here are some imgur specific questions:
"Is the pope a bad person?" "Should we actively persecute the intolerant?" "Should rapists and child molesters be castrated or excecuted?" "Is religion inherently bad?" "Should we vote-shame people who abstained from voting in 2024 due to Gaza?"
If you can answer yes to any of these questions you are like, 70% of the way there. 90% if you don't know WHY that's a red flag
leshawk
Hint: "Do not commit the sin of empathy" is a line that aligns a lot with the mentality that would say "Yes" to these questions.
SchizoidPanda
That's called "guilt by association". Commonly used by propagandists. I'm beginning to doubt your honesty.
leshawk
I'm a bit confused? So basically saying "Here's some common questions that have similar thought framework as the points of view that lead to right wing rabbit holes" is guilt by association?
I feel like thats a dangerous way to think. If you're so busy trying to find propagandists outside yourself you start assuming even self reflection is propaganda
SchizoidPanda
Let me explain why it's a pernicious way of reasoning with an example.
I could use the same reasoning to argue that since animal rights was a part of nazi ideology, one should be wary that one doesn't accidentally become a nazi if one wants to care for stray dogs.
SchizoidPanda
So if I think the pope is a bad person because he has been enabling child abuse and hiding the evidence for it, I've fallen for propaganda? Do you mean to imply that all partisan stances have propagandistic support? Because the way your comment is phrased implies that you think one is wrong by agreeing with any of your examples, no matter one's reason. I hope I have misunderstood that.
leshawk
Has the pope himself been hiding evidence or is it a systemic issue that is easy to pin on him? Would the pope personally know of every hidden bit of information, or would the people hiding it also hide it from their superiors? Has it been unequivocally proven that the pope himself has been hiding evidence, or is that just assumed? Have you paid any attention to any of the popes other actions, or do you think that's just PR?
How easy was it for you to answer "Yes" instead of "I don't know?"
SchizoidPanda
So you think there has to be evidence that he "personally know of every hidden bit of information"? Very odd phrasing, there.
Yes, he knew. He may not have known all the information, but since he knew about at least ONE child abusing priest and chose to keep quiet, that's enough. I see I didn't misunderstand you, and it makes me sad. Your claim is not that one must have evidence for one's positions, but that some positions are indefensible by fiat. Are you Catholic, or was it coincidence?
leshawk
Which one did he know of and try to keep quiet about?
leshawk
I'm genuinely searching for information on this priest he hid and all I'm finding is how Pope Francis abolished church secrecy doctrines so that the authorities can more easily secure testimony. Can you explain what you're talking about? Give names or context so I can search?
sektorz
All if these stories always make me wonder if maybe our parents were replaced by other things that just look like they did because it almost seems like the plot of something like that.
Xenarion
Sadly they are humans, and this is why is worked on them.
meganical
Nah, my dad’s always been a fucking idiot. It was the divorce from my mom that left him wondering, “Now, who will tell me what to think?” and Fox News was right there telling him, “You are a special White man in America and we want you to feel victimized and enraged at those we tell you to not like because we know you were raised racist and sexist but we want you to think it’s okay and even good to be this way.”
MarkRavingMad
Boomers got exposed to a LOT of lead as kids. Lead accumulates in the bones. You reach a certain age and your bones start decaying. Studies have found boomers to have way more lead in their blood than their current environments would suggest. Common symptoms of excessive lead exposure include paranoia, irritability, and degraded reasoning and impulse control.
Long story short: Leaded gasoline teed up the ball in the 50's, then 50 years later FOX came along to kick it over the line.
sektorz
Goddamn, this is good information. At least this way I can see that these people's anger isnt always necessarily their fault. Thank you for this explanation, truly.
anotherrandomname
As a contractor, I've spent a considerable amount of time in peoples homes where they leave Faux News on all day long. It's appalling the BS psychological games they play to trick people into towing the party line. The programming and propaganda is so obvious to me that I wonder how other reasonably intelligent people fall for it?
meganical
They want their hatred for specific persons to be validated so they can tell themselves, “There! See! I knew I wasn’t racist, sexist, or prejudice but that those people were bad all along!”
misstuttlebaughtham
My well educated sib & spouse, business owners, upstanding pillars of the community leave fux news on all day, in the car it's on their sirus radio, on their phone it's updates from fux, noose nation and drumps social media + twitter. Me just no comprende.
nosuchthingasanoriginalthought
I’m so sorry
MarkRavingMad
In a changing world, having someone say "Noooo you're right. all this new and different stuff IS wrong and scary!" is a helluva drug.
Also, media literacy just isn't evenly divided across the political spectrum. You ever notice how the a lot of conservatives think FOX is just "The News", while there seems to be very little confusion on the left about the fact that, say, msnbc is editorial content?
The701
Also in businesses with waiting areas. I'm in a county that keeps flipping between Democrats and Republicans in elections, but Fox News is on the TVs in A LOT of businesses here.
NEWS ALERT! It's time for another injection of FEAR and HATE!!!
misstuttlebaughtham
Always fun when you're waiting for your colonoscopy and you hear "JUST IN! DONALD TrUmP...blah blah blah..." Dear lord, HE is NOT the last thing I want to think about before Imma bout to get a camera in my butt!
The701
It's a nonstop, addicting feed of a slow-acting mental poison.
nosuchthingasanoriginalthought
Well fucking said
Quizz25S
I can't stand it. You can't listen to it for 5 minutes without them peddling some bullshit lie. My dad knows how we feel and "threatens" to turn it on as a joke. For fuck's sake.
tryingmybest1
It’s infotainment. They are all the same. CNN, MSNBC, Fox. They have a niche market and pander to it.
dickdrizzle2
There is no way you have watched them all.recently and can say that with a straight face.
tryingmybest1
I have. Fox is easily the worst but thats unrelated to CNN and MSNBC being infotainment as well.
dickdrizzle2
Thank you, TV scientist.
anotherrandomname
They are NOT "all the same". While different organizations may have certain biases and cater to a certain type of viewer, I have never seen any use lies and manipulation in the way that Fox has.
hyptosis
Yeah, it always seems like it isn't even good at it. Like it's a joke channel from Robocop or something, but here we are.
rjkardo
The news in Idiocracy
HowlingRollercoaster2
id buy that for a dollar
hyptosis
Xenarion
This is also a reminder that people aren't doing bad things because they are fundamentally evil at their core and just went "mask off". They are being manipulated, brainwashed, conditioned, gradually overtime.
chipjack
Liberals seem to see crime as a thing someone might do, whereas conservatives seem to think "some people are criminals". From that perspective, a "criminal" should be locked up, whether they've been found guilty of some particular crime or not, while forgiving "non-criminals" who just made a poor decision once for nearly any crime at all, from embezzlement to rape. Liberals view it as a social problem, whilst conservatives use it as an excuse to lock up people they don't like.
Xenarion
Sadly I was more thinking of how the people here tend to see Republican voters...
jfrhvkm26r
There is, in reality, a fundamental difference between the conservative mind and the liberal mind. The conservative mind sees the existing hierarchical power structure as inherently just, and will believe whatever it needs to in order to rationalize that fundamental axiom. This is the root of all right-wing propaganda. ___ threatens the status quo, and with it, your tenuous place within it.
chipjack
I see. Here's the thing, though. You're right, they're victims of manipulation. Their proclivity for wanting to hurt gay people, transgender people, brown-skinned people, people from other cultures who are different, that's been used against them. And yes, they acquired that from their upbringing, they didn't choose it. They're mentally ill. But they think trans people are mentally ill as well, and they want them rounded up into camps and forcibly detransitioned. You can't reason with that.