Hi Stephanie. I so feel you. My little brother is MAGA and we currently aren't talking in part because I shared facts with him showing that the highest crime states are all Red states. He'd been fixated on the "high crime blue cities" that the regime has been targeting without understanding that per capita red states have a much bigger problem. The facts I shared challenged his worldview so much that he got angry. He blamed Mississippi's high crime rate on the large population of young black men (sadly). My brother is career military, has a master's degree and isn't stupid but he definitely is down the right-wing media rabbit hole. I to am mystified that a relatively large part of our population are still behind the policies and tone of the Trump/Project 2025 regime. I think for them their identity is so tied to this worldview that they are unable to switch. I'm encouraged that Rachel Maddow recently reported that about 30% of Americans identify as supporting MAGA and about 43% identify as supporting the No Kings movement. That is extraordinary given that this is a new movement with no definitive leader, etc. A book that has really helped me in my communications with people on the other side of the political spectrum is How to Have Impossible Conversations by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay. Another thing that gives me hope is that the dark forces are now losing the culture war. I wrote about that here --https://cylviahayes.substack.com/p/real-strength-doesnt-require-dress. And that was before the elections on Monday.
Check out leavingmaga.org. There is hope because some people are leaving maga and they have a free guide on how to talk with those in the maga community. It's written by someone who took well over a year to leave maga by his own self-reflection and determination.
Thank you for reading and for that resource, Celena. A brief glance was already therapeutic. This especially: "Though I supported Trump and MAGA for what I thought were the right reasons, I was wrong, and I will work as long as necessary to make amends."
Jeff-Ep and the economy will sink them for years. It may even kill the party.
My worry is that we will elect some corporate shill on good vibes and they will rebuild without reforming.
For if we don’t fix the most important of the most broken parts of the system, such as the medicare for all or paring down the surveillance-, military-, and ethic cleansing/prison industrial complexes..
..then I fret that the next evil demagogue to try and king themselves won’t be quite so old, stupid, or demented.
Honestly, one of the big reasons we even have a chance against MAGA is that they’re as ignorant & deranged as they are cruel & selfish.
I feel those fears too, Noel. There are so many possibilities up in the air right now, and so many of them are truly disturbing. Thank you for sharing this, and thank you for reading.
The sleeping giant has been awoken, but not yet fully mobilized. We need to keep pushing, making progress every day, in the ways that each of us can.
"We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." – Eleanor Roosevelt
Then there are the friends and family who are what I've come to call "closet Maga". Won't stand for anything. They don't wear the red merchandise or publicly espouse the sexist, racist, hateful beliefs exactly but will rationalize away a lot of what is happening because it's not directly impacting them.
They'll continue down this path until the midterm brownshirts come for them. (Yes, a reference to the WWII poem I am too tired to look up just now)
You might look at leavingmaga.org I have not had a chance to read stories, but I've heard the founder's (Rich Logis) story and one other person. I highly recommend reading Rich's story, it will restore your faith in humanity.
Regarding your approach, I was thinking, what if that deep suspension of judgement creates data so pristine it truely elevates future AI model training?
Hi Stephanie. I so feel you. My little brother is MAGA and we currently aren't talking in part because I shared facts with him showing that the highest crime states are all Red states. He'd been fixated on the "high crime blue cities" that the regime has been targeting without understanding that per capita red states have a much bigger problem. The facts I shared challenged his worldview so much that he got angry. He blamed Mississippi's high crime rate on the large population of young black men (sadly). My brother is career military, has a master's degree and isn't stupid but he definitely is down the right-wing media rabbit hole. I to am mystified that a relatively large part of our population are still behind the policies and tone of the Trump/Project 2025 regime. I think for them their identity is so tied to this worldview that they are unable to switch. I'm encouraged that Rachel Maddow recently reported that about 30% of Americans identify as supporting MAGA and about 43% identify as supporting the No Kings movement. That is extraordinary given that this is a new movement with no definitive leader, etc. A book that has really helped me in my communications with people on the other side of the political spectrum is How to Have Impossible Conversations by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay. Another thing that gives me hope is that the dark forces are now losing the culture war. I wrote about that here --https://cylviahayes.substack.com/p/real-strength-doesnt-require-dress. And that was before the elections on Monday.
Thank you so much for this insight, Cylvia. There are a lot of hopeful signs, despite Trump's relentless hold on some followers. We can do this.
Check out leavingmaga.org. There is hope because some people are leaving maga and they have a free guide on how to talk with those in the maga community. It's written by someone who took well over a year to leave maga by his own self-reflection and determination.
Thank you for reading and for that resource, Celena. A brief glance was already therapeutic. This especially: "Though I supported Trump and MAGA for what I thought were the right reasons, I was wrong, and I will work as long as necessary to make amends."
Yes there is! Absolutely! Great post
Thanks, Scott!
Jeff-Ep and the economy will sink them for years. It may even kill the party.
My worry is that we will elect some corporate shill on good vibes and they will rebuild without reforming.
For if we don’t fix the most important of the most broken parts of the system, such as the medicare for all or paring down the surveillance-, military-, and ethic cleansing/prison industrial complexes..
..then I fret that the next evil demagogue to try and king themselves won’t be quite so old, stupid, or demented.
Honestly, one of the big reasons we even have a chance against MAGA is that they’re as ignorant & deranged as they are cruel & selfish.
I feel those fears too, Noel. There are so many possibilities up in the air right now, and so many of them are truly disturbing. Thank you for sharing this, and thank you for reading.
The sleeping giant has been awoken, but not yet fully mobilized. We need to keep pushing, making progress every day, in the ways that each of us can.
"We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." – Eleanor Roosevelt
Yes, Al!
"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Then there are the friends and family who are what I've come to call "closet Maga". Won't stand for anything. They don't wear the red merchandise or publicly espouse the sexist, racist, hateful beliefs exactly but will rationalize away a lot of what is happening because it's not directly impacting them.
They'll continue down this path until the midterm brownshirts come for them. (Yes, a reference to the WWII poem I am too tired to look up just now)
So true, Olly. Kind of the Mike Johnson "I haven't heard about that..." folks. So frustrating! Thank you for reading.
You might look at leavingmaga.org I have not had a chance to read stories, but I've heard the founder's (Rich Logis) story and one other person. I highly recommend reading Rich's story, it will restore your faith in humanity.
Regarding your approach, I was thinking, what if that deep suspension of judgement creates data so pristine it truely elevates future AI model training?