So about those who still back Trump

[Cyrano]

Polls seem to indicate that about 1/3 of Americans are sticking with Trump.

Who are they?

We know that many of them are white supremacists: "Christian" fundamentalists who want America to be a "Christian Country"; and other "Christians" who just can't wait for the Apocalypse. And there are also a scattering of nuts who really want to dwell in a "Mad Max" world, and/or still others who want a Civil War do over.

But what about the rest of them? Who are they?

Some are neighbors, relatives, and/or friends/acquaintances who have somehow fallen for Trump's never-ending lies and fantasies.

I have a cousin and a (used to be) friend who are still buying the never-ending shit Trump is flinging at us. And I can't understand them. Is it stupidity? Moral blindness? A mental defect? A death wish? Temporary insanity?

Beats me.

Can anyone on DU explain to me what drives this latter group of people who refuse to give up on Trump? I just can't grasp what drives them.

All opinions welcome. I'd really like to hear from you.

[redstatebluegirl]

1. A lot of them are rich people too.

They want the tax law passed lowering their corporate taxes, personal income taxes and to do away with the estate tax so their money can live forever in the hands of their children.

[TexasProgresive]

2. Ironically it's the same 1/3 that stayed true to bUsh.

I don't know if this is germane. When I took H.S. American History in 1966 I was taught that 1/3 of the colonialist were pro revolution, 1/3 were anti and 1/3 did not care one way or another. It seems that this breaking down of the American people into 1/3s is still prevalent today.

[Cyrano]

3. Yes. There were people who believed in

differing ideologies back then.

Yet, those who were against breaking away from England were, for the most part, people who believed it was in our best interest to remain a part of the British Empire.

That's not what's going on today. Anyone watching Trump's daily insanity, and are still backing him, are hopeless. I have no idea what they're thinking. I don't even know if they are capable of rational thought.

This isn't a matter of political philosophy. It's a question of why there are those who continue to back an obviously unfit, mentally disturbed person.

[TexasProgresive]

7. I don't think the motivations are similar

just the way we seem to break into thirds with 1/3 being the party of "whatevah!"

[tblue37]

4. Propaganda works, and if they always watch/listen to/read only RW

propaganda, they are brainwashed by it. Also, if any real information ever gets through to them, they simply discount it as lies, fake news.

Plus tribalism. They attach to a politician or a party the way they attach to a sports team, and they support their team no matter what.

[librechik]

5. Human nature. Once you make up your mind it is very very difficult

for mere facts to change your mind. In fact some people get very unreasonable and defensive when they are clearly shown to be wrong.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds
“Once formed,” the researchers observed dryly, “impressions are remarkably perseverant.”"


And some people would rather start a global thermonuclear war to distract from being proved wrong than admit it and apologize.

[spanone]

6. i don't know any of them...nor do i care to

haters

[Cyrano]

8. You may not care, but

your future, the future of the planet you live on, and the future of humanity is on the line with this madman in the White House.

I don't know what you, or I, or any sane person can do anything about our current situation.

But an "I don't care" attitude, is the equivalent of saying, "Hey, we're all going to die." That may sound brutal, but I, for one, don't want to leave this world while the future is in the hands of pure evil.

[spanone]

9. i don't care to know any of those folks....you read way too much into my post, sir or madam

[Cyrano]

10. Okay, I get it. Sorry about that.

[spanone]

16. no problem....i do care a lot as i know you do!!!

[MFM008]

11. They are as stupid as they

We're in November.
I make it my business not to know them.

[Comatose Sphagetti]

12. I honestly believe it to be a psychosis.

I used to be a Behavioral Health Professional.
I see delusion, denial, justification, authoritarianism, lack of empathy and a complete lack of self-awareness. All of it fear based.

[Cyrano]

13. And all of it is a deadly threat to humanity

[VOX]

14. Theyre no longer simply in a bubble, they exist in a completely different reality.

I’m dead serious. All the right wing lies over time have them stuck between their “victimhood” by the “liberal elites” and their fear of POC. They can’t get ahead financially, jobs are scarce, college is unaffordable (and is now considered a place for “liberal brainwashing”).

They’re scared and angry, to the extent that they buy into the right-wing talking heads’ “solution”: get rid of liberals. The left is cast as the source of all problems. Get rid of the left, they think, and the U.S. will be restored as a full-blown Christian, completely white entity, where men only have control. Anything short of that is treason in their minds.

In short, the GOP, with a push from the alt-right, is now a CULT. All deliberately separated from reality. Incapable of critical thought, suspicious of the “other.”

Right now, I can’t envision any long-term solution to this ideological Grand Canyon. We are living in very dark times.

[lunatica]

15. Part of it is people like Trump who are mentally unfit for whatever reason

I've believed for years that we have many more sociopathic people in our lives than we're aware of. An example is the ubiquitous asshole bosses. You don't become an asshole who doesn't care about the humanity of your workers when you get the job. You have to already be an asshole, and the reason so many of them are bosses is because they are sociopathic assholes.

These are generalities and of course there are exceptions, but historically our party are not assholes even with a stretch of imagination. Democrats care about people. It's obvious and can be proven by studying history, party politics and platforms. To the Democrats the government is there to take care of the citizens. Their jobs are to serve the people in the best way they can. They don't feel the need to enrich themselves at the cost of their constituents.

The Republicans are the opposite in every way. They tend strongly towards punishing the citizenry and couch it in terms of being fiscally responsible, which they aren't. They just want the wealth for themselves. They serve themselves and just shrug their shoulders when people suffer because of it. That's sociopathic behavior.

Perhaps there's an argument in favor of sociopathy being the normal and healthy way to be and us Democrats and humanitarians being the failed branch of the human tree. Maybe empathy and sympathy are an error in genetics.

But since we outnumber them - they're really no more than a third of humans - maybe we are the more complex and evolved humans.