“What was he convicted of?” someone asked.
“He had tattoos on his body,” she replied triumphantly.
“Hey, smartass!” shouted a woman in her sixties, jumping to her feet. “You want to see my tattoo?”
“Lady,” the Trump supporter said. “You don’t know what a tattoo is.”
“Yes I do, I’ve got one!” the woman shouted, tapping her chest.
The Trump supporter dismissed her with a wave of one hand. “I’ve had enough of you Democrats,” she said.
I heard one of them was about to pen a strongly worded letter!
i found some of the quotes interesting with regards to the pieces that people in different areas pick up on, what they care about and what they think is happening. Like the farmer guy who is being harmed by the tariffs but thinks Trump must be “asking for a lot to hopefully get half”
i don’t think these people are stupid, just propagandized and situated in cultural echochambers just like libs are (all of us are). They (we) all have blind spots and denial. how do we reach them? if it’s possible at all, the only way is through genuine authentic connection with people who may very well hold ideas we find abhorrent.
i had a really interesting experience this weekend. i stopped at a Diner in Queens on my way home from the airport and overheard a conversation about Trump and the tariffs between two older gentlemen. I think they were both white but one might not have been idk. It was clear they frequent this place and are neighborly acquaintances. The one guy came over and started out saying “you know l don’t like to talk about politics” (honestly i doubt that lol)
it was not clear to me the whole time which “side” either of them were on. when the first guy got up to leave, i caught eyes with the one still sitting and he started to apologize for the subject matter and i said i appreciated their conversation bc i feel like the biggest problem in this country is we don’t talk to each other and that’s why everything is so out of whack.
they both appreciated that and we briefly talked about how “They” want us divided etc. I said i thought we all had a lot more in common than we would think, and they both agreed.
After the first guy left, i continued to chat with the seated man who was a 75yo Jewish man who grew up in that neighborhood and taught political science for his career. He identified as a centrist, taking things from Republicans and Democrats, and gets his news from a variety of sources mostly mainstream tv but also newspapers and magazines- he was reading the economist and said it was a conservative magazine but they don’t agree with trump on the tarriffs.
we had a really amazing conversation because i was very polite and phrased my disagreements carefully, he was not agitated at all by anything i said, he was calm and confident in his knowledge.
he had some seriously wrong information.
whenever i tried to push back on something he said, i would generally say that i can never tell what to trust anymore but that the information I’ve seen said xyz. i acknowledged living in an echo chamber because i can’t read or listen to republican news, and i was vulnerable about how upset i am all the time and we transitioned out of politics talk and into hobbies and maintaining mental health.
honestly, i can’t stop thinking about the experience and want to go back there and talk with him more. it was a hugely positive experience for me and I would love to have more of those. Perhaps he was a rare bird able to talk without getting upset, that’s why i was able to remain emotionally regulated (i did almost start to cry lmao just acknowledging how upset I am generally, I’m just a hair trigger these days)
He voted Republican chiefly on the issue of abortion…
WTAF. Why are there so many idiots like this? You don’t like abortion, don’t fucking have one. And if you are male…it’s not your concern.
This is the only area I DO get. I don’t agree with it, but I can understand where they’re coming from. If you believe a fetus is a person, it makes total sense to vote against murder. And we aren’t going to win anyone over by framing it as just an issue for women. If it’s even possible to change someone’s mind on the topic it would be through education, not telling them that their opinion on murder doesn’t matter.
It just makes zero sense to be a single-issue voter like this, though. And I don’t really think most of them give two fucks about the fetus; for many of them it’s about control.
For many of them it’s about being accepted by the community. They dont question their beliefs because that’d put them in the out group.
By the definition of “murder” it’s only murder where it’s illegal.
A person I used to consider a friend told me that Donald Trump was sent by God to end abortion. When I brought up several bible verses that directly condemn what Donald Trump has done he told me they were out of context.
No longer speak to him.
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Lol Iowa. Good fucking luck.
“Lady,” the Trump supporter said. “You don’t know what a tattoo is.”
^ That line baffles me
The conservative mindset is kind of like a reversed No True Scotsman sometimes. In an inherently hierarchical world where you are OBVIOUSLY at the A, #1, top, “Made in the image of white Jesus” tier, it is a serious insult to question the realness of another. Getting “othered” when you’re one of the Real Americans, one of the Chosen Ones, is a tragedy!
I don’t know what you’re talking about. What does that have to do with a guy who assumes women don’t know what tattoos are?
It’s the exclusionary language. It sticks out to me because it’s something I had to wring out of my brain after a conservative upbringing. My comment was probably an overreaction, lol, but you gave me that little target to pounce on.
“You don’t know what a tattoo is” sounds to me like it’s in line with “you don’t know what a REAL tattoo is” or “you wouldn’t know a decent tattoo if it bit you on the ass.”
It’s just basic immature gatekeeping and “me good, you bad.” So it varies from actual exclusion to generic offhand insult.
I can hear all the variations of it in my head from over the years. You don’t like the same thing as me, or you disagree with me on some unrelated thing, therefore you don’t know a damn thing about tattoos, cars, trucks, guns, fishing, hunting, sports, women, computers, games, and whatever else.
I thought it was a woman arguing with another woman about the meaning of what a tattoo is…
For people like this, Tattoos are only tattoos if they’re on a less than white skin. On a white skin it’s a stulish body decoration, on any other skin type it’s a gang tattoo
I’m trying to fathom this being an actual conversation and not some horribly, awfully scripted sitcom. How the hell is it this bad good lord.
I like to think it’s because our education has gone really downhill, but I realize some of these people are so old it’s questionable how much they really know and understand. I’m genuinely baffled we don’t have a simple doctor’s check to see if people in retirement are still cognizant enough to vote responsibly- it’s the same issue with driving.
I guess the creators of Heil Honey decided it was time for a revival. 😒
LOL, WTAF.
Going to the midwest sounds like going to the zoo.
It’s fucking insane here. I live in a city where people’s opinions seem relatively reality-based, but if you get out into the rural areas, the effects of brain drain and media balkanization are on full display.
I don’t suggest actually doing this, but you would be absolutely fucking shocked by the overwhelming ignorance of the general population if you were to, say, stop at a bar in rural Iowa.
I just don’t recommend going to Iowa, avoid it at all cost.
They can be cold as a frozen thermometer in December if you ask about the weather in July.
Live here, it is.
Every day you hear someone say the stupidest shit you’ve ever heard in your life. And then the next day someone says something even dumber. It’s absolute hell on earth but the plus side is my mortgage is cheap as dirt I guess.
Someone needs to bring these people a holocaust surviver to show them their tattoo and explain why fascism should never rise again
Wasn’t there just a video of some “alpha” guy trying to school a holocaust survivor the other day?
Im not surprised but god
Someone needs to bring these people to cecot, and do a little swaparoo with the current residents.
I’m afraid it would just give them new ideas.
Finishing lunch with two friends at a diner in Osage, Dixie Bowman, 88, a retired welder, said she liked what Trump was doing. Her two friends, when asked, said they preferred not to speak of it.
Dixie Bowman: Trump is “a very kind, very generous person”
Sounds exactly like what one would expect from someone with a name like “Dixie”
Everybody on the right “likes what Trump is doing” or “Likes what DOGE is doing”, but when you ask them to articulate, specifically, what actions or policies they like, they will generalize to something the administration has claimed without evidence to be true but is difficult to prove or disprove (“He’s making the border safer”, “He’s getting rid of taxpayer waste”, etc.) or they will retreat from the question by attacking you personally or just saying that the vibes are generally better (“The tariffs will fix the economy”, “America is respected again”, etc.).
I’ve never once had a debate with a Republican who came prepared with sources to back up their claims. That’s because as soon as they try to dig and find evidence of the insane stuff Trump and Musk are peddling, the lie unravels itself and it just becomes easier to accept things at face value rather than think critically.
Crazy that would be the case when 75% of the people on this planet already do belief without evidence with religion. Who could’ve seen this coming.
Editor’s note: This sarcasm is intended to be read in the voice of Jon Stewart with a false look of bewilderment.
Careful, your r/atheism is showing
Pointing out reality typically pisses dishonest people off yeah.
Here, let me translate for you:
Dixie Bowman, 88, a retired welder, said she liked what Trump was doing.
“I like how he’s getting rid of all the brown people.”
Dixie Bowman: Trump is “a very kind, very generous person”
“He’s doing things I like. That means he’s a good person. Good people are kind and generous.”
It’s the same concept as when Nazis do Nazi things and claim they’re not Nazis. Nazi = bad, and they’re not bad, so they’re not Nazis.
Yeah. Ego, in the sense of the story about yourself that you tell yourself, is an extremely potent concept. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people get called out on their extremely shitty and deliberate choices and react with “I won’t take this, this isn’t fair, I’m a good person.” They actually believe that they are a good person, and good people don’t do bad things, so they’re being misunderstood and unfairly attacked. When the mirror is held up that attacks that narrative about themselves, it’s like an actual psychic pain, and people react almost like they’ve been physically attacked.
These people have been taught their whole lives that being good is something you are, not something you do.
Given her age, I think it’s more likely that she’s just being fed nothing but pro-Trump propaganda in her Facebook feed. She scrolls through Facebook on her sticky phone covered in food crumbs liking boomer memes and pictures of grandchildren. If anyone knows her, the easy solution to save her from the propaganda is to sign her out of her account since she definitely doesn’t remember her password (and probably has like 3 accounts she’s made by accident)
They say welding fumes can cause neurological damage…
I was told masturbating too much causes brain damage. Maybe thats what it was for all of us.
Lived in Iowa for a few years, nothing but idiots.
I know some very smart people from Iowa. They left.
Americans need to stop thinking joke about state is exclusive to state.
Instead of Alabama = incest, say America = incest
Instead of Iowians are idiots, say Americans are idiots
Instead of Florida man is crazy, say American men are crazy
why
I mean, you do realize that the USA is larger than the EU, right? Some US states dwarf multiple European countries - combined.
Do they consider themselves residents of the union or of their state?
That has no bearing in this conversation, nor the point being made. Geographical size plays a large factor in this whether you agree with it or not.
I’d say geographical size has very little to do with it, unless you think Canada is more diverse because of its size? Population size would probably be a better marker for this purpose.
Or the obvious “do they identify as group” as I had already said
Americans accept personal responsibility?
exceptional thought.
I appreciate this is a joke but I don’t know what definition of personal responsibility requires me to own the actions of people 2000+ miles away from me lol. London is slightly closer to Moscow than San Francisco is to Northwood, IA.
Sounds like your succession planning is going well.
yep that one always bugs me. We have no concept of collective responsibility in the US. Our government and its actions are something very abstract we feel no connection to or have any responsibility for. Whose fault is it that we shipped all those bombs used in Gaza? Its seen as not even Joe Bidens fault somehow. Its just no ones fault.
I hope they rip each other apart trying to justify their own ignorance and his madness.
Unfortunately their disproportionately overvalued federal representation and votes due to the electoral college they are dragging the rest of us down with them
“Everyone that disagrees with me is a Democrat”
“Everrything is woke”.
I have always loved how perfect the phrasing of “Basic Dickheads” is for the type of goobers it’s referring to.
Not only that, but Democrats by default do not matter and shouldn’t be considered at all.
Imagine believing that the best days of the US are ahead of you…
I’m sure improvements will be made, but the United States is dying, thanks in large part due to the cancer that’s rightwing propaganda networks
Honestly, I don’t want the United states to be a thing anymore. It is time for the nation to break up, so that people can choose what sort of government they want to live in. In my case, I would like something modeled after European socialism. I am sick of Fascist America dragging down my state with its evil and stupidity.
Uncapping the House would go a long way towards rebalancing.
The problem with that plan is that you get an outwardly fascist neighbor with no guardrails at all. Yes it will burn itself out eventually but before that it’s going to be just as much of a problem as when it was states.
Feels like the guardrails are falling off regardless.
Better to fight an enemy that is outside, rather than a foe within. We also don’t have sturdy guardrails - just ask federal employees, and the American citizens who have been trafficked to Honduras.
But the foes would always be within. This isn’t just red vs blue, it’s rural vs urban. Oregon goes Blue every time, but you drive 30 minutes out of the city and it’s Trump Central.
Agreed. Even in Minnesota we have the MAGAs in rural areas. Just as bad as any other state.
Good luck with that. Honestly.
That about sums it up. There are no obviously good options for the situation, so we are all left to gamble on a guess and a prayer that things work out.
Not sure what you mean by European socialism, but you do NOT want the socialism that was attempted in eastern European countries.
my brother in christ, all western european countries are socialist welfare states with a capitalistic market. Media wants you to believe that, what we have is communism, but socialism is so far off Marxism / Communism, as Turbo-capitalism is off of socialism. Beat the red scare and don’t carry on their dumb talking points. Socialism is the way to go
While I agree that socialism is a good ideology, we are definitely far away from actual socialism in Europe. We have social welfare states, yes. They have socialist elements, and many other elements that contradict it. They are not socialist. Whats the point in pretending they already are?
My point was, when you say things like “European Socialism”, that would be interpreted as what countries like Romania, Poland, Czechoslowakia or East Germany were like until around 1990. It was catastrophic.
what do all of these countries you just listed have in common? They were all under the rule of the Soviet Union. This was not european socialism, this was soviet socialism, european socialism means a mixture of both socialist welfare and capitalistic markets, aka social-democracies
European Socialism? Come on, we are supposed to be better than “socialism is when health care”.
I know what you want to say, but last time I checked, every EU country had millionaires and beggars, a market economy, most companies were in the hand of private citizens or shareholders, and guaranteed private property (with the usual legal exceptions).
Don’t be like the populists. Words have meanings and meanings matter. It is social market economy at most.
If I ever get diagnosed with a terminal disease. I know what I’m doing before I go out.
You’d think farmers at least would understand the relationship between what you sow and what you reap.
They never have to think about because they use migrant labor
Maybe they have been paid to not grow crops for too long.
