I have a Chud friend from High School, 15+ year relationship at this point -- I used to hang out with him nearly every day after high school for 5+ years.
He was a-political our whole relationship, comes from a single mother household, his mom is pretty racist when she is drunk (she is drunk most days) but she takes in and lets people of different ethnicities couch surf (I'm a PoC and she loves me) -- she is amazing and a dirtbag depending on the day. She is a former Punker.
His brother passed in a car crash nearly a decade ago, his brother was a year older than him.
He is in construction, holds a HS diploma only.
Once Trump got elected, he changed massively. Started repeatedly using the n-word, hates Mexicans/Latin and South Americans that are here illegally (I don't think he holds a good opinion of legal ones either), has made a statement when we were drunk stating, "I would pour out jugs of water in the desert near the border if I saw them" -- he just completely changed when Trump got elected. He saw it as a "fuck you I'll be belligerent and racist if I want, I'm a white hard-working American" card and ran with it. He has multiple Trump and Confederate flags in his garage -- him and his mom have gone to gatherings at corners of intersections promoting Trump. He does not know anything about politics or history -- he is just indoctrinated by these old, fat, racist, sexist and born rich white guys who give him work that he looks up too. He doesn't admit it, but I know that is where he gets all his political talking points and views from.
He was the sweetest guy in HS and afterwards, he is still a caring person ... but definitely not like he used to be. I live in Los Angeles, so seeing him transform like this ... I can only imagine how bad it is in the fly-over states and other predominantly white parts of the country.
He is like my case-study at this point, I hang out with him and talk politics to get his take on things. It usually ends up with him just yelling and talking over me but it's a lot of fun. I confuse him because I shit on Republicans and Democrats -- I always give him shit for dick-riding Trump just to piss him off. I try to plant seeds in his head to get him out of the Trump Cult, to get him to see things from a class perspective, but I don't think I will ever get through to him unless there is a massive shift in the political consciousness of the country.
Life just took a massive shit on him, and I feel like the Trump Cult is his only way to really vent about it. It's hard to hate him or dislike him because he is a longtime friend -- and I know underneath it all he is a sweetheart, it's just ... demoralizing I guess seeing him like that ... I'm not sure how to describe my feelings towards it. I definitely wish I had my non-Trump Cult friend back though, that's for sure.
Heavy story, comrade. Probably played out all over the country.
Almost all attributable to the MSM’s laser focus in stoking hyper-partisanship more than in any other previous era. Add in the toxicity of social media and it’s a giant identity politics fuckfest, drawing in everyone including the most apolitical people to take sides. So glad I completely ignored the dopey electoral coverage once Bernie was cheated for a second time.
Funny thing is if you stripped away all the MSM parameters of talking about policies in black and white party affiliations and instead took it by issues that effect all of us in our daily lives you can make inroads. For instance, ask if he things public utilities should be owned by private companies instead of by the public, since everyone relies on electric, water, the internet, etc. Does he he know corporate CEO’a sometimes make $10mil a year? What about asking where he’s like his tax money to go, more military drones and bombers, or towards free healthcare? There’s so many way of taking about issues outside of the Duopoly bullshit.
When I try to convince him or plant seeds all I do is talk about policy, I don't talk about Democrats or Republican (unless he makes some outlandish comments) -- but those talking points just don't stick. He will agree with them, then the next day he will go straight back to his own talking points. His conviction behind his political beliefs are not cemented in facts or reality, and I'm fairly certain he is aware of that. He is just so emotionally charged by Trump and his rhetoric that he will not be swayed from it. I will tell him how Trump contradicts himself on certain issues or try to show him videos (he will not read articles) where Trump does not agree with his beliefs but he will just push it aside or not acknowledge it. His indoctrination to the Trump Cult is cathartic in the sense that it gives him an identity, a venue to vent and a way to rationalize life's woes -- it is like a religion to him at this point. I keep trying every time I meet him to at the very least plant seeds and not argue, but it really seems to get nowhere. As I stated in my original post, I don't think I will ever be able to convince him unless there is a significant shift in the political conscious in the US -- or maybe if Trump does something to accidently snap the trance he has put his followers in.
Unfortunately there are chuds who are in it just to hate-fuck the others. They don't care about facts or who's doing the most harm. They want to see the opposition hurt so they can feel justified and/or vindicated.
And truth be told, it's not even about winning; it's literally about inflicting pain and as much as possible. There is no end game. Some may even admit Trump is a moron. They love him because he lands punches, even if they're sometimes few and far between. And when Trump totally strikes out (which happens all the fucking time), libs shit themselves just thinking about the orange menace - which is yet another victory.
I know multiple people in the Trump camp. Many of them aren't interested in their side winning as much as they're keyed into opposition losing. Yes, it does involve a lot of circular thinking but it also sets the bar really fucking low to put yourself in a position of being a "winner."
Good luck. Its hard when friends go down the wrong rabbit hole and being there for them is the best thing you can do. I had some friends go all anti-vax 5G qanon but luckily it was just a short phase.
I have a Chud friend from High School, 15+ year relationship at this point -- I used to hang out with him nearly every day after high school for 5+ years.
He was a-political our whole relationship, comes from a single mother household, his mom is pretty racist when she is drunk (she is drunk most days) but she takes in and lets people of different ethnicities couch surf (I'm a PoC and she loves me) -- she is amazing and a dirtbag depending on the day. She is a former Punker.
His brother passed in a car crash nearly a decade ago, his brother was a year older than him.
He is in construction, holds a HS diploma only.
Once Trump got elected, he changed massively. Started repeatedly using the n-word, hates Mexicans/Latin and South Americans that are here illegally (I don't think he holds a good opinion of legal ones either), has made a statement when we were drunk stating, "I would pour out jugs of water in the desert near the border if I saw them" -- he just completely changed when Trump got elected. He saw it as a "fuck you I'll be belligerent and racist if I want, I'm a white hard-working American" card and ran with it. He has multiple Trump and Confederate flags in his garage -- him and his mom have gone to gatherings at corners of intersections promoting Trump. He does not know anything about politics or history -- he is just indoctrinated by these old, fat, racist, sexist and born rich white guys who give him work that he looks up too. He doesn't admit it, but I know that is where he gets all his political talking points and views from.
He was the sweetest guy in HS and afterwards, he is still a caring person ... but definitely not like he used to be. I live in Los Angeles, so seeing him transform like this ... I can only imagine how bad it is in the fly-over states and other predominantly white parts of the country.
He is like my case-study at this point, I hang out with him and talk politics to get his take on things. It usually ends up with him just yelling and talking over me but it's a lot of fun. I confuse him because I shit on Republicans and Democrats -- I always give him shit for dick-riding Trump just to piss him off. I try to plant seeds in his head to get him out of the Trump Cult, to get him to see things from a class perspective, but I don't think I will ever get through to him unless there is a massive shift in the political consciousness of the country.
Life just took a massive shit on him, and I feel like the Trump Cult is his only way to really vent about it. It's hard to hate him or dislike him because he is a longtime friend -- and I know underneath it all he is a sweetheart, it's just ... demoralizing I guess seeing him like that ... I'm not sure how to describe my feelings towards it. I definitely wish I had my non-Trump Cult friend back though, that's for sure.
Heavy story, comrade. Probably played out all over the country.
Almost all attributable to the MSM’s laser focus in stoking hyper-partisanship more than in any other previous era. Add in the toxicity of social media and it’s a giant identity politics fuckfest, drawing in everyone including the most apolitical people to take sides. So glad I completely ignored the dopey electoral coverage once Bernie was cheated for a second time.
Funny thing is if you stripped away all the MSM parameters of talking about policies in black and white party affiliations and instead took it by issues that effect all of us in our daily lives you can make inroads. For instance, ask if he things public utilities should be owned by private companies instead of by the public, since everyone relies on electric, water, the internet, etc. Does he he know corporate CEO’a sometimes make $10mil a year? What about asking where he’s like his tax money to go, more military drones and bombers, or towards free healthcare? There’s so many way of taking about issues outside of the Duopoly bullshit.
When I try to convince him or plant seeds all I do is talk about policy, I don't talk about Democrats or Republican (unless he makes some outlandish comments) -- but those talking points just don't stick. He will agree with them, then the next day he will go straight back to his own talking points. His conviction behind his political beliefs are not cemented in facts or reality, and I'm fairly certain he is aware of that. He is just so emotionally charged by Trump and his rhetoric that he will not be swayed from it. I will tell him how Trump contradicts himself on certain issues or try to show him videos (he will not read articles) where Trump does not agree with his beliefs but he will just push it aside or not acknowledge it. His indoctrination to the Trump Cult is cathartic in the sense that it gives him an identity, a venue to vent and a way to rationalize life's woes -- it is like a religion to him at this point. I keep trying every time I meet him to at the very least plant seeds and not argue, but it really seems to get nowhere. As I stated in my original post, I don't think I will ever be able to convince him unless there is a significant shift in the political conscious in the US -- or maybe if Trump does something to accidently snap the trance he has put his followers in.
Unfortunately there are chuds who are in it just to hate-fuck the others. They don't care about facts or who's doing the most harm. They want to see the opposition hurt so they can feel justified and/or vindicated.
And truth be told, it's not even about winning; it's literally about inflicting pain and as much as possible. There is no end game. Some may even admit Trump is a moron. They love him because he lands punches, even if they're sometimes few and far between. And when Trump totally strikes out (which happens all the fucking time), libs shit themselves just thinking about the orange menace - which is yet another victory.
I know multiple people in the Trump camp. Many of them aren't interested in their side winning as much as they're keyed into opposition losing. Yes, it does involve a lot of circular thinking but it also sets the bar really fucking low to put yourself in a position of being a "winner."
Good luck. Its hard when friends go down the wrong rabbit hole and being there for them is the best thing you can do. I had some friends go all anti-vax 5G qanon but luckily it was just a short phase.
You've described my actual brother. Watching him devolve into a chud, while not totally unexpected, is totally heartbreaking.