• sensiblepuffin@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    So your argument is that stupid people are falling for really transparently disingenuous PR stunts and that neither those perpetuating those stunts nor the ones falling for it have played a huge role in it.

    • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      No, it’s not an argument, and it’s not about blame, it’s about the causation of an emotional narrative that gets constructed, and it’s that emotional narrative that drives irrational levels of political support.

      Your criticism of my comment is rational.

      Rationally it’s clear that Trump causes Trumpism, his followers are stupid or misfits for going along with it.

      But that overlooks my purpose. I’m answering why they do it, I’m telling you the irrational and emotional causes… Not who is rationally “to blame” on a logical level. That’s already known.

      Because the thing is - people are often driven by their emotions. For many people, right now on the planet you have to live on, for many of those people - logic and reason are after thoughts… Things they decorated their excuses with after the (emotional) fact. It’s the superficial dressing they put on and over their emotions, and often on their emotional wounds.

      …and all this may be what determines the election outcome.

      • sensiblepuffin@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Okay, let’s go down this road. I think you’ve touched on something important, so I genuinely want to get this.

        How have the left played a “huge emotional role” in the polarization? I suppose you could argue that “the libs” or progressives have essentially started to shun those who they find don’t agree with them on certain key issues (abortion/birth control, immigration, etc.).

        But how does this differ from how political discourse has been for the last few decades? People want to act like cancel culture is this new thing that Millenials invented, but societies have utilized shame in order to shun unwanted or undesirable opinions forever. Really, the only thing that’s changed from my perspective is that people have started drawing lines in the sand, and conservative reactionaries stamp all over the lines, then go Pikachu-face when they’re boycotted.