this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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[–] Awkwardly_Frank@lemmy.world 81 points 3 months ago (2 children)

His appeal is the same appeal that takes each of us in at some point; he offers easy answers to complicated problems. It's tempting to believe that only the profoundly stupid will fall for this, but when a problem is outside your knowledge or experience and someone confidently announces they have a solution its pretty easy to let yourself stop thinking any further.

Also, there are a ton of racists and xenophobes out there who already believe they have the easy answers and like the confirmation of having them parroted back at them.

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 26 points 3 months ago (2 children)

His appeal is the same appeal that takes each of us in at some point; he offers easy answers to complicated problems.

This is the key. And yes we've all been there. But, normally you grow out of it once you pass teenage angst and college year insecurities.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Yup, usually education helps the process. Which is why college is considered liberal hell by conservatives.

And why the college-educated republicans are typically even worse than non-college-educated republicans - because it takes a particularly hard-headed person to get through college, acquire specialized knowledge in a marketable field, and somehow also manage to blind yourself to acclimating to complex problems, other cultures, and hold onto your elementary school ideologies.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Money vodka and drugs helps with that

[–] Awkwardly_Frank@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

You'd think so,but education and experience doesn't really get rid of the underlying tendency so much as it inoculates you to it in specific areas of experience/expertise. Plenty of experts in their own field will look at a screw-up in another field they're not familiar with and exclaim "just do/don't do x, y,or z." That's why it's such an insidious tendency, insight really only let's you see how complicated certain things are while leaving the shroud of your own ignorance around everything else.

Think of a clerk having trouble with the register when you're in a hurry to get home. You're likely to think to yourself "come on! It's your one job and it's not that hard. But if you're made to stop and think about it you realize there's a whole litany of functions to remember for the different scenarios that come up, an encyclopedia of produce numbers to remember, company policies to be observed,and all sorts of smaller jobs to be done.

This isn't to say that people willing to hurt others for an easy solution to their problems have an excuse. This is just to say that we would do well to remember that everyone is susceptible to the urge to oversimplify.

Edit: spelling

[–] BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Definitely a major contributor, but it's not just that. Trump is angry and that's appealing because we're all kinda angry too. A lot of us know that that anger is pointless right now and can only be used to make things worse, but it's still kind of a good feeling to see that reflected in someone in a position of power. If Biden had half that intensity, he'd have this in the bag and we wouldn't be talking about any of the other recent problems.

[–] Awkwardly_Frank@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

You raise a good point. The bias towards action, real or perceived, and the catharsis of self-righteous anger are both strong motivators at work in the political realm. We'd all do well to guard ourselves against those wishing to exploit them.

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 40 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It tested really well with some key demographics.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

Dammit I want my taco trucks on every corner.

Man. Fascism sucks.

[–] skittle07crusher@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 months ago

You joke but check out Century of the Self

[–] ArtVandelay@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Remember that feeling when, as a little kid, your parents said that you could eat all the candy you wanted, with no limits at all, and you were too fucking stupid to realize how bad that was for you? It's like that.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

It's like that but it also seems like the kids are determined not to learn anything new.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 months ago

It's like that but the see the schoolyard bully picking on all the gay, colored, and/or fat kids, and want to join in.

[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

And they are 60 years old

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 2 points 3 months ago

Pretty much sums up the Boomers

[–] krakenfury@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 3 months ago

I'm really sorry your parents did that to you.

[–] Protoknuckles@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Another big part is that he let's you believe your failures aren't your fault. Someone else sabotaged you, so you don't have to commit the hard work of fixing yourself.

[–] en1gma@lemmy.ml -2 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 20 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That and a media echo chamber of lies.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Turns out brainwashing people and telling them it's "news" is a really effective strategy.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

Who knew??

Besides Göebbels and Murdoch. And Bernays.

[–] JimSamtanko@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah. Yeah he is.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Where's his appeal, and what's it about? All I see are the Jack Smith related things when I look.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world -4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I think liking Trump must be like people who are into BDSM (I realize not everyone shares my opinion here), where it seems to be that you actually need therapy but instead decide to deliberately have someone hurt you all the time instead as a form of passive self injury.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I'm not so sure that they realise that he's only in it for himself or that he made it so much worse not just for ordinary Americans, but specifically for people who supported him. I mean, I know he thinks they're losers for getting caught on insurrection day but I don't think they realise how much he looks down on them and how much deep contempt he has for them. The people who followed his advice about covid lost loved ones and gave their lives for what? Sticking it to the libs? But when he got covid, it was straight to the science and medicine and none of the horse dewormer crap that he was peddling to his supporters.

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I realize not everyone shares my opinion here

Your opinion is just wrong.