Mexicans provide humanitarian aid to migrant caravan

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/th ... 87880556ea

At least some people know how to treat refugees.

[Yukaphile]

What's scary is how effective this was on the right-wingers... how they fell for the narrative Trump was pushing... and nothing fucking happened! Meanwhile, that nightmare is still in office enabling people like the bomber and the guy who shot up the synagogue.

[Darth Wedgius]

They even offered asylum to the caravan, but they apparently chose not to accept.

[Cassandra]

What's scary is how effective this was on the right-wingers... how they fell for the narrative Trump was pushing... and nothing fucking happened!

"I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it." -- John Stuart Mill (May 20 1806 – May 8 1873)

Conservatives, being authoritarian followers, will fall for any narrative whatsoever that gives them liberty to hate people who are not like themselves.

[Yukaphile]

That feels like an oversimplification to me. Yeah, it's true in a broad sense, and for the fringe, but... I don't know. I can't bring it in me to condemn 60,000,000 people as hateful monsters. Shit, even Clinton had to walk back her comments when she realized she was dealing with tens of millions of people. Though hatred is what unites a lot of them, sometimes it's not even with whole ethnic groups so much as it is certain political leaders, that media manipulations have convinced them are satan.

[G-Man]

They even offered asylum to the caravan, but they apparently chose not to accept.

So they don't need asylum, so we should not give it to them.

[Cassandra]

That feels like an oversimplification to me.

Psychological research shows it's not an oversimplification at all. If you have the spare time, read this book, released free online by its (academic) author:

https://www.theauthoritarians.org/optio ... -the-book/

There is a serious problem with the psychological makeup of a percentage of the population, leading them to lack empathy, be more willing to engage in violence, and be extremely vulnerable to appeals from demagogues. In modern America they comprise about 35% of the population and they vote Republican.

Hillary Clinton was entirely right to call these people deplorables.

[Yukaphile]

And... not even the psychologists have all the answers. You can't boil down something as illogical, as wild and undisciplined and unpredictable and chaotic as a human being down to a complex set of variables. Maybe with enough time, but the fact remains we still don't know enough about what makes the brain tick to come to any definitive conclusion, and what we DO know and have uncovered so far is being used as political fuel by both sides. You simply can't call 60,000,000 people hateful bigots or racists or sexists and just leave it at that. Some were simply party loyalists who didn't follow the news cycle all that stringently, thus didn't know his vast web of scandals, while "emails" dominated the news cycle endlessly. Some were conned, legitimately stupid enough to fear the economy was doing horrible, given how humans seem to have short memory spans when it comes to decades, and just wanted someone who talked strong and made them feel good, in other words, looking for a politician who makes empty promises. Some were pressured by their families and their communities and felt embarrassed to do so, but did it anyway given they didn't wanna offend those they loved or those within the close groups they associated with. A lot do think in racial or gender terms, but they aren't full of hate or evil people. That's still an oversimplification. And each individual's interpretation is going to vary wildly. So I still think you're being overly simplistic here. With your logic, everyone in Nazi Germany and in the USSR was a twisted and monstrous human being, and while some were, you're talking 80,000,000 people vs. 100,000,000 people. Or hell, even higher if you wanna throw in conquered territories the two nations seized. We gonna call everyone who live there sociopaths too? Hell, I know people who personally did not vote for Trump, they just hate him that much, who speak like the typical Trump supporters. They are very conservative and from red or purple states, yet they didn't vote for him, so they can't share in this "collective guilt" agenda you're pushing, and they actively dislike him despite agreeing with him on many issues. What do you make of that, huh? That maybe the experts don't know half as much as they THINK they do. At least for now. And you may be willing to write off huge populations of people. I'm not. Hell, that's precisely what the Nazis you hate so much were guilty of!

[LittleRaven]

There is a serious problem with the psychological makeup of a percentage of the population, leading them to lack empathy, be more willing to engage in violence, and be extremely vulnerable to appeals from demagogues. In modern America they comprise about 35% of the population and they vote Republican.

Goodness knows there has never been any hint of authoritarianism on the Left.

Like, ever.

[Admiral X]

They are everything they claim to hate.