They walk among us! I read that a recent poll revealed that 12% of those surveyed have

[Atticus]

no idea who Mike Pence is. This brought to mind several instances of just unbelievable ignorance that my wife and I encountered as counter-protesters in our bright red county.

Several years ago when the Tea Party idiots were strutting around in their three corner hats and racist tees, we bought shirts with the words "TEA PARTY" on the front inside the classic bright orange circle with a bright orange diagonal line through the words. When we wore these clearly ANTI-TEA PARTY shirts to their rallies while also wearing "Obama" caps, we got smiles and "thumbs ups" from the baggers! Only when we explained that we were against all they stood for did the insults and angry looks start. We finally stopped wearing them because they were too complicated for our intended audience!

At a rally in the state capital in support of Trump, we countered with anti-Trump signs. One sign included a red hammer and sickle due to his fondness for all things Russian. A Trumper actually asked what "that red thing" was. When I told her what it was, she said "Huh!" and walked away looking sincerely puzzled.

I have replaced my "Impeach Individual-1" car sign with an "Impeach Trump" car sign because too many reading it had no idea who Individual-1 is.

Welcome to our world as liberals in a nest of baggers.

[Garrett78]

1. Tens of millions in the US subscribe to utter nonsense.

And that's something Democrats need to be willing to be blunt about. We have a dangerous epidemic in this country. We need to demand that media literacy be mandatory curriculum in every school. Kids need to be taught to verify and think critically.

[BigmanPigman]

3. I tried to teach so much to my first graders

but due to restrictions and scheduling I had to do "sneak teaching" for geography, civics, history, etc. They need to be taught young and consistently to get into good habits. I also had to teach problem solving skills, fairness, respect, etc. Parents need to do more since teachers can't go home with the kids.

[murielm99]

5. I did that in my computer classes with

seventh graders. I had them learning about "fake news" before there was such a term.

We looked at websites to determine what was real and what was not. I showed them that there were websites and print sources that have conservative and liberal bias. I did not tell them it was wrong to be one or the other, I just pointed out the difference, and taught them what to look for.

[BigmanPigman]

14. I read that some countries in Europe are teaching their citizens

how to spot propaganda. They are onto Putin's tricks and trying to keep up with tjeir cyber war against its enemies.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

2. When I was in junior high Alan Funt's "Candid Camera" showed that people didn't know who the VP was.

Two days later he was the president.

[Midnight Writer]

4. I wish I didn't know who Mike Pence is.

[ProudLib72]

6. I'm sorry but I simply cannot abide this sort of willful ignorance (or sheer stupidity)

Many will flame me for this, but I do not believe this 12% has any right voting for president. If they cannot be bothered to learn the most simple facts about who is running and the general platform of a party, then they should not be able to decide the fate of the rest of the country. Up to this point we have said, "Oh, stupid idiots, they are mostly harmless." No more! "Mostly harmless" got us into this situation. "Mostly harmless" has the potential to end all life on this planet. "Mostly harmless" has become intolerable.

FWIW I don't give a shit if voting is a constitutional right. Enough is enough!

The only silver lining in this is that this 12% are so lazy they probably won't make it to the polls.

[LittleGirl]

11. I doubt those people vote. eom

[littlemissmartypants]

13. They most certainly do.

The truly frightening point is that they bring leaflets from church to the polls and follow them to the letter. I've seen the same leaflet passed around among voters who all vote from it as a group. Husbands pass them to their wives to follow suit.

Years working as an election judge exposed me to this phenomenon. The first time I saw it I was mortified. But it happens every year.

[LittleGirl]

18. I say TAX THE CHURCHES

If they are going to continue to do that crap, we need to remove their tax exempt status. Thanks for your help at the polls.

[littlemissmartypants]

20. Or remove the tax exempt status for churches.

I appreciate your thanks, I really wouldn't be active in politics if it wasn't for DU. Everything that motivated me to get active, I learned here.

[LittleGirl]

22. I learned everything about politics

from reading DU because I didn't vote from 80-2008. I would help at the polls but I don't live in the states anymore.
I don't think I have the stamina to work those long days either so appreciate your support and your posts! Cheers.

[SergeStorms]

16. Those type of people...

are exactly the people the "Brexiteers" in the U.K. targeted with their "Leave" campaign. Cambridge Analytica found that there were 12 million Brits who had never voted before in any election, and those were the people they targeted. It's the same in the U.S., and these types were targeted to get Trump elected. They lured these people into voting using fear, hate, and their feeling of helplessness. It worked both here and in the U.K. and you can bet the GOP will try to reach these same people again in 2020.

[LittleGirl]

17. Spouse is an

UK citizen and he couldn't vote because he'd been out of the country for over 15 yrs so when the results came in, he felt cheated. Now he's worried about the impact of the whole thing and how it will affect us. We don't live in an EU country but we're in Europe just the same. When we bought our house, it was because the Brexit hadn't happened yet so they allowed it.

[littlemissmartypants]

7. I am not surprised.

A gas station where I stop to get coffee had a refillable cup sale around election time. You could select a donkey or an elephant cup. I thought it was cool and fun, a great way to engage people in government. So I selected my donkey and got ready to pour my coffee.

A conversation I overheard was about why didn't they have more animals to select from, yadda yadda. Being a butinski I tried to explain the symbolism behind the two animals and was quickly challenged by another butinski, a guard who works at the nearby prison, in full uniform.

He quickly challenged me and agreed with the two ladies wondering why there weren't more choices. He chatted them up as he got in line. He also told them, as I stood there in line with them all, that I didn't know what I was talking about. He then laughed and asked me where I got my education.

I just ignored him paid for my coffee in my "jack ass" cup and left. While they stood there laughing.

Nothing surprises me anymore. Especially not bold, unapologetic ignorance. I just rock on and ignore it.

[OMGWTF]

10. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is real.

(People who are too stupid to realize they're stupid.)

[littlemissmartypants]

12. No doubt about it.

Like anosognosia, baffling but it unarguably exists.

Anosognosia, also called "lack of insight," is a symptom of severe mental illness experienced by some that impairs a person's ability to understand and perceive his or her illness. It is the single largest reason why people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder refuse medications or do not seek treatment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosognosia

[Hulk]

8. Been say that since I was 18...

..and I nade my first trip to Germany in 1966....we are a nation of morons. I hate picking on certain parts of the country, because the morons are everywhere. But wherever it is reddest, there is a definite higher concentration of them.

Nation of morons. Hasn't gotten any better in 53 years. In fact, has probably gotten worse. I really am, and always have been, ashamed of a good part of my fellow Americans.

[OMGWTF]

9. We're locked in a room with the slow learners.

[LibDemAlways]

15. I spend most afternoons with my 96-year-old mother. We

sometimes watch the daytime version of the old "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" show. It is astounding what people don't know. I'm not talking obscure trivia. I'm talking basic knowledge that anyone who made it through high school ought to have an awareness of. On today's show, one contestant's "plus 1" helper told her Washington DC is a state.

I'm actially shocked that only 12% of the people surveyed didn't recognize Pence. I would think the percentage would actually be much higher. We are surrounded by people who don't know much and are fine with their lack of knowledge. Scary stuff.

[Cha]

19. I thank you and your wife for being

such Activists.. especially in dark red territory, Atticus!

[JHB]

21. Yet droves of those people jeer at anyone else as "low information voters"...

And why? Because their "trusted sources" say it. The same sources serve horseshit and call it chocolate, and the customers spoon down bowl after bowl with literal shit-eating grins.

[UpInArms]

23. This is how GHW Bush became President

There had been a “wall” that kept anyone from holding office who had been in charge of the CIA (or an intelligence branch) ... but the Republicans insisted that since he would only be on the Ickes as VP ... and no one votes for that office ... he could be named as VP ... then, after he had held that office, they said that ... see? He’s already held an elected office, so now he can run for President...

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