Does it sometimes dumfound you that so many people can be stupid,

[edhopper]

Last edited Thu Nov 28, 2019, 09:34 AM - Edit history (2)

bigoted, gullible and evil?

I am perplexed that Trump can still be supported by such a large percent of the population.

I guess there are just more ignorant, vile people in this country than I would have thought


Edit;
One adjective I left off....SELFISH!

[wryter2000]

1. Same here

I knew those people existed, but I never dreamed there were so many of them.

[Dream Girl]

2. Yes. But sometimes if you scroll through the tv channels, you get a sense of just

How dumb people are

[Stuart G]

3. We have had proof for awile. Re-election of Bush Jr..was absolute proof. very sad.

[lagomorph777]

31. Junior stole BOTH elections.

ergo, he was not re-elected.

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. Exactly.

[RKP5637]

9. And if you also look at Yahoo Answers and YouTube comments, you then know it for sure! n/t

[RKP5637]

4. I actually find it more frightening than dumfounded. I still find it hard to believe when I go out

about half the people around me are likely stupid, bigoted, gullible and evil.

[lagomorph777]

32. That depends on where you live, but nationally the average is about 40%

[redstatebluegirl]

5. I still think there are a few different types of people who support this moron.

The first are the under educated, under employed white people. The second are the out and out racists. The third are the uber rich and the wish they were uber rich who think of him as "one of them", protecting their money, making sure they don't have to share anything.

All three are vile.

[northoftheborder]

13. 4th - are the extreme Christians

Some believe Trump is "brought by God"; some believe in the "End Times" and that we are near that; Some love his anti-abortion judges, and the prayer groups instituted by Pompeo in the State Dept., and in the military. Those things "trump" everything else: the dishonesty, depravity, ignorance, racism, misogyny, laziness, selfishness, cruelty, and don't leave out - allowing himself to become a Russian asset.

Unbelievable.

[Iggo]

17. She already said "out and out racists."

[Beartracks]

19. 5th - Plain Republicans who just believe...

... all the rightwing crap from FOX and talk radio that liberals are the root of all evil -- who just "know" that ANY Republican is better than ANY Democrat.

=========

[KPN]

39. Yeah, a lot of them the Reagan Rs who believe

that government IS the problem and minimum government the answer.

[Beartracks]

46. Yep, those are them. That's most of my family, I think.

============

[paleotn]

53. While awaiting their social security check...

and Medicare covering most of their healthcare costs. Damn that government!

[LiberalLovinLug]

40. Yup. His biggest percent of voters

And even within that segment their are two kinds.

1. They disbelieve every and all accusations against him, ignoring facts and proof. Believe its all 'fake news' meant to take down a Godly good man who is doing everything he can in the wake of the attacks from the Devil and the Democrats and the Liberal Godless Media. They purposely would never even watch something like the witnesses speaking in the impeachment process. If they don't hear it, it didn't happen. But even of the things they have seen and heard, like the Hollywood Access tapes, his insulting tweets, they can excuse it all as human frailty. That "deep down" he's a decent man and a GREAT leader, appointing conservative anti-abortion judges.

2. They accept he's admitted he has not accepted God as his saviour, or a Christian. They accept all his words and deeds, like caging children and sending mothers back to gang infested neighbourhoods in the country they were fleeing from....

A lot of the unrest of course was incubated in the decades that the US was supporting the right wing dictatorships that totally corrupted those States and did nothing to help the poor, and wrote a history of torture, murder, and poverty which created the neighbourhoods that these immigrants are fleeing from. But I digress.

...add to that all of his cheating on wives, fraudulent University, fraudulent foundation, horrible insults, sexism, racism, bragging, lying, all of it, and cling to the belief that he is the new King Percy. I've also heard King Solomon. King Herod. Leaders from the Bible that God allegedly used to indirectly do His will. Or create the situation that facilitate actions like they hope with things like reversing Roe vs Wade.


Both of these leanings are sick. The first because they are living in a fantasy world. This is the scariest group, because there is no arguing with them, they are brainwashed and lost. The second is trying desparately to make excuses in order not to admit they made a mistake in voting for him. That at least its better to have a Godless Republican than a Godless Democrat. That they are convinced that a Democrat would be just as, if not more, of a liar and a cheat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

52. The sheep have been brainwashed by their hard right "pastors" (leeches). . . . nt

[triron]

33. I think there's a fourth category. People who are just badly misled by rw media.

Even MSNBC and CNN Have normalized Trump and buy into much of the republican propaganda.

[Newest Reality]

38. That's a decent way to categorize them...

I have mentioned here before that I also see them as being in two camps.

The first is the supporter. They support him, but are not radical and extreme, so certain events could sway them to change their minds over time. However, don't expect them to acknowledge that overtly.

Then, there are the more mindless, devoted loyalists who are troubling. Those are the ones that are of greatest concern. I don't see today's loyalists in McAmerica taking a bullet or falling on their swords for their authoritarian chosen one, but they can and will overlook anything that does not fit their confirmation bias and would literally let him get away with murder while making some excuse for it.

It is the second kind that I think are more of a minority but they are getting way too much attention as a spectacle that seems to play to sensationalism in various media.

[NoMoreRepugs]

6. I am reevaluating my opinion and thinking that

the dumbasses are actually the majority. Luckily for us a fair number cant find a polling place even when its a floor above the basement at Moms house where they live.

[lagomorph777]

34. Oh, please. The polls don't support that.

[NoMoreRepugs]

74. Between 58 and 61% of voting age population participate

in our elections..... seems to me a possibility a reasonable % of that 40% may not be NASA scientists.

[lagomorph777]

85. 40% is not a majority.

[Moostache]

7. Consider for a moment George Carlin's observation...

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

[Martin Eden]

71. Stupid, full of shit, and fuckin nuts

The grand total is far too high, and all are susceptible to a demagogue like Don the Con.

[RainCaster]

8. No, I look at how big the Budweiser display is at my grocery store

and I know that there are a large number of very ignorant people, even in my blue state.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my dad told me that most people are stupid.

I thought he was being elitist. I now know that he was right. Thanks, Dad.

[DENVERPOPS]

20. Willfully

"WILLFULLY IGNORANT" is probably the best description.....

[louis-t]

36. During the bush years I paired that with

..."deliberately misled"

[progressoid]

28. Half of us are dumber than the other half.

That's just math.

The GOP just happens to attract most of the dumb half.

[JustAnotherGen]

11. Stupid - nope

They aren't stupid.

They aren't gullible.


Not surprised they are indeed the FACE of Evil in America and that their bigotry, prejudice, racism (whatever one wants to call it) is conscious.

I'm never letting them off the hook and I'm never going to let them forget WHAT they are and what they said and did during this time.

We did that before in this country. It was a monumental failure that leads to the BIGOTS in America Uprising today.

Bring the bastards to heel.

[Mazeltov Cocktail]

50. Yes. Thank you

[smirkymonkey]

12. I am perpetually amazed.

[cry baby]

14. Every day! nt

[customerserviceguy]

15. Trump is not

a politician, he is an entertainer. Politicians have supporters, entertainers have fans.

Many people are so disconnected from reality that they think that TV shows, etc. are reality. They glom on to this reality TV star, and think that the evil that he does is no more dangerous than that done by J. R. Ewing of "Dallas".

To them, a vote for president of the United States is no more consequential than a vote for somebody on "American Idol".

[vapor2]

16. Yes, sad to say

that there are so many stupid people. A few of my friends chose him for one reason and one reason only, whether it be religion or immigration. Many have unfollowed or unfiriended me on FB due to the truth about this monster.

[johnp3907]

18. No.

[FiveGoodMen]

21. Constantly

But then the next day … it's worse.

[Richard D]

22. I'm gobsmacked by this. nt

[KY_EnviroGuy]

23. This is what happens to nations that marginalize and monetize their systems of education...

and allow their news media to become unaccountable entertainment centers with profit as their prime motivation.

An out-of-control M&A system with corporations too big to fail doesn't help either......

Those factors destroyed most of our unified, close-knit communities across America that built this nation.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

64. I was going to comment, but you just put it all together for me.

It’s more upsetting than I can describe.

[Martin Eden]

72. Divide and Conquer

I've always thought the bitter divisions between ordinary people in this country was fostered and encouraged by Big Money interests that need us to be at each other's throats to prevent us from uniting for our own common interests.

Then Putin's puppet came along to exploit those divisions. Divide and conquer from within is the most effective strategy to take down a stronger foe, along with getting an enemy to use its own strength against itself.

The latter is what Osama bin Laden did with GW Bush, getting us mired in two long term very costly wars of occupation which have metastasized jihadism and recruited the next generation of terrorists rather than winning the "war on terror."

[Botany]

24. Trump has made it OK to say the word n****r again and that being stupid is a virtue.

For many in Trump's base, lower economic level white people he tells that it is OK to
scratch that "dumb fuck itch" and damn does it feel good to 'em. But every day more
and more get peeled away from Trump although I heard from a good source that we
a solid 25% of America who will almost never leave Trump.

[Ohiogal]

25. I think the same thing every day.

[OliverQ]

26. Yes, it's truly depressing.

But then Hitler rose to power with 33% of German citizens backing him, so it seems like 1/3 of all societies are inherently evil and stupid.

[FiveGoodMen]

41. It does really look like 1 in 3 humans is just no damned good.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

27. Not surprising at all... just like The Deplorables.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[StarryNite]

29. Yes

Mind boggling.

[bitterross]

30. Not at all. I work in Tech Support.

Most days I wonder who dresses most people and sends them to work or school.

[captain queeg]

35. Yes, sometimes I wonder how people so stupid survive

I think many of them don’t really believe Trumps BS but they just love to own the libtards.

[Auggie]

37. There's stupid. And there's group morals.

Read The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt -- a solid argument that a lot of "stupidity" is based on group morals.

[FiveGoodMen]

42. But buying into group morals is stupid.

[Auggie]

58. Have you read the book?

[OhZone]

61. These Trump cultists -

don't have real core morals.

They're morals are hiearchical and not universally applied.

Oh well.

[Auggie]

65. Read the book. I'll be happy to discuss your response.

[NurseJackie]

43. Constantly.

And that's all I'll say about that. I won't elaborate.

[AtheistCrusader]

44. People like my father reveled in it.

There is a streak of meanness in some people that cannot be explained. The best you can do is refuse to pass it on to the next generation.

[richdj25]

45. Too many of you are

reaching for reasons a-plenty but the bottom line which fits all this is 400 years of systemic racism. Even those you depict as good people who are being misguided are a part of the game.

they're afraid of the minority-majority thing coming up, and is under the guise they're going to be mistreated in the same manner as brown and black people are today.

400 years is a lot to give up the gravy, or at least share.

[beachbumbob]

48. Throw in the racism factor and it's not so baffling

[edhopper]

51. bigoted

is my second adjective.

[mountain grammy]

49. Every day, every stinking day.

[NotHardly]

54. To answer your question... Yes, but only when I was younger, now past 40, not so much

Time has taught me that although people should be treated equally and equitably, there is no such thing as 'common sense'. We arrive in this "codified world" filled with systems of belief, fortune to poverty, physiologically and psychologically different based on our biology and genetic inheritances to be buffeted and battered by unique circumstances and experiences... outcomes vary and the further one strays or wanders from the center of their 'first world' the greater such differences appear and exist. Furthermore, no such thing because outside of one's immediate family and/neighborhood, no one has the same experiences, so I always chuckle when I see someone or hear someone speak about 'common sense' ... to which I say, "If it is so damn common, why don't people use it more often." What they really are saying is, "I know what and how to do and so do my closest friends, how come no one thinks exactly like I do?"... well, unless they have had the same general upbringing, started with the same general bio-psycho traits, and were gifted with the same sociological-educational-wealth (national, ethnic, economic) blessings, they just are not you.

Hate and fear are generated by looking at others and expecting to find ourselves wherever our gaze rests... that expectation in reality is most perplexing.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

55. Yes.

[The Genealogist]

56. My aunt is an example of so,so he who is just plain simple

This is is my aunt by marriage. She was raised in an authoritarian family, and is an authoritarian herself. She is also poorly educated, and could care less, as her brand of religion sees education as "of this world." Trump is just the man for her, and is her idea of a success as a human being, because he appears to be rich and thus blessed by God.

[usaf-vet]

57. This is what I find maddening and maybe it is partly why I disdain professional sports.

Players make so much money and live lifestyles that are only possible by the millions of dollars the fans dump into supporting the games. Yet here we have a father that is teaching his kid to shoot a gun encase a 79-year-old senior citizen Bernie Sanders gets elected President.

This dad is teaching his kids to hate and pointing them toward violence. What a sad commentary of the world Trump and drag us all into.

Well, one more reason to not spend one cent on any major sports enterprise.


https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/27/aubrey-huff-bernie-sanders-shooting-range-baseball

[Arthur_Frain]

59. No doubt there are a lot of stupid people in the world.

But many of the trump supporters aren’t stupid, they were groomed.

Just like the Nigerian Prince scam caught lots of people who ended up getting stiffed for a helluva lot of money. Who’d be so stupid? Right?

The number of books written on human nature would fill two or three Empire State Buildings from top to bottom. They still can’t force you to do anything that you don’t want to do, and it is more difficult to induce you to do something that is against your general tendencies, but having said that, they can predict how people will react with alarming accuracy. Especially when you introduce a certain set of stressors.

And what has the right wing media and spin machine spent the last 40 years doing? Ginning up fear. Demonizing “the enemy”. Spreading disinformation, misinformation, focusing all the indignation and anger. As I warned my ma years ago when I caught her listening to savage, if you listen long enough you find their words coming out of your mouth unbidden. There’s a lot of science behind what they do and the people they hire to do it are very charismatic.

I know otherwise intelligent people who voted for him.

[Buckeyeblue]

60. Not any more. It's amazing how many people lack basic critical thinking skills.

[Dirty Socialist]

62. I think some of that is

Raging testosterone, unfortunately

[Onthefly]

63. Not at all. My white, rural, relatives

say that Little Donnie represents the white, hardworking, true Americans. He is stirring things up so the immigrants and poor blacks will see that their handouts are going to end. They say that he is making the workingman proud to be part of the true America.

I ask them if they see Little Donnie as a lying bigot who is only after self-praise.

They say that I’m an too stupid to see how the white people got sold old by liberals.
.....,,,,?$&&&’lmklngk c !!’vncfhkk...no point in arguing as they are are cultists.

[edhopper]

66. What you describe are people who are

stupid, bigoted, gullible and evil.

[Onthefly]

67. Agreed

[alterfurz]

68. "It ain't getting any smarter out there." -- Frank Zappa

[CottonBear]

69. 100% of my immediate family are MF45 supporters.

[7wo7rees]

70. H.L. Mencken quote from 1926

No one...has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.

[DFW]

77. Mencken had us pegged

And his observations have only been reinforced over the years.

[sammythecat]

86. Sure did! How 'bout this one for

having us pegged: "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

This little sub thread got me reading Mencken quotes. Wow, some real gems, right up there with Carlin and Twain.

[VOX]

73. Extremely disappointed that so many Americans would embrace a despot, rather than the rule of law.

For no better reason than to “own the libs,” or to “make libs cry.” They might perceive Democrats as a demonic enemy, sworn to snatch away their “imperfect vessel”— the hate-spewing mouthpiece, along with their high-capacity, death-dealing, high-caliber security blankets.

The Electoral College MUST go. Otherwise, the Republicans will keep winning elections while losing the popular vote.

Americans love to judge; even more, tragically, they love to be so brazenly prejudiced.

[LudwigPastorius]

75. Nope, I'm, unfortunately, not surprised.

We've all been raised with a little American Exceptionalism. It has been steeped in our culture and public schools for years and years. Part of that is the supposition that we aren't inherently evil. But, the entirety of human history undercuts that.

There is something deep in mankind's collective psyche, evolution, or genetic makeup that, when triggered by a sense of threat and a manipulative demagogue, would allow 1/3 of us stand and watch as another 1/3 rounded up and killed the last 1/3.

See: every genocide ever

[mdbl]

76. went to Discussionist today. That's were all the really stupid people are.

I remember when it was started. Looks like it's just a few right wing morons posting.

[Eyeball_Kid]

78. They're angry and impulsive. They'll always be in society.

Their impulsiveness distances them from reasonable problem solving. Impulsiveness means, "get it done now." Trumpy appeals to this tendency. He's the strongman dictator who unilaterally decides what's best. Impulsive people can't wait for representative deliberations. They want their cookie NOW. Trumpy is perfect for them. He oozes with grievances, just like his angry and impulsive base. He says, "Only I can fix stuff." One person. Perfect for the impulsive, angry segment. Of course, in reality, he can't do shit without violating the Constitution, but his base really doesn't care. They don't know enough about the Constitution to value it. That's why impeachment means nothing to them. It's a Constitutional process. His base doesn't give a shit. That Trumpy's marketing ploys fit perfectly with Putin and Russia also means nothing to his base. They don't care. They don't have an historical perspective on how Russia wants to damage the US because they aren't interested in defending the US. They aren't interested because they take it for granted that the US is stable and forever, and will always feed them with the accoutrements of a capitalist society. Civil rights are taken for granted. As long as they remain politically passive and get their creature comforts, anyone can rule over them, Putin included.

Oh, but if they visibly lose purchasing power or some basic freedoms, and they protest or show some unrest, THAT'S when an authoritarian leader like Trumpy will crush them. Right now, they have no idea what's in store for them if they start playing "democracy" with an authoritarian dictator like Trumpy. He has no interest in EVER leaving office. We already know that he has no internal controls and has no limits to what he will do to maintain power. For as long as his base feels comfortable with him, he'll continue to consolidate power to prevent ANY notion that there must be a passing of the political baton. IOW, unless the GOP Senate REMOVES him from power, he'll never leave for as long as his heart beats.

[ancianita]

79. What hurts us more is that intelligent people exploit them for power and profit. That's the worst.

I feel you, though. When I feel like you, I remember one more thing.

There's more to evil than stupidity. There is stealth.

"Intelligent" evil have used stealth and opportunity to shove even the well meaning stupids toward directions we have now found ourselves in.

The evil of them all is how they hide from the rest of us, because they know what they do.

Take the Bush "intelligent" legal team, prepped by "intelligent" John Roberts, DC corporate lawyer at the time, and "intelligent" justices of SCOTUS who helped GW win in 2000. Remember that, too.

Right now we're not just at war with the stupid and gullible. We're in lawyer wars.

Convert your dumbfoundedness to focused vigilance, because it's not enough to find out law exploiters, or monitor them, or punish their clients. We have to ruin them all, legally and economically. It's nothing personal, just the business of democracy.

[Catch2.2]

80. Every day!

It boggles the mind!

[MineralMan]

81. Half of all people are below average in intelligence.

And there it is. If that is the half that votes, you get what that half wants.

A better question is: Why don't the smart people vote in larger numbers? Answer that question and you will have the solution to your problem. Why do we outsmart ourselves so often?

[mudstump]

82. It is a wake-up call for me....

makes me want to start looking for a place in Canada. People there seem to be more kind, thoughtful and understanding...and I think they are smarter too. The dumb runs deep in America.

[bucolic_frolic]

83. Stupidity is one of the most plentiful commodities on earth

People are very angry. They work hard but the value of their labors is not theirs to keep. The party of business siphons off their labor in the form of profit, and tells them it's the other guys that steal their value for the common good. These people are too stupid to realize they are part of the common good, so they are content with the scapegoat the GOP provides them.

[Codifer]

84. Reasons are many and complex

There are stupid people either by heredity or environment and hatred can be added to that Venn diagram as well as peer pressure and a twisted world view and an odd interpretation of what reality is and what might be a movie or video game or a prophecy from whatever they hold most holy.

Then I remember reading "The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard written about 60 years ago and dealing mainly with subliminal advertising (big research at that time). It was the art of the subtle placement in ads of images which are only meant to be noticed by the subconscious mind which incite some favor (positive or negative) or emotion. Such research was done by talented and knowledgeable psychologists and sociologists. I think that, if I were one of those researchers, I would have have had to have been aware of the deep interest that, post WW2, governments and intelligence agencies expressed in this means of human manipulation. The idea is sufficiently simple and basic to human nature that gifted laymen figured it out; notably P.T. Barnum who knew that people really WANT to believe and George Orwell who wrote of its dark side. Televangelists and traveling revivals knew it too. Basically put, just grab the subject by the genitals or by his fear (and related hatred) and I understand why all the pretty and long-legged faux news ladies have short skirts and glass desks. While you have their attention on peeking up skirts, feel free to stuff the sub-conscious with fear that libruls are stealing Christmas or renaming thanksgiving or perhaps just the usual two minutes of hate.

Invariably, for me, this path leads to speculation about what the state of that research now, especially with the exponentially increased ability to persuade mass numbers of people via electronic media. I think of MK Ultra, and embassies bombarded by some esoteric forms of microwaves or ultra and subsonics.

Then I realize that I am ass-deep in a conspiracy theory and none of that could, therefore, be true.

I think, then that I must be crazy and I wonder if that is what "being gas lighted" means.

Then I recycle the whole damn thing. Very tiring.

I want to believe that people are good. But I can't.