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Tom Yossarian Joad

(19,227 posts)
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 01:23 AM Mar 2020

Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?

Found in my facebook feed...

An anguished question from a Trump supporter: ‘Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?’

The serious answer: Here’s what we really think about Trump supporters - the rich, the poor, the malignant and the innocently well-meaning, the ones who think and the ones who don't...

That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine."

That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, "Okay."

That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem."

That when he made up stories about seeing Muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue."

That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you chirped, "He sure knows me."

That when you heard him illustrate his own character by telling that cute story about the elderly guest bleeding on the floor at his country club, the story about how he turned his back and how it was all an imposition on him, you said, "That's cool!"

That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw.

That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, you said, "Well, who has time?"

That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense."

That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!"

That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!"

That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!"

That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be."

That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!"

That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!"

That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was in the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense."

That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!"

That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids, has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they’re just “animals” - and you say, “Well, OK then.”

That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise.

What you don't get, Trump supporters in 2019, is that succumbing to frustration and thinking of you as stupid may be wrong and unhelpful, but it's also...hear me...charitable.

Because if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.

-by Florida writer Adam-Troy Castro #AdamTroyCastro

52 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid? (Original Post) Tom Yossarian Joad Mar 2020 OP
Thank you! BigmanPigman Mar 2020 #1
That or soulless, evil, reprobates captain queeg Mar 2020 #2
and if you've spent one minute, even, on his FB feed.... Grasswire2 Mar 2020 #3
If it's all the same ... lpbk2713 Mar 2020 #39
K&R UTUSN Mar 2020 #4
I am less charitable. KentuckyWoman Mar 2020 #5
You and I are of the same mind on this. There is something wrong with his people. Progressive Jones Mar 2020 #9
yours is s beautiful post KentuckyWoman Mar 2020 #21
Well said I could not agree more. Jim_S Mar 2020 #28
What an excellent summary. 3catwoman3 Mar 2020 #6
I double checked the ID, cause that's what I thought, too ! Haggis for Breakfast Mar 2020 #44
I hope the author took it as a compliment, as that is how... 3catwoman3 Mar 2020 #47
EXCELLENT. Haggis for Breakfast Mar 2020 #48
And yet they call us Libatards lunasun Mar 2020 #7
We can thank Limbaugh for that one. Tom Yossarian Joad Mar 2020 #20
Ah, yes................... MyOwnPeace Mar 2020 #23
Hear, hear! smirkymonkey Mar 2020 #8
KR NT ProudProgressiveNow Mar 2020 #10
Good job of paring down the list! mjvpi Mar 2020 #11
That list is EXACTLY why the loss of the Fairness Doctrine was a cataclysm Moostache Mar 2020 #12
Wow thegoose Mar 2020 #35
Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid? PoindexterOglethorpe Mar 2020 #13
We think, therefore they are. dchill Mar 2020 #15
I don't think they are stupid... hay rick Mar 2020 #14
That's what most or all of the list demonstrates Major Nikon Mar 2020 #17
This message was self-deleted by its author chwaliszewski Mar 2020 #16
Substitute the word 'hypocrites' for 'stupid'. keithbvadu2 Mar 2020 #18
It's either stupid or evil.... or both. nt eilen Mar 2020 #19
Can we add a few? jimlup Mar 2020 #22
He forgot one: skypilot Mar 2020 #24
Not stupid, no. warmfeet Mar 2020 #25
Phenomenal. Thank you. nt Ruby the Liberal Mar 2020 #26
K&R Newest Reality Mar 2020 #27
I use the phrase 'ethically retarded'. These people can feed themselves and drive cars. johnthewoodworker Mar 2020 #29
They feed off anger and selfishness McKim Mar 2020 #37
They are both stupid Polly Hennessey Mar 2020 #30
Dunning Kruger.....They are convinced they are smarter and superior Maggiemayhem Mar 2020 #42
When you show up carrying a sign reading sarge43 Mar 2020 #31
Or one that says "Learn the english langage", "Get a brain morans", and so many examples. . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Mar 2020 #32
Why do I think water's wet? Goodheart Mar 2020 #33
I don't know about all of them but... llmart Mar 2020 #34
Even leaving these arguments aside Vogon_Glory Mar 2020 #36
It's not about Trump "supporters" PJMcK Mar 2020 #38
Actually - their news does not show the same things that our news shows bloom Mar 2020 #40
And yet I see remarks on FB posts Maggiemayhem Mar 2020 #43
Truth! Tom Yossarian Joad Mar 2020 #49
Because they are? 2naSalit Mar 2020 #41
Wow. Any questions? Joinfortmill Mar 2020 #45
Because willful ignorance is indistinguishable from stupidity? William Seger Mar 2020 #46
The scary part is that they re stupid...or they are totally amoral and want to see the US become a Nitram Mar 2020 #50
Why? Observation, measurement and testing. LanternWaste Mar 2020 #51
"Because they are" works for me, whomever said that. Brainfodder Mar 2020 #52

BigmanPigman

(51,584 posts)
1. Thank you!
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 01:30 AM
Mar 2020

About a month ago I was asked the same question and by a Dem aquaintance. My mouth dropped open since I didn't know if she was serious and then I didn't know how to respond without taking an hour. I will bookmark this.

Grasswire2

(13,566 posts)
3. and if you've spent one minute, even, on his FB feed....
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 01:36 AM
Mar 2020

there will be no doubt in your mind what kind of people adore him.

KentuckyWoman

(6,679 posts)
5. I am less charitable.
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 01:39 AM
Mar 2020

Some of them are stupid. All of them are god damned selfish racist heartless jackwagons. Every one of them. I quit pretending otherwise some time ago.

Progressive Jones

(6,011 posts)
9. You and I are of the same mind on this. There is something wrong with his people.
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 02:23 AM
Mar 2020

I'm sure that most of them take care of business like normal Americans --- love the kids, pay their mortgages,
etc. However, they are on a completely different plane in terms of citizenship, moral direction, levels of compassion and empathy.

I'm 61, and I've never seen our society look as fractured to me it does right now. I've also never encountered the levels of political
ignorance in Americans that I see now. I had to pass civics and Constitution tests in the 8th grade, and in my Senior year at High School. What drives me insane is the number of people my age, who I've known all my life, who have become far right nuts and hard core magaheads. I see footage from those MAGA rallies, and most of the people look just like my neighbors. We were the 70's youth, who entered our 20's as Reagan was being installed. We also didn't live in 24/7 news feed times. A little younger than the Woodstock kids, but only a year or so too young for the draft. We cared about the World, and our nation. So many I know have lost that. They were broken somewhere along the way. Mostly because the jobs went away long ago. They've been underemployed and pissed off about it for 30+ years. They're aiming their anger in the wrong direction.

Jim_S

(58 posts)
28. Well said I could not agree more.
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 08:47 PM
Mar 2020

I'm 67 and lucky to be retired for just over two years. There was certainly much social unrest back during the riots (I was born in Detroit) and the Viet Nam years. There was a division back then but it's different now. One of the books that helped me understand how we got here was the book 'Dark Money' along with 'Democracy in Chains'. The contrived sewing of discontent in our country did not happen overnight. It has been a long determined process by the 'monied' people many who the majority of citizens have not even heard of. The 'puss oozing orange anal blister' is no accident. Things will not magically get better if he is defeated in the next election. There has to be systemic fundamental changes in many things. We can start with money in our elections and the compressed ownership of our 'lame-stream media'.

Haggis for Breakfast

(6,831 posts)
44. I double checked the ID, cause that's what I thought, too !
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 10:04 PM
Mar 2020

Nance -- We LOVE you and now you have inspired others to speak eloquently as well.

3catwoman3

(23,971 posts)
47. I hope the author took it as a compliment, as that is how...
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 10:29 PM
Mar 2020

...I intended it.

BTW, I have actually eaten haggis for breakfast, while in Edinburgh, and I liked it.

Moostache

(9,895 posts)
12. That list is EXACTLY why the loss of the Fairness Doctrine was a cataclysm
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 02:44 AM
Mar 2020

Reagan is like goddamn herpes...the fucking gift that just keeps on giving and giving and giving some more...

Without Reagan, we would NEVER have had Bush II...
Without Bush II, we would NEVER have had Palin...
Without Palin, we would NEVER have had Trump...

The downward trajectory is fucking obvious, each one dumber and more crass and more evil than the last...from born again stupid, to stupid born again to just flat out fucking drop the pretense and be stupid stupid stupid on every thing.

Shakespeare himself could not have written a more tragic script for the demise of the American experiment in self-rule and governance than what we the people have allowed the propaganda ministers of the right wing churn out 24/7 into the empty heads of the easily duped and wantonly cruel.

 

thegoose

(3,115 posts)
35. Wow
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:09 PM
Mar 2020

Perfectly stated. Ray-Gun was the horrible piece of shit that started it all. And they still worship at the old dead fuck's altar like he was the Second Coming (another idiotic pursuit).

hay rick

(7,604 posts)
14. I don't think they are stupid...
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 03:24 AM
Mar 2020

I think they are morally damaged. As the writer says..."if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering."

Major Nikon

(36,827 posts)
17. That's what most or all of the list demonstrates
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 04:17 AM
Mar 2020

Calling them stupid grants them the benefit of the doubt.

Response to Tom Yossarian Joad (Original post)

jimlup

(7,968 posts)
22. Can we add a few?
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 07:49 PM
Mar 2020

Risking a full scale war with Iran.

Blundering into the covid-19 situation.

Denying desperately needed assistance to Ukrain for personal political gain.

and on an on...

skypilot

(8,853 posts)
24. He forgot one:
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 08:15 PM
Mar 2020

That you watch him licking Putin's boots and think "That's fine, we SHOULD make friends with murderous dictators".

 

johnthewoodworker

(694 posts)
29. I use the phrase 'ethically retarded'. These people can feed themselves and drive cars.
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 08:47 PM
Mar 2020

You know, regular human stuff. But they lack kindness, empathy, and generosity.

McKim

(2,412 posts)
37. They feed off anger and selfishness
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:12 PM
Mar 2020

They feed off anger and selfishness. They love a good fight. It’s no accident that Trump used to be a wrestling MC, he sounds like one. This is a tradition starting with the Scotts Irish who fought at the border for 800 years. They came in ships to Charleston Harbor in colonial times and their descendants carry on that love of the fight

Polly Hennessey

(6,793 posts)
30. They are both stupid
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 08:49 PM
Mar 2020

and morally damaged. A waste of time looking for their “good” qualities. We have tried and failed to find any.

sarge43

(28,941 posts)
31. When you show up carrying a sign reading
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 08:50 PM
Mar 2020

"Keep the goverment's hands off my social security", that could be considered a clue.

llmart

(15,536 posts)
34. I don't know about all of them but...
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:08 PM
Mar 2020

all of the ones I've met are.

Therefore, I concluded that probably being stupid was one of the requirements for supporting Trump.

Vogon_Glory

(9,117 posts)
36. Even leaving these arguments aside
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:11 PM
Mar 2020

Liberals and centrists cannot fathom why right-wingers are so willing to put their interests aside (examples: healthcare, retirement benefits, clean air and water) and vote for lying, amoral crooks.

I can’t believe that it was just centrists’ and leftists’ parents who told their children never to trust a liar or never to buy a pig in a poke.

PJMcK

(22,031 posts)
38. It's not about Trump "supporters"
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:14 PM
Mar 2020

It's all about REPUBLiCANS!!!

They have supported every element of the list in your post.

bloom

(11,635 posts)
40. Actually - their news does not show the same things that our news shows
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:25 PM
Mar 2020

They may not have seen any of those things on that list. Their news, as I understand it, tries to show Trump only is a good light.

We as the ones who are painted as bad.

They live in a different world from us.

Maggiemayhem

(809 posts)
43. And yet I see remarks on FB posts
Sun Mar 1, 2020, 09:43 PM
Mar 2020

that if their liberal friend post anything, they will disagree. The sun is shining. No, the sun never shines. They have every opportunity to know the truth, they just won’t accept it. Some of them do realize that they have been conned but are too embarrassed to say they made a big mistake.

Nitram

(22,791 posts)
50. The scary part is that they re stupid...or they are totally amoral and want to see the US become a
Mon Mar 2, 2020, 12:22 AM
Mar 2020

totalitarian fascist state. Stupid I guess I can understand. The alternative means many of my fellow American citizens are fascists. You know, the people we defeated in WWII?

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