[fleek]

A strongman. A Caesar. Someone to champion the cultural values and identity we believe in. You don't have to like it, agree with it or understand it for it to happen.

Honestly I am trolling a little bit(maybe a lot) but this is literally how people think and no amount of discussion is going to change their minds. They want outcome A, you want outcome B, and there are very little (perhaps 0) shared values to build a cohesive foundation on which to compromise.

[jhp123]

> no amount of discussion is going to change their minds

It's a slow process. A MAGA extremist isn't going to read "LGBT rights are human rights!" and say "Ah, I didn't realize! Of course!" and become a liberal.

Maybe they argue with someone about how tariffs are going to be great for the country, and they don't change their mind. But a few months later their neighbor in trucking loses their job, and their friend in construction is talking about how hard it is now, and they start to have a few doubts. They think back to how the guy they were arguing with said this would happen.

And then they argue with someone that only illegal aliens are going to be deported, and they don't change their mind. But then when US citizens start being sent to the camps, they remember that they thought this wouldn't happen and even argued against it.

People do change their mind eventually. Even violent fanatics have changed their minds: the Maoist Red Guards lost steam, the IRA followed a peace process as did FARC in Colombia. If you love liberty, democracy, peace, and prosperity, then I think your best move is to persist in trying to convince MAGA extremists, while understanding that it will take a long time and potentially a lot of chaos and conflict.

[squigz]

One of the most important lessons I've learned is that minds are not changed overnight, and thinking you can will drive you crazy. One's goal in engaging with people whose mind you want to change shouldn't actually be to convince them right there and then, but rather to encourage them to think about their position over time.

[mcphage]

> You don't have to like it, agree with it or understand it for it to happen.

Sure but the problem is: he's going to fail the majority as well, which means they're going to step in and replace him next.

[Volundr]

> which means they're going to step in and replace him next.

Or discover they can't. The thing about strongmen dictators is they aren't that easy to just replace.

[pas]

cultural values you say? like rape, corruption, extreme pettiness and selfishness?

these people are in a cult. their sunk cost bias is overwhelming most of their sanity.

and of course the world is not going in the way they wish, so their conflict resolution is to write a blank check to said strongman. (and project everything on him.)

[mistrial9]

> these people are in a cult

yeah and I propose that "othering" anyone is the root of a problem, in itself. Don't become the thing you hate.

[mcphage]

Othering is bad, sure.

But shipping people out of the country without due process, into a foreign high security prison, and ignoring a court order to bring him back, is a whole lot worse.

Let’s keep our eyes on the ball.

[fleek]

If that's what it takes to undo the moral decline of the last 30 years then so be it.

I'm sick of seeing insanity in schools, at work, and on the news everyday.

Our culture has been totally deconstructed and reversed where drag and pedophilia is celebrated, being diverse is more important than being skilled/having ability, being white is seen as tainted or somehow lesser than someone who has a diverse background. Beauty has been replaced with vulgarity and queerness.

The reversal has been a long time coming. We have had a silent majority that was too afraid to act because of the legal implications of going against powerful special interests.

[mcphage]

My god, what a loser you are.

[fleek]

Looks like DEI are the losers now.

[bryan_w]

Wow, you really make life hard for yourself.

And you probably would erroneously say that you don't have a victimhood mindset

[fleek]

I made no claims about myself either way. I pointed out a cultural reversal that has been a long time coming.