You may not like it, but Leah's right. There's a reason the Prodigal Son is a parable in almost every culture. when someone experiencing cognitive dissonance comes to you, you have two choices: embrace them, and win them over forever; or reject them, ensuring they never again question their beliefs.
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In a democracy we all hold some accountability for our vote and what that vote means.
I'm not saying we tell everyone "I fucking told you so" but we also shouldn't pretend they are not responsible either.
But ethically and morally--that seems fucked.
Even if you did it because you were stupid, uninformed, or gullible.
That gets taken into consideration, sure.
"Welcome aboard brother. No big deal that you were an ignorant piece of shit and that caused immense human suffering.
Since you're an ignorant piece of shit that's on my side now it's all forgiven"
Do I really think these people are somehow reformed or whatever. Fuck no
I think many people (nearly all) voted for Trump because they thought they were sticking it to the libs, or brown people.
They were perfectly okay with bad shit happening, just not to themselves.
I don't have a lot of sympathy for that. It was/is not okay
They really thought Trump was going to lower prices with Tariffs? That's not how they work. I don't really think that's what their vote was about anyway
In democracy, the people voting have to shoulder some of the accountability as well
If someone voted for the leopards-eating-my-face-party, and they get their face eaten, and then say "hey I didn't sign up for this", you won't persuading them to change future votes by saying "you voted for this you dumbass"
1) "someone else needs to fix this for me!"
2) "we'll launch a revolution!"
3) "i am torquemada, grand inquisitor!"
Be simpler for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
Tell ya what, look up "contrition"
(Most of them will change nothing and keep falling for the bullshit)
Everyone knew who and what he was.
And if they got nothing (as will almost universally be the case) you invite them to remove themselves from your presence in any way that you feel meets the moment.
But these ghouls may literally(1) end up killing me and/or some of my family.
If they voted for him after his first term, after January 6th, and after his last campaign, they are a lost cause.
There can be a middle ground, along the lines of “yeah no shit, we told you so. Thanks for coming around, now let’s get to work.”
They don’t get to pretend it was about the price of eggs, and avoid every consequence.
This is (only very slightly) hyperbole, but if someone has been behaving like Nazis, and supporting Nazis, I don't think the right move is "welcoming them in"
Many people will come around only because they were personally affected. Not really because they've seen the light.
We'll be right back here
It's not an injunction on private speech/how you talk about strangers - the moral of the prodigal son is not that their neighbour 3 houses over was responsible for him running off again because he was overheard calling him a selfish *****.
they’re irredeemable because they refuse to change
Nor is this usually a problem. Wanna look at how the Cheney's were treated this election then tell me how very important it is that we make sure we are all ready to embrace every conservative?
To merely complain that "this isn't what I wanted" is nowhere close to that kind of apology.
Why should I now care about you, when you didn't care about me when I needed it?
admit to voting for Trump AND
say that this isn’t what they voted for AND
be willing to join a coalition with people who do NOT support the things that these Trump voters actually voted for?
And if hell feeezes over and they do, fuck Maga. Fuck them all. There will be no embrace, only shame. I told you so for all.
The Trumpies, in contrast, won't be questioning their beliefs--They may blame Trump, but not themselves.
The parable is on the good son's need to accept the injustice.
Chase them back to their comfortable place of the MAGA movement where you'll be used as "they hate you and wanna kill you propaganda"?
If South Africa can do truth and reconciliation after apartheid ended, we can do similar.
People need to understand what they've done to this country.
It's simply not going to work with the all the of misinformation they have at hand.
Really we have a national crisis of reading comprehension and critical thinking.
That was everyone's thinking after the Civil War: "Oh, let's all be brothers again. THERE WILL BE NO LASTING CONSEQUENCES. Fucking KUMBAYA."
The South never HAD to drop its racist ideologies to be allowed back in the Union, SO IT DIDN'T, & how has THAT worked out?
Fuck them
We need to survive this first.
I will be opening and accepting of non-voters, I will support those who didn’t vote for Dems because of moral red lines Biden crossed. I won’t befriend a Nazi
I'm speaking of the
Folks that voted cuz they like gods and guns etc. I can probably work with them. The crazies like Miller and Bannon, never.
Yeah, I want them on our side, but it'll be a short lived alliance if we mollycoddle them into thinking that the decisions they made weren't obviously leading us here. They'll take one step back and then revert to their old ways.
Cause if if they say it’s not what they wanted, that doesn’t mean they want to work with the rest of us to fix it.
Families torn apart under threat of guns.
They lost their humanity, and committed the most horrific of acts.
They are lost, and they aren’t coming back. They chose hatred and racism.
https://bsky.app/profile/amdiamanti.bsky.social/post/3lh7u3o75zs24
Serious efforts to heal the breach need to be made BY THEM.
And yet.
So they were still virulently transphobic, but willing to concede on other factors.
Just as one example.
Last note: It's important for me to think "I told you so". Bc I will never forget, nor should any of us.
On the other hand: we are literally still paying the price for being too nice to the confederacy after the war. We are paying the price for being too nice to Trumpworld after the first term, esp after J6. We keep paying.
Our problem has never been a failure to be nice.
But I'm not saying we shouldn't forgive the foolish or misled.
I don't worry that we won't be forgiving enough, rather that needlessly calling for such makes more likely our recurring failing: to be too eager to do so & move on, to not reckon with the rot.
When people have some level of revelation, telling them to fuck off or I told you so is likely to make them double down on the crappy they might be second guessing.
They didn't really vote for the price of eggs to go down, they voted to kill non-white people and trans people specifically. They broke the social contract of tolerance, they don't ever get it in return.
But that assumes a lot. Such as, the people in conservative circles harmed the most by conservatism actually, finally understand who is out to harm them. I don't see that happening for many, we have a dead generation politically.
I'm not extending that same branch to the geriatric cousin who's foaming at the mouth that Gazans still exist.
You don't "welcome" them. You defeat them.
I've had more conversations than I can count where you literally tell them the truth, and they reject it outright.
Also, many of them are driven by hate and spite. Better to just never associate with them, if you can.
They voted for this. They chose this.
Actions have consequences.
If they do, then they want what is happening they just don't want it to happen to them.
I don't know what the correct response is to that, but it is something you need to take into consideration.
Now and forever.
We have to amputate the diseased limb before we can think about stopping the bleeding.
Are you serious about ending the cycle of violence, or are you more interested in perpetrating it for "your side?"
He was rejected by liberals when he tried to become one so he went back to being garbage
We have similar here in UK with Brexit.
I will never forgive any Leave voter. They chose, willingly, to deprive all of us of our European citizenship rights & identity. One of them had been my best friend at school. She took from me who I am. She can go to hell.
Other than that, I don’t welcome people that cheer for the direct harm of protected classes
They're never going 2 admit they are/were wrong.
They're into "Coroner reports showed many Davidians died from single gunshot wounds to the head".
"Trump launches presidential campaign in Waco & calls 2024 'the final battle'"
The only way to beat them is to build a base against them and take their power.
We cannot court them.
"Alright, now what are we gonna do about it?"
If they make amends, maybe. Will they? [hollow laugh]
"I just wanted to put certain kinds of people into camps, I didn't want to pay more for eggs!" is a big FU.
I find their crocodile tears unmoving.
But yes. Not caring is just as bad.
You should all be organising a national strike, cancelling fascist media, etc. Your democracy is falling. Act like it.
It wasn't that he realized things weren't what he thought, felt bad and changed his mind. He lost everything and ended up living with pigs eating slop.
Liiiittle different.
If you (or anyone reading this) has any resources please share them. We need them!
Feed the fatted calf to your own family.