The problem is these are the people who won’t get there, plus they’re harming a lot of people in the meantime.
Codger mode ….
Back when I was a wee young’un, I lived in a small town in a rural area. Republicans ideals made sense (whose not to like fiscal prudence), we read about the crime ridden horrors of big cities, read about the inbred fear of education down south, read about drugs destroying peoples lives, read about welfare queens, read about illegal immigrants and crime. We “weren’t racist” but those dark skin people were violent criminals. Products of our environments I guess.
Like you, I grew up. As I was exposed to a larger variety of people, I discovered they were people. As I saw more people in situations outside their control, I developed more empathy. As I got to know people with different preferences than mine, I learned their preferences didn’t do me any harm. Now decades later, it’s hard to understand the fear, oppression, racism, hatred, and it’s impossible to understand the unethical inconsistent self serving authoritarians that Republicans have become. I’ve seen it too. I apologize to everyone I hurt because it took years for me to grow into a better human being.
The problem is these are the people who never grew out of it. They’re the people who saw their friends and family expand their horizons, but retreated ever deeper into their holes. Theyre the people who saw progress and desperately yearned for a mythical past that never was. They’re the people who saw everyone else growing out of their limitations, and turned to extremism. They are not joining everyone else but have turned their backs and headed the other directions. They are the diehards wallowing in their misery who don’t care about anyone else’s misery. They are the righteous who have lost their way, cloaking their hatred, spite and corruption is self-righteous desperation. They are the self-centered stealing from society and stealing from the future. They are the limited viewpoint building ever higher walls rather than venturing out. They won’t change.
ThunderWhiskers@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Respectfully, you have no idea what you’re talking about. I live in Texas and I am surrounded by the conservative mindset. There is a chittering madness about these people that causes them to frenzy any time something triggers them as being “woke” or “trans” or in any way challenging to their narrow world-view. They cannot be reasoned with, I have tried far too long with no effect. Their beliefs are couched in white christonationalism and the stupid masses having their stupid beliefs vindicated by bad actors in positions of power.