this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2025
565 points (98.0% liked)
conservative
1067 readers
1208 users here now
A community to discuss conservative politics and views.
Rules:
-
No racism or bigotry.
-
Be civil: disagreements happen, but that doesn't provide the right to personally insult others.
-
No spam posting.
-
Submission headline should match the article title (don't cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
-
Shitposts and memes are allowed until they prove to be a problem. They can and will be removed at moderator discretion.
-
No trolling.
founded 2 years ago
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
i sounded kinda cynical but I actually agree with your sentiment, on a more personal level. i have several friends whose families have been split apart (actual people moving away and excommunicated) as a result of the cult like obedience conservatives have tapped into. loyalty to television personalities over actual living breathing grandkids and siblings. truly mind blowing.
the systematic brainwashing of many people using ragebait, disinformation, and targeted messaging has revealed a deep corruption in the media ecosystem and shown us how easily many of us can be convinced of opposite views we once held sacred. there's a principal in psychology called "belief change blindness" which essentially shows that rather than admit we were wrong, we change our minds and just forget that it happened, instead creating an internal narrative that we've always believed the thing we currently believe.
im convinced that the most successful political operatives in modern times have weaponized our own psychological weaknesses against us, knowingly, in the same way that game developers use rng loot drop mechanics to tap into gambling addiction reward centers.
I'm not going to rehash the horror of watching family and friends go down the rabbit hole. It's a big ball of grief that comes in waves.
As to your supposition that psychological weaknesses were weaponized: I completely agree. I think historians will focus on it as evidence is available and time goes by, it will be considered obvious.