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IIRC, there is good research work backing up this from @jeffowski: people who’ve been taken in by a con will cling desperately to the con rather than admit (to others and themselves) that they were conned. People are willing to pay a •very• high price to avoid shame.
Rather than taking this only as a judgmental insult (however well deserved), I’m interested in the practical psycho-socio-political strategic implications for lifting our society out of this deep hole.
https://mastodon.world/@jeffowski/112271264553686404
@inthehands I don’t fully accept the premise that we have fallen into a hole. Compared to 30 or even 15 years ago, USians at large are more likely to believe that Black Lives Matter, that transgender people are human, and the same sex relationships should be honored and celebrated. Following the metaphor, we’re halfway out of the hole. Some are scared of what’s on the outside and seek out beliefs and leaders that promise to bring us back to where we were.
@inthehands it’s not so much about being taken in by a con. It’s more that the only leaders left promising we can go back are the con artists.
@dekk Yeah, “deep hole” was underspecified. I should clarify: yes, there is no doubt that we’ve made enormous social progress; indeed, that progress is part of the fuel for Trumpism. By “deep hole,” I mean:
- While there’s more visible, widespread acceptance now for e.g. trans rights, there’s •also• more visible, widespread acceptance for fascism.
- I’d venture that people with extreme right-wing views are more able now than they were 20+ years ago to go w/o having those views challenged…
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@dekk …and even more importantly are more able to feel like their right-wing extremism is the norm, is not extreme.
- Trump’s political career would have been dead 200x over — rape, fraud, affairs with porn stars, stealing state secrets, blackmailing allies, forcibly orphaning children, I mean HOLY SHIT — if he were any other person or it were any time in the past. This point is what I mean by “con.” This plus the previous two points is what I’m thinking of with “deep hole.”
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