I agree that it's impractical. If I could Thanos-snap them out of existence, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, such easy solutions are not possible. So if we ever do have any hope of recovering the ideal of a country based on the rule of law, we'll have to figure out what punitive or rehabilitative measure to take against a fifth of our population. Rehabilitation would be extremely difficult, though, as anybody with a Trumper for a family member will attest.

[–] ZMoney@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (8 children)

You have to talk to them and admit they're human beings worth talking to. You have to believe they act the way they do because of a deep pain, and you have to imagine what it's like to feel such pain. And you have to accept that doing so is dangerous because you can't trust them. Without a faith to guide you this sounds impossible. And it leaves us trying to engineer solutions that make things worse. I don't have any answers either, I just wanted you to try to realize how painful it is to hear good people suggesting evil things.

[–] elbucho@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Oh, I completely admit that they're human beings. I vehemently disagree with the "worth talking to" bit of that sentence, though. As for their pain... I don't give a flying fuck about it. These people are the root cause of an enormous amount of misery. It's possible that they aren't all cruel, but every single one of them decided that cruelty wasn't a deal breaker for them. I have zero faith that the vast majority of them will ever be redeemable.

We saw the exact same thing after the civil war, by the way. Taking the federal boot off of their necks led to Jim Crow laws and the KKK. Talking to them didn't fix that. Reasoning with them didn't fix that.

I think that the main point of difference between us is that you believe that all life is sacred, and should be preserved at all cost. I do not believe that.

[–] seeigel 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

These people are the root cause of an enormous amount of misery.

Not the propaganda they are fed? Or their education, pledging the flag every morning during their childhood?

That would still not be the root cause.

[–] elbucho@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Propaganda doesn't exist in a vacuum. People must make it, and people must spread it. Like spam, if there's nobody dumb enough to click on the links, the spammers will soon stop sending spam for want of profitability. The receptivity to propaganda is a necessary component for the propagation of it.

[–] seeigel 1 points 2 days ago

The receptivity to propaganda is not something that can be influenced. The interesting root causes are the ones that can be changed.

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