What do you say to a Trump supporter about their place in history?

[Bleacher Creature]

I have people around me who I suspect voted for that demented, narcissistic,
freakshow, but I've held off engaging because part of me doesn't really want to know.

That said, the main point I would like to get across is that supporting Trump after all he's done is the kind of stain that never goes away. That it's such an overwhelming character defect that it's how a person's children, nieces, nephews, etc. will always remember them, no matter whatever good things they've done.

How do you get that point across? It's too strong to say that Trump supporters will have a comparable fate as the people in Germany who helped Hitler rise to power. At the same time, telling them that they're "on the wrong side of history" seems far too tame.

Has anyone else grappled with this.

[lagomorph777]

1. Trumpets are built like Trump. They are impenetrably dense. Save your energy for decent people.

But if you are simply speculating on what history will say about them, history will not be kind. They will be seen like Hitler's supporters, except, having already seen what Hitler did, they should have known better, and will, accordingly, be judged more harshly than Hitler supporters.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. Yes. If they still support Trump at this point, they won't listen to anything you have to say.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I don't discuss politics with Trumpers. It's a waste of breath.

[Liberalhammer]

4. Treason

They are complicit in Treason, white supremacy and it's a big negative Mark on their character.

[dlk]

5. Their Minds are Like Cinder Blocks

What isn’t cast in cement, has large holes. They are incapable of taking in and assimilating new information. What they don’t already know isn’t worth learning. In other words, don’t waste your breath.

[Botany]

6. Don't bother because "they" watch Fox news and/or listen to Rush and nothing you do and or say ...

.... or any fact that they are shown will not change their minds. Trump goes to W.V. and tells
people that the coal mines are gonna open back up and "they" buy it even though they
know deep down that the coal mines are never coming back.

Trump is gonna go down as the biggest crook and traitor in America's history and that is
set in stone but still many of Trump's base will deny that reality.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. The essential problem is that he can't be

explained or refuted in ten words or less. I suppose you can say, "Yeah, who needs to breathe clean air anyway?" or "What a waste of perfectly good mine sites and fracking locations if you have all those National Parks."

Keep in mind that not only is history very badly taught in our high schools, but the vast majority of students think it's a waste to begin with. Most people never read another book after they finish school, and it's highly likely that they only read the Cliff Notes on the ones that were assigned in the first place. They don't read the local paper. Even if they don't watch Fox News, they watch entirely too much TV all day long. They've been trained to expect that everything they need to know can be conveyed in 10 second sound bites, so they have the attention span of a gnat.

It also doesn't help that most people are extremely selfish and don't understand why paying taxes for things like public schools or maintaining roads matters.

As for the book reading, I was astonished to learn recently, via some FB exchanges, how many people didn't read books assigned to them in high school or college, only read the Cliff notes, saying they had no time to read the real thing and wanted to get a good grade. Worse yet, people apparently give themselves credit for having read books they never actually read. And that's among college educated people. Whoah! Am I naive. Me, I'm an inveterate reader, at least 100 books a year. Back when I was in school, I always read the books assigned, even when I found them boring.

Ignorance is powerful. It's especially powerful among those who don't know they are ignorant, as witness Donald Trump.

[marylandblue]

8. I don't make any grand statements about history or relatives

Fact is, we don't know what history will say. Our ancsestors would no doubt be shocked by our judgements on what they got right or wrong. Our descendants will no doubt shock us. And I don't refer to their children will think because their children, like many children, are likely to think like their parents.

So generally I just ask, from time to time, "Did you vote for children to be separated from their parents? Did you vote for someone to kiss Putin's butt?" And so on. The answers usually show we are consuming completely different news sources. Sometimes they show other things I don't like or agree with. But I am not trying to convince them of anything. I am just trying to plant seeds that hopefully will grow in some very hard soil.

[SimpleC]

9. It will be the same as in Germany, but different.

When Hitler finally fell and the facts started pouring out. Some Germans were openly ashamed, some were shocked, others slithered away to obscurity, and some outright denied it all. Claiming it was all a lie and fake news kind of thing.

Kind of like our well educated Neo-Nazi's we have here in America.

The same will happen here. But it will be a little different. Thanks to modern technology we have more recorded in real time then ever before. So it'll be harder to dismiss.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. "Ten years from now you're gonna feel really stupid."

Tell them that after Nixon resigned it was almost impossible to find someone who'd admit having voted for him because they were so embarrassed, and that they, likewise, will have to lie about having voted for Trump for the same reason.