I awakened this Christmas thinking that

[PCIntern]

The Trump cult reminds me of something other than that political.

I believe it is as difficult to convince a Certain brand of Trump supporter to change his or her Mindset as it is to convince a Philadelphia Eagles fan to become a Dallas Cowboys fan, or a Green Bay Packers fan to become a Minnesota Vikings fan. I think there is a portion of the brain wired with some people, many people, that a certain measure of allegiance to a thing becomes the firmware and it is all but impossible to rationally negate its power over the individual.

I only need to look at myself to convince myself that this is a powerful argument. I have been a Philadelphia Phillies fan since 1958. Overall, they are the “losing-est” team in the history of baseball, if not professional sports, due to their early origins coupled with horrendous ownership and management over many decades of their existence. My heart has been torn out of my chest more times than I care to discuss, especially when I was a small child, but I have unswerving allegiance to the team no matter what. There is not a single person involved with the team from the time they were winners, And as we all know, there is absolutely no allegiance to a team by a player other than the contractual binding, and yet no matter what I am bound to emotionally handle to the best of my ability The ridiculous vagaries of this team. The Yankees are only 90 miles away from me and our whole different kettle of fish as a franchise, but there is not a prayer I could swear any allegiance to them.

It is irrational and yet pervasive. Of course, calling Trump irrational is like calling Charlie Manson moody. And so it goes.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Happy Christmas, PCIntern!

🎅🎄

[Alliepoo]

2. Merry Christmas to you, PCIntern!!

[lisa58]

3. Being a Yankees fan I totally agree...

The most I’ve been able to do as I get older is ‘not mind’ when they lose.

Merry Christmas 🎄

[marble falls]

4. Merry Christmas!

[Rorey]

5. I agree, they're diehard "fans"

That's the kind of mentality we seem to have these days. There are some who think more pragmatically, but for many, they choose a team and the team can do no wrong.

My ex-husband is a diehard Denver Broncos fan. I used to enjoy watching the games, but he sort of ruined it for me the year that we had Romanowski. He was such a dirty player and I was appalled, Not my ex. He thought it was great.

Trump really could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and they wouldn't care, no matter who it was that he shot. I don't think he's as intelligent and crafty as some think he is, but I do think he has an ability to tap into that team mentality thing. Most of those MAGAts are going to be MAGAts until they draw their last breath.

[murielm99]

6. Merry Christmas,

from a die-hard Cubs fan.

I understand what you are saying.

[monmouth4]

7. An excellent perspective, as usual PC. I remember when I lived in Absecon the Phila. "A"s were the

team to root for many of us. Wishing you a wonderful holiday along with your family.

[PCIntern]

8. And to you and yours.

Where in Absecon did you live?

[monmouth4]

10. The "Old" Hobart Avenue section (40s-50s) and then for a short while on NJ Avenue

in the house of Dr. Bailey's dentist office.

[PCIntern]

12. You've been around a while!

It’s really changed.

[monmouth4]

17. Went for a ride about six years or so ago and wow you're not kidding..n/t

[MyOwnPeace]

9. Thanks for sharing.......

it is a persuasive statement/argument and does perhaps explain their "thinking" or lack there of.

Best line: "calling Trump irrational is like calling Charlie Manson moody."

[NoMoreRepugs]

11. Being an avid fan is difficult, hard, frustrating, gut-wrenching and

only occasionally totally rewarding. I live in Jacksonville.

[niyad]

13. Merry Christmas to you. A most interesting post, indeed.

[TheRickles]

14. It helps to remember that the word "fan" is short for "fanatic"!

[PCIntern]

15. True and also remember that

people are more likely to discard the relationship among their siblings or children than give up their Sports team

[bucolic_frolic]

16. They are fixed on their bias and then distort their reality and reasoning to support that bias

My conversation this week with one of them, whom I know well. Covid is deadly, wear a mask. "I understand that." But can't accept the Governor mandating mask wearing, or restricting businesses from opening. That would be "communism, and this is not Russia." "God has a plan for me, if he wants me to get Covid He will, and that's what i have to deal with. Otherwise I'll be safe and fine. It hasn't gotten me yet."

"People go into the supermarket without masks all the time. They haven't gotten it yet."

It's contagious, airborne transmission. "Well then it's in the air and I shouldn't go outside."

"I'm very careful about food though. I won't touch a can and leave it on the shelf for someone else to contact. I'm worried cans could have covid on the outside even if I have groceries delivered."

"I go to restaurants that don't enforce masks once you're inside. Seems safe to me."

So yes, per the OP, it is a cult with distorted thinking. Facts and logic don't matter to them. Death doesn't matter to them. Too much religion, too much fantasy thoughts. This resembles clerical disagreements that formed the Reformation. Transubstantiation was a big topic, do you believe, or no? Factions with cult-like religious leaders split off and formed new strains of Christianity. These schisms remain to this day. We are in troubled troubled waters.

[hay rick]

18. I grew up in New Jersey and swore allegiance to the "Evil Empire."

The media likes to describe current American politics as tribal, but I think it's more like supporting "my team." A couple random observations:
1. Extreme polarization in our politics has flourished in the same time frame as expanded cable channels and 24/7 sports on tv and radio. In my last decade of working (a decade ago, thank you Baby Jesus!) I noticed that my co-workers knew more and more about sports minutiae (they could lose me talking about salary cap options) and less and less about political developments.
2. If your franchise has a bad owner, a bad boy player, or is saddled with an overpaid star- you just wait it out. For those who dislike Trump- he is a mistake that will be fixed in the future. Or you support him blindly because he is our guy.
3. If you are a Republican because it is your team, it frequently is unrelated to political issues to which you pay little attention. You may chant "no socialism" or offer a stone-faced insistence that we need "law and order" but you probably support raising the minimum wage and may surprise your liberal friends by agreeing that we need a single-payer healthcare system. You join your team because many of your friends and co-workers are already on the team. People like you (same color, neighborhood) are on the team. Your teammates regurgitate talking points they heard on Fox News and they become the things that "everybody knows..."

That said, Merry Christmas all!

[MLAA]

19. Perfect description...calling impotus irrational is like calling Manson moody.

[Dream Girl]

20. Yes. Thrtrare lots of parallels to sports fandom. I worked in sports sponsorship marketing

For a time and learned a lot about the spot fan mindset. There is nothing logical about it.Lot of emotion, personal identity, feelings of community and belonging.I’m a Bronsfan since birth. I’ve lived in the SF Bay Area for 25 years and never went withe inners.

[DeeDeeNY]

21. I will never understand their mindset

Rooting for teams is at least a little logical - it may be related to where we live or our family memories and is usually fun. Even when our teams drive us nuts, they have no impact on our health and well-being or the health of our planet. But there is no logical reason these people have a blind allegiance to a moronic, irrational, greedy grifter. This isn’t sports, it’s their lives. I don’t get it.

[paleotn]

22. Thank you. Happy Holidays!

We're a relatively young species with strong tribal instincts. Coupling that with our adaptation for expanded concrete and abstract thought makes us dangerous on many levels. A danger to ourselves in many cases. Our love of sports teams for various concocted reasons is the fun side, sometimes, of those adaptations. Organizing ourselves into various death cults is the down side of our adaptations, for lack of better words this morning. And that down side may be our undoing.

[AmericanCanuck]

23. Merry Christmas

The analogy is very apt.

What the MFers don't realize is which team wins and which team loses in sports has no effect on one's life but in politics it does.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

24. Merry Christmas PCI...

Great analogy, Detroit Lions sufferer here. We don’t even know if the Super Bowl has a smell to it.
That’s how far away it is.

Have a Happy New Year!

[Blue Owl]

25. K&R

[MustLoveBeagles]

26. This is a very good comparison

My hubby is a staunch Da Bears! fan would rather die than become a Packers fan. Not long after trump's presidential announcement speech he told me he supported trump which shocked me. It was mostly due to his promises of health care reform. Around the time he picked Pence as a running mate he realized Traitor Tot was full of it. He absolutely loathes him now and can't believe he ever supported him. Maybe it was easier for him to turn on trump because, unlike other early trump fans, he never got that invested.

Merry Christmas PCIntern.