Had breakfast with a friend of mine this morning.

[captain queeg]

I’ve only known him about a year and a half but we have a lot in common and I enjoy talking to him. I’ve sensed he was a RWer and steered conversations away from politics but trump came up this morning (hard to avoid these days) and though he bashed trump that opened the door to a wide ranging RW rant. I was surprised by a lot of what he says and at some point he mentioned watching OAN which I knew was a RW “news” but had never looked at it before. After breakfast I did a little internet research which ended up including Newsmax, another source I just had a vague idea about.

I’m now really disappointed in the guy. He’s been pretty good about keeping his politics to himself up to this point. I sure hope that continues because I can see we are so far apart it would ruin the friendship. I’ve heard of so many people who have had to lose friends or family members over the poison trump and his ilk have spread. I’m hoping that trumps fall from grace will be so complete that many will turn away from him but I can see the divide goes much deeper. Although he’s been the point man for the movement I fear the damage done in the last 6 yrs or so is beyond repair. I keep hoping trump will become such a laughing stock than many will be ashamed of buying into any of his shit. I’m probably being too hopeful.

[Elessar Zappa]

1. Nothing lasts forever.

I do believe the fever will eventually break but whether it’s in a year or twenty years remains to be seen.

[Love4u]

2. Divide

Regrettably, I agree with you. I too believe the "divide" goes much deeper than Trump.

Good luck with your friend.

[brewens]

3. The first I heard of Newsmax was when they scammed my ex. Also, when I started to learn she was going

hard-right over Obama. Before that I had really thought she was an honest libertarian type.

She had ordered a "free" book prophesizing the coming world-wide calamity Obama was bringing down on us. The dumbfuck gave them our business credit card which was how I found out. Then she didn't scroll down and opt out of the $50 per year newsletter subscription. She's like one of those dogs that can be smart as fuck sometimes and a complete moron others. They wanted that card number for a reason.

She got a fucking refund but said it took a couple hours. When I saw the charge, I Googled the code and saw it was Newsmax and that all kinds of people were bitching about the same thing. It shows you what they are worth when they have to pull that shit. I bet they are still dinging people $50 a year and sending that newsletter to people that aren't paying attention.

[Mopar151]

4. They're still mad about civil rights and the EPA.

And tend to refer to anything remotely progressive as "That Shit".

" Conspiracy theories are for the ones who are so confused by how complicated things are, that they go for any explanation that uses familiar terms" paraphrasing William Gibson, "The Peripheral"

[electric_blue68]

7. This, and trying to get ERA passed.

[MadameButterfly]

5. These people are brainwashed by fake news sources

The question is how bad does it have to get for them to get it? And does it have to happen directly to them, like the guy who participated in jan. 6 and a conspiracy theory was made up about him. Only then did he realize he was being lied to.

[Kid Berwyn]

6. Keep lines of communication open.

Smart people want to learn new stuff, even that which can make them change their minds.