The psychological phenomenon that blinds Trump supporters to his racism
President Trumps tweet proposing that four Democratic congresswomen of color three of them born in the United States, one a naturalized citizen go back to the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came was textbook racism. Yet while some Republicans condemned the statement Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), who is black, lamented its racially offensive language others flatly denied that there was a racial component to the salvo. A particularly contorted reaction came from Rep. Andy Harris (Md.), who said, Clearly, its not a racist comment, adding that the president could have meant go back to the district they came from, to the neighborhood they came from. But the president could hardly have made his meaning more clear: He said the four originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe.
Well, I certainly do not think the presidents a racist, said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who suggested that the tweet was justified by the representatives constant criticism not only [of] the president but also Congress and our country.
Fear of crossing a president whos popular with the Republican base surely explains some of the convoluted rationalizations on offer. But a psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance may also shed light on some peoples unwillingness to acknowledge the self-evident racism in the tweets.
Cognitive dissonance, first described by the psychologist Leon Festinger in the late 1950s, occurs when conflict emerges between what people want to believe and the reality that threatens those beliefs. The human mind does not like such inconsistencies: They set off alarms that spur the mind to alter some beliefs to make the perceived reality fit with ones preferred views.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-psychological-phenomenon-that-blinds-trump-supporters-to-his-racism/2019/07/18/29789344-a8ac-11e9-ac16-90dd7e5716bc_story.html
Botany
(70,581 posts)He made it okay to use the word n****r again.
Look @ Dana Bash (?) sitting behind Brett Kavanaugh flashing a white power hand sign at his hearing.
redstatebluegirl
(12,265 posts)Botany
(70,581 posts)... Gen. Robert E Lee and that was no mistake because that area is head quarters to the Klan in the state. Several of the people arrested @ Charlottesville were from that area or had connections to that area.
Judi Lynn
(160,619 posts)Brett and his pal, Karl Rove, 1990
Clear to see the only way he could get a sane woman's attention at all would by trapping her in a room like he and his witness did to Christine Blasey Ford.
Rove and Kavanaugh. What a handsome pair of U.S. American lads. <gag>
JudyM
(29,274 posts)pbmus
(12,422 posts)Reality tv stars become our leaders...
And justice is bought at your local Walmart...
Peace06
(248 posts)I am no therapist, but I believe this group of people have never been interested in politics until trump. I believe they felt left out of the mainstream until they heard trump. They finally feel that they are a part of something important and that they make a difference. This is like a drug to them. Somebody is finally on their side. They will not willingly give up something that makes them feel so important. However misguided they are, if someone could make them feel as included and important as trump does, it could possibly break through. This is why they dont care what he does as long as he makes them feel included. We must find a way to convince them. I dont know what that would be, but surely some expert knows.
Skittles
(153,193 posts)as someone said, Trump is not a leader, he is a motivational speaker for racists
Thank you!
marble falls
(57,204 posts)to the some of us with the basest of instincts.