Influencing sane people ... [View all]
Sorry for the tl;dr. I mistakenly posted this in the Lounge and reposting here.
Ok I’ve had fun recently engaging in convos with both Trumpers and confused independents. While it’s not gotv I feel it’s my job (our job) to try to rationally engage folks in our communities and hopefully influence them. It’s not easy to do in rural MN or WI but so far it’s been worth the effort.
One acquaintance (friend of a friend) is a farmer and Fox viewer and we got into last weekend. He claims Biden is marching us into Socialism and must be stopped. It was not easy to let him monologue without rolling my eyes, but I tried to treat him with respect and follow along and nod okay. When he was done I asked, “Do you remember when Trump put huge tariffs on Chinese goods when he was in office?” “Oh yeah that was awesome!” “Well, you’re a dairy farmer but do you recall what happened to your friends who are corn and (soy) bean farmers?” “Um no. What?” "Well their crop prices plummeted and crop insurance didn’t cover most of them.” “Oh yeah I remember that.” “Well because of their huge losses and anger, Trump gave them tens of Billions of aid aka payoffs.” Squirming, “Yeah I remember that.” “Well, isn’t that the definition of Socialism?” He actually thanked me for sharing that calmly and succinctly.
In another convo a gal who I’ve been fishing with is a bible-thumper and gave me the stupid, “We can’t afford another four years of Biden!” “Why?” “He’s crushing the economy.” “Ok, so last year you got a new fishing boat that cost more than the new truck you had to buy to tow it. It can’t be that bad.” “Well that doesn’t count.” “OK, well things like gas, eggs, milk, bread and other staples are pretty reasonable right now - why do you think the economy is so bad?” Fox News doesn’t prepare them for this convo. “Jen, I just don’t understand how any person of faith can vote for anyone shucking bibles for $49.99. I’m not religious and it offends me, why doesn’t it offend you?” She told me she’s secretly very offended but really hadn’t considered it much. She also thanked me and said I’m voting for Kennedy. Maybe not the result I wanted but sounds like one less Trump vote.
In another convo a buddy from Duluth area claimed Trump is the law and order president and crime is so out-of-control with the Biden admin. I calmly asked, “What do you mean?” “Well, look at how badly the George Floyd crowd attacked and burned your city, that’s insane!” “I agree it was crazy and unfortunate, but dude - Trump was President when that happened, not Biden. As well, crime and policing are local issues - city, county, and state. The federal gov really doesn’t impact crime that much.” “What do you mean?” “Well, the governor can call up National Guard for certain situations, but the President can’t send in armed forces.” “Oh really?” And again, he thanked me.
I’ve begun to shy away from the veteran angle, “How could any vet support a draft dodger?” But it turns out Biden had deferments too so it’s not as strong an argument as I hoped. Since most of these people are not affected by nuance, it’s not an easy conversation despite plenty of ammo.
Lastly, the one convo that is most puzzling to me is the whack jobs who claim, “If Biden steals another election we are going to civil war!” My 72yo female neighbor widow told me this in my driveway two weeks ago. “Who is we?” “All of us!” “Well dear neighbor, the only people I hear talking about civil war are Fox News viewers and they’re a pretty small minority of citizens.” She screamed some nasty expletives and now she flips me off whenever I drive by her house. Oh well.
Edited to add …
Due to my location and demos (mostly purple) I am eager to volunteer that …”the only positive thing that Trump will do this year is easily ensure a Biden/Dem super-majority for another 4-8 years!” I don’t say this to “own the pugs” or to stir the pot - I say it because I believe it. And I want my purple friends to know that I believe it. Cuz I think it influences them.
