Did MAGA betray this country voluntarily?

[kentuck]

Or were they used by the Republicans and the right-wing media to help destroy our democracy?

Did they really know what they were doing or were most of them just innocent rubes?

But, whatever the case, they have done great harm to this country. They were deceived because they wanted to be deceived? They accepted the lies without question. In the end, we are all responsible for our actions. MAGA cannot escape responsibility.

Are any of them introspective enough to see what they have done?

Or do they still think they have done something great?

[yardwork]

1. Racists are not innocent.

They know what they are doing. They're trying to reclaim a white Christian supremacist nation that mostly only existed in their imagination.

They're useful fools for the billionaires who are taking over the world.

[The Roux Comes First]

2. Those Are Some Damned Good Questions! Did You by Any Chance Take a Degree in Philosophy?

I'm inclined to think more than a few, while certainly not "innocent," are just stupid rubes, afraid of one of "them others" getting a leg up and eager for someone who they perceive is powerful and will handle the logistics of maintaining their self-perceived status.

[paleotn]

3. Yes.

Sociopaths and psychopaths don't do introspection.

[lame54]

4. White America is their dream...

And SCOTUS is doing their best to deliver

[Redleg]

5. I think they don't like democracy when it goes agains their preferences

This is why Trump's attacks on voting, especially in urban areas, appeals to so many of these people. Many of them just don't see people from cities as their equals and deserving of equal protection under the law. Many of them resent that urban areas tend to support Democratic candidates. It seems to me that a lot of these folks really don't care what kind of government they have, so long as they are left alone and helped by the government when they need help. They seem to resent any help being given to others who are unlike them.

[flvegan]

6. Their stupidity is a feature, not a bug. n/t

[orthoclad]

7. There is no single answer, but

we must acknowledge that the greatest propaganda machine in history spent decades systematically working on them.

I speak of Fox News, enabled by Ronald Reagan, when the Australian Rupert Murdoch was permitted to buy US media. The hypnotic state induced by watching television along with the skills of the CIA and political psychology created first dittoheads, then Tea Party, then MAGA. Many of them actually believe they are the good guys.

Racism has always been a major tool of the rich. They will nourish the tiny shoots of it even when it's small and weak.

[kentuck]

8. I have no doubt but to think they believe their cause is righteous.

But, if we look at the results and look at the facts, they have done great damage. By their fruits you shall know them.

[orthoclad]

9. Oh, a percentage are evil, know it, and love it

that old primate dominance thing

[kentuck]

10. I cannot argue with those facts.

A certain percentage are evil. They have proven it.

[orthoclad]

11. Even the innocent-at-heart do evil deeds

[kentuck]

12. A cult is similar to the mob in the old western movies...

They follow the guy with the noose and the torch.

[orthoclad]

15. Vonnegut said something

to the effect of Nazis feeling warm and virtuous inside while "bopping" jews.

He should know; he was in a Nazi prison camp.

[31j20b3]

13. Not just voluntarily but very very willingly

The conversations that MAGAs engaged in around me seemed to be focused on destruction of what generations of government had produced to secure lives, liberty, and opportunity

Mostly because people who didn't live where they did wanted a fair shake for having been harmed by discrimination and the tailings of slavery.

Itn their minds it was better to wreck the status quo than to make progress on resolutions that make a society that better serves everyone by better serving the underserved.

[orthoclad]

16. Reagan told 'em

"We're from the government and we're here to help" is a bad thing.
So it's a good thing to wreck government, or at least the useful things it does. They still want armed govt to put the bootheels on the necks. Of the "others", of course.

[bcbink]

14. Yes they did.

At this point we still have secret ballots. Anyone can vote true to self without repercussions. There is no way around the fact that they are still supporting and voting republicans.

[Blue Full Moon]

17. Lord emperor trump, they knew what they were doing.