Woke... What does it mean?

[Pio1980]

Originally Posted by Oerets

Sad when you consider how scared of the world they are. Guess it is why the have such a love for firearms.

It is getting harder and harder to be tolerant to this zombie clan of closed, narrow minded, bigoted, racist, xenophobe and homophones.

Wanda Sykes: “Until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, I think you’re focusing on the wrong shit.”

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by Pio1980

I hope you are joking, that what put an incompetent unfit grifting media troll in the WH in 2016.

I was and Mickey Mouse was a dig on DeFascist, specifically the lawsuit brought by Disney. I am a huge Biden fan, his life story and his talent for negotiating with the GOP, especially when he was the VP.

[GChief]

Originally Posted by Oerets

Sad when you consider how scared of the world they are. Guess it is why the have such a love for firearms.

It is getting harder and harder to be tolerant to this zombie clan of closed, narrow minded, bigoted, racist, xenophobe and homophones.

I understand that. But this is my 39th year of service to this country and I feel its my civic duty to suck it up and continue to engage, like I said just one mind that the brainwashing can be reversed in is a win. If I have to have 1000 conversations to get there with 1 out of 100 people so be it.

Learned this long ago with dealing with some family and "cults".

IME it can work on red hatters.


1. Isolate them from their cult
As long as they stay in their group, they’ll keep reinforcing their identity and beliefs. So, the first step is to remove them from their group. Our beliefs require support from our environment. Travel with work helps here

When the target is isolated or placed in a different environment, their mind can take a break and give itself a chance to re-evaluate things.

2. Present yourself as an ingroup Understanding their fears and being able to speak to those fears is often good enough
Ironically, the methods to undo brainwashing look a lot like brainwashing itself. It’s because the mind works how it works. We can’t escape the rules of the mind.

Presenting yourself as an ingroup means you show the target that you’re on their side. If you try to convert them right out of the gate, they’ll resist you and think of you as the outgroup, i.e., the enemy.

You can show them you’re on their side by being non-judgmental, non-defensive, compassionate, and respectful. You don’t want to give them any reason to resist you.

3. Poke holes into their beliefs Usaally an easy day if you have their trust
You don’t want to blast through their beliefs by telling them how wrong and ridiculous they are. That approach rarely works and makes them defensive.

Instead, you want to ask them questions, show genuine curiosity. Ask them questions about what they believe with a mindset of “Let’s deconstruct these ideas together”. As you do this, make sure you point out the flaws in their convictions in a non-attacking manner.

This ‘death by a thousand cuts’ approach will slowly weaken their beliefs. Do it repeatedly to plant the seeds of doubt in their mind.

4. Show them how they’ve been brainwashed Having the 1000 conversations
When you’re poking holes into their convictions, show them that their beliefs have no logical basis. Tell them they’ve accepted the ideas of their cult without critical thought.

As you do this, it’s important to separate them from their beliefs. You don’t want to attack them, only their beliefs.

Instead of saying:

“You’re so naïve for having fallen into this trap.”

Say:

“Can you see how you’ve been brainwashed by X? Don’t worry, we can reverse it together. We can work through it.”

This communicates that they’re separate from their beliefs. If they acquired those beliefs, they can also ditch them.

Your goal is to appeal to their need for being rational. You show them that the way they developed their beliefs was anything but rational.

5. Show them the MO of other brainwashers
At this point, if they’re starting to question their beliefs, you can push them further by showing the modus operandi- and exposing the agenda- of brainwashers. Tell them stories and show them clips of cults who brainwashed and harmed people.

This solidifies the idea in their mind that they were influenced like many others and can get back on track.

While you do this, you’re planting the idea in their mind that the brainwasher is their enemy, i.e., the outgroup.

6. Restore their previous identity Being a conservative is ok and not a bad thing
You know you’ve successfully reversed the brainwashing if they experience an identity crisis. We experience an identity crisis any time we drop a major identity. They may feel lost, cry, or be angry.

Your task at this point is to gently restore their previous identity. Talk to them about their previous self- how they were before the brainwashing. While you do this, make sure you communicate that you and everyone else liked their previous self very much.

Tell them the thoughts they had, the opinions they held, and the things they used to do. This will help them settle in nicely into their previous identity.

Note that once a person is brainwashed, they may not be able to completely return to their previous self. They don’t have to. Their mind has been stretched.

They only need to drop the negative aspects of their indoctrinated beliefs and brainwashed identity. They can safely keep the harmless aspects of the brainwashing, and incorporate those into their previous self.

7. Update their identityDiscuss how they can make change
Explain to them how their brainwasher preyed on their weak identity and a lack of self-worth. If you care about them, you don’t just want to restore their previous identity; you want to update it.

If they return to identifying with temporary, intangible things, they’ll again become susceptible to brainwashing when the next crisis hits. You want to teach them how to identify with their permanent skills, mindsets, and abilities.

This will not only pave the way for a healthy level of self-esteem but also inoculate them from future brainwashing.

But that is just me, I get the fear, hate, frustration and desire not to engage from the left. I have the same conversations with the few far left lefties at work.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by RickeyM

I don't see much defending, or explaining for that matter.



Critical thinking...



I wonder if he's bought his tRump Bucks yet?

When I look back on the Trump years, I see a dark time of division, corruption and social decay. After all, when he left office, the murder rate was higher, drug overdose deaths had increased, and the abortion rate had gone up for the first time in decades. America was more bitterly divided, and deficits increased each year of his presidency. His early Covid lies helped fuel an immense amount of confusion and almost certainly cost American lives. And his entire sorry term was capped by a violent insurrection fueled by an avalanche of lies.

And these sheeple want four more years of this criminal seditionist. Its not lack of critical thinking but insanity. A dialog with the MAGAats is not the answer.

LOCK HIM UP.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/o...town-hall.html

remove paywall works. (wink)

[Rajoo]

From Jennifer Rubin.

Republican denial: Like many of you, I find it hard to wrap my head around the notion that MAGA primary voters are so sheltered from reality by the right-wing media propaganda machine that they would vote for a man accused of trying to overthrow the government and who got civilly adjudicated as a liar and sexual assaulter in the E. Jean Carroll case.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...n-indictments/

[GChief]

Originally Posted by Rajoo

And these sheeple want four more years of this criminal seditionist. Its not lack of critical thinking but insanity. A dialog with the MAGAats is not the answer.

LOCK HIM UP.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/o...town-hall.html

remove paywall works. (wink)

But it needs to be part of the process. They are an equal part of this country like every other citizen. Every cult member converted is another step up the hill.

[RickeyM]

Originally Posted by Rajoo

From Jennifer Rubin.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...n-indictments/

Before they became sheltered they were radicalized, indoctrinated, whatever. They were and it didn't just happen overnight.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by GChief

But it needs to be part of the process. They are an equal part of this country like every other citizen. Every cult member converted is another step up the hill.

Disagree. What does one usually say to someone who believes Trump won in 2020? Show me the proof, but there is none. Yet they will repeat the same nonsense. Best to avoid them and leave them to their stupid conspiracies and rants. Besides in their view I am an educated liberal Bay Area asshole and I am damned proud of it. (GRIN)

[Oerets]

I also have given up trying to break thru the ignorance and unwillingness. Face it most are happy going around filled with hate and anger. Very unhappy people and me attempting to reason with them appears useless.

They say you can reason with a six year old, not a drunk and now add MAGA.....

Will in the end only be foolish and a waist of time.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by Oerets

I also have given up trying to break thru the ignorance and unwillingness. Face it most are happy going around filled with hate and anger. Very unhappy people and me attempting to reason with them appears useless.

They say you can reason with a six year old, not a drunk and now add MAGA.....

Will in the end only be foolish and a waist of time.

“Conspiracy thinking is a mindset and believing that the 2020 election was stolen requires that you move away from listening to neutral experts and paying attention to evidence,” said Dan Cassino, a political psychologist at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Director of the Poll. “It turns out that once you’re in that mindset, you’re more likely to believe just about anything.”

This link is very informative.

https://www.insidernj.com/fdu-poll-2...ot-flat-earth/

Examples of the MAGA belief system:

Trump is the best president this country has ever had.
Truth: He could not even put together a credible cabinet nor hold on to one.

Trump is a great businessman.
Truth: Six bankruptcy filings and how can anyone lose owning a casino?

Trump is honest.
Truth: Cheated on two wives, cheated on taxes, stole money from his charities, stole money from students at Trump U, cooked his books, over values his properties.

He is a great negotiator.
Truth: Lil Kim ate his lunch and barfed all over Trump.

These are just the highlights of this lowlife.