Trump v Biden 2020,The insurrection (pt 6) Read OP

valoren

I sometimes wonder how a person came to support Donald Trump and also, after his sole tenure as President, I wonder why they continue to support him. To understand it, I recalled the seminal work "When Prophecy Fails" from the 1950's. This was a book detailing the psychology involved in a doomsday cult which predicted that a flood would destroy the world and that a flying saucer would come to rescue the true believer followers of this cult. In short, the world did not end as predicted and to deal with it psychologically the group, instead of admitting they’d been duped and were gullible, believed that it was their strong belief's which had helped avert disaster. In the aftermath, their belief intensified. It was support for the theory of cognitive dissonance yet at it's heart was the concept of "disconfirmed expectancy". The events at the Capitol are an example of this phenomenon fuelled by fringes of the internet, biased media and the President of the United States.

Five conditions lay at the heart of this phenomenon and it can be prescribed to the Trump phenomenon and the 2020 Presidential election results.

1. A belief must be held with conviction.

An American becomes disenfranchised with status quo politics, they consume Donald Trump's easily digested rhetoric, they take to his (bullying) style, they particularly get a kick out how he riles people this person despises. They believe that he would make a great President, that he is a successful businessman, a billionaire who can’t be bought, that he has integrity and they align themselves with his platform to Make America Great Again.

2. The believer must be committed to the belief.

The person becomes an unapologetic supporter for Trump both before and after his election. Trump doesn’t merely get their vote, he get’s their soul. His election gives confirmation that other Americans believe and trust in Trump as well. They consume biased media which is exclusively supportive of Trump which reinforces their beliefs, they attack media outlets which criticize or try to hold Trump accountable. A siege mentality develops and the narrative becomes that Trump's opponents are out to end his Presidency, to disrupt his goals. They engage in confirmation bias and latch onto (and zealously share) conspiracy theories which denigrate and smear opponent's of Trump. They believe that those not supportive of Trump do not want to make America great, to be anti-Trump is to be anti-American. They incur expenses to travel and attend Trump rallies. They kit themselves out in MAGA gear. They become blocked on Twitter attacking Trump critics and they find their way to Parler, an echo chamber for Twitter rejects, white supremacists, neo-Nazi’s and Trump devotee's. They consume hate speech therein. All told they believe that Donald Trump is the greatest President in the history of the US.

3. The belief must be falsifiable.

Trump is thus the greatest President ever and given that, to his hypothetical supporter, then surely a second term of office is an inevitability. In advance of the election, Trump sows seeds of fraudulent activity, of his opponents conspiring to steal the election. They accept his accusations that mail in ballots are rife for fraud. They believe that the only way Trump can lose is by electoral fraud. Trump loses the election. The cognitive dissonance kicks in. The supporter, now radicalized, believes Trump's assertion that it was rigged. They consume biased (and baseless) conspiracy theories about servers and dead people voting and they feel that factions of a "deep state" are operating to undermine Donald Trump. This person, a misguided patriot, decides that they must step up and confront this enemy within. They will watch TV news channels which further foment suspicion.

4. Contradictory evidence must be presented to and recognized by the believer.

The supporter will follow all court activities by Trump's legal team, they will see them get rejected. They will donate money to the Trump campaign after receiving mutiple messages and emails requesting money. They will follow swing states performing recounts and audits which confirm a Biden victory, they will watch the Electoral College vote confirming a Biden win, they will take heed of every check and balance available certifying a Biden win. The believer is subjected to a significant amount of cognitive dissonance i.e. "I believe something that is not true."

5. The individual believer must have social support.

This is the final step. This is where Donald Trump's refusal to concede a fair election takes hold and which sows the seeds of the supporter ultimately storming the Capitol Building. The message boards, the TV channels and even the President of the United States are all in agreement about one thing. The 2020 election was stolen. Towards the end of 2020, with the President still in denial about the reality of his loss, he tweets about a rally taking place on the 6th of January, the day that a joint session of Congress meets to certify Biden's victory. Usually a formality, this will be the final nail in the coffin for Trump. The President's tweet is a call to protest. Last chance saloon to stop the steal. The supporter decides they will go. Between the time of that tweet and the 6th of January, the supporter consumes increasingly violent rhetoric on message boards. It won't just be a protest, it will be an operation to stop Congressional certification. Those who accept the election result are deemed traitors, RINO’s etc. On the day, the supporter, wearing their MAGA regalia, listens to various speakers at the rally which whips up a frenzy in the crowd. The Presidents words about showing strength resonates and the mob quickly descends on the Capitol building itself. Surprisingly, it is lightly policed and protected. In attempting to gain access to the building by climbing, the supporter falls and is hurt. They don't receive medical attention but they wallow within proximity of the building watching the events unfold. They eventually make their way back to their motel but the congressional certification takes place deep into the night to their indignation. Back on the message boards, they note that activists are already planning protests in their state capitol. It will be their next step.

This person would not be trying to storm the Capitol building in isolation. They have been groomed by President Trump, they have been radicalized by his most zealous supporters, they have been given confirmation for their beliefs by disingenuous news and media outlets. My thoughts about the storming of the Capitol building is that it was the action of a cultish mob, egged on by a cultish leader. Rest assured, that hypothetical supporter is still a believer in a stolen election, they’ve simply invested too much to come back from the brink, back to some semblance of reality. They are now die-hard Trumpist’s who will continue to fight phantom enemies within. A domestic terrorist.

briany

^^^^

Sam Harris summed this up in his latest podcast - the utter derangement on display with Trump's supporters last Wednesday. As Harris put it, they were like (imo, the worst) Youtube political video's comment section come to life.

MeMen2_MoRi_

Another Dem has tested positive since Wednesday bringing the number up to 3, one is 75 yrs old. Hopefully she pulls through okay.

duploelabs

briany wrote: »

^^^^

Sam Harris summed this up in his latest podcast - the utter derangement on display with Trump's supporters last Wednesday. As Harris put it, they were like (imo, the worst) Youtube political video's comment section come to life.

Or the journal to give it local context

The Raging Bile Duct

robinph wrote: »

I think people saw that he'd try it, but we hoped that the system would have spotted what was being done and called a halt to his messing sooner. Each step along the way though people assumed that was as crazy as he'd get and there wasn't any reason to clip his wings as he'd learnt his lesson and would behave like a normal person by tomorrow... Except he never did.

I think what Trump and Boris/Brexit have shown is that a lot of politics is just convention and is easily undermined and left floundering when someone comes in that doesn't give a shít about tradition or protocol.

MeMen2_MoRi_

MeMen2_MoRi_ wrote: »

Another Dem has tested positive since Wednesday bringing the number up to 3, one is 75 yrs old. Hopefully she pulls through okay.

Must say the caliber of some of the representatives in the Republican party is absolutely appalling.

A lady, mindful of the health of everybody, respectfully going around handing out masks when the Capitol is under siege. Then you have 4 of them there sniggering and mocking her, refusing to take the masks. Real schoolyard bullying stuff.

Absolutely horrible cretins. America has fallen a long way, no doubt about it.

For Forks Sake

jill_valentine wrote: »

Edit - though it's worth saying they've moved a lot of their fundraising lately to a "Christian" GoFundMe alternative platform recently.

GoFindMe ?

Billy Mays

Layla video with added Ray Liotta

https://twitter.com/carter_glascock/status/1348727651586871298?s=20

everlast75

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1349032185479663616?s=19

Shocking stuff. Incredible really.



PS - In that case, they should be tax deductible for kids

partyguinness

and to think...when Trump dies he will be afforded a State funeral lying in state in the Capitol rotunda (I believe) but at least he will die a sad lonely bankrupt old man.

Foxtrol

The Raging Bile Duct wrote: »

I think what Trump and Boris/Brexit have shown is that a lot of politics is just convention and is easily undermined and left floundering when someone comes in that doesn't give a shít about tradition or protocol.

They floundered but it is wrong to call out just the left though.

Trump and Brexit first took over the right wing parties. At least the left put up a sustained fight rather than giving up and quickly shifting to lick boots

The Raging Bile Duct

Foxtrol wrote: »

They floundered but it is wrong to call out just the left though.

Trump and Brexit first took over the right wing parties. At least the left put up a sustained fight rather than giving up and quickly shifting to lick boots

I wasn't calling out the left or right, I was calling out the systems themselves.

The Raging Bile Duct

partyguinness wrote: »

and to think...when Trump dies he will be afforded a State funeral lying in state in the Capitol rotunda (I believe) but at least he will die a sad lonely bankrupt old man.

And a library. Don't forget the Trump library.

duploelabs

partyguinness wrote: »

and to think...when Trump dies he will be afforded a State funeral lying in state in the Capitol rotunda (I believe) but at least he will die a sad lonely bankrupt old man.

I wonder if the removal from office with negate that funeral

Gregor Samsa

The Raging Bile Duct wrote: »

And a library. Don't forget the Trump library.

3,000 signed copies of The Art Of The Deal, each dedicated to himself, and a picturebook version of Mein Kampf.

Gunmonkey

The Raging Bile Duct wrote: »

And a library. Don't forget the Trump library.

Which will probably be filled with: 1 moulding, untouched copy of The Art of The Deal, and several hundred other books on what a s**tshow the years 2017-2020 were for American politics and the story behind Jan 6th.

partyguinness

Well, Trump is just phoney who has spoofed and bullied his way through life and wel...all the way to the WH. He will get what he deserves n the end.

As my father said many times: "Give a man enough rope and he will hang himself"

ohnonotgmail

Gunmonkey wrote: »

Which will probably be filled with: 1 moulding, untouched copy of The Art of The Deal, and several hundred other books on what a s**tshow the years 2017-2020 were for American politics and the story behind Jan 6th.

I think it is fair to say that the Donald J Trump Presidential Library will contain more items written in crayon than those of previous presidents.

briany

Gunmonkey wrote: »

Which will probably be filled with: 1 moulding, untouched copy of The Art of The Deal, and several hundred other books on what a s**tshow the years 2017-2020 were for American politics and the story behind Jan 6th.

Several hundred colouring books, copies of TV guide with Fox & Friends circled in red marker, letters to Mr. T, old Nokia 3310s, KFC menus, a catalogue custom gold toilet fittings, one picture of each of his four children, Don Jr., Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron, and a packet of polos.

ohnonotgmail

briany wrote: »

Several hundred colouring books, copies of TV guide with Fox & Friends circled in red marker, letters to Mr. T, old Nokia 3310s, KFC menus, a catalogue custom gold toilet fittings, one picture of each of his four children, Don Jr., Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron, and a packet of polos.

now that is just mean

duploelabs

briany wrote: »

Several hundred colouring books, copies of TV guide with Fox & Friends circled in red marker, letters to Mr. T, old Nokia 3310s, KFC menus, a catalogue custom gold toilet fittings, one picture of each of his four children, Don Jr., Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron, and a packet of polos.

Poor eric

francois

briany wrote: »

Several hundred colouring books, copies of TV guide with Fox & Friends circled in red marker, letters to Mr. T, old Nokia 3310s, KFC menus, a catalogue custom gold toilet fittings, one picture of each of his four children, Don Jr., Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron, and a packet of polos.

And sharpies, don't forget those

partyguinness

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

I think it is fair to say that the Donald J Trump Presidential Library will contain more items written in crayon than those of previous presidents.

At this stage it is more likely to be filled by ex staffers who have written books about Trump. The world and his aunt seems to have released a book at this stage. Personally feeling a bit left out truth be told.

extra gravy

https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1349037401243582466?s=19

Can't wait to find out what Trump has on him. The weasel.

Tell me how

extra gravy wrote: »

https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1349037401243582466?s=19

Can't wait to find out what Trump has on him. The weasel.

They are showing us what they mean when they talk about unity.

When people show you who they are, believe them.

briany

extra gravy wrote: »

https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1349037401243582466?s=19

Can't wait to find out what Trump has on him. The weasel.

It's a recurrent phenomenon. Remember the bitterness between Cruz and Trump, and then Cruz wouldn't endorse Trump at the RNC (prompting loud catcalls and boos), but now acts like one of Trump's main advocates?

ohnonotgmail

as much as I dislike trump I think it might be a stretch even for him to build a worse presidential library than some of his predecessors. The ronald reagan library in california has the pub he visited on his trip to ballyporeen. Not a replica of the pub, the actual pub. they packed the whole lot in crates and shipped it to california and rebuilt it.

Tell me how

briany wrote: »

It's a recurrent phenomenon. Remember the bitterness between Cruz and Trump, and then Cruz wouldn't endorse Trump at the RNC (prompting loud catcalls and boos), but now acts like one of Trump's main advocates?

They're not looking at Trump, they're looking at the 74M people behind him.

That's why Democrats should push to shine a light on every single person who played a part in last week happening and not just stop at Trump should be be impeached or just slither away from office.

It isn't necessarily about the 6th, it is about future events and whether or not people think they will get away with them.

ohnonotgmail

partyguinness wrote: »

At this stage it is more likely to be filled by ex staffers who have written books about Trump. The world and his aunt seems to have released a book at this stage. Personally feeling a bit left out truth be told.

not if those books are in any way critical. anyway, that isn't what a presidential library is. It is more of an archive than a library.

For Forks Sake

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

as much as I dislike trump I think it might be a stretch even for him to build a worse presidential library than some of his predecessors. The ronald reagan library in california has the pub he visited on his trip to ballyporeen. Not a replica of the pub, the actual pub. they packed the whole lot in crates and shipped it to california and rebuilt it.

To be fair, Regans also has an Air Force One, a F-117 Nighthawk and a walloping great chunk of the Berlin Wall