Did the last minute grocery shop before dinner the other night. Bumped into my hockey friend and her visiting from FL elderly MIL, both staunchly Republican. Our 2nd daughters played sports together and are best of friends.
The girls have just started their freshman year at college so our youngest boys are now “only” children as our oldest are seniors in college.
For context this is the friend who on my psychiatric warnings about Trump said, “Worse than Hillary?”
In the past I’ve told this friend that Fox News is propaganda and she replied, “So is CNN.” That’s when I knew the Fox brainwashing had taken firm hold. So I told her to branch out and get her news from the BBC or CBC, CTV or Global (Canada). This didn’t happen of course.
Back to the grocery store. MIL asks about our oldest who’s in college in California. With relative disgust in her voice, asks me if she likes it there? Well yes she loves it there. Subtext is she had to transfer after being abused by her D1 coach, walking away from a full ride.
MIL with mounting disgust, is she going to live there after she graduates? I respond well it depends on where she goes to graduate school but maybe stay in California because it has one of the best programs in the nation. “Well those people are crazy.”
And there it is. Anyone who is not them or doesn’t think like them is “crazy.” Anyone who is not Republican, white, straight and Christian. If you hear this label absolutely suspect the effects of psychological manipulation and abuse. Labeling as “crazy” is their go to smear.
Imagine the gross generalizations and distortions one has listened to in order to believe an entire state is “crazy.” Ironically my 🇨🇦 parents refuse to winter in FL because there are too many brainwashed Trump supporter retirees like this MIL at their condo. I can’t blame them.
If you’re hoping this story lead to a confrontation, it did not. I wrapped up and went to get spaghetti ingredients.
One thing you learn early in your psychiatry training is rationale and reason does not change the delusional mind of psychoses. Brainwashing produces similarly.
These people have been listening to the same propaganda for 25+ years. I don’t watch Fox so I have no idea when they went full bore alternative reality creation with lies and deceit. What’s been clearly evident with Trump is Fox uses all the same psychological manipulations.
It is not surprising that many of the men at Fox have been accused or found guilty of sexual harassment and abuse. It fits the narcissist-sociopath profile of also being psychological abusers. It usually starts there.
Reagan got rid of the fairness doctrine and out emerged Fox.
I firmly believe Putin is somehow associated with this psy ops of Fox News. What better way to destroy a country than from within by disseminating divisive propaganda while simultaneously taking over a political party financially and thereby controlling its leaders.
When it feels surreal, distorted & everything you used to know to be true has been up ended, it’s a guarantee you’re in the clutches of a narcissistic psychopath. Except this is a cabal & the degree to which it’s coordinated subversion versus lucky collusion is anyone’s guess.
What’s crazy is a segment of the population who think they’re the biggest patriots have been brainwashed into being the biggest enablers of this country’s potential destruction by a foreign power. They’re completely oblivious. They’re convinced they’re right. They won’t listen.
The disgust in the MIL’s voice was fueled by hate and superiority. I’m convinced she’d feel justified in supporting just about anything leading to the demise of the “crazy” others.
I remind myself regularly there are more decent “others” than the brainwashed haters.
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