The NYT piece on Trump supporters digging in is why I said, well over a year ago, that there was no way to reason with them. There is no level of moral collapse or political incompetence they will not defend.
The question is why.
/1
The question is why.
/1
Ordinarily, it's a pedestrian observation to say "it's because, like all Americans, they overly identify with the politician they support." This is an American problem, across parties. But for Trump supporters, there's a twist, and it fuels immense anger and fear among them. /2
They double-down because they know that even if they win, they lose. They're desperately trying to recapture a world that doesn't exist, and never did. That old lady crying for Trump? She knows it's over. The world she once loved - or thought she did - isn't coming back. /3
The incel man-boys chanting about "not being replaced" were, in fact, replaced long ago, when they were growing up and failing to establish relationships with women that were not drawn in Japan, and having children. (That's how you get "not replaced.") /4
This explains a lot of the fury, I think, and why Trumpers are the angriest winners in American political history. They won, but they know it doesn't mean anything, and they double down out of shame and fear. What choice is there? /5
Maybe I was in Vegas too long, but they're like the gamblers who think the games are rigged, the food's bad, the beds are uncomfortable, and it's all better back in Real 'Murica, but they'll sit in front of that slot machine *all day* because the other option is going home. /6
And I'll just bang one more drum one more time: when people are ashamed of themselves, they double down. The people in the NYT story *know*. They *know*. But once you defend the indefensible, there's no climb-down.
That's why there's no point in trying to reason with them. /7x
That's why there's no point in trying to reason with them. /7x
