Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

Thread: The @TexasTribune's thread summary of their story about public school teachers in 2022 is a must-read, IMO.

My thoughts on it below, as a Cult 45 survivor and now opponent.

https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/1517284868333387778

Issues like this one affect people beyond Texas, and even beyond the USA.

Republicans' intentional mismanagement of the public schools system in places like Texas is a useful example of why and how they are deliberately damaging their country for the sake of staying in power.

If they see the photo of the teacher sitting at her desk, the first logical fallacy they will commit is ad hominem.

They will try to disregard the whole story by asserting that even slightly overweight people are just lazy, and will do worse than others if they contract Covid.

It's a form of dehumanization, which in their mind justifies dismissing anything the person says, even the whole issue of valid public policy concerns like labor supply in disaster response & recovery.

Their narrative in 2020 was to attack teachers who (rightly) feared Covid.

BTW, having an above average BMI is a risk factor for Covid complications, obviously at the higher BMI end especially.

But... rates of morbid obesity are far higher in the "red" counties of the US. (Because of multiple factors, including lower rates of educational attainment.)

A Big Lie that started decades ago in the US is that Republican voters should fear and oppose public education because it's run by commies who want to steal your property, take your guns, and generally #saygay in front of your precious little darlings.

And yet, the same folk told their flock in 2020 that the only reason their little darlings annoyed them at home all day was those selfish, lazy, communist, cat ladies who refused to show up to work bc Antony Fauci told them horse paste doesn't cure Covid.

[Note: Satire. OK?]

The online maga ecosystem was awash with this anti public school teacher rhetoric and of course it still is.

Some of us figured out the facts: That Russian regime interference in the US in general, has led to the perilous state that country and most others are now in.

Inside Cult 45 the biggest lie they've tried to drill in to people's heads since 2015-16 is that Russia didn't interfere, doesn't interfere, and we should all listen to the concerns of Putin and his enablers, and just "leave Russia alone" to do what it wants to do.

When brainwashing has been effective, it is very, very hard for the target/victim/survivor to question his or her now deeply held beliefs. And even harder to admit to others that they were sucked in so badly.

They are taught to doubt any and all "experts," including MDs.

That was prob the clearest sign for me to seriously doubt the maga talking points I was hearing about the pandemic, & about every other issue.

People were dismissing the advice of their own MDs, who they had trusted about other potentially life and death matters, for years.

Anyway, to keep this relatively short: Read the Texas Tribune thread I linked at the start of my thread.

If you have questions or comments about the topic, I am all ears.

If you want tips on coping with your maga relatives, I can help with that, too.

#ItsACult
#Cult45