Trump supporters do not know that they are stupid-they “know” that they are smart because they have redefined “stupid” to mean “thinking differently than I do”.
Do you understand the difference between “asking a question” and “stating a proof”? That would help.
Ummmm … no. Your source says college-aged people.
Trump is what the former KGB used to refer to as, “a useful idiot”. I doubt even the right wing leaders have any respect for the intelligence of their own followers simply because of the fact that they can get them to believe absolutely anything no matter how outrageous or illogical, and no matter how many sources and facts exist to dispute it.
From my experience, that’s most Americans independent of politics.
Because defining “intelligence” and quantifying it is such a morass, I do find it interesting that MAGAites and MAGA-friendlies take such pleasure in bringing it up themselves. It’s amazing to me how they enjoy asking “You think we’re stupid, don’t you? Admit it, you think we’re just dumber than you are” and so on.
The answer to their questions is “Yeah, of course I do” but we can’t say that out loud (it tends to divert our overall difference with their policies into a personal subject) so we digress from the digression by answering “Your personal intelligence isn’t really the topic here…” and some (as you can see from this thread) don’t want to touch this topic with a long stick.
The big problem is that a whole lot of them are absolutely, positively convinced that they are RIGHT. So there’s a big feeling that there’s no need to re-evaluate their positions, beliefs, etc… as they’re as right as they can be.
So it’s intellectual laziness or stupidity, but less in the form that says that they can’t be bothered, and more in the form that they see no need to reevaluate or critically think about any of it.
I mean, if you know you’re RIGHT and the news you watch(a big part of the problem), your community, and your church are all agreeing, there’s no need to critically think about why you’re right, if you’re indeed right, and so forth. And it feels good to know you’re right like that, on the righteous side of things, and what-not.
I don’t think it’s at all a bunch of flat-out stupid people who can’t figure this stuff out causing all the problems, but rather a bunch of smart people who’ve been convinced that they’re right and don’t need to reevaluate or critically think about any of it.
Then there are the breathtakingly cynical types who do know that it’s not right, and are aware of the crookery and shady aspects of it all, but go with it because it furthers their personal or organizational agenda. They’re not necessarily true believers- they’re too smart for that, but they’re perfectly willing to go along because it benefits them, regardless of the cost, moral turpitude, or anything else. Stephen Miller strikes me as the foremost example of this sort.
I know some of my deficiencies, so if I start thinking “If that person can be President, I can be President!”, I recognize the problem.
There’s no such thing, eh! Also, elbows up, Canada!
I’m not sure how useful these distinctions are - especially if they result in the same actions.
I’m thinking of someone saying, “X voted for Trump, but is a good person!” Can X truly be a good person, if they voted for a horrible candidate who will do horrible things? How about, “Yeah, but I only killed ONE person! Look at all the good things I’ve done!”
How meaningful is it to say, “My parents are not stupid. They just did a stupid thing - likely influenced by their intellectual laziness.”
People with high IQs are perfectly capable of dong stupid things/holding stupid beliefs.
Scroll down the article to the section
2024 Votes, Education Level where it gives numbers for
High school or less-- Trump: 54 Harris: 44
Some college-- Trump: 43 Harris: 55
College graduate-- Trump: 42 Harris: 56
I think that many of them are stupid, but what they almost all are is bigots. They hate a broad swath of American society, enjoy their suffering and want the state to punish their inferiors and reward their own privileged status. It’s no mystery why the movement sprung from the election of a two term black president.
Of course I do. The title of this thread asks a question.
That is not asking a question. It is in your own words
Further
That is not presented as speculation. It is at least an opinion, and could easily be read as a factual claim.
That is definitely a claim of fact.
@DocCathode, I’m going to ban you from this thread. You appear to be just trying to derail it. Take a break maybe.
Too much “you” and “I” from you and @GailForce and not anything concrete or productive.
Too many flags for a thread that should just be a discussion.
This topic was automatically opened after 10 minutes.
This is a big part of what I mean by intellectual laziness. Disciplined thinking requires one to maintain in the back of one’s mind the little asterisk, the little caveat, the awareness that one might be wrong. One must be continually vigilant about the possible existence of meaningful countervailing evidence and the need to reevaluate one’s position. One must regularly test one’s assumptions and one’s conclusions against available data.
This takes work. And to do otherwise is, as I said, sheer laziness.
That’s the Trump bunch.
I know highly intelligent Trump supporters. There are even Trump supporters in Mensa. It’s not at all about IQ or the lack thereof.
It’s about bias and emotions overriding facts and logic.
Yes, it does seem like a large majority aren’t too swift. Otherwise, why would they constantly decry the left as “elitists”? Why else would they be anti education? Why would the Administration keep spouting absolutely, ridiculously stupid “facts” if they didn’t know they’d be believed? Sure, most of us know perfectly intelligent people who voted R; they’re immoral and the subject of a different thread. Maybe the OP should have specified magats maggots.
I know some folks in MENSA who are positively out of their gourds. I’m talking about people who reject the idea of germ theory and believe the moon landing was fake. Intelligence doesn’t prevent people from adopting whack a doodle beliefs and smart people are good at defending their ideas.