# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 218
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4640 "2025-04-04T13:24:55Z")
How do you suggest the left appeal to delusional bigots? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4641 "2025-04-04T13:27:53Z")
In my daily life and work I encounter union members and blue collar workers who were democrats when the unions were predominantly white and so were the trades (25 years ago) Now they are MAGA as all hell. There’s a certain sad irony in a union supermarket cashier telling you she’s voting for Trump because raising her wages from $9 to $15 an hour has caused the price of groceries to double and she can’t afford them any more without food stamps. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4642 "2025-04-04T13:31:41Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > There’s a certain sad irony in a union supermarket cashier telling you she’s voting for Trump because raising her wages from $9 to $15 an hour has caused the price of groceries to double and she can’t afford them any more without food stamps. And when President Musk ends SNAP ain’t she gonna be in for a surprise! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4643 "2025-04-04T13:34:16Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Because it would be better than them being Nazi-curious? Or do you think they were born bad? Yes, these are clearly the only options available. /s They have gravitated to the party that validates their worst instincts and tells them that they never need to change and that everything they see as wrong in their lives is someone else’s fault. Whereas the other party has at least a passing grasp of actual reality, and reality is often unpleasant and involves change and hard work. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4644 "2025-04-04T13:53:31Z")
IMO this is one of the reasons Scientology has succeeded. Back in the 90’s or so, there were infomercials for Scientology. I knew it was an evil cult. But, I wanted more facts, information and to see exactly what message they were putting out. That message was roughly- none of your bad habits, features or actions is your fault. All of that is caused by your “reactive mind”. Scientology is the only way to get rid of your “reactive mind” and achieve your true potential. This has been a wildly successful message throughout all of history- Your many problems are not your fault. They are caused by (Jews, immigrants, Communists, etc). Trump is proof, if it is still needed, that this message still works today. ‘Haitians are eating your pets!’ "Immigrants are stealing your jobs and bringing in drugs!’ ‘Wokeness and Transgenderism are very bad!’ ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4645 "2025-04-04T14:03:49Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > This has been a wildly successful message throughout all of history- Your many problems are not your fault. They are caused by (Jews, immigrants, Communists, etc). Trump is proof, if it is still needed, that this message still works today. Now the message is that your problems are caused by discrimination and systemic oppression from privileged groups - as long as you can find at least one way in which you can claim to belong to a marginalised group. Hardly surprising the minority who can’t do this want to get in on the blaming-someone-else-game, rather than being everyone else’s scapegoat. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4646 "2025-04-04T14:08:39Z")
That’s the right wing caricature of the message, not the actual message. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4647 "2025-04-04T14:48:34Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Now the message is that your problems are caused by discrimination and systemic oppression from privileged groups This is a “message”? Discrimination and systemic oppression from privileged groups is a stone cold fact. > [@DemonTree](#): > > Hardly surprising the minority who can’t do this The “minority” who can’t do this is “straight cis Christian white males”. The reason they (we) can’t do it because we were the privileged group doing the oppressing. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4648 "2025-04-04T15:57:08Z")
@DocCathode According to this article in the Financial Times, Trump is indeed losing support from his non-MAGA voters over his economic ‘policies’: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GnsSLwBWcAAKBDR?format=jpg&name=large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GnsSLwBWcAAKBDR?format=jpg&name=large) > **[Trump chaos is alienating Republicans](https://www.ft.com/content/26d15d7e-dd36-4ca1-b974-da8a57bce290)** > > Outside of the Maga ecosystem, bad economic news is starting to cut through ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4649 "2025-04-04T16:05:27Z")
Hey! Another YouGov poll! ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4650 "2025-04-04T16:20:42Z")
The “privileged group” that is actually dominating and oppressing people is the capitalist class. Everyone else, regardless of race or gender, indeed “should” be left-wingers. Of course it is important to fight racism/sexism/etc, but when the left focuses _only_ on these battles, and is afraid to put forth an explicitly socialist analysis, the message to working class cishet white men is “you have all the privilege, so if you’re struggling to make ends meet, it must be because of your own personal deficiencies, not because the system is rigged against you”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4651 "2025-04-04T18:13:55Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > the message to working class cishet white men is “you have all the privilege, so if you’re struggling to make ends meet, it must be because of your own personal deficiencies, not because the system is rigged against you”. That is certainly what the wealthy right **tell** the working class cishet white men that the left think of them. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4652 "2025-04-05T02:48:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Most trans people I know _do_ see an attempted genocide happening. But we get it. You’re fine with that. Does that surprise you? It’s certainly not the _only_ genocide they’ve thrown their enthusiastic support behind. Why anyone still reads what that genocidal asshole writes, let alone responds to it, is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4653 "2025-04-05T08:29:35Z")
No, I’m not surprised at all. I’m just taking the opportunity to peel back the veneer of faux-centrism we’re presented with to reveal what’s underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4654 "2025-04-05T10:42:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m not surprised at all. I’m just taking the opportunity to peel back the veneer of faux-centrism we’re presented with to reveal what’s underneath. Faux centrism? 🤣 buddy, I hate to break it to you, if you think _my_ position on trans people is _faux centrist_, you’re high on your own supply, my dude. Which of my positions are _centrist_? That Trans women are women? That, in every area of life where we segregate by gender based on social differences between men and women trans people should be fully accepted and treated by society as the gender they identify with? None of my positions on trans people are _centrist_, and _certainly_ none of them are right wing. If you believe that those positions express support for a trans genocide, you’re beyond delusional. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4655 "2025-04-05T13:18:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m just taking the opportunity to peel back the veneer of faux-centrism we’re presented with to reveal what’s underneath Well, that is a worthy goal. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4656 "2025-04-05T14:56:22Z")
“Babale supports trans genocide” is, indeed, one of the stupider takes presented in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4657 "2025-04-05T19:38:02Z")
Once someone becomes extreme enough on any topic, they often go over a psychological “event horizon” into a reality-distorted place where _everyone_ less zealous than they is clearly an extremist for the opposite position. “Babale” is a trans _genocidaire_" sounds like exactly such wackiness coming from someone over their personal event horizon. Time to take a breather from the news or a breather from the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4658 "2025-04-05T21:38:33Z")
Not a trans genocider. Just actively minimizing the pogrom on trans people openly being pursued, in the same way the effects of the DEI purge were minimized. On the same day Babale was telling us that it was ridiculous to say the GOP wanted a trans genocide, the White House released this statement characterizing trans people as evil and deluded child abusers. > **[National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2025](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/national-child-abuse-prevention-month-2025/)** > > By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation America's children are the foundation of our families, the heirs of our freedom, and the But nothing to see here, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4659 "2025-04-05T22:56:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Once someone becomes extreme enough on any topic, they often go over a psychological “event horizon” into a reality-distorted place where _everyone_ less zealous than they is clearly an extremist for the opposite position. It has always made me think of a strip from Order of the Stick. Modified just a bit: [![](https://i.ibb.co/p6H1jqs6/Screenshot-20250405-145400-Samsung-Internet.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/p6H1jqs6/Screenshot-20250405-145400-Samsung-Internet.jpg) > [@Gyrate](#): > > But nothing to see here, I guess. You’re a bad faith piece of shit liar. As you’d damn well know if you’d ever read a single one of my posts on the topic, I find the statement abhorrent as well as morally and factually wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=217) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=219)