Let me explain the question:

If fox news and religious propaganda are exactly that, propaganda, then they are victims.

If, however, every person is free to listen to what they want and then rant against liberals, migrants, Muslims, Arabs, trans, gays, atheists, you name it, then they are just gullible.

I’d have more patience for a victim than a gullible person.

Everybody is free to believe what they want to believe. What I don’t get is why they have to stir things up and why they believe they are the only ones getting it and everyone else is dumb, woke, a communist or is going to hell. Why can’t they keep their opinions to themselves?

This post may be all over the place with 3 ideas that might be unconnected. You be the judge:

1. Odds are stacked against progressives in the US and in the rest of the developed world: We got the elites of the poor world migrating to the rich world, where they buy property, residency and voting rights, but they don't turn progressive. Why would they? They've always been conservative, it’s always worked for them. The poor ones are refused entry, die trying or become the new underclass in the rich world, working for their new owners who pat them and call them good workers, because they have no recourse and cannot change nothing because they have no voting rights.

2. Mail brides chosen by an American or Western bachelor, rejected by local women for being ignorant and uneducated, are chosen for being feminine, submissive and traditional, perpetuating conservatism. Suddenly our bachelor has a woman who will cook and do the laundry and won’t question him. Our character doesn’t have to try to mold his views anymore to meet a partner, he has imported a yes maid. He will raise their children accordingly. And for the mail bride, this is the normal state of affairs since she was small. Why would she even think about changing?

3. Add to that the working class conservatives, proud of not being like ‘those odd and strange looking progressives and feminists. Heck, I’m better than them because I’m not like them, don’t matter I work 50 hours a week and I’m not in an union. I'm not a lazy blob like them’ These working conservatives don’t care about public transport, a public healthcare option, unions, expanded medicaid, access to abortion and family planning or public sex education, things that would lower their premiums and avoid unwanted pregnancies. All that matters to them is being perceived as better than the groups I mentioned before. I don’t understand how this can be so powerful, but so many people believe it and vote accordingly. It’s not rational, it is identity, it is tribe.

Republicans are winning this game.

Happy for you to prove me wrong.

Experiencing firsthand how difficult an aging alcoholic, quadriplegic, post stroke, narcissistic, demented or simply ‘nothing’s wrong with me, I can drive, I don’t need those meds, I don’t need to go to a nursing facility’ kinda parent surely gives you some insight on what to do, what not to do and how to prepare for our own aging and eventual demise.

How do you plan to age gracefully and what advice do you have for us all?

And when did you / the person you know realize he was scammed?

What tips do you have for people who haven’t lived this, so they don’t fall for it?

How long till they start asking for money?

What sites do scammers use? Can it be a facebook group or is it only limited to dating sites?

cross-posted from: https://linux.community/post/844237

I've never been that far to the south but lately I've been reading and watching those novels and movies.

The prevalent idea is: in this world (Texas?) you are alone, nobody gives a cr*p about you, do not trust anyone because they'll take advantage of you, ridicule and mock you. The world (or maybe only Texas?) is an inhospitable, inhuman, Darwinist place.

I've never been that far to the south but lately I've been reading and watching those novels and movies.

The prevalent idea is: in this world (Texas?) you are alone, nobody gives a cr*p about you, do not trust anyone because they'll take advantage of you, ridicule and mock you. The world (or maybe only Texas?) is an inhospitable, inhuman, Darwinist place.

cross-posted from: https://linux.community/post/837122

I'm a man and so far this has happened only with other men, but I'm genuinely baffled as to why some people do this. It has happened thrice so far in 3 different work settings:

One was a fifty-ish coworker who, 3 minutes after knowing me started a monologue/rant: 'I'm very Christian, there are too many migrants and refugees in this country, when their wars are over, we have to send them all back'. Kept repeating the 'very Christian' part quite often and talking about his conservative wife. I sat there, not knowing how to react until he said 'but let's not talk about politics'. We parted ways. I didn't work with him after that.

Another one is even better: no more than 4 minutes after knowing him on our first shift together: 'democrats and unions are useless (this was working in an unionized hospital where the union got us a raise, including his), there are too many Arabs in America, if Biden keeps letting migrants in, there's going to be another civil war, when Trump wins everything is going to be better, you're lucky to be only part Mexican, because you don't look too dark. When I was younger I was a right wing extremist, but not anymore and I'm not racist, because I'm married to a Croat.'

Speechless as well. How do I react to that?

The third one was not so unhinged, but opened his wallet to show me pictures of his service in the navy and then started to talk about his health issues. 20 minutes in our first shift together.

Why do some men do this?

Is this a way to test the waters to see how ideologically similar we are? Not everyone is going to think like you. Why alienate coworkers?

I'd never talk about my health issues with a person I barely know. You put yourself in a position to be exploited.

Do only older white conservative men do this?

I'm a man and so far this has happened only with other men, but I'm genuinely baffled as to why some people do this. It has happened thrice so far in 3 different work settings:

One was a fifty-ish coworker who, 3 minutes after knowing me started a monologue/rant: 'I'm very Christian, there are too many migrants and refugees in this country, when their wars are over, we have to send them all back'. Kept repeating the 'very Christian' part quite often and talking about his conservative wife. I sat there, not knowing how to react until he said 'but let's not talk about politics'. We parted ways. I didn't work with him after that.

Another one is even better: no more than 4 minutes after knowing him on our first shift together: 'democrats and unions are useless (this was working in an unionized hospital where the union got us a raise, including his), there are too many Arabs in America, if Biden keeps letting migrants in, there's going to be another civil war, when Trump wins everything is going to be better, you're lucky to be only part Mexican, because you don't look too dark. When I was younger I was a right wing extremist, but not anymore and I'm not racist, because I'm married to a Croat.'

Speechless as well. How do I react to that?

The third one was not so unhinged, but opened his wallet to show me pictures of his service in the navy and then started to talk about his health issues. 20 minutes in our first shift together.

Why do some men do this?

Is this a way to test the waters to see how ideologically similar we are? Not everyone is going to think like you. Why alienate coworkers?

I'd never talk about my health issues with a person I barely know. You put yourself in a position to be exploited.

Do only older white conservative men do this?

cross-posted from: https://linux.community/post/823828

because it can be if people start to treat them differently when they stop looking appealing they may don't understand it at first and later maybe have a depression and no plan b

because it can be if people start to treat them differently when they stop looking appealing they may don't understand it at first and later maybe have a depression and no plan b