Monday, July 15, 2019

Why arguing with Trump voters is useless

White nationalists, proud of their “whiteness,” have been testing their DNA to prove their ancestry.  They then share the results with other racists on social media.  

What happens if the results show ancestors who are not white?  Do the racists reevaluate?  Do they say, “Wow, I really should not be a Nazi, since evidently my grandmother was African American.”

No they don’t.  They delegitimize the testing company.  (It’s run by Jews.)  They question the whole DNA idea.(Those tests are often inaccurate.)  They try to put a good face on it.  (If there is some Native American ancestry, maybe that’s ok).

The point is that people don’t change their beliefs.  They equivocate.  They rationalize.  They deny.  They find some way to explain.  They ignore the evidence.  They change the subject.  (According to Lindsay Graham, the four Congresswomen attacked by Trump are “Communists.”  Really, he said that today.  That whirring sound you hear is John McCain spinning in his grave.)

Rational people are open to new evidence.  Think about that, and give up on trying to convert Trump voters.  We simply must turn out more people who are not Trump voters.


Some info for this post can be found in Heather Murphy, “How White Nationalists Rationalize a DNA Test With Surprising Results,” New York Times, (July 14, 2019), p. 21.

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