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cybercoma · October 12, 2016

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Edited January 30, 2017 by cybercoma

Cum Laude · October 12, 2016

The key word here is dumb, when the OP used the wrong "to" in the title. It should actually be "too" cuberbuddy. Canadians....LOL, eh?

bush_cheney2004 · October 12, 2016

44 minutes ago, Cum Laude said:

The key word here is dumb, when the OP used the wrong "to" in the title. It should actually be "too" cuberbuddy. Canadians....LOL, eh?

Definitely the wrong time to make that mistake. LOL indeed.

cybercoma · October 12, 2016

Yes, let's point out typos because I'm sure you've never made them. Clearly you don't want to discuss the content of the post.

bush_cheney2004 · October 12, 2016

The content of the post was discussed to point out the comical error. Well done !

cybercoma · October 12, 2016

You're discussing a typo. If you really think I don't know the difference between "to" and "too" maybe there's some truth to the Psychology Today article after all.

bush_cheney2004 · October 12, 2016

Look...if someone is going to go out of their way to call other people "dumb", then it is wise not to make such a mistake.

Obviously not all Trump "supporters" are "too dumb", as many are accomplished individuals with reasons for "supporting" Trump.

Some of them can even vote in the American election.

TimG · October 12, 2016

Such analyses are self-serving propaganda that does not provide any useful insights.

The fact is many voters are dumb and make their choice for stupid reasons.
This includes a large portion of the Clinton voter base.
It is dishonest to single out Trump voters.

Trump is getting 40% of the vote because 40% of the people find Democrat policies so objectionable that they are willing to trust that the US system of checks and balances will limit the damage that he can do. This is a rational choice. A bad one, IMO, but a rational one.

Edited October 12, 2016 by TimG

cybercoma · October 12, 2016

1 hour ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

Obviously not all Trump "supporters" are "too dumb", as many are accomplished individuals with reasons for "supporting" Trump.

So obvious, in fact, that I never argued that. I literally said, "this certainly doesn't describe all of Trump's supporters."

BubberMiley · October 12, 2016

1 minute ago, cybercoma said:

So obvious, in fact, that I never argued that. I literally said, "this certainly doesn't describe all of Trump's supporters."

Trump supporters have a hard time understanding what they read sometimes.

Bonam · October 12, 2016

2 hours ago, TimG said:

Trump is getting 40% of the vote because 40% of the people find Democrat policies so objectionable that they are willing to trust that the US system of checks and balances will limit the damage that he can do. This is a rational choice. A bad one, IMO, but a rational one.

Some portion of people who vote for Trump will likely do it for the rational you describe. But that certainly does not describe the hordes of more enthusiastic Trump supporters.

bush_cheney2004 · October 12, 2016

Trump will likely get a larger percentage of the vote than given by "dumb" Trudeau voters in Canada.

Edited October 12, 2016 by bush_cheney2004

?Impact · October 12, 2016

Yes, Trump supporters are extremely dumb. Regardless how bad Clinton is, it is a fact that Trump is a compulsive liar. Even when confronted with indisputable evidence, the dumb Trump supporters continue to listen to him. They don't seem to get that he cannot achieve what he says and they accept the lies. That is extraordinarily dumb by any standard.

Wilber · October 12, 2016

The checks and balances better work because if Trump wins, he will make Tricky Dick look like a choir boy when it comes to abusing his power to go after opponents. He has already told us so. He is a nasty man.

Cum Laude · October 12, 2016

5 hours ago, cybercoma said:

Yes, let's point out typos because I'm sure you've never made them. Clearly you don't want to discuss the content of the post.

To is not a typo. To when it should have been too reveals a lack of education. Tsk tsk, cyber, tsk, tsk, eh?

BubberMiley · October 13, 2016

2 hours ago, Cum Laude said:

To is not a typo. To when it should have been too reveals a lack of education. Tsk tsk, cyber, tsk, tsk, eh?

From Trump's personal notes for his Comedy Central roast speech: "Their all losers and I like associating with loser because it makes me feel even better about myself.”

Topaz · October 13, 2016

I don't think Trump supporters are dumb, they are desperate for change! In my view, both parties have become corrupt and they are tired of the promises made that aren't fulfilled. They are probably tired of war, right or wrong they just want change and a better country.

dialamah · October 13, 2016

1 hour ago, Topaz said:

I don't think Trump supporters are dumb, they are desperate for change! In my view, both parties have become corrupt and they are tired of the promises made that aren't fulfilled. They are probably tired of war, right or wrong they just want change and a better country.

I don't doubt that you are right; I'd certainly like to feel that I had good options offering to run the country for four years. Sometimes I think I'm watching history in action, so to speak - the cusp of a change in the world order, a time which will be studied in schools 150 years from now.

Wilber · October 13, 2016

2 hours ago, Topaz said:

I don't think Trump supporters are dumb, they are desperate for change! In my view, both parties have become corrupt and they are tired of the promises made that aren't fulfilled. They are probably tired of war, right or wrong they just want change and a better country.

I completely agree that people want change. Considering how Congress has performed for the past two decades, who can blame them. Unfortunately, they have hitched their wagon to the wrong star. Every despot in the world has come to power because of a desire for change.

Smoke · October 13, 2016

23 hours ago, cybercoma said:

Probably.

We have a thread about liberalism being a mental disorder, so I'm going to assume it's fair game to cite scientific research that claims Trump's supporters are probably too dumb to know that they're dumb.

Psychology Today ran an article from Bobby Azarian, cognitive neuroscientist, that explored the cognition issues behind Trump's unwavering support despite his "shocking behaviour." The article describes four dimensions to the unwavering partisan support he receives, despite undermining conservative values. Those dimensions are 1) The Dunning-Kruger Effect, 2) Hypersensitivity to Threat, 3) Terror Management Theory, and 4) High Attentional Engagement.

So let's outline the argument here. David Dunning himself wrote in Politico:

In other words, people can literally be too dumb to realize that they're dumb. Their heads are filled with misinformation, such that they're lacking the requisite knowledge and information to even realize that they don't know what they don't know. Confirmation bias exacerbates this situation because they hear lies from Trump that confirm their misinformed beliefs. Further still, this is why there is push back against experts and the media because they present information that conflicts with the misinformed worldview that Trump's supporters have bought into wholesale. The Dunning-Kruger Effect also holds that people who've had their heads filled with misinformation won't even look to be informed in the first place because they already believe they have the knowledge they need. This is why no amount of fact checking or attempt to educate Trump's supporters works. You need a practical example of these effects at work to take it out of the abstract and theoretical? Look at the number of Republicans, evangelical Christians, and others that are traditionally GOP voters who have abandoned Trump and spoken out against him. Even members of the GOP itself can't convince Trump's supporters. Billionaire conservative NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg can't even convince Trump's supporters that he's awful.

Recent studies have shown that conservatives have a stronger psychological reaction to perceived threats (see the Psychology Today article for links to the studies). Donald Trump plays on this by fear mongering. Ever notice how no matter what question Trump is asked, he brings it back to ISIS or what a disaster America is? Ever notice that his entire message is that the "Empire" is on the verge of collapse and only he can save it? He's feeding on this well-established phenomena that conservatives have a more visceral reaction to what they perceive as threats, bypassing any logic and reason. This is a cognitive reaction. It is not based on rational thought. So that's why Donald Trump continues to stir up fears about Mexican and Muslim immigrants, literally calling destitute Syrian Refugees "Trojans." This rhetoric sparks a reaction in the conservative brain.

This unthinking, visceral hypersensitivity to threat is magnified by the concept of "terror management theory." This theory holds that we are all acutely aware of our mortality and that under the surface we constantly deal with an anxiety about it. Reminders about people's mortality are consistently shown to push people to the political right, increasing nationalism, as well as military interventionism. Exaggerated claims about immigrants in America, when the vast majority of violent crimes are committed by native-born white Americans, just fuels this, which is amplified by the tendency of the conservative mind to amplify threats.

Finally, Trump is a showman. He's an entertainer and celebrity. He's able to hold people's attention longer than Hillary Clinton. Even those who don't support Trump are tuning in to find out what outrageous thing he will say next. When you're a Trump supporter, you've tuned in to have your misinformed worldview and confirmation biases affirmed.

Now this certainly doesn't describe all of Trump's supporters. However, it's certainly clear that the most staunch defenders of Trump are probably too dumb to realize they're dumb. Sadly, no amount of fact checking or independent expert opinion will convince them otherwise. They're unfortunately suffering from cognitive limitations that they can't overcome, unless eventually the cognitive dissonance becomes so jarring that they snap out of it. For a lot of Christian conservatives, that snapping point was a video with Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. They finally realized what kind of man Trump is. There's hope yet.

Ohh! So THIS is why so many Liberals support Trudeau.

taxme · October 13, 2016

2 hours ago, Topaz said:

2 hours ago, Topaz said:

I don't think Trump supporters are dumb, they are desperate for change! In my view, both parties have become corrupt and they are tired of the promises made that aren't fulfilled. They are probably tired of war, right or wrong they just want change and a better country.

I don't think Trump supporters are dumb, they are desperate for change! In my view, both parties have become corrupt and they are tired of the promises made that aren't fulfilled. They are probably tired of war, right or wrong they just want change and a better country.

Exactly. The they the American people want change. Trump offers that change. Just like here in Canada we need change. There is no political party in Canada that wants change because there is no money to be made from it, and they do not want to give the power back to where it belongs too, the people. The American people have nothing to lose by voting for Trump because all they have left his Hillary and her band of elite globalist band of merry men and women who want to continue to steal from the poor so they can live their merry lives off the Americana taxpaying people forever. Trump has said that he is not a politician. People who like to consider themselves politicians are the ones who like to lie, cheat and steal, and that is all they can offer we the people is more lying, stealing and cheating. To want to try and change things doe not make one dumb and stupid, but smart and intelligent.

cybercoma · October 13, 2016

Change for the sake of change is stupid.

taxme · October 13, 2016

29 minutes ago, Wilber said:

I completely agree that people want change. Considering how Congress has performed for the past two decades, who can blame them. Unfortunately, they have hitched their wagon to the wrong star. Every despot in the world has come to power because of a desire for change.

What nonsense. Trump is no despot but Hillary can be described as being one. The people don't want Hillary they want Trump and at every rally that Trump goes too, it shows who they want as their next President. Why do these anti-Trump people keep trying to make Trump out to be a despot on the rise? How can anyone believe that Hillary is the one for the job? To me they are the dumb ones. Just my opinion of course. Works for me.

Wilber · October 13, 2016

Trump is threatening to go after his political opponents if he is elected, not just Hillary. That is the definition of a despot.

The_Squid · October 14, 2016

9 hours ago, Wilber said:

Trump is threatening to go after his political opponents if he is elected, not just Hillary. That is the definition of a despot.

That's just locker room talk!!!