Donald Trump’s strongman image is a plus for many voters.
Meanwhile, 44 percent backed the American tradition of competing branches of government as a model, if sometimes “frustrating,” system.
Why would people want to live under an authoritarian’s thumb? It’s rooted, experts say, in a psychological need for security—real or perceived—and a desire for conformity, a goal that becomes even more acute as the country undergoes dramatic demographic and social changes. People also like to obey a strong leader who will protect the group—especially if it is the “right” group whose interests will be protected. Recall the Trump supporter who, during the 2019 government shutdown, complained, “He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
32% of americans are chickenshit responsibility abrogators that want everything they do to be dictated to them. Religion has been a major primer for that mindset
Even well-meaning authoritarians can do terrible things, to say nothing of their eventual replacement. Look what happens to otherwise great companies when the founder dies and is replaced by someone just looking to maximize next quarter profits.
“Susan Sontag was asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, and she said that 10% of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10% is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80% could be moved in either direction” —Kurt Vonnegut
be me
hardcore Trump supporter
Trump wins, I'm ecstatic
world starts going to hell, WW3 kicks off
married with three sons, trying to keep everything together
decide to start a construction company, war efforts boost business
build a bunch of buildings, making bank
get elected to local office, life is on the up and up
land a huge contract, biggest yet
build the place, turns out it's a gay bar
fml
media catches wind, calls me part of the "woke agenda"
sons get drafted into the war, proud but terrified
trying to keep the family safe as the world burns
business takes a nosedive, firebombed by extremists
every building I've ever built gets torched
house goes up in flames, barely escape with wife
wife blames me for everything, says I'm the reason we're targeted
receive word from the front lines
"All three of your sons killed in friendly fire"
caskets arrive the next morning
wife loses it completely, leaves the country, I'm left alone
arrested, accused of contributing to "trans agenda"
just a foreman trying to get by, now rotting in jail
every dream turned to ash
life was supposed to be perfect
now I'm just a broken man with nothing but regret
tfw everything falls apart because of one misguided decision
This coming from the "if you exchange freedom.for security you will enjoy neither freedom nor security" folks.
Just a quick question: give me one, ONE simple example of a successful military dictatorship that didn't take the country to hell and left damn near all its citizens poor, suppressed, and suffering?
That's what the Germans though in 1932, too. Maybe those idiots now should have a look into some history books about that era to see what happened next.
Reactionaries believe that all of the problems they face are due to the fact that the wrong people are ruling.
They are 100% in favor of a neo-feudal pseudoaristocracy where billionaires are unleashed to rule the States as their fiefdoms and will impose their vision upon their subjects.
Reactionaries do not value individual autonomy except for the privileged man who runs the factory, farm, or family; all others should do as they're told or face his wrath.
They do not believe in structuring society to be fair and equitable, as is evident by their crusaides against DEI, holding police accountable, women, LGBTQ people, the non-religious, the unhoused, progressive taxes, and welfare.
All they care about is power to enact their will on others.
The dissonance is astounding. The average mouth breathing MAGA is either so poor and stupid that they don't realize that their taxes are going to go way up and their services like Pension and medical will evaporate. The other type of MAGA supporter is probably a fairly well off enough to insulate them from the worst of this (except the tax shift to them) but are happy because they get to openly hate the people they see as a problem which will lead to blow back that they can't understand. Bad times ahead if trump wins guaranteed
Know what FINE! I say we give them a Democrat run military regime that imposes our beliefs on them under threat of execution.
This solves a couple problems. It lets them feed their persecution fetish, so they can finally cum and chill the fuck out. It also alters their stance on the issue. Conservatives don't care about anything until it happens to them. Once they see how their fun ideas plays out against them, they will actually care about the issue and how it affects others. A lot of their "imma bring down the gubment with mah AR-15" clowns will find out their ideas are as impotent as they are. After their wet fart of a revolution fails, and a few years of learning what real oppression is, we voluntarily go back to a democracy.
From this and other polls it really does seem that most countries would be immeasurably improved if a good third of the population were to spontaneously combust.
At this point, I would be unsurprised if a third of Americans voted for an industrial meat shredder for President, even after it had been repeatedly and clearly explained they would be marched into it at gunpoint if it won. The lower part of our bell curve is… well… very, very low.
The people who think this have never had to truly struggle in their entire fucking lives. Fat little American piggies who think that everything will stay the same in every facet of life under their military dictatorship, as if nothing bad could ever happen to them and bad things will only happen to the people they hate. They take for granted all of the freedoms and luxuries they enjoy daily and never once consider how quickly those would vanish for them too.
I read some research somewhere that found that about a third of the people in any given country are authoritarian shitheads (paraphrasing). The problem is that the unique structure of the US system of government gives said shitheads outsized power and representation relative to their numbers.
This sounds about right. If you look at the rise of authoritarian parties in Europe you will see numbers sitting between 25% and 35% too. I have a feeling that this might just be an innate personality trait that people are born with. Some people are more submissive and prefer strong leaders, even at the cost of personal liberties.
I mean, we already witness this in other aspects of life.
How very in-American of them. I thought those conservatives were all about 1776 and independence from a king/dictator. I guess it’s more like they want their king is charge to crush anyone who has slightly different views.
If you ask the same people if they would want a leftist military regime or authoritarian governement they would beg for democracy. These people have no scrouples. End of the day they just want to be left alone like everyone else. It's just lashing out because they themselves don't want to change.
And here's where the Democrats run into a massive problem.
The Democrats are running on two fronts: A policy position, and warning people of the authoritarianism that Trump and the GOP will bring if they return to power.
The problem is that the Republican base is basically saying "Yeah. We know. We want it that way. Screw your policies." And they have enough on their side to actually win the election. How the hell do you compete with that?
Two completely different things in this climate. Anyone else remember when Gen. Miley literally went behind Trump's back to assure China that the military would block any of his (possible) tantrums?
The stupid minority. Only stupid people who don't bother learning about the world would think this. Minus the very few who just wanna use the situation to get rich.
Well then we know that 32% of people in America are not fond of America. I'm fine with the whole Trump bullshit of "kicking them out", but let's make it about these assholes and not the people who are here to have a functioning democracy.
I remember reading long ago that the best form of government is actually a benevolent dictatorship. The problem is that dictatorships never stay that way and doing anything about it becomes extremely difficult, if impossible.
So basically, leaving it all up to one person is a bad idea.
One of my gramps fled fascism in Italy. Always warned me that a lot of people want someone to tell them what to do, primed to receive commands. That side is filled with rebels, flexible and rational people that operate in shades of grey.
On the other side, I have a cousin who had a strict dad, retired military guy, good soldier, no doubt. Cousin loves Trump. That side is more blue collar, less education, less financial means. Cousin never had to deal with emotions, couldn't have done so in a safe environment with her dad around anyway, yelling at her all the time, telling her exactly what to do, why to do it, how to do it.
She would get harshly punished for very specific things and her folks would make sure she understood the just desert of it clear. She's never led anything of her own, never started anything for herself. She's very attached to the idea that people get what they deserve and has a hard time related to anyone different from her, which are defense mechanisms and marks of her emotional immaturity. Like, she cannot fathom that there are innocent people in prison who have pleased guilty. Her ability to think for herself is as stunted as her compassion for others. She needed serious education and travel, exposure to other cultures and ideas, she got a certificate, a job, and an apartment instead. Super attached to her personal property. Cannot fathom the idea of not being angry if for example something was stolen from her that she was fully insured for. Obviously she has a gun and feels like it keeps her safe.
She has authoritarian sympathy engrained in her. It is her attachment style. Loud shouted orders are her love language.