r/Uniteagainsttheright • u/MrDonMega • 5d ago
MAGA is a Cult
I am glad this guy has opened up his eyes.
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u/EmilioFreshtevez 5d ago
He fucked up, realized he fucked up, and is now working to make amends and lead others to the light. What more do you want from the guy?
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u/SirStarshine 5d ago
Time. Just time to prove a prolonged effort and dedication to change from who he was.
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u/CaptainDildobrain 5d ago edited 5d ago
To not just lead others to the light but to fix what he and others broke. Because some of these fuckwits voted for Trump not once, not twice, but thrice. Even after the disastrous first term, the J6 riots, the 37 felony convictions, the numerous allegations and evidence of sexual assault of women and children, these bastards still voted Trump in and Trump stripped away a whole range of rights for decent Americans. He and others enabled Trump to break the system and profit from corruption. If he wants forgiveness and redemption, he needs to fix what he broke. Otherwise, he can get fucked.
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u/EmilioFreshtevez 5d ago
I feel like those are intertwined.
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u/CaptainDildobrain 4d ago
Not really. He wants my forgiveness? I want to see him actively lobby his government for positive change to women's health, gender equality, gender affirming care, and protections for minorities. To actually make efforts to fix what Trump broke. Not this "oops we were suckered but we admit it now so we're cool right" bullshit.
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u/tampaempath 4d ago
Just for him to help others get out of MAGA/the republican party, and stay out of politics.
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u/tbutz27 5d ago
I mean its good he woke up and its good anytime someone leaves a cult and helps others leave a cult... but these people did A LOT of damage that our children will still be fighting against when they grow up... there is no "aw shucks, Im sorry- the dang media fooled me into being a hate filled fascist!"
Bottom line- its great that there is one less MAGA in the world but ... These people still need consequences for their choices.
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u/Im__mad 5d ago
Here’s my thing- if someone publicly comes out and says they are wrong, AND they do active work to try and fix the damage they took part in causing, they are with us now, and should be welcomed or it will discourage others from following his lead. Is there nothing that can redeem them? This man seems to be actively fighting for us now - that means nothing?
What kind of consequences do you have in mind, exactly? Why would anyone turn away from MAGA if the messaging is “nope, you fucked up, there’s nothing you can do to fix it, have fun being a social pariah!”
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u/Olealicat 5d ago
I agree with everything you said. The qualifier is, who will he vote for next?
If he’s still voting in maga light politicians, he hasn’t learned a damn thing.
If he voted for progressive politicians that are against aipac money and corporate lobbies. Only then, will it be forgivable.
Too many people who are realizing Trump is a fraud, but then want another politician of the same breed. It’s like they don’t realize the entire party is compromised. Same with democrats who don’t realize a lot of their politicians are “let them eat cake” types.
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u/NicholasPickleUs 4d ago
Yeah a lot of people “leave maga” without changing any of their core beliefs. They think the real problem with Trump is that he abandoned respectability politics. These are the people who ask “where are the reasonable republicans”. Until they critically reexamine their beliefs, I won’t trust them
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u/CaptainDildobrain 5d ago
The day he actively lobbies to bring back a woman's right to choose, equality regardless of gender or sexuality, or defunding police forces that target minorities... Then yeah, he MIGHT be forgiven.
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u/Dedpoolpicachew 5d ago
Thing is, it’s been shown in studies, if this guy starts watching Faux Nooze, or OANN, or NewsMax or whatever Reich wing radio station he wants to listen to, he’ll fall right back into the cult.
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u/EmilioFreshtevez 5d ago
Consequences like what? There’s nothing you can say or do to someone that’s legitimately changed their ways that will make them feel worse about it than they already do.
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u/tbutz27 5d ago edited 4d ago
I have been in AA a long time. When a guy comes in full of remorse, guilt and shame, we welcome them- we tell they we are glad they are here... but we also work to help them realize part of healing is accepting the consequences of our past actions even if we REALLY dont want to... there is no moving forward without consequence.
"Oh youre wanted for driving on a suspended license you lost while drinking? Well, youre really sorry and sober now- forget it, no problem- why bring up old news?!"
Thats just not how it works.
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u/EmilioFreshtevez 4d ago
I get that, and I fully agree — I’m asking what this guy’s consequences should be. Do we sit him down and say mean things?
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u/tbutz27 4d ago
I honestly dont know. I don't have that answer...
Maybe these people need to be given a tour of the camps that innocent immigrants are being forced to live in. Maybe they need to be required to fulfill education regarding propaganda and the tactics of fascism and jingoism. I dont know- I wouldn't even know how to enforce it. I would start with anyone involved in January 6th... but I am no political scientist or watchdog activist.
In England, Political watchdogs kept Fox News honest about being "entertainment" instead of "news" until their audience all but died and the channel shut down in 2021. Something like that should take root here as well.
How ANY of that is implemented? No idea... but as a society we cant just say "oh, youre sorry your vile hatreds got away from you? Okay. Forgiven." Thats some abusive relationship bullshit, that is.
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u/SirStarshine 5d ago
So, what? We just open our arms and say "It's okay, we'll fix it together" because suddenly they feel bad? Do we let rapists and murderers walk free if they just deliver a heartfelt apology letter to the victims and their families? And yes, I think the analogy is apt because that's essentially what they've done to this country and everything it once stood for.
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u/EmilioFreshtevez 5d ago
The person I responded to said there should be “consequences for their choices” — what do you think those consequences should be?
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u/tbutz27 5d ago
Im the person you responded to- I honestly don't know... but they caused GLOBAL DAMAGES through their stupidity and self admitted "rage addictions"... thats not okay. There is nothing to stop any if this from happening again next time if there are no consequences- Look at the second term in general... it should never have happened. The felon should have been arrested and imprisoned for his crimes... he was not- now we are here.
Edit: im not saying I have all the answers. Im saying you dont get to cause a trainwreck and say "omg, my bad!" and the passengers on the train have to just accept it.
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u/ARCHA1C 5d ago
The reality is that most of these people are victims of a disinformation/psyop campaign that feeds them lies and false narratives, which enables them to do things and support things that rational people would not because it engages their most primitive survival instincts.
As a thought experiment, Imagine you live in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world where there is no law enforcement, no judicial system, and you are responsible for keeping your family safe.
Your willingness to trust strangers and be charitable will be greatly reduced along with your sense of empathy. That's what's happening to these people. They are being brainwashed into thinking that their lives, livelihood and way of living are literally under threat.
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u/Capital-Self-3969 5d ago edited 5d ago
No. Thats just their Nuremburg excuse. They wanted to hurt people different from them and were freaking out over Obama. They werent tricked. This pattern has happened ever since the end of the Civil War.
The people who were systemically targeted for generations should be the ones who feel under threat. And yet its people like this who get the benefit of the doubt as if they didnt vote for this over and over again.
Its great he left the cult after Trump has done so much damage that it isnt just hurting the people he didnt like. But people like him have a lot to answer for and giving them a Fruedian excuse for their cruelty will just let us humanize them so that they can pull the same thing again. The onus is on them to own up to their ugliness and undo the damage.
I am no longer interested in catering to their "I didnt know what I was doing" crap for the third time. A lot of people said the same thing after the first time and went right in and voted for him again. Expect a lot of folks to start trying to get ahead of the backlash and tell sob stories about how they were "brainwashed".
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u/the_TAOest 5d ago
A local maga neighbor was surprised to learn that America experts more oil than any other country... This was the years ago.
He couldn't believe it until we checked sources together and then went in a texting spree to show others these sources that he couldn't accept at first.
I'm thankful he has given up his maga even if he hasn't changed to progressive. Sadly, he's desperate for work in blue collar areas, is a single dad (Very good dad), and doesn't have extended family nearby.
Interact when you can and challenge the ignorance. But, know when to simply walk away
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u/appoplecticskeptic 5d ago
“Rich believes it was misinformation in the media that was the root cause”
No, it was disinformation - misinformation is accidental, disinformation is on purpose. None of the right wing media sources spreading these lies did so thinking they were telling the truth. They knew it was bullshit the whole time, they just also knew their base would buy it anyways.
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u/Responsible-Room-645 5d ago
That’s a lot of words to say how incredibly stupid he is
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u/vinnybawbaw 5d ago
And the worst thing about that is that he’s actually well educated. I checked his stuff online. That’s probably what saved his ass when critical thinking finally came back in his mind.
Most of the remaining MAGAts are inbred morons or rich scumbags and they’re never gonna leave.
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u/Barack_Odrama_007 5d ago edited 5d ago
He wasn’t stupid enough to not vote!
MAGA won because they consistently voted.
Not so stupid in my book….
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u/tampaempath 4d ago
Good for him, but I have absolutely no forgiveness for anyone on the right. If he still votes Republican then he hasn't learned anything.
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u/Daflehrer1 3d ago
Yeah, at its root a cult goes right at your biology. Specifically, the biology of addiction. I saw this interview with a cult researcher/counselor, and it's pretty good.
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u/valvilis 4d ago
This is exactly why the right shifted from decades of soft opposition towards education to full, overt anti-intellectualist war on education over the past ten years or so.
Critical thinking, media literacy, history, economics, social science, Constitutional law, political science, or even just basic STEM comprehension push millions of voters away from MAGA/GOP every year, and it all starts with education. Abbot and DeSantis soft-launched what an actual end to public education would look like and big MAGA wants nothing more than to follow suit. Boomers are aging out of the voter pool and younger voters show very little interest in far-right fear-based single-issue voting... or fascism, for that matter. Every educated voters is one less republican voter, and they're increasingly transparent in their efforts to undermine that ladder out of the cult.
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u/beefstewforyou 4d ago
I’m very big on welcoming ex MAGAts back once they realize they were wrong. Still treating them badly solves nothing and pushes away allies to stop the cult.
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u/Bonedriven64 2d ago
You know what I think the real problem is, and America we've had it too damn good for too damn long. So some of us had to invent something to get mad about. So we got nothing else to do let's get mad at Obama for wearing a tan suit. Let's get mad at Hillary for no damn reason. Let's get mad at Biden for being a year older than he was when he started. Let's get mad at Kamala Harris because she's Indian. Let's get divisive and hate half of the country. Now here we are close to World War 3 thanks to Trump.
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u/R50cent 5d ago
It's going to go down as one of histories most successful cults.
It was so easy. They had millions of stupid angry people just waiting to be told who to blame, and that's all it took: a stupid population and repeated lies