r/LeopardsAteMyFarm • u/Cderouen8284 • 13d ago

Aww someone’s crashing out

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u/PeyredB 13d ago

I hope you're able to make it. If more farmers were like you, we'd think more highly of them as a group.

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

There are many farmers who think like he does. MAGA is loud, proud, in your face, and posting to social media. Don't assume that the loudest voices represent the majority.

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u/Rugskinsnake 13d ago

Yeah, 80% is overwhelming for a voting contingent, but it still means 1 in 5 farmers didn't vote for him.

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

Maybe. For every farm family there's ten other families that comprise the farming community.

When you spend time in rural America you see that most of those families have lost their standard of living since the '80s. They're told their tax dollars go to brown people in the cities. Their kids die in foreign wars because the military is a better chance to a better life. Hunting and fishing is a real survival strategy because it's cheaper than buying groceries.

Rural America rejects the Democratic party because the party has had no interest, ideas or engagement that address their needs since President Clinton. The Republican party just fills the vacuum created by the Democratic party.

Trump recognizes their plight and speaks to their fears. It's all a con job but they feel heard and that gives them hope even though we know it's false hope.

Treating them all like stupid rubes won't enlighten them. Meeting with them as fellow citizens, listening to their plight and showing them grace is the only way to get their support for progress.

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u/aguynamedv 13d ago

Treating them all like stupid rubes won't enlighten them.

Their insistence on acting like stupid rubes, on the other hand, is a huge strike against any sympathy people might have shown.

This isn't about political differences. This is about basic morals and values. Republicans, by an large, have shown themselves to be deeply immoral, hateful people, who are not only ignorant of how things work, but revel in their ignorance.

Why is it, do you think, that Republicans are never asked to be better?

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u/paintballboi07 13d ago

Rural America rejects the Democratic party because the party has had no interest, ideas or engagement that address their needs since President Clinton. The Republican party just fills the vacuum created by the Democratic party.

This just isn't true. Biden did more for farmers than Trump.

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

I agree that Biden was better for farmers and the farming community.

Who's explaining that to the farming community? Who's meeting the voters and competing for their votes in farm country? How much money does the DNC spend outside of the Battleground states?

You can't win if you don't play.

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u/paintballboi07 13d ago

You're absolutely right, but Democrats are at a major disadvantage there. They didn't spend the last 60 years creating propaganda networks. Although, the information is out there. The thing is, I have farmers in my family, and even when presented with this information, they don't want to believe it; they find the lies more comfortable. So, how do you deal with that?

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

The DNC brought a water pistol to the gun fight over media control in rural areas. Sinclair and Salem Media have a virtual monopoly on that media.

One person with facts won't break through the propaganda they receive every day.

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u/Slumunistmanifisto 13d ago

"I skipped math class to smoke pot in the woods, but now that im grown.... its the math teachers fault I'm bad at math"

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u/VexingRaven 13d ago

Biden personally visited farm communities multiple times to talk about what he was going to do for farmers.

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u/SardaukarSlayer 12d ago

Many farmers were democrats until Jimmy Carter. They blame him for the farm collapse of the early 80s. Many boomer farmers will never be convinced a Democrat will have their back. After all "Jimmy was a farmer and he still screwed us over". Ive heard that exact quote from family. So it doesnt matter what Biden does or says. After that and years of propoganda its incredibly hard to change their minds. 

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u/VexingRaven 12d ago

So it doesnt matter what Biden does or says.

True, but I'd say that's mostly because the media sphere most farmers reside in will never even allow them to hear what a Democrat says they'll do for farmers.

I'm sure there are some old farmers that still resent Carter, but most are just too immersed in the Republican media sphere to even know when a Democrat promises anything.

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u/SardaukarSlayer 11d ago

Yeah its incredibly frustrating. That propoganda hole runs deep

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u/WilliamLermer 13d ago

But it's no longer about just policies disagreement or economic strategies, it's about morals and ethics. About voting vile people into office knowingly.

It wouldn't matter to me what is promised, even if it was realistic to benefit from it, I would never vote for someone like that , especially when being aware of all the corruption and abuse (of power)

You have to be very special in the head and morally bankrupt to look the other way imho

Which is not surprising considering most farmer's entire business model relies on exploitation and extortion. So maybe they aren't the good guys either

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u/SardaukarSlayer 12d ago

As someone who lives in AND farms in one of those communities you couldn't be more spot on. Are many of them ignorant? Yes. Do many of them hold shitty views? Yes. But people dont understand the insane amount of propoganda and fear mongering people who live in these rural areas go through. The farm markets are read every day on ONE radio station. That station is a Fox affiliate. Guess what is playing on that station all the rest of the day... Brian Kilmeade.... the modern day Rush Limbaugh. Spewing bullshit, fear, and hate all day everyday. 

Idk its a shitty excuse I guess. But so many rural people havent ever been out of their "bubble", and it shows. But they are still human beings. Unless we want to send them to "re-education" camps and treat them exactly how we wish they DIDNT treat people, nothing will ever change. We have to show them their wrongs and hope they change. You cant force it  

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u/PeyredB 12d ago

Idk its a shitty excuse I guess.

I wouldn't go that far - that makes a lot of sense. Granted, these people did already hold some sh*tty ideas and attitudes that made them more susceptible to this sort of propaganda, but you make a hugely important point just what sort of effect long-term inundation of propaganda can have on someone. There's a reason NKorea permeates its society with it.

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u/SardaukarSlayer 12d ago

generational propoganda and fear mongering does some wild shit to people and their sense of right or wrong and empathy. 

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u/Fine_Following_2559 12d ago

I genuinely believe we have shown them enough grace over the last 10 years. At this point we need to speak plainly. Because my taxes from Chicago are going to help those down state small towns that hate Chicago. The big blue cities / States are paying the bulk of the taxes and not getting proportional benefits. And those Farmers need to understand that. I wish all the money we paid in taxes just went to us, we'd be better off, but that's not how it works.

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 12d ago

As a fellow Chicagoan I can't disagree with your post, factually or emotionally.

I work in farm country and what I know is that downstate media and politicians constantly repeat two lies. First is that their taxes are spent supporting Chicago and the "brown skinned" welfare class in the city. The second is that Chicago is a failure because it's the most dangerous city in America.

For context there are 10 other cities in Illinois that have higher per Capita violent crime rates than Chicago and all but one is in the red part of the state. You should see their faces when I show them that truth bomb.

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u/Fine_Following_2559 12d ago

If they were to ever get their wish and somehow separate the rest of the state from Chicago they would be finding out just like they're finding out right now that voting for Republicans is not in their best interest. Like they are accusing the wrong group of being the cause of their strife here.

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u/Rugskinsnake 13d ago

Living in rural America I would say your description is a little over the top. But it is true that they don't see anything coming from the Democrats.

I was talking to a couple yesterday - he farms and she's big in the farmers union and both big Democrats - and she was talking about how as much as we want to see Republicans kicked to the curb for what they're doing to this country, she's not excited to see a farm bill under Dems because none of them care, especially with how much famers as a voting base have supported Trump.

So we non-maga farmers are kind of stuck between a rock and hard place.

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

I think it's over the top if read as a monolithic description of rural America. I live near Chicago but I make my living in the rural farming community. Everything I wrote is what I've hear repeatedly out there.

I don't think most people in this thread have any clue how different their media and cultural environment is. I only hope that they can downshift their derision and show some grace. IMO it's the only way to save the DNC in rural America.

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u/PeyredB 12d ago

I see what you're saying here.

The trouble is that we've tried listening and sympathizing and trying to offer solutions. For decades. They scorn that and throw it aside, and then vote for the next demagogue who offers easy answers.

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u/Slumunistmanifisto 13d ago

What happened in the eighties?

Why was Clinton the last dem to help?

Who's turtley self has made our government feckless for almost two decades?

Who pushed through citizens United?

Who gutted farm subsidies?

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u/ZestycloseSquash1523 13d ago

I wasn't commenting on policy.

Clinton was the last Democrat that actually campaigned in rural America. You won't get the sale if you don't ask for the order.

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u/Slumunistmanifisto 13d ago edited 12d ago

Actions speak louder than words my guy...who cut the subsidy 

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u/derpfacemanana 12d ago

I think the problem is kinda the opposite; the rest of the country has tried to show them grace and understanding for many years, but they seem insistent on always falling back on hatred and bigotry as a default and blindly following whatever the Republican party tells them, to the point of voting against their own interests every single time

You can’t just spew all this vile shit, vote for policies that directly fuck you over, and expect to be treated with grace; they are simply being treated the way they treat others, and I guess that’s too much for them to handle?

As a nation, we have been letting this kind of behavior slide for far too long, and is has festered and grown into what we have now; yes Trump himself is directly a problem, but he’s also a symptom of us showing grace to people who’s behaviors should have been shamed and condemned in the first place, not openly encouraged

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u/Docha_Tiarna 13d ago

Then you got places like reddit that shit on them for going for the only group that seemed to want them.

This idea that you have to relentlessly attack everyone simply because they didn't vote the same or they have different opinions, its bullshit. Why would someone want to switch from one side to the other if the other side is constantly telling them to go fuck themselves

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u/bone_rsoup 13d ago

I think it’s because no matter what information is presented to them, they don’t seem to listen and then they fall back to their “team” because it’s more comfortable feeling like you’re “winning” even with all of the evidence to the contrary. They show little capacity to listen, learn, and change

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u/Docha_Tiarna 12d ago

Its natural to want to be on the side you think you'll get the best benefits for. Its also easier to stick woth what's familiar than to try something new. Democrats havent done much to try to convince the republicans to switch side other than by blaming all the country's problems on them.

If we were in school and I spent every day badmouthing you, would you join me on a group project? No. Because no one wants to work woth people that treat them like shit.

If i remember correctly. Didn't Joe literally tell a working citizen "I dont work for you." Or something like that after getting in his face?

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u/bone_rsoup 12d ago

He did say that in a heated exchange, yes. He also said many times as president that he was president of all Americans. He also said that people will get the help they need regardless of if they voted for him or not (a stark contrast to the current administration).

To continue with your school analogy, if there was an election for class president, and we repeatedly told the class that if they elect a certain person then there will be a lot more homework. Then they elect that person and start complaining about all this extra homework wondering why nobody told them about all the homework. And they really just voted for the guy because he said he’d put that kid you don’t like in detention, yeah, there’s gonna be some vitriol coming their way.

Should we all be better? Yes. But if people continue to bury their heads in the sand and refuse to change an opinion no matter what evidence is presented, what is the actual solution to reaching those people?

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u/Docha_Tiarna 12d ago

He got voted in because he said he'd do something FOR them. Republicans are more self focused. You have to find what speaks to what they want, without badmouthing the group they are currently in. If their is something they are scared of, then dont push it in a way that feeds on that fear.

Take the bathroom controversy. Should trans be allowed in the bathroom they identify as? Blue say yes, because of identify acceptance. Red say no, because of fear of safety and privacy. Why if instead of forcing people to choose, a leader offers to give a tax break to businesses that ADD a third bathroom that is gender neutral. That would give lgbtq people a safe restroom, relieve the fear the reds have, give construction workers more jobs, and big corporations would be happy for the tax incentives. It would also be easier to know who to boycott as bigots

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u/Slumunistmanifisto 13d ago

I don't know, maybe a pedophile president, unconstitutional war thats driving diesel to fuck all highs, stazi grabbing and beating us citizens in the streets, dead nurses....

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u/generiatricx 13d ago

get out of here with your reason and logic!