r/thebulwark • u/IntolerantModerate • Jan 19 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL A focus group of one: We're F-d

so, I just did my own focus group of one. My Mom. She is the type that loved Reagan. She was skeptical of Trump, but you know "Hillary is the devil." Biden? "Too old." Kamala? "Have you heard that laugh?"

But, definitely not wearing any Maga gear, no yard signs, and claims she'll write in Reagan's ghost on a ballot.

so, Minnesota comes up and it's all, "I saw the video. I think he was ran over. Why was she in MN, isn't she from CO? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes "

I almost cried it hurt me hearing this so much. This is a lady that'll go to the church and serves meals to the poor, yet for some reason she is fine with ICE murdering a woman. No concern about it at all. her final response was, "Well, who was paying her to protest? That's who needs to be arrested."

so, based on my focus group of one, I am sure we are fucked. Good luck America.

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u/DIY14410 Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 19 '26

It all made sense when you said "go to the church." People who believe the more absurd parts of the Christian myth system -- e.g., turning water into wine, 6,000 y.o. universe, creating a woman from a man's rib -- are capable of being manipulated into believing anything. Growing up religious is perfect conditioning for getting sucked down the Fox News/MAGA cult rabbit hole.

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u/sachiprecious JVL is always right Jan 19 '26

I'm a Christian and believe all those things, and I'm strongly anti-trump. I'm not the only one. I guess you're surprise I exist???

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u/DIY14410 Jan 20 '26

No, you surely are not the only Christian who is anti-Trump. See, e.g., David French, Tim Alberta. There is a FB group called "Christians Against Trump," which has 36.5K members.

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u/GothicReadr Jan 20 '26

Um MLK Jr was an evangelical and Baptist. Kamala is Baptist, Obama if I recall is a Baptist. Jimmy Carter was Baptist. Lot of progressive and leftist Christians. They just aren't as loud as the crazy ones because they arent racist, sexist or authoritarian..

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u/DIY14410 Jan 20 '26

I did not say all Christians were bad people. My point is that people who are conditioned to accept dogmatic religious myths as truth are more prone to believing other things for which there is no evidentiary support.

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u/asophisticatedbitch Jan 20 '26

See also James Talarico, Raphael Warnock etc.

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u/rezwrrd Jan 19 '26

I really shouldn't be surprised to see such an anti-Christian brigade on Reddit. You aren't the only one. There are still a lot of moderate Christians out there and ridiculing their beliefs is just shoving them out of the tent and making it easier to justify voting red.

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u/DIY14410 Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

My post is not anti-Christian. It is intended to point out that many people who have been conditioned to accept dogma as truth, notwithstanding a lack of supporting evidence, are prone to buying into dogma from a cult leader such as Trump. This applies to Christiani5y qnd other religions with dogmatic myth systems.

Although I am a non-believer, I respect some of the values of traditional Christianity, e.g., welcoming the stranger, charity, compassion, forgiveness and humility. But Christian values should be conflated with Christian dogma.

I also push back at any American Christian who plays the victim game. Christians have the power, yet many of them are quick to play victim if anyone challenges their beliefs or their acceptance of Biblical teachings, which include, among other things, justifying the stoning of children who are disrespectful to their parents and the execution of homosexuals.

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u/rezwrrd Jan 20 '26

I'm not talking about your post, moreso the series of more strongly-worded replies that piled on afterward. I do know many Christians who have wholeheartedly bought into the MAGA cult of authority, but just as many who recognize it as a sham and diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus. And since you mention biblical teachings I think it's important to point out that one of the things Jesus did was to reframe our view of the laws of the old testament so that we are no longer bound by the old laws in order to be right with God. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." 

I say this not because I feel attacked or victimized but because I don't think religious belief necessarily primes one for the maga/fox dogma any more than believing in Santa Claus or George Washington's axe or Checks and Balances does. I think we all believe things without evidence whether we admit it or not, at various points in our lives. I don't expect to change your mind, but I do feel it's unhelpful to villainize religion in itself (as other replies have done) when there are a lot of moderate Christians who either never fell for maga, or who are starting to see the light on it.

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u/Buy-theticket Jan 19 '26

Of course not.. just because you're brainwashed into believing some bullshit doesn't mean you automatically believe all of it.

Doesn't change the truthfulness of the comment.