Has Anybody Studied What Indoctrinates A Person Into The Trump Cult?....

[global1]

I don't know where I'm going with this post - and I don't know if I'm using the correct words - but has anyone done a psychoanalysis of a Trumpist/MAGA? What radicalizes them and alters the way they think about Trump, our country, our government?

Is it simply listening to Fox and Rupert? Does that news network employ subliminal messages? Is something else going on? How do they suck people in?

What about the Repug Party (i.e., our politicians in D.C. and the states, etc)? Have they been brainwashed as well? Do they contribute to the indoctrination, radicalization of the common folk Trump cultists? How does a politician that runs for office and attains that office go so far off track from the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? What makes them try to out lie or create weirder conspiracy stories than the next guy?

How much does Trump himself play into drawing the people to him? Does he have some kind of strange hypnotic-al power? Why don't people see through him and realize he's a con artist? Why don't they recognize his criminal ways?

I believe that other cults have been analyzed. I'm just wondering if anyone has studied the Trump cult in any major way to help us understand what's happening to a large portion of the American People.

This has gone much further than just Republican and Democrat/Left and Right politics. We're venturing into Right versus Wrong.

What drives a person to want to rush the Capitol Building and beat police with American flags? What makes a person want to endanger their life as well as others to not wear a mask or to believe that the Covid vaccines are harmful? How have they watched over the last year 600,000 + American's die of Covid and believe someone that tells them it's a hoax?

It's like something has insidiously taken over half of the U.S. electorate. What's going on?

[JI7]

1. There isn't much indoctrination needed .They are racists and always have been .

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Active racists finding other active racists who know enough about politics to be dangerous. That's

it. It's not complicated.

[samnsara]

4. a propensity for public outlandishness?

[FM123]

5. I don't think it's as simple as just Fux News, but they sure do a lot of brainwashing....

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/i-gathered-stories-of-people-transformed-by-fox-news.html

[mrsv]

6. Here's My Conclusion

Bad people following a bad man. This is who they are and always been.

[tanyev]

16. Yep. "He says what I'm thinking."

I recall hearing that quite a few times in the obligatory Trump supporter interview. Like that was a good thing.

[walkingman]

7. He speaks their language. The outlandish and hateful rhetoric is

their genre. Most Trumpers I know claim to not be racists and try and prove it by occasionally showing their love for someone like Allen West or Ben Carson. Make no mistake they are pure-D racists and have been so all of their lives. Racism is taught - look at their background.

[Foolacious]

12. What does "pure-D" mean? N/T

[walkingman]

13. It was something I always heard growing up. I think it

means "pure damn" but not really sure.

update - I googled it....utter or complete or absolute....just a southern expression I guess.

[Foolacious]

18. Thanks!

I love languages, including English, and enjoy learning new colloquialisms!

[Omnipresent]

8. They won't say it to you or me, but

They really want a dictator instead of a president. Trump embodied that feeling for them.

[Hortensis]

9. The Nazi Holocaust ignited research into how that could have

happened in an advanced, white, science-oriented, civilized, Christian nation. The western world was shocked because before that it was believed that simply couldn't happen among their peoples, only far-away heathens. Initially many assumed it was something intrinsic to "the German race," but research blasted that.

So, sure. There's been a great deal of research over the past 80 years, in spurts, and of course there's been renewed interest over the past 30 as dangerous signs have grown in many nations. However, strong-conservative interests have done their best to quash it. Their best has been disastrous at times to institutions such as universities and to individual careers, so, to my seeking anyway, relatively little has been published in lay language.

The reality is finally being discussed again, though.

[nuxvomica]

10. They are people who didn't get away with something once

And suffered for it, and felt they were punished unjustly. Then along comes TFG who offers them a world where they get away with everything as long as they remain loyal. That's my analysis based on just the people I know.

[2naSalit]

11. +1

[Zambero]

15. Yes, the "System"

Rigged against you like nothing you've we seen, and only I can fix it! And conversely, "Law and Order". As a con artist, Trump has been masterful at playing both sides of the grievance fence, appealing to those who believe that society has been grossly unfair to them, while not being harsh enough on the other guy.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. They didn't give a rat's ass about republicans and/or politics

before Trump. Their support is akin to American Idol. They like HIM. He says and does things and gets away with it. An anti-hero. And he notices they exist. That's all they need.

[Chainfire]

17. I think it is more "what all" than "what"

Republicans have issues to appeal to a lot of Americans; greed, fear, hate, and lies. It is a cult of "Who took my paradise away?"

It has been masterfully taught over the past thirty years and is a perfect example of how well propaganda works.

There are now, so many people wearing permanent blinders that we may never turn this train around. Every day, the hate grows; it will reach a tipping point and will most likely end in a bloodbath.

[uponit7771]

19. 70% political tribalism, 20% frustration against the system they voted for, 10% pure racism

[Elessar Zappa]

24. I think the racists are more like 50%

of the Trumpers, tribalists 40% and ‘economically anxious” 10%.

[Whiskeytide]

20. The cult has several distinct kinds of people who ...

… are drawn to it.

A. People who hate. Often minorities and/or women. Sometimes the poor. Sometimes it’s not specific. They just hate. They ignore facts and logic if the cult narrative feeds their hate.

B. People who are not smart about politics and government. They don’t understand the cause and effect of policy. They are simple thinkers and only see things in terms of black and white - no grey areas. Nuance is lost on them. These are the people who see welfare as taking their tax dollars and giving them to lazy people.

C. People who tend to go with the crowd. Lacking their own critical thinking skills, they just adopt whatever their family or friend group believes.

D. Religious zealots. They want so badly to bring about Armageddon that they latch on to anyone who promises to make it happen. They do what their preacher tells them to do.

E. People who are scared. Perhaps of losing their way of life, or their privilege, or their memories of simpler times. But always of the “other”. These are the ones who cry cancel culture incessantly.

F. Opportunists. They see a way to advance their own interests by joining the cult. Most R politicians fall into this group, as do most wealthy donors.

Of course, there is a lot of overlap. But most of them have one or more of these characteristics in common. The RW media stokes all of these groups with endless stories that “evidence” justification for these paranoid mindsets.

[moondust]

21. God complex.

Last edited Wed Jul 14, 2021, 07:51 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm not a shrink but I have a wacky new theory that may explain some of it.

~
A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks. The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they were unquestionably correct.[1] Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society, and may request special consideration or privileges.[1]

God complex is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder and does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The recognized diagnostic name for the behaviors associated with a God complex is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). A God complex may also be associated with mania or a superiority complex.
~
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_complex

In that light and after years of scrutiny, I don't think it's even debatable that TFG has a God complex.

My little theory starts by asking the question: "How many of the 1/6 insurrectionists are gun owners?" I would guess close to 100%. At least 90%.

Which leads me to ask if having the power of life or death over every person who comes anywhere near you, using nothing more than the effortless squeeze of your finger, may lead to a sense of superiority and infallibility--a God complex. And the more guns you have perhaps the more almighty you feel.

That mindset might help to explain why many of the 1/6ers believed they could accomplish what they foolishly tried to do at the Capitol.

A mindset that might also help explain 1/6er Pauline Bauer, a Pennsylvania pizzeria owner, who claims to be a divinely empowered entity immune from laws.



ETA: Guest on CNN just now said her husband who died of COVID didn't get vaccinated because "he thought he was invincible." God complex?

[Caliman73]

22. Couple of things...

Not half the electorate. About a quarter.

You have to account for the fact that even in the 2020 election, which was one of the highest turnouts in a very long time, only about 60% of eligible voters voted. Less then half of those voters voted for Trump. So, we are looking at about 24% to 27% of the electorate cast votes for Trump. Now, that is still huge and way too high for a functional democracy.

Here is a video I found enlightening about the process of radicalization. There is a whole series called "The Alt-Right Playbook". I found it informative about right wingers. Warning, it does some criticism of liberalism too as the author I believe, is a leftist.

[Hekate]

23. Yes. Malcolm Nance and others have extensively studied the radicalization process...

They started 20+ years ago with Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups, and have written and talked about how the process of radicalization proceeds along the same lines among white nationalists in the US.

As for the electorate in general, we are witnessing a rise in Fascism. The real thing. There’s an immense amount of literature regarding the pre-WWII era, and I recommend it. Nance and others write about it today.

In all cases, propaganda is key.

[dclarston13]

25. Hate is an easy emotion to embrace

Love is much harder IMHO. So it's easier to weaponize hate. Then many people have a very small sphere of concern, so they really care about a single issue or two and latch on to them regardless of other positions that same person or party has. Plus people don't tend do their own research, so they believe what they are told cause it's easier that way. Combine that with a news media that amplifies the things get them clicks and likes and ratings. You then have a recipe to brainwash the populace using simple easy to understand phrases. Focused around Jesus, Guns, Abortion, and Family, etc.. THEN you have the data gatherers that know what words and phrases are getting clicks so that gets incorporated into the message. As long as we keep relying on computers and social media to keep us informed I'm afraid this problem will only get worse.

[kentuck]

26. The feeling that they are victims.

That the "libs" have control of everything in our culture, like what movies to watch, what books to read, what is correct behavior and what is not, what is right and wrong in our society, what books for teachers to use, just everything.

One might think that all this "lib" stuff just happened from thin air? As if society does not have a say in what they choose to see and hear. That puts a lie to their proclaimed belief in the "marketplace of ideas". That is why we have a democracy. Rather than fight about it, we vote on it.

Otherwise, we are talking about a society that is totally different, with little chance of resolving our differences at the polls.

[Midnight Writer]

27. I see two things.

1) Incredible amounts of information about people gleaned from social media and the internet enable the creation of sophisticated profiles about people. I saw one company creating profiles of people using over 2000 points of reference, everything from the brand of car they prefer to what kind of porn they watch.

2)Sophisticated influencing techniques that can target individual and group profiles with pinpoint accuracy. Influencers are exploiting specific personality disorders, disorders that may be so mild that we don't see them in casual interactions, but can be nurtured and magnified in susceptible persons (or groups of persons).

[Johonny]

28. They prey on whites, mostly males.

They prey on their fears; loss of identity, racism etc ...

The clear goal is to give them simple enemies, simple plot lines, simple things to blame for their own failures.

They repeat the plotlines over and over, never dwell on failed predictions of the past, always use the extreme strawman approach to depict the other side, make the listener feel that they are hearing the majority opinion no matter how fringe the idea is.

Most people crave simplicity. RW media machine is design to give them that. There are good guys, and bad guys. Believe the correct thing and you are good. Most Americans crave that. It's why wrestling scripts and soap operas work.