We humans have a tendency to do our best to make sense of whatever we encounter in life.
"Apophenia" is the term for finding patterns in random unconnected events or images. Visually, we often "see" the outlines of familiar animals or faces in shifting clod formations or find letters or numbers in the dots and swirls of a textured ceiling or random pattern carpet. I think we may be doing something similar when we repeatedly try to "make sense" of the words or actions of the Trump party and their motley crew of fellow travelers.
They don't have "plans" or "goals" as those terms are normally defined.
Their concerns are limited to what will most benefit them in the short term.
They can repeat the RWNJ "meme du jour", but they cannot explain what it means.
Concepts like honesty, tolerance, reason and civility play no part in what they do or say.
The point is, maybe trying to figure out why they are what they are and do what they do is s meaningless waste of time. Our attempts to educate them, reason with them or shame them all make the same error we make with our "apophanies": we start with the bias that there's a "there" there; that they care about right and wrong and possess a sense of shame.
Maybe they are willfully ignorant and enjoy being mean. That's not a pretty picture no matter how hard you squint.
= new reply since forum marked as read
