I know some very good, kind and gentle Trump supporters.

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94. Purged Voter - Thank You!

I too know some generous, kind, folks who voted for Trump.

They're victims of systematic, long-term propaganda machine, a nexus of Fox News, Rush and other RW commentators, members of conservative think-tanks, and even RW members of Congress. The system was set up and funded by right-wing billionaires who predated the Koch Brothers. The system they set up funded scholarships and university research, funnels those trained up through those programs into the American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, etc. They are groomed to become experts on their topic so they can be the reasoned, respectable face in our media. The respectable ones help make the less respectable more believable. They create an echo chamber, and what might be doubted if it were only one source is easier to swallow.

The other deliberate and pernicious strategy is by causing total distrust in any other source of information than right wing ones like Fox "fair and balanced" News. Years of attacking the "liberal media" and showing over and over every incidence they can attribute to liberal media bias (sometimes with cause, which makes it all much more effective, like when the MSM ignored John Edwards' affair while he ran for president).

What they see and hear on their news sources is far different than what those of us who get information from NPR, PBS, or even CBS, ABC, and NBC. The framing is different, the amount of time spent on things is different, when they learn about revelations like that of Comey, Russians, and special prosecutors, it is introduced in a way to sow doubt or discounting it as anything serious at all. Just the haters trying to tear down the duly elected President.

Then with gerrymandering they mostly live with like-minded people and rarely hear contradictory information. One of the many things that occurred after the FCC scuttled the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and the right wing media started their constant and harsh criticism of liberals and the liberal media, it felt much less safe to have any political discussions. Many of us became afraid that we'd be screamed at and excoriated too, so we started censoring ourselves or only discussing it in like-minded groups.

Brainwashing has become incredibly sophisticated. Lots of research dollars have been poured into developing the most effective advertising techniques (a.k.a. brainwashing techniques), ways to bypass rational thought and go straight to the emotions.

I agree, PurgedVoter. Media reform is urgent! Nothing we progressives care about can be fixed if we don't fix that!