Americans’ confidence in the economy sank to the lowest level in more than a decade this month as prices remain elevated and wages stagnate amid the ongoing Iran war.
I was visiting my American in-laws a few weeks ago and this type of thing infuriated me. They are basically hardcore Republicans who voted for Trump 3 times but don’t want to openly say it or, in the case of my mother and father in law, they keep acting like they don’t vote because “it doesn’t matter anyway”.
They then proceed to keep complaining about gas prices, grocery prices and general cost of living. My mother in law looked at the gas price and said “jeez, I wonder why gas is so expensive”. They are straight up the most ignorant people I’ve ever seen and they fit every single stereotype I have in my mind about rural voters.
And whenever I try to explain to them what the cause of all this is they just tell me that it has always been bad and that they won’t vote.
It’s one thing if you fuck yourself and your own country over (we have those voters here too in the Netherlands) but when you choose to elect someone (either by voting for them or not voting for the alternative) who has proven to be a disaster for both your country and the world as a whole it’s honestly on you and you deserve everything that comes your way, including the hate you get from people in other countries.
Edit: I forgot to add that they live in Michigan so they are even part of a crucial swing state, to make things more annoying. I tried talking to them about Abdul Al-Sayed and they didn’t even know who I was talking about.
If you look at effective voter manipulation strategies ie the cambridge analytica scandal, they object is not to rationally or irrationally persuade voters to change sides. The object is to sucessfully discourage the “other” side from voting. Making it seem pointless, “both sides are bad” and so on.
Your in-laws not voting is probably the best possible outcome. If they voted for Trump repeatedly they’re not going to magically develop respect for the life, liberty, and happiness of others.
I was visiting my American in-laws a few weeks ago and this type of thing infuriated me. They are basically hardcore Republicans who voted for Trump 3 times but don’t want to openly say it or, in the case of my mother and father in law, they keep acting like they don’t vote because “it doesn’t matter anyway”.
They then proceed to keep complaining about gas prices, grocery prices and general cost of living. My mother in law looked at the gas price and said “jeez, I wonder why gas is so expensive”. They are straight up the most ignorant people I’ve ever seen and they fit every single stereotype I have in my mind about rural voters.
And whenever I try to explain to them what the cause of all this is they just tell me that it has always been bad and that they won’t vote.
It’s one thing if you fuck yourself and your own country over (we have those voters here too in the Netherlands) but when you choose to elect someone (either by voting for them or not voting for the alternative) who has proven to be a disaster for both your country and the world as a whole it’s honestly on you and you deserve everything that comes your way, including the hate you get from people in other countries.
Edit: I forgot to add that they live in Michigan so they are even part of a crucial swing state, to make things more annoying. I tried talking to them about Abdul Al-Sayed and they didn’t even know who I was talking about.
If you look at effective voter manipulation strategies ie the cambridge analytica scandal, they object is not to rationally or irrationally persuade voters to change sides. The object is to sucessfully discourage the “other” side from voting. Making it seem pointless, “both sides are bad” and so on.
Your in-laws not voting is probably the best possible outcome. If they voted for Trump repeatedly they’re not going to magically develop respect for the life, liberty, and happiness of others.