Last weekend a friend told me that they’re involved in an activist group that focuses on political education for people with learning disabilities and severe mental health issues. The activists’ reasoning is that this group of people is very susceptible to fascist narratives, and prone to social isolation when they start adopting or simply repeating fascist world views.
Fascists of course have no trouble claiming that support as validation for their politics, and votes are votes, after all. One could even argue that fascist propaganda inherently targets people with reduced intellectual capabilities.
That’s not just an argument, that’s fact. Fascists and Republicans (yeah yeah, “same picture”) both actively campaign to the unintelligent and/or uneducated. Fear is a primal emotion and they love to stoke it
No doubt that they do. I’m just not sure if it’s productive to say that this is an inherent characteristic to fascist propaganda, or if that’s trivializing the issue, since many intelligent and educated people are also drawn to it. Minor point of distinction though, I grant you that.
Absolutely it’s productive, and important. Also maybe I have the barest semblance of standards but it’s essentially a requirement to be at least a little fucking stupid in order to support right-wing policies.
Also, if you go off about how having a university degree and/or having specialized knowledge in one or a couple things is equal to general intelligence and the kind which enables solid critical thinking skills then I have bad news about which side you may likely fall on. I know many people good at their little tasks who are ultimately not people I fully trust to make good decisions on their own.
After he won the Nevada Republican caucuses in 2016, the current President crowed his victory. “We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.” Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) reflected on this comment as he asked Republicans to join Democrats in preserving the Department of Education.
Have you ever argued with a tired, hangry toddler? There’s no getting through to them, it’s all impulse and feeling, lashing out at everyone even if you’re trying to help them. I don’t know why that just came to my mind…
Last weekend a friend told me that they’re involved in an activist group that focuses on political education for people with learning disabilities and severe mental health issues. The activists’ reasoning is that this group of people is very susceptible to fascist narratives, and prone to social isolation when they start adopting or simply repeating fascist world views.
Fascists of course have no trouble claiming that support as validation for their politics, and votes are votes, after all. One could even argue that fascist propaganda inherently targets people with reduced intellectual capabilities.
This post made me think of that.
That’s not just an argument, that’s fact. Fascists and Republicans (yeah yeah, “same picture”) both actively campaign to the unintelligent and/or uneducated. Fear is a primal emotion and they love to stoke it
No doubt that they do. I’m just not sure if it’s productive to say that this is an inherent characteristic to fascist propaganda, or if that’s trivializing the issue, since many intelligent and educated people are also drawn to it. Minor point of distinction though, I grant you that.
Absolutely it’s productive, and important. Also maybe I have the barest semblance of standards but it’s essentially a requirement to be at least a little fucking stupid in order to support right-wing policies.
Also, if you go off about how having a university degree and/or having specialized knowledge in one or a couple things is equal to general intelligence and the kind which enables solid critical thinking skills then I have bad news about which side you may likely fall on. I know many people good at their little tasks who are ultimately not people I fully trust to make good decisions on their own.
https://chicagocrusader.com/trump-loves-the-poorly-educated/
Have you ever argued with a tired, hangry toddler? There’s no getting through to them, it’s all impulse and feeling, lashing out at everyone even if you’re trying to help them. I don’t know why that just came to my mind…
There’s a study that says conservatives are less intelligent over all, I’ll try to find it.