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Thread: There's an idea I'm seeing with increased frequency that Trumpism is a reason for ending a friendship. I'm a #NeverTrump Republican and I disagree. I'd like to spell out why- on both moral and pragmatic grounds. /1 https://twitter.com/yiskagavriela/status/1323339728108871681
Hanlon's Razor argues "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence." In asserting that a Trump voter must believe "X" we are imposing our own beliefs onto them then asserting that malice is the only explanation for their divergent position. /2
This is both morally and pragmatically unwise. It assumes that Trump voters 1) see the same information you do 2) attribute the same veracity and then 3) don't care or actively support evil policies. It assumes 4) social isolation is wise if the previous assumptions are true. /3
If you haven't watched the Social Dilemma, I highly recommend it. Among other inescapable conclusions, is that people are not in control of the media they consume. /4
Even those who attempt to cultivate exposure to diverse opinions are manipulated by algorithms that provoke emotional responses to addict us to media. Moderate voices are silenced. Fake news is amplified. Indignation gives us the serotonin hit we crave. We come back for more. /5
The probability is that a Trump voter has been fed consistent disinformation and misinformation and had dissenting voices silenced by an algorithm that knows how to engage him for the most time. Ascribing malicious intent is often factually false. /6
It's also a strawman.
Are there racist Trump supporters? Without question.
As obviously as there are antisemitic anti-racists on the radical progressive left.
Neither fringe group of extremists is the majority of their party despite the outsized voice social media gives them. /7
Are there racist Trump supporters? Without question.
As obviously as there are antisemitic anti-racists on the radical progressive left.
Neither fringe group of extremists is the majority of their party despite the outsized voice social media gives them. /7
As Jon Stewart famously argued in 2016, many Trump voters had lost their health care plans and seen costs skyrocket under Obamacare, and were voting for their own health. /8
As any debater knows, you must be able to articulate the other side's actual position- not a strawman of it- if you are to successfully argue against it.
Pretending that every Trump voter is a racist or has decided that racism is OK in exchange for tax cuts is dishonest. /9
Pretending that every Trump voter is a racist or has decided that racism is OK in exchange for tax cuts is dishonest. /9
We also know a lot about the psychology of changing people's minds. You will never change someone's mind by calling them a racist an excommunicating them.
Instead, engage them with empathy, understand what actually motivates them, affirm their concerns, and address them. /10
Instead, engage them with empathy, understand what actually motivates them, affirm their concerns, and address them. /10
By engaging with people you have better success at changing their minds. By excommunicating them, you will ensure that that their echo chamber of misinformation becomes more sound proof. /11
